Cheesy Stuffed Acorn Squash
4 standard portions
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Ingredients
- 2 medium acorn squash (each was 2 lb, if yours are smaller you might need 3 otherwise you’ll end up with too much filling)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 pound (450g) ground chicken (or ground turkey, ground beef or mild italian sausage, I used ground chicken in the images)
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms (sliced)
- 1 small yellow onion (diced)
- 1 rib celery (diced)
- 1 sweet crisp apple (peeled, cored and diced)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 teaspoons fresh chopped thyme (or rosemary or a mix of both)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅓ cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 cup shredded cheese (I do a mix of mozzarella with sharp cheddar but any other cheese works)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C, then cut each acorn squash in half and scoop out the seeds with the help of a spoon or an ice cream scoop and discard the seeds.
- Place on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast for 30-40 minutes or until fork tender.
- Meanwhile, make the filling: In a skillet over medium high heat, add olive oil and melt the butter then add ground chicken. Cook until it’s browned.
- Add the mushrooms, onion, celery and apple and cook for 4-5 more minutes or until the onions are soft and translucent. Add garlic, thyme, salt, pepper and cook for 30 seconds.
- Mix in the parmesan and remove from heat.
- When the acorn squash are cool enough to handle, carefully scoop out the flesh leaving about ¼ inch of wall all around the squash (try not to create a hole in of the sides, I use an ice cream scoop to do this, or a spoon).
- Add the scooped squash to the filling, and stir to combine.
- Divide the filling between the 4 acorn squash halves
- Top the filling with shredded cheese and roast for 5 minutes, then broil for a couple of extra minutes until the top is bubbling and lightly browned.