Enjoy this gluten and dairy-free stuffed acorn squash recipe filled with sausage, quinoa, and apples for a delicious fall meal!

Scale

3 acorn squash, halved and seeded

1 lb ground sausage (Sweet Italian or Hot Italian)

2 cups quinoa, cooked

1 leek, sliced

1 Granny Smith apple, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 yellow onion, diced

3 tbsp olive oil (1 tbsp as spray)

1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped

1 sage leaf, chopped

1 tsp fresh thyme

2 tsp salt

2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1/4 tsp allspice

3 tbsp hot honey

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Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Slice each acorn squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. A sharp knife works best for cutting the squash.
Spray a baking sheet with olive oil (about 1 tsp). Place the squash halves face up on the sheet and spray each with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper (about 2 tsp olive oil, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp black pepper total).
Turn the squash face down and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a fork easily pierces the flesh. Let cool.
While the squash bakes, prepare the quinoa according to package instructions (2 cups cooked is about 1 cup uncooked) and set aside. Prep your veggies.
Heat a sauté pan over medium heat, adding 2 tbsp olive oil, garlic, and onion. Sauté for 2-3 minutes until fragrant.
Add the sausage, breaking it into smaller pieces, and cook for 5 minutes.
Stir in the leek, apple, remaining salt, pepper, smoked paprika, crushed red pepper, allspice, rosemary, sage, and thyme. Sauté for another 5-7 minutes.
Scoop out about half of the flesh from each squash half and add it to the pan with the sausage mixture, along with the cooked quinoa. Mix well and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
Spoon the sausage-quinoa mixture back into the squash halves. Bake at 400°F for 10 minutes, then broil on high for 3-5 minutes until the tops are crispy, watching closely.
Remove from the oven and drizzle with hot honey. Enjoy

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