Warm and savory spices meet sweet, creamy squash for a match made in sausage & apple stuffed squash heaven!
Where’s fall?!
I *think* we have finally arrived to fall this week. It has been just so warm for September in Michigan. This Lake Michigan beach girl isn’t complaining! But around this time of year when the squashes are 99 cents a pound, I really itch to have them on the regular. That means turning my oven on which isn’t super pleasant when it is 80 degrees outside! The temperatures are on a downward trend, however, and if I catch the earlier in the day cool air, flipping the oven on for a bit is so worth this recipe – one that the girls have asked for every week when they see the acorn squashes on my counter!
Stuffed squash goals!
I started making stuffed squashes years ago when I would have stir fry type dinners “leftover” when the girls were little. That doesn’t happen with teenagers in the house now, but back then, I would take that leftover stir fry and stuff it into a roasted squash for a second dinner the next day. It’s such a great busy mom hack! Acorn squash is very mild and a little sweet so it is a great canvas for delicious flavors like sausage and apples. This stuffed squash is packed with savory sausage, warm spices, and just a hint of sweetness from the cooked apples.
The Method :: Preparing the Acorn Squashes
Start your dinner by halving and scooping the seeds out of a couple of large acorn squashes. Acorn squash can vary in size, so if you only have small ones available, use 3 or 4 instead of 2. Quick tip! Don’t throw the seeds away! They roast up just like pumpkin seeds for a zinc-rich crispy snack that is so good!
The Method :: Roasting the Acorn Squash
Once you butter the flesh of the squash and season with salt and pepper, set the squash flesh side down on a sheet tray to roast. This will allow the outside of the flesh to caramelize, and the inside to steam and get soft and creamy. Just 30 minutes at 450 degrees is all you need, and that is perfect timing for preparing the stuffing for the squash!
The Method :: Preparing the Sausage & Apple filling
While your squashes are roasting, you have plenty of time to get your filling ready. Chop the veggies, as well as your apple. Just look at all that mineral rich, fiber filled produce going into this sausage and apple stuffed squash! The cauliflower can be swapped for just about anything. I like that it is colorless so it just blends in, almost feeling like rice in the stuffing. Speaking of which, you could absolutely add some rice to the stuffing to bulk it up a little more if you want.
The Method :: Caramelizing the veggies and apple
This part is KEY to flavor. Give this the time it needs, and you won’t be sorry! Get those onions caramelizing as soon as they are cut, and be sure to give them plenty of time on their own to get some color. Then add the other veg and apple to continue building flavor. This is also where you’ll add needed spices for warmth and flavor. The combination of the cinnamon and nutmeg with the thyme and heat of red pepper flakes is a flavor profile unmatched!
The Method :: The Sausage
There’s room to play with this ingredient here based on what you have on hand. If you have access to quality, pasture raised, or great ingredient made sausage, you can use that! We have access to really good grassfed ground beef where I live. So I use my sausage seasoning blend with that, and it makes a really delicious and nutrient dense sausage. Cook your sausage right into the veggies and apples. They give the sausage another level of flavor.
The Method :: Stuffing the Squashes
At this point, your filling is done. Once the squashes have finished roasting, you can stuff them with the cooked sausage and apple filling.
The Method :: The topping for the stuffed squash
Keeping it simple here! Just blended up bread crumbs and your choice of cheese! This topping is super flexible too. If you don’t have bread crumbs or don’t have bread on hand to make them, you can use panko crumbs from the store. I have used blended nuts as the topping often, and it is one of our favorite ways to top a stuffed squash! We get a gluten free bread to have here and there and I save the ends of the bread for blending up into bread crumbs, and that is what is pictured in this post. Lots of options! If you cannot have cheese, use some nutritional yeast or coconut based cheese for cheese flavor. Cold butter also works for flavor if you can have that. You’ll broil the topping for just a couple minutes, and your stuffed squash is done!
Serving the sausage and apple stuffed squash!
When you scoop the inside of the squashes, be sure to reach your spoon all the way to the bottom! I like having the creamy squash in each bite! My older 2 girls can finish off a whole half of a squash themselves (!!), so a lot of times they just scoop the whole squash half to their plate and eat it like a bowl.
Stuffed squash thermos lunch favorite!
Yep, you read that right! I know it sounds odd, but my middle kiddo absolutely loves mashing the squash and filling together for her thermos at school the next day. Its a great option for kids that like a hot lunch! If you have a good portion leftover still in the squash shell, you can actually just warm it up the next day on a sheet try. That said, this could be a great food prep item for multiple meals if you want to double up.
Sausage & Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash
Ingredients
For the acorn squash:
- 2 large or 3-4 small acorn squashes halved & seed scooped out
- 2 tbsp softened butter or ghee
- 1 ½ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
For the sausage & apple filling:
- 2 tbsp butter ghee, or bacon drippings for cooking in
- 1 large onion diced
- ¼ – ½ head of cauliflower chopped small or “riced”
- 1 large apple, any variety ½ inch cube (I don’t peel the apple but you can)
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp thyme
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- 3-4 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 lb sausage of choice See below for sausage seasoning blend to make your own with ground beef, chicken, pork, or turkey!
- 3 cups baby spinach finely chopped
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- Sea salt & pepper to taste
For the topping:
- 1 cup bread crumbs of choice, blended up heels of bread, panko bread crumbs, or blended up nut of choice
- ¾ cup shredded cheese of choice or about 3-4 tbsp nutritional yeast for dairy free cheesy taste
- Pinches of sea salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees. You’ll need a large, unlined sheet pan to roast the squashes.
- Butter the flesh of the squash halves, and then sprinkle each half with sea salt and pepper. Place the squash halves flesh side down on the sheet pan and roast at 450 degrees for 30 minutes. This will caramelize the outside of the flesh, and steam the squash on the inside to get soft and cooked. While the squash is roasting, you can make the filling.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions with a pinch of sea salt and cook for a good 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are getting some caramel color.
- Add the cauliflower and apple with a pinch of sea salt, and stir to combine. Cook this over medium high heat for another 7-10 minutes until the veggies and apples are soft and caramelizing.
- Add the cinnamon, thyme, nutmeg, red pepper flakes, and garlic, and stir to combine. Cook on medium high for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add the sausage to the skillet to brown. Mix the sausage right into the caramelized veggies and apples for optimum flavor.
- Once the sausage is cooked through and browned, stir in the spinach and vinegar. Cook this for about 1 minute until the spinach wilts into the filling.
- Once the squash has roasted for 30 minutes. Turn the squashes over to flesh side up, and roast for another 10 minutes until the flesh is very soft.
- When the squash is done roasting, fill each squash cavity with the sausage and apple filling.
- To make the topping, pulse the topping ingredients a few times in a food processor or blender, and then sprinkle over the top of the stuffed squashes.
- Place the stuffed squashes under the broiler in your oven for 2-4 minutes. Broiler intensities can vary from oven to oven, so start checking for doneness around the 2 minute mark. Look for a golden brown crust to the topping.
- Scoop the stuffed squashes, digging down into the squash flesh so that each serving has squash. My 2 teenagers can eat an entire half of a squash with the filling, so a lot of times they just take a half squash right onto their plate!
Notes
- I use my own sausage seasoning blend to season our grassfed ground beef from our cow when I make sausage. Ground chicken, pork, venison, or turkey works too. Or, you can use any store bought brand that you like – just watch the ingredients for hidden MSG, fillers, or unnecessary ingredients.
- I keep a bag of blended up heels (ends) of our gluten free bread in the fridge to use for bread crumbs. When I don’t have that around, the blended up nuts are delicious too.
