Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash with apple, wild rice, and kale is a complete meal. This recipe is easy to make and perfect for dinner.
Why this recipe works so well:
This savory recipe is a complete meal done in a little over an hour.
- This stuffed acorn squash has everything you want in a complete meal: meat, vegetables, and starch.
- All of the filling ingredients are chopped small so that they are easy to scoop out of the tender squash.
- Both the flavor and the texture in this recipe are amazing. You'll enjoy savory, sweet, and salty in every bite.
- This is a great make ahead meal prep recipe. You can easily enjoy it for family dinner, or make enough to have one for lunch each day for the week ahead.
Basic ingredients needed:
- Acorn Squash and olive oil for roasting
- Ground pork and fresh sage
- Onion, celery, carrots, garlic, kale, and apple
- Cooked wild rice
- White wine
How to make this sausage stuffed acorn squash recipe:
- First step is to roast the acorn squash. To do that, all you need to do is slice each one in half, scoop out the seeds, lather the cut side up in olive oil, place them cut side down on a baking sheet, and cook them for about a half an hour until slightly tender. The squash should still be somewhat firm because you're not done cooking it.
- While the acorn squash is roasting, you'll cook some ground pork and sage on the stove. Next you'll add carrots, celery, onion and garlic to the pork. Cook this mixture until the sausage is brown and crumbly and starts to stick to the bottom of the pan. Then, you deglaze that pan with white wine.
- Stir in the cooked wild rice, kale, and apple. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. About the time that sausage apple rice stuffing mixture is done, your roasted acorn squash should be ready to stuff.
- Divide the pork mixture evenly and stuff each acorn squash half. Continue cooking in the oven for another 30 minutes.
roast the acorn squash deglaze pork and vegetables with white wine add rice, kale, and apple stuff partially roasted squash
Cooking tips for the best results:
- Squash - Medium to large acorn squash is recommended, but you can use other varieties of winter squash.
- Kale - I prefer dark Italian kale for this recipe, but you can substitute with other varieties. I tend to remove the stem, but that is a matter of preference.
- Prep work - I highly recommend chopping the vegetables and the apple in the food processor. This recipe works best when all of the ingredients are diced small.
- Make ahead directions - To make this sausage stuffed acorn squash ahead of time, follow the instructions up to the point where they are stuffed. Then, cover and refrigerate. To finish baking, remove from refrigerator and bake in preheated oven for at least 30 minutes so that they are fully heated through.
Other recommended winter squash recipes:
If you're a fan of acorn, butternut, or spaghetti squash, I have some great winter squash recipe recommendations for you!
First thing's first - you must know how to bake butternut squash, roast spaghetti squash, or roast any winter squash, for that matter. Once you know how to properly cook squash, the recipe options are endless.
- Homemade Butternut Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter Sage Sauce
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Winter Squash Casserole
- Butternut Squash Risotto
- Savory Butternut Squash Cake
- Crispy Sage Roasted Delicata Squash
If you’ve made this or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out. I love hearing from my readers!
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Stuffed Acorn Squash
Stuffed Acorn Squash fills tender roasted acorn squash with sausage, apple, wild rice, and tons of vegetables. Perfect as a side dish or main course!
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Scale: servings
Ingredients
- 2 acorn squashes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground pork
- 3 large sage leaves (sliced into thin ribbons)
- 2 medium carrots (peeled with ends removed)
- 2 medium celery stalks
- 1 small yellow onion
- 1 large clove garlic
- ½ cup white wine (dry)
- 1 ½ cups cooked wild rice
- 1 bunch kale (stems removed, diced (about 2 cups packed))
- 1 small honeycrisp apple (peeled, cored, diced (or half of one large apple))
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Slice squashes in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Rub the flesh with olive oil and place squash halves cut side down on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven until slightly tender, about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, brown ground pork with sage.
- Pulse carrots, celery, onion, and garlic in food processor until you have an even dice (or you can do this by hand). I prefer my veggies to be as small as the rice, so I just use the food processor. Add to the pork while its cooking. Stir to combine and continue cooking until the vegetables are tender and the pork is brown and crumbly.
