Healthy Stuffed Baked Acorn Squash 

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My Healthy Stuffed Baked Acorn Squash is a one-dish, easy to make, good for you dinner that your family will love!  Savory, sweet, and spicy, and stuffed with satisfying flavors of fall! 

A Healthier Version of a Family Favorite

My mom used to make baked acorn squash when I was little and I just loved it. And why wouldn’t I? 

Her side dish preparation featured loads of butter and brown sugar, so much that it tasted more like a dessert than a vegetable. Her main dish recipe for baked stuffed acorn squash called for lots of pork sausage, ketchup, and still more brown sugar.

Tasty? You betcha.

Healthy? Not so much.

I was thinking of my mom’s stuffed acorn squash this week and decided there had to be a way to lighten up her recipe. Creating a version that harkened back to my childhood memories but didn’t have to be served with a side of Lipitor required some experimentation.

However, after a little trial and error, plus a lot of taste testing, I was able to come up with a Healthy Stuffed Baked Acorn Squash recipe that reminded me of Mom’s. My husband loved it and so did I. At his request, I’ll be making it again this week!

Secrets for a Light and Healthy Stuffed Baked Acorn Squash 

When I first started thinking about ways to lighten up this dish, I immediately thought of my go-to ingredient for healthier dinners – extra lean ground chicken or turkey. Because the 97% lean variety is zero points on my WW eating plan, it’s something I use all the time.

But there’s just one problem with that extra lean ground poultry – it can be a little bland. And obviously, the absence of fat means it can be a little dry as well.

My solution? Use some of my mom’s old standby – pork sausage – but not too much.

Adding a few ounces of pork sausage to the mix adds a little bit of fat and a lot of flavor. But that’s just the beginning…

Healthy Stuffed Baked Acorn Squash – Savory, Sweet, and A Little Bit Spicy

The thing that makes this recipe so terrific is the fact that it ticks off all the boxes on the flavor profile – savory, sweet, and spicy. There’s just so much deliciousness going on here!

My Healthy Stuffed Baked Acorn Squash has a few more ingredients than some of my normal weekday dinner recipes, but don’t let that intimidate you! The dish is really very easy to make and the results are worth the effort. And since this really is a one-dish meal, once you’ve pulled the squash out of the oven, dinner will be served!

I used a mélange of fresh herbs in my Healthy Stuffed Baked Acorn Squash, along with onion and garlic to make a satisfyingly savory stuffing.

I also included a little sprinkle of red pepper flakes to give it a little bit of heat.  If you just can’t stand spice of any kind, then you can leave out the red pepper but it’s really isn’t hot. The pepper provides just a touch of tongue-tingling kick. (Be sure you’re using plain red pepper, either ground fresh or in whole flakes, and not cayenne.)

And since sweet flavors pair so nicely with the mellow taste of baked acorn squash, I also added some freshly chopped apple, dried cranberries, and a little bit of brown sugar.

It all adds up to a dinner you and your family will love. Give it a try soon!

Healthy Stuffed Baked Acorn Squash 

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• Author: Marie Bostwick
• Yield: 4 servings 1x

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Ingredients

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• 2 acorn squash, cut in half with seeds removed
• 1 lb extra lean ground turkey (or chicken)
• 8 oz mild ground pork sausage
• 1 cup medium diced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ apple, peeled and diced apple (Fugi or Granny Smith variety)
• 1 cup cooked white or brown rice
• 2 T chicken broth or water
• ¼ cup dried cranberries (low sugar variety preferred)
• 1 T fresh sage, minced
• 1 T fresh rosemary, minced
• 1 T fresh chopped parsley, plus for more for garnish
• 1/4 to ½ tsp ground red pepper flakes, according to taste (NOT cayenne)
• 1 T brown sugar
• Salt
• Pepper
• Cooking spray

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray squash lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place on baking sheet, cut side down, and bake for 40-45 minutes, until a fork easily pierces the flesh and it feels soft. Remove from oven and set aside or prepare the stuffing while squash is baking.
2. Place the sausage in a heavy skillet and cooked over medium high heat, breaking up chunks with a wooden spoon, until fat is rendered and no pink remains.
3. Add chopped onions, apple, parsley, sage, rosemary, and ground red pepper to the pan and cook in the sausage fat for 3-4 minutes, until onion is translucent. Add garlic and cook for an additional minute, stirring constantly, until garlic is fragrant.
4. If the pan is a little dry at this point, spray lightly with cooking spray. Add turkey to pan and cook, breaking up any large pieces with back of a wooden spoon, until there is no pink remaining.
5. Reduce heat to low. Add dried cranberries, brown sugar, and broth (or water) to pan. Stir to cook and combine ingredients for about 2-3 minutes. Taste stuffing and adjust spices, adding salt and pepper to taste.
6. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
7. Divide the sausage/turkey stuffing mixture among the four squash halves, pressing filling into the cavities and mounding the top. Spray cut edge of squash lightly with cooking spray.
8. Place stuffed squash back on baking pan and return to oven. Bake for approximately 15 minutes. Remove pan from oven, sprinkle some of the reserved parsley on top of each squash to garnish, and serve.