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A close up of the Healthy Stuffed Baked Acorn Squash 

Healthy Stuffed Baked Acorn Squash 

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

Ingredients

Scale
  • 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

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.

Find it online: https://mariebostwick.com/healthy-stuffed-baked-acorn-squash/