A perfectly portioned fall meal! This 21 Day Fix Stuffed Acorn Squash with Sausage, Spinach, and Feta is as delicious as it is beautiful. And it’s also versatile, so sub your favorite protein, veggies and cheese for variety!
Confession #129 – I am totally kicking myself for not trying acorn squash until now.
I don’t even have a real reason. I mean, I guess I was never sure how to prepare it, but that hasn’t stopped me from trying things before. I think I just felt very fulfilled in the area of squash…I had no idea how much I was missing out on!
How to Cut Acorn Squash
So unlike Spaghetti Squash and Butternut Squash, where I fear losing a finger every time I attempt to cut them raw, acorn squash is super easy to cut before cooking. For recipes like this 21 Day Fix Stuffed Acorn Squash, I like to cut mine top to bottom, because it’s a little flatter that way and the squash rests easily on my cutting board and plus it makes an adorable heart shape. But you can also cut it in half across the middle and the halves look like a flower! Either way, it’s pretty easy and pretty darn cute.
What does Acorn Squash Taste Like?
The flavor of acorn squash is slightly sweeter, and even maybe more mild, which gives it amazing versatility as a meal, a side dish, or even a sweet treat. I am totally in love, in case you haven’t noticed.
Here’s a video of me gushing over acorn squash on my Facebook Page.
What can I stuff Acorn Squash with?
For this particular recipe, I was inspired to make my acorn squash into a savory dinner because while at the farm market where I finally took the leap and put some in my cart, they had this yummy chicken sausage with spinach and feta. Like I said before, there are SO many options for making stuffed acorn squash, but I decided to put all this deliciousness together and we loved the results! For a sweeter Stuffed Acorn Squash recipe, check out this Roasted Acorn Squash with Sweet Whipped Ricotta recipe.
How do I make Stuffed Acorn Squash?
You start by roasting the squash with some salt and olive oil. I cook mine cut side up because I love how the squash caramelizes during the roasting process, but I know other people like to steam it face down.
While that’s roasting, I made this quick and yummy stuffing mix with my sausage, some garlic and onion, and chopped spinach. Can’t find Turkey or Chicken Sausage at your grocery store? Make your own using this How to Make Homemade Italian Sausage with Ground Chicken or Turkey recipe!
After about 40 minutes, the squash should be ready. You want it to be easy to mash, but it should still retain it’s shape so you can use the squash half as a bowl! Yipppeeeee!
Now go ahead and stuff that squash. And you could eat them as is, especially if you need a dairy-free option, but because my sausage had some feta in it, I decided to top mine with some extra feta cheese and a tiny sprinkle of pecorino romano. You could go all romano or even parmesean or goat. Basically, cheese it up with your favorite because you can’t go wrong.
A couple more minutes back in the oven and to melt the cheese and you are ready to dig in! And leftovers, if you are lucky to have them, are awesome for packed lunches! I even ate mine without heating it because I was totally starving and kinda lazy. Still freaking good!
What are you waiting for? Get thee to the store, buy some acorn squash and get stuffing!!
Stuffed Acorn Squash with Sausage, Spinach, and Feta
Ingredients
- 2 acorn squash
- 1 lb sweet or spicy poultry sausage mine was chicken with feta and spinach
- 4 teaspoons olive oil divided
- Olive oil spray
- 1/2 onion diced (i used sweet yellow, but I bet red would be yummy, too)
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups spinach chopped into bite sized pieces
- 1/2 cup feta cheese or sub your favorite cheese
- 2 tablespoons pecorino romano
- Sea or Himalayan salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (optional, but keeps the mess away).
- Cut each acorn squash in half, top to bottom OR across the middle, and remove the seeds. Use the first 2 teaspoons of olive oil to brush each squash, then sprinkle with salt. Place squash halves in oven for 40 minutes, or until fork tender, but still retaining their shape.
- While the squash is roasting, brown sausage in a skillet until cooked through. Next, add in remaining olive oil, onion and garlic to the pan and cook until veggies are soft. Mix in spinach and sprinkle mixture with a little salt. Cook until spinach wilts.
- Once squash is finished cooking, use a fork to gently mash the inside. Then divide sausage and veggie mixture evenly among the squash halves. Top each with 2 T of feta cheese and a 1/2 T of pecorino romano. Place squash back in the oven for a few minutes to melt and brown the cheese.
