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 are protein-packed and presentation perfect. You will also love this fall harvest salad recipe.
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.
Looking for a company-worthy side dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas? Roasted Squash Slices only require 4 ingredients. Great for beginner and novice chefs. Presentation perfect.
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.
Recipes like Slow Cooker Spicy Kale Soup are just the thing. Perfect for warming up with. Homemade soup is so good.
Easy Chana Masala is made in under 30 miuntes. Faster than pizza delivery.
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. Baked apple pudding is a family favourite.
Who can resist sausage and apple stuffing during the holidays? The perfect way to fill a roasted acorn squash.
Speaking of the holidays, leftover turkey is just what you need for this delicious turkey wrap. Perfect for lunch or dinner.
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
If you are looking for a delicious Fall dessert, look no further than Fried Apple Tarts. The perfect Thanksgiving treat. Old fashioned fried apples make the perfect filling. Just like eating mini apple pies.
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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Hot Italian Sausage and Apple Stuffed Squash
Ingredients
- 3 acorn squash
- 1 pound sausage meat (your choice)
- 19 ounces chickpeas (1 can)
- 3 cups apples (peeled and diced)
- ½ cup onion (diced)
- 1 cup carrots (grated)
- 2 teaspoons maple balsamic vinegar
- salt & pepper (to taste)
Instructions
To Bake the Squash:
- Preheat oven to 400º F and line a baking sheet with parchment or foil.
- Cut squash in ½ lengthwise, and scoop out the insides.
- Place cut side down, and bake until done (approx. 30 minutes). Prepare filling while squash is baking.
To Make the Filling:
- Remove casing from sausage and cut into small pieces (you can even use a potato masher after you cut it up).
- Heat a non-stick frying pan to medium-high, add the meat and cook (for about 15 minutes).
- While this is cooking, peel and dice the apple, dice the onion, grate the carrot and rinse and drain the chickpeas.
- Once the meat is cooked, remove the pan from the heat. Place the meat into a bowl (discarding the excess fat).
- Place the pan back on medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5-7 minutes.
- Add the meat and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the apples and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the carrots and chickpeas and cook for 2 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper, and the maple balsamic. Mix well, remove from heat.
- Remove squash from oven. Place on individual serving plates and season with salt and pepper.
- Stuff each ½ with the sausage and apple mixture.
- ENJOY!!
Jenni LeBaron
I love sausage stuffed squash but I’ve never thought to add chickpeas – brilliant idea! This is really the best of fall flavors in one dish and it’s so hearty. Can’t wait to give this recipe a try!
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
Yes this certainly is no problem being the full meal deal. Hope you give it a try.
Robin Daumit
Spicy hot sausage with apples is a great combo. Put them inside squash as a stuffing and this becomes a delicious recipe to kick off Autumn!
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
We love this recipe. Hearty, delicious, full of fall flavours, AND perfect for entertaining too.
Sean
I DO love when food is the serving vessel, though to be honest I rarely prepare dishes like that myself. Somehow they often seem like more trouble than they’re worth. But this recipe has me thinking that I need to change that mindset up, because a) I usually cook squash cut in half like this anyway, so it’s not like I need to do much different, and b) these flavours are so perfect and fall-focused when you put them together! I can see my kids really loving something like this, both for the fun factor and the taste. And hey, I’m always fond of cooking with apples, so the more recipes the merrier!
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
This really is super easy to make. The squash bakes and you make the filling (all in one pan). Take it out, turn over and stuff! DONE!
Tracy
YES food in a vessel! And who needs a warmer climate when you can make comfort food like this? Sausage and apple, is there a better combo?
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
It is a delicious combo for sure. ENJOY!
Marisa F. Stewart
I love using food as a bowl! And squash is certainly one of our favorites. I don’t like cooler weather but eating goodies like squash with sausage the cooler clime may be worth it. I think the squash is a meal in itself. I really like the clever use of chickpeas in it.
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
Thanks so much. We love this as a main course.
Sarah
I’m so excited for winter squash season! I always buy a ton of it and work through it all winter- so good! And I think stuffed acorn squash might be my absolute fav! This looks delicious!
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
I do enjoy all the squashes too….hope you give this recipe a try.
KitchenVarieties
That’s a first for me, but just thinking about it the flavor combination seems delicious! Definitely need to try this
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
Hope you give this super tasty recipe a try. Fall perfection for sure.
Denise
Food inside of food is always a good idea! Acorn squash is one of my favorites, and this recipe looks amazing. I gotta try it.
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
We love this one. I could eat it all year long. ENJOY!
Jolina
YES. We get a kick out of food inside of food haha. Pineapple fried rice is always a hit but when cooler weather comes long, we crave for comfort food too. This fits the bill nicely! Love that filling as well.
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
Honestly, I can make a meal on just the filling. So good.
Veena Azmanov
Yummy combination of ingredients to this awesome dish. Surely a surprise to my guest for sure.
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
I know your guests will love this hearty dish. Presentation perfect for sure.
Irina
Made it tonight! Flavorful and colorful stuffed squash was amazingly delicious! It was gone in a minute. Surely, will repeat the meal again.
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
Slo glad you liked it. We do as well.
Traci
I love the flavor combination in this recipe! The ingredients are simple and straightforward too. Such an elegant dish!
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
Perfect for entertaining…and a great fall dish. Enjoy!!
Carmy
What a perfect fall recipe! This stuffed squash looks so good – I can’t wait to try it. I definitely love the pairing up of apple with sausage!
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
Yes the filling is so good, I could eat it alone for sure.
Jessica Formicola
I am in love with these fall flavors! I know my family will love it, and I can’t wait to make it for them!
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
ENJOY….hope your family enjoys this tasty fall dish.
Kushigalu
I have never tried something like this before using squash. Love the combination and the flavors that goes in the recipe.
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
Hope you give this recipe a try…it is a winner in our house.