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Turkey Stuffed Acorn Squash – it’s a Fall on a plate; Turkey with Apples, Cranberries and dried Thyme stuffed in a sweet Acorn Squash makes for an irresistible combination of fall flavors.
Turkey Stuffed Acorn Squash – screams Fall on a plate
Who doesn’t love all the fall flavors? This the season: pumpkins, squashes, apple cider, turkey, etc. Even though I am trying to share my heritage on this blog, I cannot simply disregard this wonderful season and not share something that I developed and it’s out of this world – my Turkey Stuffed Acorn Squash.
A little while ago we drove to the east of Long Island to spend half a day on the farms, get a pumpkin, apples, and whatever else we could have found. Our aunt, who used to live around there and knows me and my unconditional love for fresh, good quality food, showed me where I can find the best quality produce.
The first stop was a huge farm stand. You could get there anything you wanted. I bought there everything. I mean everything: white cabbage, red cabbage, cauliflower, leeks, potatoes, tomatoes, brussels sprouts, different kinds of squashes…. etc. I cannot even remember what else was in my basket. But one of the squashes was the Acorn Squash.
Cooking with Acorn Squash
I’m very comfortable with Butternut Squash. I absolutely love it and cook it often. You can check one of my favorite butternut squash recipes: Truffled Butternut Squash and Mushroom Soup. or Roasted Butternut Squash Feta Pierogi. Acorn Squash is different, though, and requires different cooking methods.
Except for summer squashes, like zucchinis, winter squashes are not very popular in Poland. Maybe they are right now, but for sure I did not know them when I was growing up. And because I do love trying new things and pushing my comfortable buttons, I decided to tackle this amazing vegetable (or should I say fruit, as it technically is a fruit because of its seeds). I knew I could roast it and I knew I could stuff it. That’s how my Turkey Stuffed Acorn Squash was born.
One night I told my husband that I wanted to make this squash, stuffed with turkey. It didn’t resonate well with him. He told me that, “again, I am turning him into vegan”. The fact that it was filled with meat didn’t matter. What was important is that I was serving the WHOLE veggie for him and this was supposed to be a star of the night.
Even though he likes to complain about vegetables, I usually do what I have planned to do. So, I served it. He took the first bite. And there was a silence. And then he looked at me and said: “do never do that to me again…and that’s all I’m gonna say”. He was simply speechless. That’s how amazing my Turkey Stuffed Acorn Squash was.
How to Make Baked Stuffed Acorn Squash with Ground Turkey
Ever since this dinner, my husband kept telling me: “you need to put it on the blog”, “you need to put it on the blog”. And this weekend, he said it again, “please make this acorn squash dish and post it”. It’s AMAZING and the season is here.
So, here we come. It was our dinner last night and it was pretty spectacular.
- It takes some time, just because the squash needs to roast, but it is very simple. Once you cut the squash and remove the seeds, it needs to be brushed with olive oil, seasoned, and baked for an hour.
- In the meantime, you need to make the stuffing.
- First, brown the turkey meat;
- Then took it out and in the same pan saute some onions with dried thyme and celery; the fragrance will be amazing already;
- Add apples, dried cranberries, and put the meat back to the pan;
- Cook it for a while;
- Add a little chicken stock to loosen it up;
- Add breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese and you’re done;
- Season with salt and pepper and wait for your squash to be done roasting.
- Fill the squash with the turkey staffing and place it back in the oven for another 15 minutes and your incredible Turkey Stuffed Acorn Squash is ready to be consumed. Enjoy 🙂
How to Alter This Recipe for Stuffed Acorn Squash
If you need to alter this recipe here are a couple of options:
- If you want to make this recipe Paleo-friendly, skip the breadcrumbs and cheese;
- If you want to make this recipe vegetarian, replace turkey with quinoa or with lentils as I did in this recipe for Lentils Stuffed Acorn Squash.
- If you want to make this recipe vegan, replace turkey with quinoa or lentils and omit the cheese.
This post was originally published on November 8, 2015, but because it is so popular and the season for squash is back I decided to update it and bring it back to life.
Turkey Stuffed Acorn Squash
Ingredients
- 1 Acorn Squash large or 2 small ones , cut in the half
- 1 lbs ground turkey
- 1/2 Yellow onions large or one small one, chopped
- 1 celery stalk chopped
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 apple peeled and chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon bread crumbs plain
- 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese grated
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1/4 teaspoon of garlic salt
- 3 tablespoon of olive oil
- Salt and pepper for taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F
- Cut the bottom and the top of the squash to have flat surfaces on both sides
- Cut the squash in the middle (vertically)
- Using a spoon scoop out all the seeds
- Brush both halves of the squash with olive oil, season with garlic salt, and pepper
- Place the squash in the oven and roast for 50 min to 1 hour
- In the meantime heat up another tablespoon of olive oil in the skillet
- Add turkey, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the meat is cooked through
- Remove the meat from the pan
- Add some more olive oil
- Add onions and dried thyme and cook until the onion is translucent (5 minutes)
- Add celery, apple, and cranberries and cook for another 3-4 minutes
- Return the meat to the pan
- Add chicken stock, salt, and pepper and cook for another 3 minutes
- Add breadcrumbs and cheese
- Stir everything well and check for seasoning
- Fill out the squash with the meat stuffing
- Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
Video
Notes
- I used one big Acorn Squash and I ended up with a little bit of meat stuffing left out. If you have smaller squash you may want o use 2 small ones instead of one big squash.
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If you need to alter this recipe here are a couple of options:
- If you want to make this recipe Paleo-friendly, skip the breadcrumbs and cheese;
- If you want to make this recipe vegetarian, replace turkey with quinoa or lentils;
- If you want to make this recipe vegan, replace turkey with quinoa or lentils and omit the cheese.
Nutrition
PIN IT FOR LATER
If you like this recipe you may also enjoy these fall favorites:
Truffled Butternut Squash and Mushroom Soup
Maple Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Candid Pecans, Craisins and Chives
This is my husband’s favorite thing I make. It is our fall/winter go to recipe.
I have made this twice and will make it again! Wowza! I didn’t even know that liked acorn squash. I only made it because the picture looked so yummy! It was soooooo good!