Notes
Nutrition
Michelle says
Made this the other night I used avocado spray instead of olive oil and I mixed the onion and garlic with the ground chicken to give the ground chicken more flavor. I also added cinnamon to the dish and it tasted really good. I have been using your recipes for over 13 weeks now and using the 21 day fix guidelines I have lost over 15lbs with exercise. Thank you for the delicious and healthy recipes. xoxo
Nancylynn says
Michelle!! That is such an accomplishment – thank you for including me on your journey and for sharing your success, too! It made my day!
Melissa says
OMG! I made this and it’s insanely good. I’m a horrible cook so I had low expectations. DELICIOUS. I used jimmy dean already cooked turkey sausage (EASY) and goat cheese (don’t like feta). Unbelievable is how I would describe this recipe. Thank you!!!
Nancylynn says
Yay! This is awesome, Thank you!
Shirley says
Due to being involved in an auto accident, my hand is broken. Since I had already purchased the ingredients I had to ask my hubby to “be my hands” to make this. He was pensive about it, but as it turned out, it was easy for him and he was SO proud how well it presented AND tasted… he said its a top 5 recipe and prefers it over other top rated meal such as turkey, stuffing, and potatoes! We used a tube of pork sausage for the sausage. Thank you for a fantastic recipe!
Nancylynn says
Blown away by this comment! WOW – go hubby! I’m so sorry to hear about your auto accident and hope you heal quickly! Sounds like you have some great support, though!
Ashlie Goerke says
Put my comment on the wrong recipe. Oops.
This is another winner for sure. The flavors blended together so well!
Nancylynn says
Lol – it’s ok! I so appreciate this!! Also – that frittata would be a perfect recipe to make with your leftover spinach and feta!
Amanda says
DELICIOUS! I made it with a tangy chicken sausage that blended perfectly with the slightly sweet acorn squash. I’m definitely making this again!
Nancylynn says
YUM!! Thank you for the feedback!
Kim says
That was delicious!!! I used goat cheese and ground turkey. The whole family loved it! This was our first time trying acorn squash.
Thank you!
Nancylynn says
So yummy, right?
Sara says
Can you use a bag of frozen spinach?
Nancylynn says
Frozen works!
Amy Farthing says
Loved this recipe so much! Deliciousness of fall coming together beautifully! I love food that is pretty and delicious and healthy- Nancylynn, you are life changing! Thank you for these yummy recipes. This is one of my faves 🙂
Nancylynn says
Ahhh!! I am so, so happy to hear it! Thank you for taking the time to write such an awesome review, Amy! 💕
Jessica C says
Loved, loved, LOVED this delicious fall recipe! Thank you for sharing!
Nancylynn says
YES!!! That makes me SO happy, Jessica!!! Thank you for the comment and the rating!! 💕
Leila says
Hi ! This looks lovely, but I was wondering, how can I make sure that half of my squash is one green? I know all squash are not the same !
Nancylynn says
I think you are pretty safe with acorn squash as they are typically very close in size! If you aren’t sure, you can remove the cooked squash and measure it in the green container and then add it back into your squash before stuffing it.
Shelly says
I know this is an older post, but thoughts on doing this with butternut squash? I’ve got two small ones I’ve been needing to use!
Nancylynn says
I think it would be delicious!
Jess says
Another amazing recipe from your blog!! Loved it. I’ve made stuffed squash in the past and this has a lot less ingredients so I was worried it wouldn’t be super flavorful…wrong!! Delicious!!
This is my lunch for the week at work and I got multiple comments today about how amazing my lunch smelled!
Nancylynn says
That’s AWESOME, Jess!!! And, yes, as long as the ingredients are the right ones, you don’t need a whole lot! So happy to hear this was a hit for you! Thanks for taking the time to write such a nice note!
Lauren E. says
I made this for the family tonight (which is scary because I don’t cook). This was so fun and easy. And…DELISH. So filling and tasty. Even my meat-and-potato hubby couldn’t finish his half (yay – lunch for me tomorrow!). You are a genius, my friend!
Nancylynn says
I <3 you...you know that, right? Thanks for making my day. xo
Cara S says
I made this last night for dinner using sweet Italian sausage and it was so good! First time ever cooking with acorn squash!! Thanks for the great recipe! 🙂
Nancylynn says
I am SO happy to hear that! You are so awesome, Cara! <3
Julie Lease says
These were SO DELICIOUS!! Loved every bite. Even found that chicken, spinach and feta sausage at Aldi. Thanks for the squash inspiration!
Nancylynn says
AWESOME! This makes me so happy, Julie! <3 <3 <3