Stuffed Acorn Squash with Ground Turkey

This stuffed acorn squash recipe is super easy and healthy. Stuffed with ground turkey and pine nuts for a delicious fall-inspired dinner.

I love the look of acorn squash and have often bought it for fall decor projects. Isn't the dark green color beautiful? However, I've never actually cooked with it before.

They have such a cute shape and though I've seen them in white, I really love the deep green color.

Since I had been using them for decor, I would throw them in my compost pile after I was done with them. Imagine my surprise when I noticed some growing there last summer. 

This recipe is all about roasting the acorn squash. You need to cut a little from the top and bottom to get them to sit flat on your cookie sheet.

Remove the seeds and toss them in the compost. Maybe they will grow for you too. 

Brush the squash with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

For the filling, I decided to go with a Lebanese meat filling. This requires some roasted pine nuts. They add a great flavor to the dish.

Normally I would use beef or lamb for this but I decided to try ground turkey for a lower fat option.

I can't tell you how much I loved this dish. I'm smacking my head. Why have I not tried this before? Plus it's so pretty it would make a great dinner party dish.

It's definitely one I will make again. Now I'm thinking about other season squash to try. I've made spaghetti squash, butternut squash, and of course, summer squash before.

Maybe Delicata or Kabocha squash. Oh, the possibilities.

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Stuffed Acorn Squash with Ground Turkey and Pine Nuts

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

This stuffed acorn squash recipe is super easy and healthy. Stuffed with ground turkey and pine nuts for a delicious fall-inspired dinner.

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Ingredients

• 2 green acorn squash
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• pinch of salt and pepper

Filling

• 1/2 pound ground turkey
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Cut a small amount of the tops and bottoms of the acorns so that they can sit flat.
3. Cut each squash in half width-wise.
4. Scoop out seeds. Toss into compost or clean and roast for snacking.
5. Brush the insides and tops of the squash with olive oil.
6. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
7. Roast pine nuts in a dry non-stick pan for 2 - 3 minutes tossing all the while. Remove and set aside.
8. In a large non-stick pan saute onions.
9. Add turkey, cinnamon, salt, and pepper
10. Once the turkey is browned remove from heat and stir in the sour cream.
11. Portion evenly into squash cavities. Top with pine nuts.
12. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the squash is tender.
13. Remove and serve.

Notes

Adding cinnamon to meat is a Middle Eastern practice that I grew up on. I'm pretty sure this would still taste great without it.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 362Total Fat: 26gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 69mgSodium: 208mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 5gSugar: 2gProtein: 18g

Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.

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