Sausage and apple stuffed acorn squash is the perfect fall meal, full of fall vegetables and savory flavors to make a warm, comforting, and hearty meal.
I’m still refusing to give up summer, but fall is slowly creeping in. Pumpkin spice lattes are coming back, and the mornings are brisk before the sunshine and heat trail in by the afternoon.
Our favorite food to enjoy this time of year is winter squash – like butternut, pumpkin, acorn, and spaghetti squash. It’s the perfect veggie to stock up on in the fall and enjoy through the winter.
Plus, they are so versatile. Use them in everything from soups (like my roasted pumpkin soup) to smoothies (like my pumpkin smoothie).
So instead of making my stuffed bell peppers with ground beef, I’m switching to this stuffed acorn squash recipe. You will love this simple recipe highlighting an indulgent and savory sausage filling, balanced with the sweetness of the squash and apples.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Full of fall flavor – Nothing tastes more like fall than winter squash and apples! Add in some fresh herbs and savory sausage for a meal that will make your taste buds sing.
The main dish and sides all in one – There’s no need to cook anything else to go with this. Your protein, veggies, and starch is all included!
Looks beautiful and tastes delicious – This dish will look beautiful on your dinner table, and it will taste amazing. A true win-win!
Ingredients
Acorn squash: Pick a medium-sized squash that is firm, heavy for its size, and has a combination of orange and green coloring.
Neutral oil: Extra virgin olive oil is my go-to because it is unrefined and has retained most of that olive flavor.
Sausage: I used a pork breakfast sausage for this. You could also experiment with chicken sausage, sweet Italian sausage, ground beef, or ground turkey.
Apple: Pick an apple variety that is good for baking, such as: Honey Crisp, Granny Smith, Braeburn, Jonagold, etc.
Parmesan: Cheese makes everything better. I like to get a block of parmesan and freshly grate it for this dish. If you want to make this dairy-free, you can omit it.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How To Make Stuffed Acorn Squash
Step 1: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Using a sharp knife, cut the squash in half and scoop out seeds with a large spoon. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet, cut side up. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake for 40 minutes.
Step 2: While the squash roasts, add diced onion and minced celery into a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Sauté for a couple minutes.
Add the garlic and sauté until the onions and celery are cooked through and have softened.
Step 3: Add the sausage into a cast iron skillet with the other ingredients and brown for about 5 minutes, breaking it up into small chunks.
Step 4: Add in the salt, pepper, apples, and sage.
Step 5: When finished baking, remove the sheet pan with roasted acorn squash from the oven, and set on a heat resistant surface like a stove top or trivet. When the squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out the soft flesh from the bottom and lower sides, leaving a nice rim around the top for a pretty presentation.
Step 6: Add the squash to the skillet with the vegetable and sausage mixture.
Add in half of the parmesan.
Step 7: Scoop the squash, sausage, and veggie mixture back into the hollowed out squash.
Step 8: Top with the remaining parmesan cheese. Bake an additional 15 minutes until the cheese has started melting and the filling is starting to turn golden.
Tips for Stuffed Acorn Squash
- While this recipe uses acorn squash, you could substitute it with butternut squash if that is all you have. It will have a slightly different flavor.
- Save the seeds, clean, toss with oil and salt, and bake until toasted. Squash seeds (not just pumpkin seeds) make a healthy and yummy snack. You can even use them in my sourdough granola recipe or homemade granola recipe.
- I like the nutty flavor and saltiness of fresh parmesan cheese, but you could also substitute it with mozzarella (Learn how to make homemade mozzarella here.), goat cheese, or just skip it altogether.
- If you want to add a few more carbs to the dish, you could also add some cooked wild rice, too.
- Want more fall recipes in an easy-to-follow meal plan? Check out my 28-Day Autumn Meal Plan.
Recipe FAQ’s
Acorn squash pairs great with apples, a variety of cheeses, and seasoned meat like sausage in savory recipes. It also pairs great with cinnamon and maple syrup for sweet flavors.
Acorn squash pairs great with apples, a variety of cheeses, and seasoned meat like sausage in savory recipes. It also pairs great with cinnamon and maple syrup for sweet flavors.
Acorn squash is full of antioxidants and vitamins, like Vitamin C and Vitamin A.
The acorn squash is roasted in the oven for 40 minutes until tender. Once the flesh is scooped out and the stuffed acorn squash is assembled, it bakes for an additional 15 minutes to melt the cheese and turn the dish a nice golden brown.
Find More Delicious Squash Recipes
- Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
- Sourdough Pumpkin Roll
- Pumpkin Pasta Sauce
- From Scratch Pumpkin Pie
- Sourdough Pumpkin Cobbler Recipe
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
Stuffed Acorn Squash with Sausage and Apples
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 small acorn squash
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the filling
- 1 pound sausage
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 apple, diced
- 1 stalk celery, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- several grindings black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped (or 1/2 tsp dried)
- 1/2 cup fresh parmesan, shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Using a sharp knife, cut the squash in half and scoop out seeds with a large spoon.
- Place on a parchment lined baking sheet, cut side up.
- Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Bake for 40 minutes.
- While the squash roasts, add diced onion and minced celery into a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Sauté for a couple minutes.
- Add the garlic and sauté until the onions and celery are cooked through and have softened.
- Add the sausage into a cast iron skillet with the other ingredients and brown for about 5 minutes, breaking it up into small chunks.
- Add in the salt, pepper, apples, and sage.
- When finished baking, remove the sheet pan with roasted acorn squash from the oven, and set on a heat resistant surface like a stove top or trivet.
- When the squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out the soft flesh from the bottom and lower sides, leaving a nice rim around the top for a pretty presentation, then add the squash to the skillet with the vegetable and sausage mixture.
- Add in half of the parmesan.
- Scoop the squash, sausage, and veggie mixture back into the hollowed out squash.
- Top with the remaining parmesan cheese.
- Bake an additional 15 minutes until the cheese has started melting and the filling is starting to turn golden.
Notes
- While this recipe uses acorn squash, you could substitute it with butternut squash if that is all you have. It will have a slightly different flavor.
- Save the seeds, clean, toss with oil and salt, and bake until toasted. Squash seeds (not just pumpkin seeds) make a healthy and yummy snack. You can even use them in my sourdough granola recipe or homemade granola recipe.
- I like the nutty flavor and saltiness of fresh parmesan cheese, but you could also substitute it with mozzarella (Learn how to make homemade mozzarella here.), goat cheese, or just skip it altogether.
- If you want to add a few more carbs to the dish, you could also add some cooked wild rice, too.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was amazing! I used a maple sausage and carnival acorn squash! Everyone loved it!
You called your squash an acorn squash. It looked like what I call sweet dumpling squash. We’d bake with brown sugar and butter. Very good! Have you ever tried them?
I haven’t, but that sounds amazing!
I made this as a side dish. I cut them in half. Went well with pork schnitzel and fried cabbage. This will be the only way I make acorn squash from now on!
This is very good. You will not regret making this.
My husband and I love this! I like to do both butternut and acorn at once. Touch delicious flavor! I would like to make it without the sausage. Ever tried that? I want to serve on Christmas eve and we are already doing other meat dishes. Thank-you!
This is fantastic and I used ground chicken breast I ground myself instead of sausage. Will make again.❤️