Fall is here and what better way to embrace this time of year with a warm and hearty meal. This Turkey Stuffed Acorn Squash recipe is one that can be customized to your heart’s desire. With less than 10 ingredients and just a little bit of forethought, you can add this to your list of easy dinners for the week.
Traditionally, stuff acorns have a lot of ingredients in the “mix” to make it flavorful. However, I’ve found that this recipe can make for quite the healthy dinner when using the right ingredients. I recommend trying different seasonings and spices to add flavor.
A secret tip, which is actually not listed below, is that I use two different kinds of cheese. The shredded cheese I mixed into the turkey is straight off of the block (freshly grated) and is called Sartori Cabernet Sauvignon BellaVitano Cheese. They have many differnet flavors but the cabernet sauvignon is our favorite.
Personally, I will sprinkle this on top before serving however, for the purpose of this picture, I used your standard cheddar/colby mixture as this is more commonplace. Additionally, I prefer to use 90/10 Extra Lean Ground Turkey however, you might find more flavor with a higher fat percentage.
Whichever ingredients you choose to use, this staple Turkey Stuffed Acorn Squash won’t disappoint!
Turkey Stuffed Acorn Squash
Equipment
- 1 Sheet Pan
- 1 Measuring Spoons 1 Tablespoon
- 1 Silicone Spatula Brush optional
Ingredients
- 1-2 Acorn Squash
- 1 lb Ground Turkey
- 2 Bell Peppers Red, Yellow, or Orange
- 1 Sweet Onion
- 1/2 cup Shredded Cheese
- 2 Tbsp. Cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp. Oil Avocado or Olive Oil
- 1 Tbsp. Garlic Powder
- Additional Shredded Cheese Optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400˚F.
- Slice acorn down the center to form 2 halves.
- Drizzle oil and brush it over the inside of the two acorn halves is covered.
- Sprinkle cinnamon over the insides once oiled.
- Place acorns in oven on baking sheet face down for 45 minutes or until tender (inside).
- Meanwhile, cook ground turkey, onions, peppers, and seasoning until cooked thoroughly.
- Approximately halfway through cooking the turkey and veggies, add in shredded cheese (freshly grated or pre-packaged.)
- Once acorns are done, flip over so the insides are facing up.
- Scrape the tender squash with a fork and add the turkey and veggies mixture into the “bowl” part.
- Sprinkle with shredded cheese. (optional)
Notes
- Serving size can be adjusted. You’ll most likely have left over turkey if you are stuffing only 1 acorn squash (two halves.) I recommend this recipe for 4 people if you want to use all the ground turkey available from the package.
- This recipe is one you can customize. Try using different seasonings/spices along with different types of ground meat in order to really mix things up. You can also add rice if you want it to be a little heartier!
