Stuffed Butternut Squash

A healthy, autumn-inspired meal, this stuffed butternut squash is deliciously savory, and an ideal pick when squash is abundant in the markets. Brimming with a filling of seasoned ground turkey, caramelized onion, quinoa, fresh herbs, dried cranberries, and pecans, plus a gooey topping of Jack cheese, this cozy squash recipe is fall's answer to comfort food!

Butternut squash stuffed with delicious morsels

When the various colorful squash of the autumn season become plentiful in the markets, that's my cue to slip on my cozy apron, go into my kitchen, and have some fun coming up with new recipes that make delicious use of them!

In our household, we love a good squash recipe such as my spaghetti squash with sauteed veggies, my butternut squash casserole, my stuffed acorn squash, or my crispy delicata squash rings. Truly, there are so many mouthwatering ways to enjoy the varieties of squash of the season that the options are almost endless!

This autumn season, my craving turned in the direction of delicate and vibrant butternut squash, and creating a stuffed butternut squash recipe loaded with all sorts of tasty morsels.

Butternut squash is an ideal vessel to roast off and fill to the brim with a mix of scrumptious, autumn-inspired ingredients, making for a healthy, comfy-cozy option to whip up during the week to warm bellies!

My recipe for stuffed butternut squash

The beauty of a stuffed squash recipe is that you're only limited by your imagination when it comes to what to fill it with, to create lots of savory fall flavor and lots of delicious texture.

Because butternut squash has a delicate, slightly sweet flesh when roasted off, it pairs well with both sweet and savory ingredients, and perhaps a touch of cheese, to make each bite utterly irresistible!

I like to look for the smaller, more “personal-size” squash, around 1 ½ to 1 ¾ pounds each. They're terrific to serve to four people once halved, roasted, and stuffed. A larger butternut squash can also be used for this recipe if the smaller ones are not available, in which case I would recommend then cutting the larger halves in half once again, to create four portions/servings.

I prepare the butternut squash for this recipe by cutting it in half lengthwise, scooping out the seeds and stringy bits, adding the seasoning and oil, then roasting it until tender.

Because butternut squash has a sort of “neck” to it, I just gently scoop that flesh out, leaving a border, to create a cavity for filling the butternut squash. I reserve this flesh for other uses such as my butternut squash soup recipe.

As for the filling, I like to go in a slightly more healthy direction, and use lean ground turkey, caramelized onion, fresh herbs, dried cranberries, pecans, and fluffy quinoa, which contains all nine essential amino acids.

The filling is hearty and loaded with texture, and I like to give things an extra comforting twist by topping the stuffed butternut squash with some Jack cheese, to create an ooey-gooey finishing touch.

This recipe is so tasty, so warm and cozy, and so colorful!

Here's a sneak peek at how I make my stuffed butternut squash recipe:

(or just jump to the full recipe...)

1. To get started, I season and oil my halved and cleaned butternut squash (a total of four halves), and roast for roughly 40 to 45 minutes, or until tender.
2. While the squash roasts, I prepare my filling by caramelizing my onions, cooking and seasoning my ground turkey, and then combining all of the filling ingredients in a bowl to make sure everything is mixed and seasoned well.
3. Once the butternut squash is tender and cool enough to handle, I scoop out some of the center and neck of the squash to create a cavity for stuffing, leaving a bit of a border to help support the filled squash.
4. Next, I spoon equal portions of the filling into each butternut squash, then top with cheese.
5. Finally, I place the stuffed butternut squash back into the oven for just a few moments to melt the cheese, then garnish with herbs, and serve!

Recipe

Stuffed Butternut Squash

by Ingrid Beer

Print Recipe

This stuffed butternut squash is a cozy fall meal filled with savory ground turkey, quinoa, cranberries, and pecans, topped with Jack cheese!

