I see an acorn squash and I have immediate flashbacks to childhood when my mom would prepare them. On occasion. And also with lots of butter, lots of brown sugar, lots of maple syrup, and a healthy dose of pecans. And that was dinner.
Times have changed. Mom no longer believes that to be a healthy or acceptable dinner (somewhat unfortunately), and I don’t know that she has made acorn squash in years.
My point is, when I see an acorn squash, my initial thought is sweet…not savory.
This was the first acorn squash dish with which stepped out of the sweet zone and entered into savory. This is even almost a tease or a starter for the quickly approaching American Thanksgiving Day where surely many of you, dear readers, will enjoy stuffing…and turkey.
Both turkey and a stuffing-like filling are what go into these acorn squash halves. The flavors of apple and sage closely mimic those of a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Your home will waft with the flavors of the foodie holiday and you may just think you time-traveled a few weeks to November 24th, 2011.
Other than tasting great, smelling wonderful, combining some of fall’s best flavors, and offering up a rather impressive nutritional resume…these are also show-stopping in appearance. See?
Sausage and Apple-Stuffed Acorn Squash as seen on Sunny Side Up In San Diego adapted from Food.com
2 large acorn squash, halved and seeded
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1 clove of garlic, pressed
1/2 tsp ground sage, divided
3/4 lb Italian turkey sausage links, casings removed
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1 celery rib, finely chopped
4 oz mushrooms, chopped
1 apple, cored and chopped
1 cup panko crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
1 egg, beaten
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine the melted butter, garlic, and 1/4 tsp sage. Brush the inside and outside of each squash with the butter mix. Place the squash on a cookie sheet, cut side up, and roast for 50-60 minutes, or until fork tender.
In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the sausage. When the sausage is browned, remove it from the pan and place on a paper towel lined plate, set aside. To the skillet add the onions, celery, and mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes. Add the apples and cook for another 2 minutes.
Return the sausage to the skillet then remove from heat. Season with 1/4 tsp sage, salt, and pepper. Stir in the panko and Parmesan. Add the egg and stir to combine.
Divide the stuffing evenly among the four squash halves. Return to the oven and bake for another 20 minutes. Yield: 4 servings.
Nutrition Information (per serving): 395 calories; 15.8 g. fat; 113 mg. cholesterol; 413 mg. sodium; 45.3 g. carbohydrate; 5.5 g. fiber; 23 g. protein
Result: These were wonderful and simple to make…and also extremely healthy and rich with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. I also love the moderate calories with the “perfect” distribution of fat, carbohydrate, and protein…while offering 5 1/2 grams of fiber! Hubby ate these and liked them, even though squash isn’t his favorite food 
Enjoy!
This weekly menu is a bit abbreviated because Friday morning I am heading to San Fran for the Foodbuzz Festival with lots of bloggie friends! I’m getting very excited!
Weekly Menu: October 30th-November 3rd
- Sunday: Vegetarian Chili
- Monday: leftovers
- Tuesday: Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice with Roasted Garlic Herb Foccacia
- Wednesday: leftovers
- Thursday: Spicy Peanut Noodles with Veggies and Chicken
We are carving pumpkins today and tonight is hockey. I need to grade lots of assignments and lesson plan, too 
Question: Have you ever had acorn squash in a savory dish?
Be well,
I love acorn squash! Just like you, I usually had it with maple syrup. I cannot wait to try this dinner.
Savory stuffed squash is amazing…and it’s been way too long since I’ve made it — thanks for the reminder on how delicious it is! Hope you’re having a great weekend, and yay for your upcoming trip to the Foodbuzz festival!
I’m so glad you liked this savory version! Yes, it would be amazing with brown sugar and butter, but something about sausage and stuffing is just so delicious with the flesh of the squash. Beautiful picture too!! Makes me think I need to add this to this weeks menu plan!
I LOVE savory acorn squash, especially this one http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/recipe-acorn-squash-stuffed-with-bread-cheese-and-bacon-132068 . It’s a scaled-down version of Dorie Greenspan’s stuffed pumpkin, and great with whatever bread and cheese you have on hand (and the cream isn’t at all necessary).
I have made several things in the past few days using butternut squash but I have never had acorn squash. This looks like the perfect recipe to try it!
Have fun carving pumpkins today! Boo to the lesson planning and grading assignments
I too, think sweet when it comes to acorn squash. In fact, I think about sweet dishes when it comes to any kind of squash (minus spaghetti)! We carved pumpkins this weekend too hope you had fun!
I have 2 acorn in my potato drawer that I need to do something with!!! Your menu for the week looks greats, looking foeward to the spicy peanut noodles~
Oo these look really great! Like you, I’ve only ever had acorn squash with butter and maple syrup. I’d love to try this recipe, though. Thanks for sharing it!
I made this tonight. It was a big hit…absolutely delicious!
I made this tonight and just omitted the bread crumbs and cheese. It was delicious!
Mary, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
mmm… I really need to make this
I am making this for dinner tonight (with a few variations), I will let you know how it goes!
I hope you enjoy it! Definitely a recipe we loved!
Anyone who has not tried this recipe yet NEEDS to make it!! It was absolutely delish!! Definitely going to be one of our new favourites! I made two major substitutions-instead of panko bread crumbs I used gluten free bread crumbs, and I also used jalapeno cheddar smokies instead of regular sausage. This was seriously so good! Thank you for the recipe!!
Looks great! Can this be made without the egg?
Absolutely!
These are delicious! I substitute almond meal for the panko and omit the cheese to make this recipe paleo friendly! Yummy!
Pam: Glad you enjoyed these!