When choosing winter squash, pick any kind you like, but just make sure they are smaller and similar in size so roasting times don’t vary too much.
Here we are using small acorn squashes, but little butternuts, pumpkins, delicata, kabocha or spaghetti squash would work well too.
With a sharp knife cut the squash in half and scoop out seeds with a spoon. You could also do these standing upright, reserving the tops for garnish, by cutting a little off the bottom so they have an even platform to stand on.
Brush insides with an equal mix of olive oil and maple syrup and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Lay on a greased baking sheet and roast in a 400F oven until fork tender. Make the maple pecans (see below).
Place them in a baking dish and fill with the Apple Parsnip Sage mixture. Grate some fresh nutmeg over the top and place in a 350F oven.
You can also refrigerate them at this point, and bake them the next day. They will take longer to heat thru if coming out of the fridge, so bring to room temp first.
Maple Glazed Acorn Squash with Apple, Parsnip and Sage
Roasted Acorn Squash with sausage (or use vegan sausage), apple, parsnips, pecans and sage. Vegan-adaptable and can be made ahead.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 50 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 mins
- Yield: 6
- Category: Main, fall dinner
- Method: roasted
- Cuisine: northwest
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 3 small acorn squash
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- salt and pepper to taste
- ———–
- 1 cup Italian sausage- or use soy sausage, browned
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups peeled and diced parsnip (two medium-sized)
- 1/2 an onion, diced
- 1 cup diced apple (like a gala)
- 2 tablespoons chopped sage
- salt and pepper to taste
- Splash white wine (or sub water)
- 2 cups chopped kale
- 1/2 cup maple pecans (recipe below) or toasted pecans
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- fresh grated nutmeg (or ground)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F
- Cut Acorn Squash lengthwise and scoop out seeds with a spoon ( or scoop after baking!). Brush insides with a mix of 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon maple syrup. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and lay skin-side up on a greased, or parchment lined baking sheet, and roast in a hot oven for 30-40 minutes, until you can pierce through skin and flesh with a fork. Remove from the oven and using a metal spatula, turn over, trying to keep caramelized edges intact, and let cool. Place in a baking dish.
- While squash is roasting in the oven, brown Italian sausage (or soy sausage), set aside and wipe out pan.
- In the same pan, saute parsnips and onions in olive oil, on medium heat, until tender, about 10 minutes.
- Add apples, kale and sage, and saute 5 more minutes, until apples are tender. You may need to add a little more olive oil. Generously Salt and Pepper to taste.
- Splash with a little white wine and add pecans. When wine has evaporated, add 1 T maple syrup. Add sausage back in and taste for salt, adding if necessary. Add a little fresh grated nutmeg or a pinch or two of ground. Fill the squash with the apple parsnip sausage mixture and place in a 350 F until heated through (about 15-20 minutes)
To Make Maple Pecans
- Pre heat oven to 400F
- In a small bowl, coat pecans with real maple syrup (only real maple will work here) Add a pinch of salt and some cracked pepper. Spread out on a greased baking sheet and using a timer, bake 8 minutes to start, in a 400 F oven, give them a mix, then bake another 7 – 13 minutes. These need to toast up nicely for the right “crunch,” but time will vary depending on your oven – so keep a close eye on these to make sure they don’t burn.
- Remove, let cool 3-4 minutes, then use a metal spatula to unstick them from the sheet pan. If they are completely stuck, place them back in the oven for a minute or two, to loosen, and try again. Then let cool completely, store in a zip lock bag. I make these in big batches and use in salads or cheese platters.
Notes
These can be made and stuffed ahead, then baked before serving. Make some with meat and keep some vegan.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: Calculated with Italian sausage
- Calories: 230
- Sugar: 6.3 g
- Sodium: 146.3 mg
- Fat: 14.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 22.3 g
- Fiber: 4.9 g
- Protein: 4.9 g
- Cholesterol: 14.3 mg
Keywords: stuffed squash, roasted acorn squash, stuffed acorn squash recipe
Made this for my friends who came into town last night. Was a total winner! They even fed small pieces of acorn squash to their toddler for the first time and he loved it! Would 100% make again 🙂 thank you!
★★★★★
Love it Angeli! 🙂
Do u think I could make this as a stuffing for thanksgiving Turkey? Maybe add breadcrumbs?
Do you mean, stuff the turkey with it? or serve on the side? The flavors certainly go well. 🙂
Hi Sylvia! Quick question – you have us adding Kale at both Step 5 & 6. Should I assume this is divided, or is that a typo?
Currently making it now and will use my best judgement, but it seemed confusing in an otherwise straightforward recipe.
Thanks!!
★★★★★
Opps a typo -sorry Kyle!
One more thought…serve your awesome Rustic Pear Tart with Walnut Crust for dessert if you have space ?!
Love it thanks Catherine!
This really was delicious.
I am not a fan of sausage so i made this with organic ground pork and added some sausage-spices like paprika, rosemary, thyme, and sage.
The maple pecans added a nice crunch and warm nutty depth. This recipe is a new comfort food!
★★★★★
I’m always looking for new ways to cook acorn squash, and this recipe delivers in spades. I used a pound of bulk Italian sausage, subbed sweet potato for the parsnips and added 8 ounces of sliced baby Portobello mushrooms. This made more stuffing than I needed, which was great since we ate the leftover stuffing for breakfast topped with a fried egg. And those pecans—they’re addictive! My hubby said this one’s a keeper and I agree. Thank you for a great recipe!
★★★★★
The stuffing was so addictivly delicious that I was lucky there was enough left to stuff the acorn squash from my repeated sampling of it. Very nice presentation also. Burned my first batch of pecans but remade them and baked them a shorter time taking them out a bit sticky. They firmed nicely cooling on a plate and don’t stick together in storage. EXCELLENT flavors. I used 2 butcher Italian sausages: one sweet one spicy that I stripped from the casing. Great ratio/flavor combo.
I may try cubed roasted butternut squash with this stuffing as a top layer layer in a baking dish next. That way it might be scooped from the serving dish onto a plate or nestled into a bowl over wilted garlic spinach. The colors of deep green spinach with this orange squash and golden stuffing might be fab. Thank you so much for your most amazing chef skills and creativity. Every recipe is outstanding and so unique. Could not be better. Thank you for sharing your talents. Thanks Sylvia.
★★★★★
thanks so much Tracy!
I made this as a vegan dish and used Field Roast sage and apple sausage. The stuffing is absolutely delicious, but seemed to be a little on the dry side when I added it to the squash. Perhaps I was a bit off and didn’t add enough oil or maple syrup? I think I’ll try it again with a touch of vegan butter and an extra teaspoon of maple syrup. I also wonder how this would be with a spoonful of freshly made cranberry sauce.
★★★★
I bet that would help, a little oilve oil or vegan butter and more maple. Field roast has very little fat or moisture, so needs a little help.