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Make a classic vegetable side into a filling and delicious main course with my Stuffed Squash Recipe! Fluffy, flavorful pork sausage stuffing pairs with sweet, tender roasted squash for a warm and cozy personal-sized meal everyone will love.
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Recipe for Stuffed Squash
There's a beautiful sort of nostalgia to the sweet, nutty aroma of roasting squash. Growing up, there were always squash of all sorts set out on the counter come fall, and part of supper would be choosing which kind to roast and how to prepare them.
Classics like butter and maple syrup were always good, but when squash is the main course, there's nothing like stuffed squash with sausage! A light, fluffy filling of sausage and bread paired with herbs, garlic and cheese makes for a hearty meal, all stuffed in tender, nutty roasted squash.
Once you try it, I promise you'll be craving squash again and again. It's the best stuffed squash recipe I've ever tried, and trust me- I've tried a lot! Try these out for perfect personal-sized dinners like you've never had before!
Stuffed Acorn Squash Ingredients
- Italian pork sausage
- Squash - we use kuri squash in our images, but you can use acorn squash, kuri squash, butternut, or any small squash for stuffing you prefer
- Sliced bread
- Milk
- Garlic
- Egg
- Parsley
- Crushed red pepper
- Cheddar cheese
- Olive oil
- Salt
Stuffed Squash Recipe Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a pan with parchment paper. While the oven is preheating, tear the two slices of bread into small pieces, removing the crust, and soak the pieces in the milk for 5 minutes.
- Mince the garlic and parsley, and squeeze the excess milk from the soaked bread crumbs.
- Cut the squash in half, then use a round spoon to scoop the seeds out of the center. Discard (or save for baking and snacking on later!).
- If you're using round squash, slice a thin sliver off the bottom of each squash half so they sit flat on the pan, then move them to the pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the sausage, garlic, parsley, bread crumbs, red pepper flakes and egg, mixing well with hands.
- Stuff the squash halves with the raw sausage mixture.
- Top with shredded cheese and a sprinkle of olive oil.
- Cover in aluminum foil, then roast for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and roast another 30 minutes, until the squash is tender and the cheese is golden brown, then serve!
Stuffing Squash Tips
- If you're making this recipe with red kuri squash, you don't have to peel it- the skin on this squash is completely edible and soft when cooked, so you can eat the whole thing!
- Be extremely careful when slicing open squash, especially harder varieties like kuri, acorn, and butternut. Slicing off a thin strip at the bottom so they lie flat while cutting can help prevent the squash from rolling.
- You can also use pre-made breadcrumbs for this recipe. Just make sure to wet them with milk beforehand so the stuffing isn't too dry.
Cook Times for Stuffed Squash
I love using red kuri squash when I can find it, but the downside of using it is that it's not always available at stores. Never fear! This red kuri squash recipe tastes amazing using all sorts of squash, with only minor adjustments to the preparation time.
- Stuffed Acorn Squash Recipe: As a fairly similarly sized squash with similar flesh, acorn squash and Kuri squash can be cooked the same way! Sometimes the squash can get fairly large, so make sure to check the flesh and keep cooking it if it needs more time.
- Stuffed Butternut Squash Recipe: Butternut squash are much larger squash than kuri or acorn, and take a higher temperature to achieve the same results. For an average sized butternut squash, cook for 1 hour at 400°F. A large squash may take as much as 90 minutes.
- Stuffed Yellow Squash Recipe: Yellow squash has very soft flesh that cooks quickly- far too quickly to allow the meat time to cook through! If you intend to stuff yellow squash with this recipe, cook the meat in a pan until cooked through, then slice and stuff the squash and roast it for 20 minutes at 425°F.
- Stuffed Spaghetti Squash Recipe: This recipe uses raw meat, so it's not ideal for stuffing spaghetti squash, which typically should be roasted and shredded into noodle-like threads beforehand. To make this recipe work with spaghetti squash:
1. Cook the filling in a pan until the sausage is browned and cooked through.
2. Roast the spaghetti squash in the oven at 425°F by cutting it in half, drizzling oil on the cut edges, and placing it cut-side-down on a pan for 40 minutes.
