Fruit and Nut Stuffed Acorn Squash

In this fruit and nut stuffed acorn squash, apple and nuts fill thhe center of a brown sugar and butter roasted acorn squash. Dessert wont ever be the same!

I love stuffed acorn squash! It can go sweet or savory, breakfast, brunch or dessert-y. It could even be dinner. I’m not quite sure where this falls, probably dessert or even a sweet side but it definitely can fall right in front of my face at the dinner table and I’d be quite all right.

I have a few gluten free friends in my life. Some are dairy and nut free too, so I’d swap out the butter for coconut oil and the nuts…well, I’ll have to think on that. But after this recipe, my mind is swirling with ideas. I’ll keep them to myself for now… but one might have something to do with brown butter and sage will be involved.

Start by cutting two small-ish acorn squash in half horizontally.

Trim off enough of the ends so it will sit flat.

Turn them over and use a spoon to scrape out the seeds.

Pretty cute huh?

I put 4 tablespoons of butter into a 9×13 baking dish and popped it into the oven while it was preheating to melt the butter. Then I sprinkled in two tablespoons of light brown sugar and stirred it around a tad.

Place the acorn squash cut-side down into the butter/brown sugar mixture and bake for 40-50 minutes.

In a 10 inch skillet melt 2 tablespoons of butter {give or take 😉 }.

Dice up 1 small granny smith and half of and 1 small honeycrisp apple.

Throw them into the butter and gently sauté.

Meanwhile, I diced up dried cranberries, pistachios and walnuts.

Once the apples are tender, spice them up with cinnamon, freshly grated nutmeg and allspice.

And a pinch or two of kosher salt.

Add in the vanilla last…

…before you transfer them to a bowl.

Add in the chopped nuts, cranberries and a half teaspoon of poppy seeds. The colors are so darn pretty and fall like!

Stir all those goodies together.

The squash are done and fully cooked when you can easily pierce them with a knife. I try to time the filling with the squash so everything is warm.

Spoon a little of the brown sugar/butter mixture from the baking dish into the squash cups.

Fill with the apple and nut mixture…

And might I suggest a drizzle of honey and a sprinkle more of the chopped pistachios over the stuffed acorn squash? SO good.

This is a fun and different way to serve a dessert. I’d suggest you serve with hot tea or coffee, maybe in front of a fire all snuggled-down in blankets. I mean that’s what I’d do. But really, who needs a pie when you can have this gorgeous stuffed acorn squash?

Enjoy! And if you give this recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!

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Yield: 4 servings

Fruit and Nut Stuffed Acorn Squash

Apples are sautéed in butter with cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Then simply spoon the apple filling in the center of a brown sugar and butter roasted acorn squash... your dessert won't ever be the same.

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Additional Time: 50 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr

Ingredients

• 2 small acorn squash, cut in half horizontally
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 small granny smith apple
• 1 small honeycrisp apple
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon allspice
• 2 pinch sea salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup chopped pistachios, plus more for garnish
• 1/4 cup chopped dried cranberries
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds
• honey, for serving

Instructions 

For the squash:

• Preheat your oven to 350°. In a large glass baking dish add 4 tablespoons of butter. To melt the butter, just pop into the oven while it preheats.
• Slice 1/8 of an inch off the bottoms of each squash half so they will sit flat.
• Once the butter is melted, sprinkle the brown sugar evenly on the bottom of the pan. Lay the squash face down (with the “bottom” facing up) so the exposed flesh touches the brown sugar butter mixture in the pan. Bake in your preheated oven for 40-50 minutes or until knife pierces easily.

For the stuffing:

• Meanwhile, in a 10-inch skillet, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Once melted and hot, add in the diced apples. Sauté for 8-10 minutes until soft, but still firm and textured. Measure and add in the cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and a couple pinches of sea salt.
• Remove stuffing mixture to a medium-sized bowl and add in the chopped walnuts, pistachios and cranberries. Measure and add in the vanilla extract and poppy seeds, toss together until well combined.

To serve:

• Invert the baked squash onto a platter or individual plates. Spoon in some of the brown sugar and butter from the baking dish and drizzle it into the center and along the tops of the squash.
• Fill the squash centers with the apple filling and top with more chopped pistachios and a drizzle of honey. Serve warm.

Notes

This recipe was developed for Simply Organic to feature their wonderful spices.

Serving: 1g, Calories: 419kcal, Carbohydrates: 49g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 26g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 45mg, Sodium: 31mg, Potassium: 961mg, Fiber: 7g, Sugar: 19g, Vitamin A: 1390IU, Vitamin C: 28mg, Calcium: 110mg, Iron: 2mg

Author: Laurie McNamara

Course: Side Dishes

Cuisine: American