A delicious Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash Recipe, made with sweet-tart pops of flavor from green apples and cranberries. This healthy recipe is the perfect winter meal!
*Today I’m partnering with Sharp Home USA ~ Sharp creates quality home appliances that make life easier!
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The Perfect Acorn Squash Recipe
Recently, I have been roasting acorn squash for dinner often. It’s easy to prepare, filling, and full of fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, B vitamins, magnesium, and potassium.
I love getting my carbs from roasted winter squashes during the winter to help ward off cold season!
This Roasted Acorn Squash recipe is Whole30 compliant – only the good stuff here!
Acorn squash has a creamy, sweet flesh, which is the perfect contrast to the spicy sausage mixture I use for these. While the squash is baking, I sauté veggies, apples, sausage, and cranberries. The combination of the two makes a beautiful meal!
What You’ll Need:
- Acorn Squash
- Avocado Oil
- Celery
- Onions
- Garlic
- Green Apples
- Spicy Italian Sausage (use your favorite sausage here!)
- Cranberries
- Chicken Broth
- Herbs to garnish (I use parsley and fresh thyme)
How to Cook Stuffed Acorn Squash in the Oven
Acorn squash is simple to prepare.
Its flesh is thin, and the peel is ribbed, so it’s not a squash you should try to peel. Simply cut it in half, remove the seeds, season it, and bake it. Once it’s cooked, it’s creamy and soft and will spoon out of the peel easily.
It takes a while to bake, so pre-bake it prior to adding the stuffing, then return it to the oven to quickly heat the two together and allow the stuffing to brown.
Sharp appliances have upgraded my kitchen, and I used my Induction Cooktop for the sausage stuffing, and then Sharp European Convection Oven to bake the squash and cook the stuffed acorn squash.
These two make a stunning combination, and make preparing healthy meals a breeze. The appliances have a wide range of features, from smart timers, to pre-programmed cooking settings. The oven can be used for convection baking (which I use when making things like roasted vegetables), or on standard bake settings.
Hop on over to Sharp’s website to see if these luxury appliances are right for your dream kitchen!
How to Make Sausage and Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash
Step 1: First, cut the acorn squash in half, and remove the seeds with a spoon.
Step 2: Add the squash to a lined baking pan, and spray them with avocado oil, then generously season them with salt and pepper. Bake the squash for 40 minutes, until soft and creamy.
Step 3: In a skillet, add the avocado oil, onion, celery, garlic and green apple. Saute the mixture over medium heat for about 12 minutes, until the veggies have softened.
Step 4: Add the sausage, and continue to cook the mixture, breaking up the sausage and allowing it to brown. Once the sausage has browned, add the cranberries and chicken stock.
Step 5: Take the baked acorn squash out of the oven.
Step 6: Fill each squash half with the sausage mixture. Return the stuffed acorn squash to the oven for an additional 15 minutes, until the stuffing has lightly browned.
Variations for Stuffed Acorn Squash
Stuff these with Cornbread Sausage Stuffing: If you want a more filling meal and don’t need these to be Whole30 compliant, make my gluten free cornbread, and then use this recipe for Sausage Stuffing Balls. Instead of baking them into balls, stuff each squash with the cornbread stuffing.
Use Ground Turkey or Chicken: If you don’t have sausage, use ground turkey, chicken, or even pork in these. Add some extra seasonings, like thyme, oregano, and crushed chili flakes. You will have to adjust the amount of salt, since sausage already has salt.
Baked Squash Recipes
- Sausage Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
- Butternut Squash Lasagna
- Holiday Spinach Salad with Delicata Squash
- Roasted Butternut Turkey Chili (also Whole30)
Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash
Ingredients
- 2 acorn squash cut in half and seeds removed
- 3 tablespoons avocado oil divided
- sea salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 1 onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup celery chopped
- 1 green apple cored and chopped
- 1 pound Italian sausage (I used spicy, but use mild if preferred)
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup cranberries fresh
Instructions
- Preheat the Sharp European Convection Oven to Bake at 400º F.
- Cut the acorn squash in half, and remove the seeds with a spoon.
- Add the squash to a lined baking pan, and coat them with 1 tablespoons avocado oil. Generously season them with salt and pepper. Bake the squash for 40 minutes, until soft and creamy.
- In a skillet, add the avocado oil, onion, celery, garlic and green apple. Saute the mixture over medium heat for about 12 minutes, until the veggies have softened.
- Add the sausage, and continue to cook the mixture, breaking up the sausage and allowing it to brown. Once the sausage has browned, add the cranberries and chicken stock.
- Fill each squash half with the sausage mixture. Return the stuffed acorn squash to the oven for an additional 15 minutes, until the stuffing has lightly browned.
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