Acorn squash is one vegetable that I don’t make very often, probably because they are so hard to cut. However, you can bake the whole squash in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes to make it easier to cut. Allow to cool to the touch and then proceed with your recipe. They make an excellent vessel for your dressing this holiday season – just use the smaller ones.
Speaking of “dressing” versus “stuffing” they were once thought of as two separate entities. But recently, food safety groups and culinary professionals have advised against stuffing a turkey because of a risk of cross-contamination. To be honest I never did!
I recently made Butternut Squash with Macaroni and Cheese and I bought the flesh already cubed – very easy. So, there are ways to get around cutting these tough vegetables and saving your fingers!
When I was ready to post I decided to look at my dressing recipes and sure enough one of them was a larger version of basically the same recipe but baked in a casserole for a crowd. This is an Ina Garten recipe where I commented that it was the best one I had made. See Traditional (family recipe), Cherry Pecan (Martha Stewart) and Sausage Dressing in the Slow Cooker (King Arthur Flour).
This recipe today comes from a fellow blogger https://backroadjournal.wordpress.com/2025/10/25/delicious-sausage-apple-and-cranberry-stuffed-acorn-squash-recipe/. It sounded like a perfect dish for the Fall and a great vessel for serving dressing. It’s a recipe that can be made to taste with various ingredients. All you need is a combination of protein, vegetables, fruit, grains and or nuts, perhaps cheese and a variety of Fall herbs such as sage, rosemary and thyme. Of course you can use your own favorite dressing or follow the guidelines in this post. Karen also included breadcrumbs; she did recommend homemade. I used Panko as she suggested for a substitute; personally I didn’t care for them – too crispy and I would prefer a softer texture of cubed bread.
Acorn Squash Stuffed with Sausage, Apples, Cranberries and Fresh Herbs
Recipe by backroadjournal, Adapted by Judi Graber
Enough filling for 2-4 halves
- acorn squash
- 1 tbsp. olive oil and 1 tbsp. unsalted butter
- sweet Italian sausage, 4-6 oz. (I ended up using 3 links or 7 oz)
- 1/2 cup onion (I used white), diced small
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large stalk celery, diced small
- fresh rosemary, sage and thyme leaves, minced to taste
- kosher salt and black pepper to taste
- 1`/2 Granny Smith apple (I used Honeycrisp), diced small
- 2/3 cup homemake breadcrumbs, toasted (I did use her substitute of Panko and didn’t care for the crispy texture – personally would prefer bread cubes) cooked rice could be used
- 2-3 tbsp. dried cranberries, chopped (I would add more as I could not taste this small amount)
- chicken broth to moisten if needed
I advise pre-baking the squash in a 400 degree oven to soften the squash making it easier to cut. Regardless, place the squash on a clean kitchen towel (so it doesn’t slip) and cut off a thin slice on the top and bottom. Then cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds and stringy membrane (save the seeds to bake as they make a wonderful snack). Rub the flesh of each half with EVOO (be sure all the seeds are gone) and bake flesh side down on parchment paper or silicone mat for 30 minutes. The edges will start to caramelize and the flesh can be easily pierced with a fork.
While the squash are baking make your filling. Melt the olive oil and butter and add the sausage, cooking until no longer pink while continuously breaking it up. Next add the onion and celery and saute for a few minutes. Add the garlic, fresh herbs, and salt and pepper to taste; cook another minute or two. Stir in the apple and cook until softened.
Remove from the heat and add the breadcrumbs (I would prefer using bread cubes such as sourdough) toasted and cranberries.
Adjust seasoning and add chicken broth, or maybe some white wine, if needed to moisten.
Turn the squash halves over and stuff each one with filling. Bake until heated through for about 15 minutes. The filling can be made the day before.
Recipe by cookingwithauntjuju.com
This squash looks delicious!
I made a few tweaks to the recipe but is basically a good filling for acorn squash and with a pretty presentation 🙂
Now this is what I call a harvest meal. 🍂🥘
Thanks – there are all the right ingredients to make a delicious side or a meal in itself 🙂
panko are my fave; i never use any other breadcrumbs. I agree about buying pre-diced veg. – makes life so easy. I’ve probably commented somewhere else that “dressing” for an aussie means something you put over your salad:=)
sherry
I like panko most of the time but not in this recipe; I would prefer a softer bread cube. Dressing also means something you put over your salad here too 🙂
I also bake the stuffing/dressing on the side. I find it tastier.
This dish looks so delicious. I recall seeing it on Back Road Journal blog, and making a mental note to give it a try, so thanks for your input! 🙂
Any filling would be delicious – I really liked the idea of using acorn squash as vessels. I just had two issues; I prefer a softer versus a crispy filling and more cranberries. It can be made to your taste so easily 🙂
Very pretty! I love the filling!
Yes, I liked the way it looked – perfect for a Fall side dish or even on its own if you used bigger squash 🙂
I love the flavour-and-texture combo here, Judi! The stuffed acorn squash looks so cozy, festive, and delicious.
cookingwithauntjuju.com
11/19/2025 at 4:13 pm Edit
The filling has all the right ingredients and funny how similar it is to my dressing I made in a casserole which was Ina Garten’s recipe 🙂 Loved the acorn squash as vessels…