Baked Acorn Squash with Stuffing
Baked acorn squash is roasted until tender then stuffed with doctored up stove top stuffing that has sausage, apple and pecans.
Ingredients
- 3 large acorn squash
- 1-2 Tbsp olive oil
- Sea salt & fresh cracked pepper
Filling:
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 1 cup hot water
- 6 oz box Stovetop chicken stuffing mix
- 1 lb ground sausage (I use Jimmy Dean sausage.)
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 an apple, chopped (optional if you don’t like apples)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425.
- Wash and dry your acorn squash. Carefully cut each squash in half and remove seeds. (I use a grapefruit spoon with the slightly serrated edges to remove the seeds… it works perfectly.) Cut a very small piece off of the skin side of the squash so it sits without rolling all over the place.
- Place the squash cut side up on a sheet pan, brush the olive oil on all the visible flesh of each half of the squash, then season them all lightly with salt and pepper.
- Roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes depending on how large they are, the bigger the longer!
- While the squash is roasting, in a large bowl, combine your melted butter, hot water and stuffing mix. Stir well with a fork and set aside.
- In a frying pan, brown your sausage well, (I like to cook it till it has crispy brown bits on it.)
- Add the sausage, chopped pecans, dried cranberries, and chopped apple to the stuffing mix and stir together well with the fork.
- When ready, remove the squash from the oven and place it on a cooling rack or other heat proof board. Reduce the oven to 400.
- Using a cup measure, carefully scoop just under a cup of the stuffing mixture in to each squash half. (Remember it’s hot!) Return the squash to the oven and let bake for an additional 18-20 minutes.
- Remove the squash from the oven and serve!