Best Ever Stuffed Acorn Squash

4.92 from 12 votes

Best Ever Stuffed Acorn Squash

Stuffed Acorn Squash is perfect for your Friendsgiving and Thanksgiving celebrations! Oven-roasted acorn squash gets perfectly caramelized around the edges. It's stuffed full of wild rice, sweet honeycrisp apples, chopped celery, ground lamb or sausage, and dried cranberries. Top the whole thing off with fresh herbs and parmesan for a dish that's as beautiful as it is delicious!

Prep Time20

Cook Time35

Total Time55

Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Thanksgiving, Squash

Servings: to 16 servings

Author: Stephanie Simmons

Ingredients

For the Acorn Squash

4 large acorn squash
1-2 tbsp olive oil
salt + pepper

For the Filling

3/4 cup wild rice blend (measured while raw) I like the one from Rice Select
1 lb ground lamb Or pork sausage, ground turkey, etc.
salt + pepper
2 tbsp olive oil or butter
1/2 large yellow onion, diced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
3 stalks celery, diced
2 tsp dried sage
2 tsp dried thyme
2 medium honeycrisp apples, diced I don't bother peeling them, but you can if you want!
1/2 cup dried cranberries Unsweetened or sweetened are both fine.
1 cup parmesan, for topping

Instructions

Prep: Cook rice according to package directions. Preheat oven to 400℉.
Roast Acorn Squash: Slice the squash in half. Cut the very bottom tip off, so they can sit flat later on. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon, leaving a hollow cavity in the middle of each half. Rub the cut part with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place cut side down on a baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes, or until fork tender (this may vary depending on the size of your particular squash).
Make the Filling: Cook ground lamb (or whatever meat you are using), with a dash of salt and pepper, in a dutch oven over medium heat until browned through. Set aside in a medium bowl. Add 2 tbsp olive oil or butter to the same pot, and add the diced onion and sautee over medium heat until it begins to soften. Add the garlic and celery with a pinch of salt and pepper, and the sage and thyme. Cook, stirring, until the celery is crisp tender. Add the apples, cranberries, and cooked rice and stir to combine. Add the meat last. Taste, and add more seasoning as desired.
Note: If you have burnt bits left from any mishaps with your meat, clean your pot or use a new one for the filling. If things went fine and there's brown "residue" left from the meat - you can make the filling on top of that! Those bits are just extra flavor and will help the flavors in the filling develop.
Assemble + Finish Baking: Spoon the mixture into the hollowed out space in each of the squash halves, filling all the way full. Place the squash back on the baking sheet (filled side up), sprinkle with parmesan (if using) and bake for 5-7 more minutes, until the cheese is melted.
Serve + Store: Enjoy immediately! Serve as a main dish as is, or slice each in half to be used as a side.
Make Ahead Tips: Store leftovers, tightly covered, in the fridge for 3-4 days.

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