Pure Fall (or any season) yumminess! I find butternut squash adds a lovely sweetness, while the sausage adds fat and salt and flavor. The quinoa gives the dish body, and the spinach, well, how can you go wrong with spinach? I toss in a little ricotta for extra flavor. It’s all good.
This works equally well with acorn squash. If you are going with butternut squash, make sure it is relatively symmetric. A very large head and small tail will cook at different levels, leaving the the tail done long before the big part of the squash is done. This leads to an especially tender tail — meaning you have to be extra careful when scooping out the flesh.
Sausage and Quinoa Stuffed Squash
By Published: June 2, 2013
- Prep: 10 mins
- Cook: 60 mins
- Ready In: 1 hr 10 mins
This filling, gluten-free dish tastes like Fall.
Ingredients
- 1 squash for every person being served
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 ounces sausage for every person being served you can use sweet, spicy, or whatever sausage you like; if it has casings, remove them
- 1/2 onion diced
- 1 cup spinach chopped
- 1/2 - 1 cup cooked quinoa per person being served amount depends on the size of the squash
- 1/4 cup ricotta cheese per person being served more or less depending on your taste and the size of the squash
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cut squash in half and place cut side down on an oiled cookie sheet. No need to remove the seeds now. Bake for 30 − 45 minutes, until the flesh is tender, but not overly soft.
- While the squash is cooking, heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sausage and cook until the sausage is cooked through. Add the spinach, stir, and remove from the heat. The spinach will continue to cook down.
- When the squash is tender, remove from oven. Remove seeds if not done already. Scoop the flesh into a bowl, working carefully not to break the skin of the squash. Add the quinoa and sausage mixture. Butternut skins are thin, so make sure to leave a half-inch or so flesh in the shell. Combine thoroughly.
- Mix in ricotta, and season the filling to taste.
- Fill the squash shells with sausage mix, and return to hot oven. Cook for another 20 − 25 minutes.
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