Stuffed Acorn Squash

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With only a few more days before Thanksgiving, try out this delicious recipe that combines stuffing and acorn squash into a personal feast! You also cannot tell that my stuffing was made healthier with secret substitutions like minimizing oils and butter. Adding tart, fresh cranberries gives it that special Thanksgiving Day flavor! This also is a great make-ahead recipe. Make the filling a few days before; then the day of your feast, roast the squash while you mix the stuffing. Then bake to perfection.

Stuffed Acorn Squash
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Stuffed Acorn Squash

Recipe by The Cooking LawyerCourse: DinnerCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy
Servings

8

servings
Prep time

20

minutes
Cooking time

40

minutes
Total time

1

hour 

Ingredients

  • 4 acorn squashes

  • 1 lbs ground turkey or chicken (I use 98% fat free)

  • 1 onion, diced

  • 2 stalks celery, diced

  • 2 carrots, diced

  • 2 leeks, sliced

  • 1 bell pepper

  • 1 tsp fennel seeds

  • 1 tsp ground sage

  • 1 tsp granulated garlic

  • 1/2 tsp celery salt

  • Salt and pepper

  • 8 slices of bread (I used Schmit 6-4-7 bread)

  • Butter spray or butter (for spreading on bread slices)

  • 1 cup broth or bouillon cube with 1 cup of water

  • 3/4 cup of fresh cranberries

  • Non-stick cooking spray

Directions

  • If making this recipe day off, go to Day Of Preparation Section to minimize downtime.
  • Dice and chop vegetables.
  • In large saute pan, spray with non-stick cooking spray. Over low heat, sweat down the vegetables (onion, leeks, carrots, celery, and bell pepper).
  • Once onions are translucent, add fennel seed and sage.
  • Cook for another minute, then add ground turkey or chicken.
  • Mix the ground chicken or turkey into the vegetables well to fully combine. Cook for another minute.
  • Add granulated garlic and celery salt. Mix well.
  • Once the chicken is cooked, remove from heat. If you are doing this as make ahead, you can put it in the refrigerator once cooled.
  • Day of Steps
  • Preheat oven to 425.
  • Slice the acorn squash in half. Scoop out the seeds.
  • Spray squash halves with non-stick cooking spray.
  • Season squash with salt and pepper.
  • On parchment paper lined baking sheet, add the acorn squash halves slice side down.
  • Bake for 25 minutes.
  • If you did not pre-make your stuffing filling, go to prior section of the recipe. If you pre-made it, remove from the refrigerator.
  • Toast the 8 slices of bread in the toaster. As each slice finishes toasting, spray with butter spray (or butter the bread if you prefer).
  • Cut the bread into cubes and add to a bowl.
  • Add broth to the bread and allow to soak for a few minutes.
  • Add cranberries and soaked bread to the stuffing filling. Mix well.
  • Make sure the squash is soft when you remove from the oven. Flip the squash so that it can hold the filling. Then add the stuffing mix to the inside of each squash. If you have any extra stuffing that won’t fit, add to a casserole dish and bake with the squash. Bake for another 10 to 15 minutes until bread is golden brown. Serve immediately.

Notes

  • I use light bread to save on calories. But you can use whatever bread you have. This is a great recipe to use stale bread that you had left over.

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