This Sausage Stuffed Butternut Squash is the right hearty facet for Thanksgiving. Loaded with an herby sausage-apple filling, tart cherries and parmesan cheese for one epic chunk. It’s a sweet-and-savory fall-flavored heaven.

Why You’ll Love Stuffed Butternut Squash

This roasted, stuffed butternut squash with sautéed sausage-apple and spinach filling would be the star of your Thanksgiving dinner.

• Basic. Roasted butternut squash is a basic facet dish as soon as the leaves begin falling.
• Candy-and-savory. There’s a steadiness of naturally candy, fruity flavors, and savory cheese and herby sausage.
• Healthful. Each chunk is loaded with tender veggies, all-natural sausage, apples, dried cherries, and parmesan cheese.
• Newbie-friendly. As soon as the filling is prepared, the oven and broiler will care for the remainder of the work.

Ingredient Notes

Apples and dried cherries convey all of the sweetness, whereas sausage and parmesan cheese convey savoriness to the celebration. Scroll to the recipe card on the backside of the put up for actual quantities.

For the Roasted Butternut Squash

• Butternut squash – Keep away from ones with dents or bruises on them.
• Olive oil – Vegetable, corn, and canola oil are okay too.
• Salt – Kosher salt is finest.

For the Filling

• All pure sausage – You should use pork, turkey, or beef sausage for this.
• Yellow onion – White onion is an effective swap.
• Apple – I desire Granny Smith apples as a result of they maintain their form higher when cooked.
• Child spinach – Go for normal spinach in the event you chop it and take away the stems.
• Recent thyme – Dried thyme works too.
• Parmesan – Freshly grated cheese is best than the bottled stuff.
• Dried cherries – Be at liberty to make use of dried cranberries.

Make Stuffed Butternut Squash

Don’t skip the broiler as a result of it offers the juicy sausage-spinach filling an opportunity to brown. Scroll to the underside of the put up for the total recipe card.

• Prep the oven. Preheat it to 400F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Set it apart. You can too use parchment paper.

• Prep the butternut squash. Slice them in half and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds, making wells in every one. They need to appear to be bowls. Season with olive oil and salt.
• Roast them. Flip the butternut squashes over in order that the flat, flesh facet is going through downwards and the peel/pores and skin is pacing upwards. Bake for 30-40 minutes or till fork-tender. Take away from the oven. Flip over and scoop out extra flesh from the remainder of the squash till there’s a 1/4-1/2″ border across the sides.

• Brown the sausage. Add the sausage to a big skillet over medium-high warmth. Prepare dinner it for 6-8 minutes or till browned. Use a spoon or spatula to interrupt up any massive clumps.
• Make the filling. Preheat the broiler to HIGH. Add the onions and apples into the skillet, sautéeing for 3-4 minutes or till delicate and aromatic. Stir within the spinach and thyme, cooking for 2-3 minutes or till the spinach wilts. Fold within the parmesan and dried cherries. Combine properly.
• Broil the squash. Stuff the butternut squash with apple-sausage filling. Broil for five minutes or till the filling will get good and toasty.
• Serve. Take away from the broiler. Let cool for 10 minutes. Garnish with parsley, extra parmesan cheese, and luxuriate in!

Suggestions & Variations

You should use tender acorn squashes, leftover stuffing, or prep the sausage filling upfront for this stuffed butternut squash facet.

• Examine sizes. Choose equally sized butternut squashes in order that they prepare dinner evenly within the oven, in any other case you’ll find yourself with under-cooked and over-cooked squashes on the identical tray.
• Prep forward. Prepare dinner the filling as much as 3 days upfront and refrigerate or freeze it. Reheat proper earlier than dinner, whenever you’re about to pop the butternut squash into the broiler.
• Use leftovers. Stirring 1-2 cups of my Kale & Shaved Brussel Sprout Salad or Roasted Inexperienced Beans & Mushrooms into the filling will assist cut back meals waste.
• Roasted Acorn Squash. If in case you have acorn squash however not butternut squash, that is a simple variation of the recipe.
• Spice it up. Combine 1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika, 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder, 2 teaspoons onion powder, 1/4 teaspoon floor black pepper, and 1/2 sprig dried rosemary into the filling for extra depth and taste.
• Cornbread Sausage Stuffing. That is good in the event you love cornbread and candy, buttery stuffings.
• Cranberry Sausage Stuffing. Toasty sourdough bread, celery, and smokey maple syrup are at all times a good suggestion.

Serving Ideas

This hearty stuffed butternut squash is a simple Thanksgiving facet. I like serving it with my Thanksgiving Turkey, Maple Smoked Turkey, and Garlic Herb Turkey Breast. When you desire steak, attempt my Solid Iron Cowboy Steak and New York Strip Steak with Balsamic Discount. Different veggie facet concepts embody my Air Fryer Asparagus and Air Fryer Inexperienced Beans.

Be certain they’re totally cooled earlier than storing to forestall spoilage.

• Fridge: Place them in an hermetic container for as much as 4 days. Discard instantly if the flesh feels sticky or if it tastes bitter.
• Freezer: This solely works for the filling. Place it in a freezer bag or container. Freeze for as much as 3 months. Thaw in a single day within the fridge and proceed with the recipe as typical.
• To reheat it: Bake at 300F for 30-40 minutes or microwave in 30-second increments till heat.

Extra Thanksgiving Sides

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