Stuffed Acorn Squash
I almost called this Stuffed Acorn Squash a “Farmer’s Market Special” because I picked the apple fresh off a tree at a local farm and bought the squash, onion and chicken sausage I used at a local outdoor farmer’s market. I’m lucky that Western New York has such a fantastic abundance of local farms! Don’t worry, if farmer’s markets are not your thing then all of these ingredients can easily be picked up at your local grocery store.
This Stuffed Acorn Squash recipe tastes like Fall. I know that’s not exceptionally descriptive, but that’s what I thought when I tasted it. The sweet flesh from the roasted acorn squash pairs perfectly with the hearty sausage- apple stuffing and savory sage. Each stuffed squash half makes for a huge and filling serving, and if you’re feeding more than two this recipe is easy to double or triple. The dish also presents beautifully, so it’s a good one to serve company – they’ll be impressed! To view your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!
Stuffed Acorn Squash
Ingredients
- 1 acorn squash, halved and seeded
- 1 tablespoon light butter, melted
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ¼ teaspoon rubbed or ground sage, divided
- 4 oz turkey or chicken sausage, removed from casing
- ¼ cup chopped onion
- ½ a celery rib, finely chopped
- 2 oz mushrooms, chopped
- ½ cup peeled and chopped apple
- 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 large egg white, beaten
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place the squash halves cut side up on the baking sheet. In a small dish, combine the melted butter, minced garlic and 1/8 teaspoon of the rubbed sage. Using a silicone pastry brush, brush the butter mixture onto the inside and outside of each squash half. Roast in the oven for 50-60 minutes until tender.
- Bring a large skillet over medium heat and add the sausage. Cook, breaking up with a spoon, until meat is cooked through. Remove meat to a mixing bowl and place the pan back on the burner. Add the onion, celery and mushrooms to the skillet and cook for about 3 minutes. Add the apples and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Turn off the burner and add the onion mixture to the sausage in the mixing bowl. Add the remaining 1/8 teaspoon of sage, the panko crumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Add the egg white and stir until well combined.
- When the squash halves are finished roasting, evenly pile the sausage stuffing into the two halves. Return to the oven and cook for an additional 18-20 minutes.
Notes
9 per serving (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com) adapted from Prevention RD
Can you eat the inside of the squash? This might seem odd but I’m just by sure how it would taste! I’ve never used this squash before! 🙂 thanks!
I meant the outside!
Haha, just the inside – the outside makes a nice bowl though! 🙂
Thanks! 🙂
I know this comment is a whopping 7 years old, but for anyone reading, you actually CAN eat the outside of acorn squash! It adds a nice little crunch : )
This sounds great, but in Recipe Builder, I’m only getting 7 WW P+ and that was calculated by taking half the amount of every ingredient (e.g. 2 oz. sausage, 1/2 T light butter) instead of combining all ingredients and dividing by 2. I think that’s OK. But you can’t eat two portions and have only 14 points. WW math is a bit tricky, but I’d feel confident tracking this as only 7 points.
I just bought an acorn squash at our local weekend farmers market…had no idea what to do with it but was going to poke around on some of my favorite healthy blogs I follow and you have made that search so easy. Everything sounds delicious so this is the recipe I shall use. Thank you! I bought butternut and cushaw squash too…will poke around on your site to see if you have ever done anything with those. I am making myself try new things!
Ellen Renee
I hope you love it! Definitely try my Butternut Squash Soup too, it’s one of my favorite recipes!
Made it….LOVED it…thank you for sharing! :o) Your soup is next. Ellen Renee
I have done the soup..SO GOOD! I am making it for others now – everyone wants to try it. Have a batch in the freezer as well. Ellen Renee
Bravissima, grazie
Ciao
This looks to die for!! Heading out for an acorn squash…..Thanks Emily for sharing all your delicious recipes. Keep them coming…… 🙂
Hope you love it! 🙂
Hi Emily – 4 oz of sausage removed from the casings…do you mind sharing how many you used? Thanks!
It totally depends on the brand but in Jennie-O Italian turkey sausage for example 1 sausage link = 4 oz. Hope that helps!