- Add white wine to hot pan and scrape the bottom to deglaze. Allow to cook for 1-2 minutes until wine reduces. Remove from heat.
- Stir in wild rice, kale, apple, and salt. Taste mixture and add more salt as desired. Don't worry - the kale is a bit overpowering raw but once cooked it blends in perfectly.
- Divide the mixture into 4 equal portions and mound into acorn squash cavities. Use hands or back of large spoon to make a compact mound.
- Place stuffed squashes in the 400 degree F oven and cook for another 20-30 minutes until the tops have browned and the squash is fork tender.
- Serve as a side dish or alone as a meal.
Notes
- Squash - Medium to large acorn squash is recommended, but you can use other varieties of winter squash.
- Kale - I prefer dark Italian kale for this recipe, but you can substitute with other varieties. I tend to remove the stem, but that is a matter of preference.
- Prep work - I highly recommend chopping the vegetables and the apple in the food processor. This recipe works best when all of the ingredients are diced small.
- Make ahead directions - To make this sausage stuffed acorn squash ahead of time, follow the instructions up to the point where they are stuffed. Then, cover and refrigerate. To finish baking, remove from refrigerator and bake in preheated oven for at least 30 minutes so that they are fully heated through.
NUTRITION INFORMATION
Calories: 567kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 81mg | Sodium: 705mg | Potassium: 1540mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 9290IU | Vitamin C: 69.5mg | Calcium: 176mg | Iron: 3.8mg
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This post was originally created in October 2014 and has been updated with updated photos and cooking tips. Don't worry - I haven't changed the recipe!
Rosalind Brown
Omg delicious!!! I didn't have the white wine and I steamed my kale but it was soooo good.
Eastman
Absolutely amazing. Even my 2 year old loves them. I skip the second back and just stuff and serve after cooking. They're still just as good.
Annie
This meal is a recipe trifecta - easy, healthy and DELISH. Will absolutely make this again.
Ethan
Thank you so much for this recipe! I had some Beyond hot Italian sausages in my freezer, so I used those in place of the ground pork, but otherwise followed the recipe to a "T". It was fantastic. When I make it again (because it's a "when," not "if") I will probably add some pine nuts, slivered almonds, or some other nut to add crunch. This would also be excellent with barley, bulgur, or other grains in place of the rice, but it's great with the rice too. Thanks again for sharing this wonderful recipe!
Krissy
Great suggestions. Glad you enjoyed! -Krissy
Mary Woods
Very flavorful and filling. Delicious! I will make again.
Beth Pierce
I know what I am having for dinner tonight! This is a restaurant worthy dish, indeed!
Tilly
I want to eat this everyday! So much flavour!
Veena Azmanov
Something unique and something special for sure. A must try recipe.
Alexandra
Delicious! The ideal side dish full of lovely flavours 🙂
Sarah
This looks delish, and totally agree - anything with pork - yum! 🙂
Elaine
Yum - what a delicious squash recipe! Just by looking at these images I get a very strong desire to find everything I need to make this recipe and go all in. Can't wait actually! 🙂
Jen
Quick question, can you precook he filling and freeze to make it easier to assemble and cook on Thanksgiving? Thanks.
Krissy
You bet! Fantastic idea! I would just set it in the fridge a couple days before so that it can slowly thaw.
Margot
I did this because I only wanted to use one acorn squash! Worked perfectly! I had to change a few things in this recipe to use what I had at home but kept the integrity of the original recipe in tact. Can’t wait to try the real recipe.
I used chicken apple sausage(I put this in the food processor with the onion garlic and Brussels sprouts since it’s precooked in links) , Brussels instead of celery and carrots, quinoa and amaranth Instead of wild rice.
This recipe is to die for!
Margot
Commenting again because I forgot to rate.
Connie | URBAN BAKES
Ooo this looks lovely. I haven't tried acorn squash (to my knowledge lol) but I like the flavors you've added here so I this is definitely worth a try. 🙂
PAM
THIS WOULD BE AN AMAZING SIDE FOR THANKSGIVING! THANKS!
Jamielyn
Pure comfort food for fall yet! YUM!
Julie
Pretty presentation for fall!
heather @french press
this looks like the perfect light supper or lunch!