Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash

Acorn Squash Stuffed with Apples can be an appetizer, side dish, or dessert! This versatile recipe is a perfect choice for the holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas) as well as for any time of the year when you can find acorn squash! This delicious and easy-to-make side dish features cinnamon, brown sugar, and lemon juice, and is meatless, vegetarian, and

Ingredients

Acorn squash

2 acorn squash medium

4 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Caramelized apples

4 apples 2 green, 2 red

3 tablespoons brown sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons honey

fresh thyme

Instructions

Roast acorn squash

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Prepare the acorn squash. Cut off the top and the bottom of each acorn squash to create a flat base. Keep fingers away from the knife to avoid injury. And, make sure not to cut too deep into the base of the squash. Slice each squash in half. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and fleshy strands tangled with the seeds.

Combine melted butter with brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.

Coat the insides of the squash halves with the butter mixture.

Place acorn squash cut sides down on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Roast in the preheated oven at 400 F for 30 minutes.

Make caramelized apples

While the squash is being roasted, prepare the apples. I used 4 apples (2 red and 2 green for presentation purposes. Core the apples and slice each one length-wise.

Place sliced apples into a large bowl, add brown sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice, and mix. Let apples sit for about 15 minutes to release juices.

In a large pan, heat 2 tablespoons of butter on high heat. Add sliced apples (without juice at the bottom of the pan) and cook on high heat for about 3 or 5 minutes, checking periodically. After 3 or 5 minutes, flip the sliced apples to the other side and let them cook on medium-high heat for another 3 or 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Depending on how hot your stove gets, it might take you less or more time to cook apples, the key is to brown them or even get a slightly “burned” effect. But don’t overdo it, once the apples have this “roasted” appearance.

Right after you remove the pan with roasted sliced apples from the heat, immediately add honey – it will make apples sizzle and will caramelize them beautifully, off the heat.

How to stuff acorn squash

By this time, you have roasted the acorn squash for 30 minutes. The acorn squash should be soft and cooked through. If you have unusually large squash and it's not cooked through, roast it for 10 or 15 minutes longer. Remove them from the oven and turn the cooked squash halves cut sides up.

Divide the caramelized apple mixture among the 4 halves and stuff the squash until the mixture is leveled.

Sprinkle the apple mixture with the fresh thyme. You can also, optionally, pour the delicious juices from the bowl that you used for apples over the stuffed portion of each squash.