Name: Thanksgiving Stuffed Acorn Squash
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 6
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 3 Acorn Squash; 2 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil; Salt and Pepper; 1 lb Ground Turkey; 1/2 teaspoon Poultry Seasoning; 2 tablespoons Butter; 1 Rib Celery, diced; 1/2 small onion, diced; 2 cloves garlic, minced; 4 cups Cubed and dried Bread; 1 cup Broth, chicken or vegetable; 1/4 teaspoon Sage; 1/4 teaspoon Rosemary; 1/4 teaspoon Thyme; 1/2 cup Dried Cranberries

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If you’re like me and love Thanksgiving dishes, you will love this Thanksgiving Stuffed Acorn Squash. It has turkey, stuffing and cranberries all baked into a roasted acorn squash. The best part is that there is no roasting of turkey involved!

Since it uses ground turkey, it is quick and simple to put together, yet still yields that Thanksgiving flavor of all day cooking. Serve this with a simple side salad or another roasted vegetable such as brussel sprouts.

Ingredients for Thanksgiving Stuffed Acorn Squash:

3 Acorn Squash
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
1 pound Ground Turkey
4 cups Cubed, Dried Bread
1 Rib Celery, diced
1/2 Small Onion, diced
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 cup Dried Cranberries
1 cup Broth, Chicken or Vegetable
2 tbsp Butter
1/2 tsp Poultry Seasoning
1/4 teaspoon each Sage, Rosemary and Thyme

Directions for Thanksgiving Stuffed Acorn Squash:

Preheat your oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
First, cut each acorn squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Then brush each cut side with olive oil, season with salt, pepper and place cut side down on the prepared baking sheet.
Roast for 30-45 minutes based on the size of your squash. Larger squash will take longer to be fork tender.
While the squash is roasting, prepare the filling.
In a large pan over medium-high heat, brown the ground turkey with 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning. Once cooked through, remove to a plate and set aside.
Reduce the heat to medium and melt the butter. Add the celery, onion, garlic and saute for about 4 minutes, until soft.
Next, add in the bread, broth, sage, rosemary, thyme and cranberries. Cook down until all the liquid is absorbed, add the cooked turkey and mix well. Remove from heat.
When the squash is fork tender, remove from the oven and lower the temperature to 350°F.
Carefully flip over the squash and place the filling in each cavity. Bake for 20-25 minutes until tops begin to brown.

Tips and substitutions:

Try to buy squash that are similar in size so that they all bake evenly together.
For the stuffing, I used day old sourdough bread and dried it out just by leaving it on the counter the day before making the dish. You can also dry bread out in the oven by placing it on a baking sheet and bake at 250°F. This will take about an hour.
Use your favorite gluten free bread to make this gluten free.
To make this dairy free, use a dairy free butter substitute.
If you have leftover turkey, you can replace the ground turkey with it and skip the browning and poultry seasoning.