3. Shred the spaghetti squash flesh out of the skins with a fork, then mix it with the sausage mixture and add back into the skins.
4. Cover with cheese, and place under the broiler until the cheese is melty and golden- then serve!
Stuffed Acorn Squash FAQs
Squash is naturally mildly sweet and nutty, with variations depending on the kind of squash. If you want to enhance the flavor, start by adding a fat like oil or butter, then a savory or sweet element to build off of the nutty squash! I love stuffing squash with sausage and cheese to blend the savory flavors with the sweet squash.
For all squash varieties, the seeds and fibers should be scooped out before cooking. While the fibers and seeds are edible, they're mushy and unpleasant when cooked, and the seeds will serve you much better as a snack when roasted afterwards!
It's completely safe and useful to leave the skin on squash when roasting in large pieces! If you're dicing squash, it should be peeled first. But for halved and stuffed squash, leaving the skin on makes for a perfect nature-made serving bowl! Plus, for squash like Kuri and yellow squash, you can just eat the skin, too.
To test to see if squash is fully cooked, poke it with a fork- it should be soft and fork-tender at the thickest part of the squash. If the top or sides are browning too fast, cover the pan with foil to let the flesh keep cooking without browning further.
Ground Pork Recipes
- Asian Pork Meatballs: Delicious meatballs that are keto-friendly to boot! You can even combine these recipes to make an Asian-inspired stuffed sausage perfect to pair with Asian red kuri squash.
- Pork Egg Rolls: Who doesn't love egg rolls? These would be a great side for squash!
- Pork Seasoning: Don't have any Italian sausage? Whip up my easy pork seasoning and mix it into ground pork, and it'll work like a charm with tons of flavor.
- Sausage Baked Ziti
- Korean Meatballs
Did you enjoy this recipe? Try more of my best pork recipes, and leave a comment and rating below! We love to hear from you.
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Stuffed Squash Recipe
Equipment
- Baking tray
- Mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 4 links Italian sausage
- 2 medium squash Acorn or Kuri squash
- 2 slices Bread crust removed
- ½ cup Milk
- 2 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 Egg
- ¼ cup Parsley
- 2 teaspoons Crushed red pepper
- ½ cup Cheddar cheese shredded
- Olive oil for drizzling
- Salt to taste
See our Beef Temperature Chart for helpful tips on cooking any cut of beef!
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a pan with parchment paper. While the oven is preheating, tear the two slices of bread into small pieces, removing the crust, and soak the pieces in the milk for 5 minutes.2 slices Bread, ½ cup Milk
- Mince the garlic and parsley, and squeeze the excess milk from the soaked bread crumbs.2 cloves Garlic, ¼ cup Parsley
- Cut the squash in half, then use a round spoon to scoop the seeds out of the center. Discard (or save for baking and snacking on later!).2 medium squash
- If you're using round squash, slice a thin sliver off the bottom of each squash half so they sit flat on the pan, then move them to the pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the sausage, garlic, parsley, bread crumbs, red pepper flakes and egg, mixing well with hands.4 links Italian sausage, 1 Egg, 2 teaspoons Crushed red pepper, Salt
- Stuff the squash halves with the raw sausage mixture.
- Top with shredded cheese and a sprinkle of olive oil.½ cup Cheddar cheese, Olive oil
- Cover in aluminum foil, then roast for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and roast another 30 minutes, until the squash is tender and the cheese is golden brown, then serve!
Notes
- If you're making this recipe with red kuri squash, rejoice- the skin on this squash is completely edible and soft when cooked, so you can eat the whole thing!
- Be extremely careful when slicing open squash, especially harder varieties like kuri, acorn, and butternut. Slicing off a thin strip at the bottom so they lie flat while cutting can help prevent the squash from rolling.
- You can also use pre-made breadcrumbs for this recipe. Just make sure to wet them with milk beforehand so the stuffing isn't too dry.
Nutrition
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