Easy and healthy Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash packed with an abundance of sweet and savory flavor! Caramelized onions, apples, sweet Italian sausage, spinach and fresh herbs stuffed inside perfectly roasted acorn squash, then broiled to perfection. Paleo and Whole30 friendly!
This sausage stuffed acorn squash is my new best friend.
And by “best friend”, I mean with benefits. Lots of benefits! Do people still say friends with benefits or is that a 5 or 10 years ago thing?
I have no idea. All I know of life and love is my glorious sausage stuffed acorn squash with caramelized onions, apples, spinach and herbs.
My Paleo crack, if you remember my Thursday thoughts. (By the way, 3 pairs of those socks came in the mail, all in different colors, so really, heaven is a place on earth.)
I can’t even remember why I ever ate anything other than everything you see right here in this post. Okay that’s a lie – I know damn well why I eat chocolate. And bacon. And plantains.
Aaaand skillet cookies. Okay fine I could totally go on with that. BUT THIS ACORN SQUASH. You need to make this – don’t want to hear any excuses.
Like with all my recipes, I cheated a little. And by “cheating” I just mean I put all my favorite, tried-and-true favorites together knowing it would come out perfectly – or at least just how I like it.
This stuffed acorn squash is reminiscent of my roasted butternut sausage and cranberry stuffing, except it’s better, YES! Better.
I like to challenge myself to one-up an old recipe with something that rocks my world harder. Because yeah, at the end of the day, literally, I am cooking for myself.
And those 4 other people I live with, I guess, but really, it’s all for me.
Did you guys notice I said “rock my world?” I was starting to feel a little self conscious about it so maybe don’t mention in the comments.
Anyway, in case you’re wondering if this stuffed acorn squash is a pain in the butt to put together, the answer is no, not really.
I actually roasted my squash the night before, but, there’s really no need to do that since you can do all your stovetop cooking (onions and sausage mixture) while the squash roasts in the oven, then remove, stuff, broil, and eat! It’s that simple. The eating part is way worth all the rest.
Okay, I’m off to go make something else involving sausage right now for the whole gang, and it’s time for you guys to make this. Or, at least glance through the recipe and hopefully feel good about what you see.
Just kidding about the glancing thing, we’re going to cook this right now! You won’t be sorry – get your apron on (grease stains) and get the oven preheated! Ready, set, go!
Caramelized Onion Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash {Paleo & Whole30}
Caramelized Onion, Apple and Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash {Paleo & Whole30}
Ingredients
- 2 small/med acorn squash cut in half lengthwise and seeds/strings scooped out
- 1 lb pork sausage casings removed if necessary, sugar free*
- 1 large onion or 2 small cut in half and sliced thin
- 3 tbsp ghee coconut oil, or other cooking fat (for caramelizing the onions) + 2 tsp (for sautéing the garlic)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 medium-large apple cored and diced
- 2 cups fresh spinach roughly chopped
- 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary chopped
- 2 tsp fresh thyme chopped
- sea salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Place the 4 acorn squash halves (seeds removed) open-side down on the baking sheet and roast in the preheated oven for about 20-30 minutes, or until the top of your squash feels tender when gently pressed. You can always check them and continue to roast a few more minutes if they aren't tender enough. Set aside after removing from oven.
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While the squash roasts, make the filling. Begin by caramelizing the onions (this process takes a good 20-25 minutes to really bring the flavor out!)
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In a medium skillet, heat the ghee or coconut oil over low heat and add all the onions, stirring to coat. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and cook over low heat, stirring every 5 minutes ago to prevent burning. Once onions have been cooking for about 25 minutes and are deep golden brown, remove from heat and set aside.
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While the squash roasts and the onions cook, heat a large saucepan over medium low heat and add the remaining 2 tsp cooking fat to melt. Add the garlic and cook until just tender, then add all the sausage and increase the heat to medium.
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Cook the sausage and stir to break up lumps, about 5-8 minutes until just browned. Add the apples and herbs and continue to cook, stirring until the apples soften. Add the spinach and a pinch of salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until the spinach wilts.
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Add the caramelized onions to the sausage mixture, leaving excess cooking fat in the pan. Preheat your broiler, then fill all 4 halves of the squash with the stuffing mixture (you may have leftover depending on how big your squash was)
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Arrange the squash on the baking sheet, stuffing side up, and put under the broiler for 5-10 minutes until the tops get nice and toasty, checking often to prevent burning. Once nice and browned, remove from oven, allow to cool a bit and then serve warm. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*Check labels or look out for your local store's store-made sausage, since they usually leave out sugar and preservatives. You can also check out the sugar free pork breakfast sausage from U.S. Wellness Meats, which is one of my favorites, or their sugar free Italian Sausage links!
Nutrition
What I Used To Make My Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash:
Want more delicious Paleo squash recipes? Try one of these!
Roasted Butternut, Apple & Bacon Hash
Butternut, Apple and Pecan Chicken Salad with Creamy Maple Dressing
Butternut Sausage Thanksgiving Stuffing
More Stuffed Acorn Squash on the web:
Stuffed Squash with Sausage and Apple
Cauliflower Rice Stuffed Acorn Squash
Tell Me!
Do you cook for a bunch of people or mainly yourself?
What food is your best friend today?
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LOVE this recipe!!!
Just made this and it was just what I was craving… autumn in a bowl! The mixture is absolutely delicious! I used ground chicken as my protein and added some chopped mushrooms. Great recipe!
Super easy and absolutely delicious. A new fall favorite. Thank you for all your wonderful recipes.
These were excellent! I did half grassfed beef and half lean pork sausage. I also added fresh sage with the rosemary & Thyme. It was so good! I am not a huge squash fan. This is my first time baking a acorn squash ever! I will make them again and share this recipe!
I made this for dinner last night. I loved the sweet/savory combination. My son loved it too!
This is a new favorite! Fragrant and delicious, with the perfect balance of ingredients. I used dried cherries, which I had on hand, and were delightful. What a beautiful, comforting meal. My husband and I absolutely loved it! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Omg so delicious!! Perfect fall recipe. Even my husband and 9 year old ate it up! A little time consuming but I’ll definitely make this again!
OMG so easy, filling and delish! We run a wellness accountability coaching business and we had been testing out fall recipes to recommend to clients and this one was a huge winner! We immediately texted the recipe to all our clients as the perfect, easy filling meal. Plus it’s SO pretty and makes your whole kitchen smell like fall. It’s going in the permanent rotation!
This is one of my our favorite fall/winter recipes. It is so delicious, even as leftovers! Tonight we made it for probably the 4th time and it definitely won’t be the last.
I made these for dinner last night. There was quite a bit of prep but when it all came together, it was worth it! They were tasty and satisfying – and a really nice change. Thank you for this delicious recipe!