Butternut Squash Rice with Bacon, Caramelized Onions, and Grated Egg

Butternut Squash Rice with Bacon, Caramelized Onions, and Grated Egg

Veggie Rice, Gluten Free, Paleo, Breakfast, Meat & Poultry, Butternut Squash, Onion
It’s funny that I’m posting a recipe today with bacon and egg, because in a...
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Butternut Squash Rice with Bacon, Caramelized Onions, and Grated Egg

It’s funny that I’m posting a recipe today with bacon and egg, because in a little over a week, it’ll be March and I’m going vegan!

I decided it would be a healthy challenge, and I’ve been missing my vegan days.

So what does that mean for this blog?

Butternut Squash Rice with Bacon, Caramelized Onions, and Grated Egg

For all of March, we’ll be having a VEGAN MONTH! However, in each post, I’m going to be noting how you can easily transform the dish into something non-vegan, for those of you who aren’t vegan.

However, if you want to follow along with me, MARK YOUR CALENDARS – starting March 1st, Inspiralized is going vegan!

On April 1st, the blog will go back to its omnivorous style – which will be a fun way to start my 29th year (I was born on April Fool’s Day!)

Butternut Squash Rice with Bacon, Caramelized Onions, and Grated Egg

Anyway, today, we’re cooking bacon! The fats released from cooking the bacon are used to caramelize the onions, so no extra oil is needed, keeping the caloric value down – but the flavor up!

I love caramelizing onions – they elevate any dish and are totally worth the extra 10 minutes. As you caramelize, as long as the head is at medium, you don’t need to give them much attention, so you can kind of forget about them.

Now… grated egg. I actually learned this from a Thomas Keller book at our friends Nik and Regina’s home – they had this gorgeous coffee table book of his, where he teaches some fun cooking tips, such as small-dicing asparagus and grating egg.

Butternut Squash Rice with Bacon, Caramelized Onions, and Grated Egg

I had never grated egg before I read his book and I love it – the texture of the grated egg is velvety and sumptuous and is great for presentation.

I used a microplane (like this one) to grate the egg – and it worked perfectly.

So… who’s joining me for a vegan March?!

 

Nutritional Information & Recipe

Weight Watchers SmartPoints*: 5 points

*These points were calculated using the official Weight Watchers SmartPoints calculator. We are in no way affiliated with Weight Watchers, we are providing this information based on popular demand.

Inspiralized

Butternut Squash Rice with Bacon, Caramelized Onions, and Grated Egg

Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 25 mins
Total Time 40 mins
Servings 4
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Ingredients

  • 1 large butternut squash peeled, Blade D
  • 4 slices of bacon
  • 1/2 red onion peeled, Blade A, noodles trimmed
  • salt and pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 cup chicken broth low-sodium
  • 2 hard boiled eggs peeled

Instructions

  • Place the butternut squash noodles into a food processor and pulse until rice-like. Set aside.
  • Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and add in the bacon. Cook the bacon for 7 minutes or until crispy, flipping halfway through. When done, transfer to a paper towel lined plate.
  • Immediately add in the onions to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 10 minutes or until caramelized and starting to brown. Set aside on a plate.
  • Immediately add in the butternut squash rice and season with garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper. Stir and pour in the chicken broth. Let cook for 7 minutes or until rice softens and then stir in the cooked onions and crumble in the bacon. Cook for 1 more minute or until heated through.
  • Divide the rice mixture into bowls. Grate 1/2 egg over each bowl and serve.

