Baked Stuffed Winter Squash

30 Reviews

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 1 hr 5 min
Ready In: 1 hr 20 min

“Winter squash (acorn, kabocha, butternut) is baked, scooped out, and mixed with other ingredients, then stuffed back into the rind and baked. This dish has it all -- veggies, meat, and a natural sweetness and creamy consistency without any added sugar. I use pork sausage but you can substitute something lower in fat.” - by AJNYC

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Place squash halves cut side down in baking pans. Fill pans with about 1/2 inch water. Bake squash 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until tender.
While squash bakes, heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Place onions and celery in the skillet, and cook until tender. Stir in the sausage and thyme. Cook and stir until evenly brown.
Remove squash from the oven, and carefully scrape the pulp from the rinds. Set rinds aside. Place the pulp in a bowl, and mash with a potato masher. Mix in the cooked sausage mixture, egg, bread crumbs, raisins, and pecans. Scoop into the reserved rinds. Set stuffed squash in the baking dishes.
Bake 25 minutes in the 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven, until heated through.

Reviews (30)

Rate This Recipe

CROWCHICK

Dec. 15, 2006

"This was a lot of work, but worth it. I downsized the recipe for two squashes, and used one orange acorn and one yellow acorn. I also used ground turkey instead of pork, a mix of chopped turnip, car..." See morerot and garlic instead of celery. I subbed a small amount of almonds for the pecans, but the recipe would be fine without any nuts at all. I thought the raisins were important. I did not need to mash the squash - after I scooped it, it blended in perfectly . I did add a dash of salt and pepper, and used store-bought Italian breadcrumbs. I topped with cheese for the final bake. This recipe is very forgiving and you could really make lots of substitutions or additions depending on your tastes. My husband and I enjoyed it very much."

Somm0075

Nov. 10, 2009

"Great Recipe! I used 2 buttercup squash and next time, I'll be cooking the squash in the microwave since the oven took way too long, and I burned myself on the water. I also left out the thyme and i..." See morenstead used italian style bread crumbs and added some italian seasoning along with salt and pepper. I left out the raisins, but felt the pecans really added some good flavor and crunch. I also increased the celery to 3 stalks, to add some more veggies and crunch. Lastly, I topped it with mozzarella cheese for the last 10 minutes of baking, which was good but next time I'm going to try some shredded parmesan cheese. I also think adding a cup or two of cooked rice would taste good and will probably try that at some point as well."