(paleo, keto, gluten free & Whole30)
Who loves a great family recipe that every can adjust to their food allergy needs? Ok, if you don’t suffer from that in your home kudos to you. But, if you are looking for a healthy, simple recipe for a savory dish this is for you!
I know most blog posts about recipes are long and tell a story about how they….yeah already lost you. Ok, come on back in. I promise this is just a post with the recipe and steps and things that you might need to know to make it perfect. That’s it! No long story before having to jump to the recipe!
Now I am not the kind of person you see knocking on veggies in the produce department trying to find the perfect one. Ok, maybe I tried it once. But just grab one that looks good and call it good.
You’ll be serving a the halves of the squash to each person, so adjust the ingredients to your needs. There is 4 of us, so if you don’t want to do basic math that is 2 acorn squash. You’re welcome
Heat your oven to 425ºF. Line a baking dish or sheet with parchment paper. Cut the squash in half. I cut the little pointed ends off so it has an even bottom to stand up on in your bowl. Scrape out the seeds and some of the meat to form a bowl. Sprinkle with oil of choice. I used olive oil because it is what I had. Cook for 25-30 minutes face down.
In the meantime, you can start cooking the “stuffing”. Brown your meat (the recipe calls for sausage but ground beef or turkey is good too). I won’t tell you how to do all the steps, as they are in the recipe and pretty self-explanatory.
To make this paleo friendly and dairy free you can omit the craisins and goat cheese. Obviously, omit the walnuts for nut allergy. (You can use dehydrated cranberries but the store-bought craisins are not paleo friendly because of the added sugars and processing.)
Let me know how your family liked it! And don’t forget—you can eat that yummy acorn squash too, it’s not just a “bowl”!
Recipe:
Ingredients
3 acorn squash small/med*
2 tsp organic coconut oil
or ghee, plus sea salt, for roasting
1 Tbsp organic coconut oil
or ghee, plus more, if needed
1 lb pork sausage (I just use breakfast sausage to make it easy) or meat of choice
1 small onion diced
2 celery stalks diced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 red apple diced
1 Tbsp fresh sage leaves minced
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary leaves minced
1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves minced
1/3 cup dried cranberries/craisins
sea salt and pepper to taste
Finely chopped walnuts and goat cheese for garnish, if desired
Instructions
- First, roast the squash. Preheat your oven to 425º F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cut each squash open, lengthwise, then scoop out the seeds/strings with a spoon, leaving a “bowl” in the center.
- Brush the top of each squash half with melted coconut oil (or ghee) and sprinkle lightly with sea salt, then place face down on prepared baking sheet, and roast for 25-30 minutes, or until top of the squash feels soft when you press on it.
- Roasting time will vary depending on the size of your squash. You can remove, check for doneness (it should be soft enough to eat) and return the the oven for a few more minutes if necessary.
- While the squash roasts, prepare the stuffing. Heat a large skillet over med-hi heat and add a Tbsp coconut oil or ghee to melt. Add your sausage, breaking up lumps with a wooden spoon to evenly brown. Once browned and toasty, remove from heat and transfer to a plate, leaving fat in the skillet.
- Return skillet to medium heat and add the onions, celery, and sprinkle lightly with salt. Stir while cooking to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute, stirring to avoid burning.
- Add the apples, fresh herbs, and salt and pepper to taste, stir to combine. Cook for another 1-2 minutes to allow apples to soften.
- Now add the craisins and browned sausage back to the skillet, lower heat to med/low and continue to cook another 2 minutes to blend flavors.
- Once ready to stuff the squash, preheat your broiler and arrange the 4 squash halves face-up on the baking sheet. Scoop the stuffing mixture into each one, filling them evenly.
- Once filled, set your broiler to hi and broil until tops of stuffing and squash are nicely browned, 5 minutes or so. Garnish with fresh minced parsley, serve and enjoy!
