This sweet and savory five ingredient Sausage and Cranberry Stuffed Honeynut Squash is real simple.
It’s a dish that is a little bit indulgence and a lot of healthy. I am pairing some store-bought ingredients with the Honeynut which are full of A and B vitamins, calcium, iron, potassium, and zinc. Each week, we pick up a box of goodies at our local farm through the farm share that we are a part of, and these beautiful, sweet little gourds have been in our box each week this fall.
I have been substituting Butternut squash with the Honeynut in many recipes, but I needed a good recipe to use ’em all because I was running out of room in my pantry! Now I want to start stocking up on these for winter, and store them in the basement, because this can’t be the last time we eat this dinner! It’s going to be a once a month-er and maybe even a first course on Thanksgiving.
It all begins with filling your slow cooker with all the Honeynut squash that can fit in there. Do this in the morning before you leave for your daily duties or early in the afternoon. You don’t need to add water or even poke any holes in the squash. Just make sure they are clean, fit them in there, set it and go.
Full disclosure: Two pans will be dirtied, plus a slow cooker will need a light washing. Worth it though!
You will need:
- A baking dish
- Slow cooker
- Skillet
Side note: My Instant Pot has a slow cooker feature, and I was able to fit more in there than my crock pot.
I’ve got hacks to make this easy and fun.
- Steam the honeynut squash in the pressure cooker or slow cook it all day so it’s ready for the final steps when you are.
- Jar of whole berry cranberry sauce
- Store-bought peeled and cut butternut squash or frozen is fine too!
- Diced white cheddar cheese (such as Babybel) or Crumbed goat cheese (I used both!)
Sausage Stuffed Honey Squash
This recipe begins with the honeynut squash already cooked during the day in the slow cooker.
Ingredients
- 8 small honeynut squash, or 6 medium
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1.5 pounds of ground sausage
- 2 cups frozen butternut squash
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 can whole berry cranberry sauce
- White cheddar Babybel cheese (diced) or crumbed goat cheese (you pick!)
Directions
- Step 1 All the Honeynut squash goes into your slow cooker or pressure cooker on slow cook mode. Slow cook the Honeynut on low for 4 hours. You DO NOT need to put any water in or poke holes when slow cooking these. When you and the Honeynuts are ready, get to work.
- Step 2 Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove sausage from casings. Brown the sausage along with the cubes of Butternut squash in a skillet with a little olive oil and season with salt. Cut each Honeynut in half lengthwise and use a spoon to take out the seeds and pulp. Fit the Honeynuts into your baking dish(es) or put them on a sheet pan.
- Step 3 Pour a spoonful of cranberry sauce into the hollowed out part of each half squash. Sprinkle some whole cranberries strategically around as the first layer. Top the cranberry sauce (inside the holes) with the sausage and butternut squash mixture, and over fill the holes. It looks good to have it spilling out. Strategically sprinkle and layer in the cheese so there is a good amount spread about on each one.
- Step 4 Bake on the center rack for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted, and everything is warmed through. Meanwhile, add 1 or 2 spoonfuls of water to the remaining cranberry sauce and whisk to desired consistency as a topping. Remove from oven, and finish with a drizzle of watered down cranberry and a sprinkle of course salt.