Butternut Squash Rice with Bacon, Caramelized Onions, and Grated Egg

with love, Ali

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Recipe Rating




comments

  • I've been posting and cooking quite a few vegan recipes myself and would be interested in trying to go full on vegan for a month! I just might join you for this in march! ps- this recipe looks amazing! I bought the inspiralizer recently but haven't tried out doing a type of rice like this. Definitely going to try it this week!
    Reply
  • Ali, discovering from you how to make sweet potato rice from the noodles has added a whole new dimension to my cooking! I am really glad to hear that your March dishes will still show how you can add in some protein. I have found that eating a balanced diet from a larger plant base diet with smaller portions of organic hormone-antibiotic meats gives me the full spectrum of nutrients that we need to thrive. I really appreciate your creative cooking! Thank you!
    Reply
    • That was supposed to read... Hormone-antibiotic FREE!!!!
      Reply
    • There is plenty of protein in a vegan diet.
      Reply
  • hi. I just wanted to say I just made my first recipe with the inspiralizer. I got it this weekend. I held because I thought it was much larger than it was and my kitchen is the size of a shoebox. I think you know Hoboken. Anyway I made a variation of your zucchini frittata from your book. Just no chorizo or avocado. Added more veggies and feta. I was very impressed with the appliance. Easy to use and clean. And the zucchini came out perfect. So did my frittata. I really look forward to more meals with my inspiralizer. I'm a little sad to hear about going Vegan since that holds no interest at all to me. But I know you have many recipes that are not. Thanks for such a great tool. I plan to recommend to my friends!
    Reply
  • My Hubby and my concession to not eating meat is a tiny slice or 2 of Parma ham fried. It's heaps lighter but more tasty. Good luck going vegan
    Reply
  • I love grated egg! So cool to see it in this recipe. Have you ever tried making cured egg yolks for grating? It's a fun little project. :-) It taste delicious, too!
    Reply
  • I'm so happy to hear that, Ali!!! Can't wait for some delicious noodle-y vegan recipes. :)
    Reply
  • Ali, I wish you'd consider allowing users to not only print the recipe but to also be able to print the Nutritional Data. As it is 105% of everything on your webpage forces users to use a social media of one sort or another and it I think there may be a few folks in the world who enjoy your recipes & ideas but don't feel the need to share every picture, every paragraph, every article, every item and every thought with the entire universe the instant they read it. I know you rely on social media for advertising and spreading the word and that's fine but please allow users to have the option to print OR pinning, forwarding, tweeting, liking, etc. as fits the needs in their lives. Thank you.
    Reply
    • I agree. It would be nice if the nutritional data was included in the recipe print option. I have to hand write it out and it looks messy.
      Reply
  • Barb, I'm not a social media user in any way, shape, or form. When I want to print a recipe, I highlight it in the website, hit "copy" then paste it into a blank Word document. That way, I can resize the font for my less-than-perfect eyes and do other edits, which could include cutting and pasting the nutritional information. When I print the recipe, all I get is what I've put into the Word document. Ali, I'm thoroughly enjoying your site. I look forward to your vegan posts in March. My husband and I are omnivores, although we've eliminated red meat and a lot of other sources of saturated fat since his heart attacks and bypass surgery years ago. I lean more and more toward vegan recipes to add healthful variety to our meals. I have the Inspiralizer and have happily processed a variety of winter vegetables. Zucchini will have to wait, though, because at this time of year here in the Colorado mountains, organic zucchini runs quite small with quite large prices.
    Reply
    • Thank you for your kind message. I'm so happy to hear you'll be enjoying a vegan month !
      Reply
  • Great idea to have a vegan month! When you go back to adding meat to your recipes perhaps you could do the reverse of what you're doing in your vegan month and suggest how one might make the recipe vegan/vegetarian. Thanks!
    Reply
  • Well, I am VERY EXCITED for vegan month! I'm ("just") vegetarian, but a lot of what I make myself is vegan, so this is perfect for so many like me. People will get all butthurt about all the vegan recipes, but isn't the entire premise of a spiralizer / inspiralizer to add more veggies to your life?! And if you (Ali) are making a point for each recipe to include what to add to it for those who are aren't vegan, I fail to see the problem, after all, you do that for the recipes that aren't vegan :) Keep up the great work!
    Reply
  • Glad to hear of your vegan month. I became a vegan about 9 months ago but recently I have gradually adapted a more moderate vegetarian approach which seems to be a better balance for me. Looking forward to seeing your ideas and recipes along these lines.
    Reply
  • Ali, Looking forward to vegan month!! You'll get plenty of plant protein as a vegan. I'm a cyclist and runner and have performed better since going vegan. Including suggestions of adding meat is fine for the omni's but would only add more animal protein than needed, cholesterol, and fat. I'd like you to consider making your recipes oil free also. 1T of oil has the same amount of fat and cholesterol as a candy bar... and many people add much more than 1T of oil when cooking. It's very easy to water saute (or use veg. broth), for example-water saute onions and mushrooms in a hot skillet-they release water as they cook. You just might need to stir more often. You can water saute anything-no need for the added fat and cholesterol with oil (just add 'good' fat to your diet, ex. nuts, flax seeds or avocado).
    Reply
    • I was vegan for two years, so I can't wait to go back! And I've heard it has amazing effects on athletes! As for the oil - it's a healthy fat that I incorporate in all of my cooking, you won't see it going anywhere - sorry! Some things you can't compromise on :)
      Reply
      • Ali, Thanks for your response. I too grew up hearing that oil was a healthy fat but the current nutritional/health research doesn't support that, in fact, shows the opposite. I enjoy keeping up with the latest research, ex. Olive Oil is not a Health Food: http://www.drfuhrman.com/library/olive-oil.aspx. Thanks for your recipes!
        Reply
      • I completely agree Ali! :)
        Reply
  • Ali, my husband and I just had the butternut squash rice recipe recently. I only made one substitution- used turkey bacon. It was delicious!!! I just went back to weight watchers so seeing the points was very motivating. Although we have tried about 10 of your recipes, my husband voted this his favorite! I never thought he would ever think a rice made of butternut squash would be awesome!
    Reply
  • How do you peel the butternut squash before running it through your spiroolizer? I have used mine to make zucchini pasta and such but never butternut squash. I am currently taking classes for holistic nutrition and for those who want to omit the oil, I say Please Don't! Olive oil, raw organic butter and coconut oil are healthy fats. Fat does not make us fat! Sugar and refined carbs wreak havoc on our blood sugars and attribute to weight gain. Fats are healthy in moderation, as long as their not hydrogenated.
    Reply
  • How do you peel the butternut squash before using your spiroolizer?
    Reply
  • Got my Spiralizer today and I'm making this recipe. What fun! I love the Spiralizer, and the dish smells great! I added some left-over chicken (sorry, Vegetarians). To peel butternut squash, use a serrated knife, and slice it like bread. I learned that on Craftsy.com: They offer a free knife skills course that is amazing. : )
    Reply
  • I found out just the other day that paper towels are filled with formaldehyde. Charming fact that is not not made obvious. I cannot count the amount of times I have sat my bacon on the towels to drain, or even put it in the micro, to reheat the bacon. I might as well have smoked.
    Reply
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