If you’re cooking for two this holiday season, this Sausage Stuffing Acorn Squash needs to be on your holiday menu. Fresh produce, pork sausage, and cranberries dress up store-bought stuffing in this single-serve side dish.
Are you cooking for two this holiday season?
As much as my husband and I appreciate holiday invites to join our friends and their families for dinner, this year we are staying home. Just the two of us! At first I was overjoyed at the idea of enjoying our favorite holiday recipes, in my comfy pants for sure, while we binge watch our latest series. But let’s be honest, the potential for large amounts of leftovers seemed certain. I set out to create a menu inspired by the classics, but scaled down into two person size like this Sausage Stuffing Acorn Squash with cranberries and fresh veggies.
Since we wanted to eat some stuffing the next day, this Stuffed Acorn Squash recipe offers generous portions. This hearty recipe is excellent as a main dish as well as a side dish. I dressed up an inexpensive box of store-bought stuffing with a few classic ingredients: diced celery, savory pork sausage, and dried cranberries for a little sweetness. Sautéing the cranberries with the celery helps release that sweetness.
Need the perfect pairings for this acorn squash?
You could easily turn this two-person dish vegetarian by replacing the sausage with mushrooms or even crisped tofu. I ended up serving this Stuffed Acorn Squash recipe as a side dish along with Cornish hens and a green bean salad with a warm bacon mushroom vinaigrette. Keep an eye out for those recipes coming soon!
Leftovers and cooking for two!
We had most of the squash leftover which will be excellent in a breakfast hash or blended into a soup. My real key to minimizing leftovers is to repurpose them into another recipe. It breaks up the monotony while also cleaning out the refrigerator.
Ingredients
- 1 small acorn squash, cut in half and seeds remove
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 8 oz pork sausage
- 3 ribs celery, finely diced
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1 1/2 cups water or stock
- 6 oz boxed stuffing mix
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450ºF.
- Cut squash in half. Remove seeds. Rub flesh of squash with oil, lightly salt and pepper.
- Place cut side down on a baking sheet. Roast approximately 30 minutes until softened.
- Cook sausage in a large covered skillet over medium heat, 5-6 minutes until browned.
- Add celery and cranberries to skillet. Cook 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in stock, increase heat, and bring to a low boil.
- Mix in stuffing mix. Cover skillet and remove from heat, let sit 5-10 minutes until liquid is absorbed.
- Fluff stuffing with a fork, serve hot in squash.
Notes
Home Chef Tip: To keep squash halves from tipping over when serving cut a level base before roasting.
We hope you enjoy this two-person Sausage Stuffing Acorn Squash recipe from SoFabFood Home Chef, Loriann from Thyme for Cocktails as much as we do. If you love this simple recipe and you’re looking for more recipes for your holiday menu, be sure to visit our Side Dish section. For daily recipe inspiration, subscribe to our newsletter, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Pinterest. Enjoy!
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