Take-out Tuesday, Acorn Squash with Cornbread & Sausage Stuffing

the Painted Apron

5 years ago

One of my favorite fall dishes is acorn squash,

I have made it with Maple Blueberry & Apple Stuffing

And with Maple, Bleu Cheese & Pecans

I wanted to try a heartier main dish version

I was inspired by a recipe from Cooking for Keeps

Acorn squash with a savory sausage stuffing

This elegant dish is made simple by using a stuffing mix

Acorn squash can be hard to cut,

soften them up by cutting a little slit {so they won’t explode}

and then microwaving for 4-5 minutes on high

Remove seeds and strings from the squash cavities

and trim bottoms if necessary so the squash will sit level

Place halves cut side down on a rimmed baking pan

and add about 1/2″ of water

Roast at 400 degrees for 30 minutes

While squash is roasting

Brown the sausage in a skillet

Drain on paper towels reserving the rendered grease in the pan

Add diced onion and celery to the same skillet and saute until soft

Prepare the stuffing according to package directions

Stove Top stuffing takes only 5 minutes to prepare

Add sausage and vegetables to the prepared stuffing and mix together

Fill squash cavities with a mound of stuffing

Mix butter and maple syrup and pour over stuffing

At this point the squash can be refrigerated for baking later if desired

Remove from the refrigerator 30-45 minutes to warm up before baking

Loosely tent a piece of foil over squash

and bake for 30 more minutes at 400 degrees

Dinner in a squash!

Acorn Squash with Cornbread & Sausage Stuffing

Cornbread stuffing mix makes quick work for this delicious Autumn treat, roasted acorn squash filled with a savory mound of sausage and cornbread stuffing, drizzled with butter and maple syrup!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword acorn squash, Autumn, cornbread stuffing, Fall recipe, sausage stuffing

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

initial roasting time 30

Servings 2

Ingredients

1 acorn squash
4 oz breakfast sausage use regular, sage or maple
1 box Stove Top Cornbread Stuffing Mix*
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
6 T butter, divided
2 Tbsp maple syrup

Instructions

Make a slight cut in the acorn squash in the middle where you are going to cut it in half. Microwave on high for 5 minutes. The cut allows it to release pressure that keeps it from possibly exploding
Cut squash in half and scrape the seeds and strings from the cavities. Cut a small slice off squash bottoms if necessary so they will sit level
Place halves cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet and fill with 1/2" water
Roast squash in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes
While squash is roasting, cook the sausage in a skillet until brown and crumbled. Remove to paper towels to drain
Add onion and celery to skillet and saute over medium heat until softened, about 5-7 minutes
Prepare stuffing according to package directions. Stir in sausage, onions and celery
Remove squash from oven after 30 minutes. Lift off pan with a spatula. Drain water from pan and dry pan. Line pan with foil and place squash back on pan cut side up.
Fill cavities with squash, using your fingers to form it into a large mound
Melt 2 Tbsp of butter and stir in maple syrup. Drizzle slowly over stuffing in squash. Squash can be covered and refrigerated at this point before baking if desired. Remove from refrigerator for 30-45 minutes to bring to room temperature before baking.
Loosely tent squash with foil and return to a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes

Notes

*Use any stuffing mix or homemade stuffing. I used the whole box of Stove Top mix and had stuffing leftover that I froze for another time. 1 box of Stove Top will make enough for 4 acorn squash halves