Made this last night.. phenomenal! Love your blog!
Thanks! So happy to hear you loved it 🙂
I have been wanting to try cooking more with squash. This looks great!
Thanks Lisa! 🙂
Wow, this looks amazing!
I made this tonight, it was delicious! I had to leave out the onion (DH can’t eat it) so I used a tad more celery and apple. We both loved it!
I just entered this in WW Recipe Builder and I get 7PP and not 9PP…even less if you don’t count the veggies but this is with everything.
This was amazing! Made it tonight for dinner and everyone loved it! This will definitely be a meal I make for company.
Made this last night for dinner and it was AMAZING!!!!
Made this tonight and I cannot believe how good this was. I was skeptical with the ingredients because I’ve only ever had squash with brown sugar and thought this would be bland. But it was loaded with flavor. I’m still shocked. Wll definitely be making this again.
Would this work if I omit the breadcrumbs? I’m trying to cut bread/grains, and don’t want to use the gluten free breadcrumbs, so I was just curious if this would work without them. It looks great and I can’t wait to try it! 🙂
Do not sub whole wheat breadcrumbs for the panko. The filling came out tasting a little too bready. However, it was DELICIOUS overall and I’m sure it will be even better when I make it next week with the panko!
I also cooked the squash the night before while I was doing stuff around the house. This way the next day I only had to make the filling and bake for 20 min.
Kris (onewayt1cket, krisx516)
Oh! and instead of buying a $6 thing of sage (because really, who uses that much sage before it goes bad?) i spent $1 on one of those mccormick spice packages of 6 spices that had sage in it. So if you can’t find a small container, i recommend picking up one of those packages instead
Kris
This was SO GOOD. And so filling!! I used Bilinski’s apple chardonnay chicken sausage and it was delish!! Will definitely be making this again!
Absolutely amazing! Hubby and son loved it too….so much that we were fighting over who got to take the extra half to work for lunch!
I’m so glad I doubled this. I used the sweet chicken sausage from Trader Joe’s and half the package (2 1/2 links) was enough for a double batch. Now I have enough sausage in the freezer to do this again! I’m very happy with how this turned out. I wouldn’t change a thing!
Can anyone tell me how many points it would be without the sausage? Thanks
My computer guru, aka my DH discovered your website a few days ago. I belong to WW and love the points for all your recipes. I just finished making the stuffing for the acorn squash. Had to put it in the fridge so there was would stuffing left for the squash for tomorrow’s dinner. The only one small tweak I made was using hot Italian turkey sausage for a bit more spice. Up next: Southwest eggrolls. Thanks, Emily and Happy New Year.
I am making this tonight for the 2nd or 3rd time tonight. My husband and I both love it. My only change is to leave out the onions because DH can’t eat them, I just increase the mushrooms and apple a bit. So delicious….thank you!
Made it tonight! Delicious.
This was to die for…I used Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage Crumbles, it was amazing!
I came across this on Pinterest, and made it last night. It is one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten (and I cook a lot). I used sweet Italian turkey sausage and made my own panko crumbs using Ezekiel bread. Great recipe! Will be making again for sure!
I’m so happy you loved it! Thanks for telling me 🙂
One of my Favorites!!!
HI,
I made this the other night and it was just wonderful. To me it seemed like more of a fall dish, but I’m at that point in the summer that I’m getting tired of grilling! lol. Although my air conditioner was running, my house smelled like fall! lol. I will be making this again and again. Thank you. didn’t change a thing.
This was absolutely AMAZING!!! I didn’t have any mushrooms on hand, but had the rest. Even my six year old and four year old gobbled it up! Thanks so much, this recipe is a keeper!!!
This recipe is so AMAZING!!! The flavors, texture are so awesome I’ve made this twice in ONE WEEK! I have bookmarked quite a few from this site and they all sound fabulous!! Almost wish there were more meals in the day to try them all quicker!! Thanks so much for the recipes…I love cooking AND this site!
Can you adapt this for a thanksgiving side dish?
I LOVE this recipe. It is a great WW option. I scoop the meat of the acorn squash out and add it tot the filling, like a twice baked potato. Very filling and satisfying.