Sausage Stuffed Butternut Squash
Warm, roasted, easy weeknight goodness.
It’s President’s Day weekend. I don’t know what to do with that except be glad that I won’t get as many work emails on Monday and can film some content to hopefully inspire people to buy my sauces and spices.
To me, it’s still winter, and it’s forecasted to rain all weekend here in sunny SoCal.
If that’s the case where you are, this recipe is a perfect winter comfort food dish that doesn’t take long to whip together.
The most labor-intensive thing about this recipe is slicing the butternut squash in half without incident. Pro tip: use the microwave. Do not try to cut a butternut squash, a spaghetti squash, an acorn squash, or heck, even a pumpkin without a minute or two in the microwave to soften the shell ever so slightly.
And even then, please be careful.
Oh, the sense of accomplishment you feel after slicing one of these suckers.
If you use a machete or a saber, please take video and tag me in it.
Quick interlude to let you know we finally have a book bonus landing page for you to pre-order Eat Happy Italian and enter your info and receipt to qualify for our super early pre-order bonuses.
It’s my job to pack these pre-orders by March 15th so that the publisher orders the correct amount of books from the overseas printer.
I hope y’all are able to help with that. You are gonna love this book. I am so excited to get it into your hands.
Remember when I swore I’d never put out another cookbook and instead started this Substack recipe newsletter?
Well, not only have I written a new cookbook, I’ve published 92 recipes at this Substack (with way more on the way), and have another cookbook in the works.
LOL. I talk a lot of shit when I’m stressed.
OK, let’s get back to the recipe you came here for.
One more quick note—this recipe is a dairy free opus. If you really need the dairy, you are welcome to top it with some fresh parmesan.
As always, the printable, PDF version of Sausage Stuffed Butternut Squash lives here.
SAUSAGE STUFFED BUTTERNUT SQUASH
(Serves 4)
2 butternut squash
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for coating squash halves
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup diced onion
1 pound ground uncooked pork sausage
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons minced fresh sage leaves
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary leaves
2 cups of packed spinach leaves, loosely chopped
Preheat the oven to 400°.
Microwave the whole butternut squash on high for 2 minutes. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes. Carefully cut the squash in half lengthwise, then scrape out and discard the seeds. Brush the inside of each of the squash halves with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Place the squash halves cut-side-down on a parchment paper lined or foil lined baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 40 minutes, or until the squash is soft when you press it. Remove the squash halves from the oven, set aside.
While the squash roasts: toast the pecans. Bring a small non-stick sauté pan to medium high heat. Immediately add the chopped pecans, turn the heat to low, and toss constantly for 3-4 minutes until toasted and fragrant, being careful not to let them burn. Set the toasted pecans aside to cool completely.
Heat the olive oil in a large, flat-bottomed sauté pan on medium high heat. Add the onion and cook 3-4 minutes, allowing the onions to sear and soften. Add the ground pork sausage and brown for 6-8 minutes until cooked through and starting to crisp on the edges, using a spatula to separate the pork into bite sized pieces. Add the garlic, sage, and rosemary and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently. Do not drain the excess grease. Taste the sausage mixture and season with additional salt and pepper if needed. Toss in the spinach and cook for 1-2 additional minutes until the spinach is wilted. Remove the pan from the heat and fold in the toasted, cooled pecans. Spoon the sausage filling mixture evenly into the center of each roasted squash half. Serve immediately.