Chicken sausage–stuffed acorn squash
55 min · 51 g protein · 549 cals / serving
Sweet roasted acorn squash halves piled high with a filling of fennel-and-sage chicken sausage, mushrooms, kale, tart apple and quinoa, with a few dried cranberries and a crust of parmesan. An autumn dinner that is gluten-free, reheats beautifully and makes four lunches as easily as four dinners.
Ingredients
- 2 medium (about 3 1/4 lb whole) acorn squash, halved through the stem, seeds scooped out
- 2 tsp olive oil, divided
- 1 1/2 tsp salt, divided
Chicken sausage
- 1 1/2 lb chicken breast, ground chicken breast (or chicken breast pulsed in a food processor)
- 1 tsp fennel seed, lightly crushed
- 1 tsp dried sage
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 8 oz crimini mushroom, chopped
- 1 medium granny smith apple, diced
- 3 cups kale, stems removed, chopped
- 3/4 cup cooked quinoa, half a ready pouch, or leftover
- 2 tbsp dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
Steps
- Heat the oven to 400°F. Brush the cut sides of the squash with half the oil, season with a pinch of the salt and roast cut side down on a lined tray for 30 minutes, until a knife slides in easily.
- Meanwhile heat the rest of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken with the fennel, sage, thyme, paprika, chilli flakes, pepper, garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and cook, breaking it up, 5–6 minutes until browned and cooked through (165°F).
- Add the onion, celery, mushrooms, apple and another 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and cook 6–7 minutes, stirring, until the mushrooms have given up their water and the onion is soft.
- Stir in the kale until it wilts, then the quinoa and cranberries. Taste and add the last of the salt if it needs it; it should taste like a well-seasoned sausage.
- Turn the squash halves cut side up and pile in the filling (it will mound high), spooning any extra around the halves on the tray. Scatter with parmesan and roast 10 minutes more, until the top is golden. Sprinkle with parsley. Leftovers keep 4 days in the fridge in a covered dish; reheat in the oven or microwave until hot all the way through.
Good to know
Can I use bought chicken sausage?
Yes: squeeze 1 1/2 lb of chicken sausage out of its casings and leave out the fennel, sage, paprika and most of the salt. Check the pack if you need it gluten-free, as many sausages contain rusk or breadcrumbs.
Can I speed up the squash?
Microwave the halves cut side down in a covered dish with a splash of water for 8–10 minutes, then fill and finish in the oven for 12 minutes. That brings the whole dish to about 35 minutes.
Per
- Calories
- 95
- Protein
- (39%)
- 9 g
- Fat
- (19%)
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- (41%)
- 10 g
- of which sugar
- 3 g
- Fiber
- 3 g
- Sodium
- 177 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 2196 kcal goes into the pot and 2912 g of ingredients comes out as about 2320 g of food: 95 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.