Category: Entree
Cuisine: American

Yield: Serves 4

Nutrition info: 750 calories (per serving)

Prep time: 35 minutes
Cook time: 50 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 smaller butternut squash (roughly 1 ½ to 1 ¾ pounds each), halved lengthwise to create 4 halves, with seeds/membrane scooped out
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Black pepper
• ½ teaspoon granulated onion
• 1 medium white onion, quartered and sliced
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press
• ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 cup cooked quinoa (from a microwaveable pouch is fine)
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon chopped sage leaves
• ⅓ cup dried, unsweetened cranberries
• ¼ cup chopped pecans
• 1 ½ cups (heaping) grated or shredded Jack cheese

Preparation:

1. Begin by gathering and prepping all of your ingredients according to the ingredient list above to have ready and on hand.
2. Preheat the oven to 400°F, and line a baking sheet with foil.
3. Place your halved butternut squash cut-side up in front of you, and drizzle over each half a touch of olive oil, plus a couple of generous pinches of salt and pepper, as well as equal sprinkles/pinches of the granulated onion.
4. Then, place the butternut squash cut-side down onto the baking sheet, and roast for about 40 to 45 minutes, or until the thickest portion of the butternut squash is tender when pierced with a skewer or paring knife.
5. While the butternut squash roasts, prepare your filling: place a large skillet over medium heat, and drizzle in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Once hot, add in the sliced white onion, and lightly caramelize it until golden, about 10 to 12 minutes.
6. Remove the onion from the skillet to a small bowl to hold, and then add to the skillet the ground turkey, along with a couple of pinches of salt and pepper, and cook the turkey for about 5 to 7 minutes, or until lightly browned and cooked through.
7. Next, add the garlic and Italian seasoning to the ground turkey, and cook a few moments longer, just until things become aromatic.
8. Then, spoon the seasoned ground turkey into a large bowl, along with the caramelized onions, the quinoa, parsley, thyme, sage, dried cranberries, and pecans, and toss everything together to combine and create the filling. Season with more salt/pepper as needed, and set the filling aside for a moment.
9. Once the butternut squash has roasted and is tender, remove it from the oven (leave the oven on), and using a spatula, carefully turn the butternut squash cut-side up to cool just enough to handle.
10. Then, using a spoon, carefully scoop out a little of the flesh from the neck of the roasted butternut squash to create a cavity for the filling, leaving about a ½-inch border on the bottom and sides for support. Reserve this scooped-out butternut squash for another use if desired, such as butternut squash soup.
11. Then, generously spoon equal amounts of the filling into each butternut squash, and top with equal amounts of the shredded Jack cheese.
12. Place the stuffed butternut squash back into the oven just long enough to melt the cheese, about 2 to 4 minutes.
13. Garnish with a sprinkle of parsley, thyme, or sage, if desired, and serve 1 butternut squash half per person.

Tips & Tidbits for my stuffed butternut squash recipe:

• Choose smaller butternut squash for convenient size: The best butternut squash to use are the smaller ones that are roughly 1 ½ to 1 ¾ pounds each. If you cannot find smaller ones like this, you can use 1 large butternut squash, and follow the instructions just as they are, but then halve each of those two larger halves to create 4 smaller sections of butternut squash to stuff.
• Ground turkey, or your favorite protein: I like to use leaner ground turkey as part of the filling for these, but feel free to use ground beef, ground pork, ground sausage, or even ground chicken, if you'd like to substitute.
• Fluffy quinoa, as a healthy filling: While I'm opting for quinoa here, other tasty options are brown or white rice, couscous, or wild rice. And for convenience, feel free to use a microwaveable pouch option, as a time saver.
• Good quality, meltable cheese: Because Jack cheese is wonderfully meltable and relatively neutral in flavor, I like to use that. But you can also opt for cheddar cheese, mozzarella, Gruyere, or soft Gouda—pretty much any cheese that will melt well over top of the butternut squash and filling.

Craving more cozy autumn squash recipes? Check out my recipe for Butternut Squash Soup, Stuffed Delicata Squash, Butternut Squash Pizza, Stuffed Acorn Squash, Roasted Squash Salad, Spaghetti Squash Casserole, Butternut Squash Casserole, or even my recipe for Spaghetti Squash with Sauteed Veggies!