Sausage-stuffed winter squash is an easy and healthy recipe that can be made and re-heated for lunch the next day. My kids loved the “bowls” made of squash, and I loved that these were a filling and healthy dinner.
You can change up the inside mixture to fit your tastes. I’ve done this with grass-fed beef, spinach, and feta, or with leftover chicken, artichokes, and mushrooms. Similar to my stuffed sweet potatoes, I’ve found that with kids, putting anything in a “boat” or on a skewer makes it more fun (and tasty).
Sausage Stuffed Winter Squash Recipe
Sweet winter squash stuffed with a savory mixture of meat, peppers, onions, mushrooms, and spices.
Ingredients
- 1 large winter squash (acorn, spaghetti, or butternut)
- 1 lb sausage
- 1 onion
- 1 bell pepper
- 1 cup mushrooms
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
- 4 TBSP butter
- 2 TBSP Parmesan cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Cut the squash in half from top to bottom.
- Scoop the seeds out.
- Place the squash face down in a baking dish with ½ cup water for 30-45 minutes until fork tender.
- While the squash is cooking, slice the sausage into ½ inch chunks and saute in large skillet until browned and cooked through.
- Remove the sausage from the pan and set aside.
- Dice the onion, bell pepper, and mushrooms.
- Add the diced onion, bell pepper, and mushrooms to the pan and cook until almost soft
- Remove from the heat and add the sausage back in as well as the butter and spices and mix well.
- When the squash is cooked, remove it from the oven and turn it over so open side is up.
- Stuff the squash with the sausage mixture and top with Parmesan if using and put it back into the oven for around 10 minutes to brown.
- Remove from oven, cut each squash half in half, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
This is one of those endlessly versatile recipes; choose the type of squash you like, your favorite type of sausage or even leftover chicken, and customize the spices to your tastes!
Nutrition
Calories: 310kcalCarbohydrates: 35.4gProtein: 8gFat: 17.7gSaturated Fat: 9.4gCholesterol: 48mgSodium: 833mgFiber: 10.4gSugar: 2.5g
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How do you like to prepare squash?
Katie what do you do with the seeds from the Spaghetti squash??
How many servings does it make? And what other veggie would be good, do you think? My kids HATE cooked peppers!!
How many servings does this make?
I have made something similar with Italian sausage and kale…I make “sails” out of bamboo skewers and construction paper triangles to amp it up for our 2 and 4 yr old kiddos…they’ll try ANYTHING that looks that cute!
I love that idea… I was going to make these this weekend and my two year old is in a huge plane/boat/car phase so I’ll try it 🙂
Katie, I made this tonight with homemade ground turkey sausage, and it was incredible! The spicy sausage and sweet squash really went well together. Thanks for another great recipe.