Hot Italian Sausage and Apple Stuffed Squash

Hot Italian Sausage and Apple Stuffed Squash is perfect for a Thanksgiving side dish. Cozy and hearty enough for a stand-alone meal too.

Sausage stuffed squash boats with apples and chickpeas is protein packed and presentation perfect.

As you may have guessed, I am a fall food lover. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the warm summer weather and all the grilled foods. When it comes to cold weather, comfort food rocks. Stuffed squash is on the top of our list. 

This roasted acorn squash is stuffed to the max. The celebration of fall is so delicious.

The weather is getting colder, in fact, some areas of Canada have had snow. PLEASE by all means, if that happens to be you, keep it! For me, all I want to see are a few snowflakes on Christmas day, then back to spring temperatures. What a Canadian right? LOL I am a fair-weathered girl and proud of it!

RECIPE and INSTRUCTIONS for this savoury stuffed acorn squash can be found at the bottom of this post.

Since I don’t want to move to a warmer climate, getting through the winter months with bowls of comfort food goodness makes things a whole lot easier. Soups, chilis, stews, anything served in a bowl works for me. Helps me warm my hands up. Hot mugs of tea, coffee, lattes and hot chocolate work too.

Apple season is DELICIOUS. We enjoy ALL the wonderful recipes, and especially the aromas they create while baking and cooking.

Check out this great post 19 Delicious Ways To Use Apples. You will want to go apple picking for sure.

Who can resist sausage and apple stuffing during the holidays? The perfect way to fill a roasted acorn squash.

You Will Need:

• Acorn squash
• sausage meat
• canned chickpeas
• apples
• carrots
• *(affiliate) maple balsamic
• salt and pepper

PUMPKIN SEASON is my favourite of ALL!! The weird thing is that my mom hardly ever cooked winter squash recipes. Yes, we had pumpkin pie, but honestly, that was about it.  

There are so many delicious and easy squash recipes. In fact, I have LOTS of my own. 

• Chorizo Chili with Roasted Tomatoes and Squash is a hearty and delicious meal perfect for comfort food season.
• Puy Lentil Pasta Sauce is a great pasta topping. Try it on spaghetti squash too.
• Easy Roasted  Pumpkin Soup is made in the blender. It tastes like you cooked it all day long.
• Baked Pumpkin Spice Donuts are the perfect celebration of fall. Baked donuts are THE BEST.
• Pumpkin Latte is a MUST. I could drink this all year long.

Still want MORE pumpkin ideas? Check out this post: 30+ Pumpkin Dishes

Preparing Sausage and Apple Stuffed Squash

This stuffed squash recipe is easy to prepare. There are two parts, baking the squash and making the filling (or stuffing).

For this recipe, I used acorn squash. You can choose other varieties as well. 

Step One: Cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds (you can save the seeds to roast later) and bake the squash in the oven for about 30 minutes.

Be sure to line your baking sheet with a *(affiliate) silicone mat or parchment paper for easier cleanup. 

Step Two: While the squash is baking, prepare the filling in a pan on the stovetop.

I removed the casing from the sausage meat before cooking. You may be able to find bulk sausage meat in at the butcher or grocery store.

For this recipe I used hot Italian sausage. Feel free to use whatever flavour you like.

Once the squash is baked, remove from oven and place on serving plates. Stuff the baked squash halves with the filling. ENJOY!

When it comes to fall and winter, there are endless recipes to incorporate the seasonal squash varieties.

This stuffed acorn squash with sausage is simple to make. The presentation is pretty cool too. You can feed a family of 6 with this budget-friendly recipe.

Dinner is served. Did I mention you can have this on the table in about 30-40 minutes? Yup, you can.

Be sure to give it a try. Mix and match your fillings. Make it vegan if you like. Try it with butternut squash, or pepper squash. So many ways to enjoy this fun and tasty stuffed squash recipe.

Winter Squash Varieties

Did you know there are 11 varieties of winter squash? I will be on the lookout at the markets this fall to find ALL of them. How many of these have you tried?

Acorn Squash (like in this recipe). Small in size weighing between one and two pounds. It has an orange-yellow flesh and thick, dark green and orange skin. Mild sweet nutty flavour. Very versatile and can be cooked many ways

Banana Squash: Large, elongated squash, two to three feet in length. It can weigh up to 40 pounds. It has smooth orange, pink, or blue skin and brilliant orange flesh. Rich sweet and earthy. Perfect for roasting, soups and stews.

Buttercup Squash: Squat and round dark green rind that has green-gray lines with firm orange flesh. Sweet and creamy, great for baking, steaming and using in curries.

Butternut Squash: Pear-shaped squash has a smooth with a cream-colored exterior and bright orange flesh.  The sweetest of all the winter squash. Great for just about everything.

Delicata Squash: Known as sweet potato squash, it is a small cylindrical squash with thin cream-colored skin and green stripes, and orange-yellow flesh. Similar to the taste of sweet potatoes. Makes a great stuffed squash.

Hubbard Squash: One of the largest varieties of winter squash with a hard, firm exterior that can range in color from deep green to gray or blue. Similar to the taste of pumpkin. Great for pumpkin pies.

Kabocha Squash: Squat and round, and similar to buttercup squash. Dull finish with dark green skin (sometimes has small lumps) and bright yellow-orange flesh. Sweet and nutty, and can be used from soups to pies.

Pumpkin: We all know this famous variety. No explanation needed.

Spaghetti Squash: Cylindrical shape with a firm exterior that ranges in color from pale cream to bright yellow. When cooked the flesh develops strands that resemble spaghetti. Chewy and very mild. Roasting is best.

Sweet Dumpling Squash: Small yellow squash, with bright orange to dark green markings. Sweet taste that is similar to corn. Great for stuffing and roasting.

Turban Squash: Large and decorative squash with an irregular turban shape. Dull-looking, bumpy exterior in colours from mottled green to orange and yellow. Mild and nutty. Mostly used as decoration (makes a great soup tureen), but can be used like other varieties. 

Looking for a few more Thanksgiving side dishes? Here are a few:

• Cheesy Roasted Cauliflower
• Roasted Autumn Vegetables
• Beet and Quinoa Salad
• Grilled Hakurei Turnips and Radishes

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