Roasted Acorn Squash and Lentil Buddha Bowl
Nutty roasted squash stuffed with hearty lentils and topped with melted cheese creates a vegetarian dinner that is both filling and impressive.
- Per serving
- $1.12
- Serves
- 4
- Time
- 35 min
- Whole dinner
- $4.48
Ingredients
2 medium Acorn squash
On sale at Publix: Fall Hard Squash, Acorn, Butternut, Buttercup, or Spaghetti Squash; or Pie Pum
$0.99$1.992 cups Cooked lentils
about $1.501 cup Shredded cheddar cheese
On sale at Publix: Sargento Shredded Cheese, Or Chunk, 5 to 8-oz pkg.
$2.58$5.153 tablespoons Olive oil
pantry1 teaspoon Garlic powder
On sale at Publix: Badia Garlic Powder Value Pack, 8 oz (226.8 g)
$2.49$5.19to taste Salt
pantryto taste Black pepper
pantry2 cups Fresh spinach
On sale at Publix: Publix Spinach, Fresh & Tender, 9-oz pkg.
$2.00$3.09
Prices are from Publix the week of October 18, 2026. Sale prices change every week and differ by store.
Steps
- Halve the squash lengthwise, scoop out seeds, and brush the cut sides with olive oil. Roast at 425F for 25 minutes until tender.
- Warm the cooked lentils in a pot with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Stir in the fresh spinach until wilted, about 2 minutes.
- Divide the lentil mixture among the roasted squash halves. Top each with shredded cheese and return to the oven for 5 minutes until cheese melts.
- Serve hot from the squash boats.
Why it’s cheap
4 of the 8 ingredients were on sale at Publix the week of October 18, 2026, led by acorn squash at $0.99 instead of $1.99.
The sale items rang up $7.36 under their regular prices.
Penny Meals prices a dinner by the share of each package you actually cook, adds an estimated shelf price for anything that wasn’t on sale, and counts pantry staples like oil and salt as free. That came to $1.12 a serving, or $4.48 for 4 servings.
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