Paleo Sausage Acorn Squash

This recipe is the ultimate stuffing replacement.  I made this for my first paleo Thanksgiving and we have it as long as the acorn squash is affordable or until it is ripe in our garden.  I have used ground pork, turkey or chicken and add a teaspoon of sage while the meat is cooking.  I usually bribe the family to clean out the squash for me before they leave for the day.  I have only made a few changes to my recipe from the original to serve my tastes.

The original is from Primally Inspired, Paleo Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 acorn squash, cut in half lengthwise and seeded

1 lb loose sausage, sage sausage works very well in this recipe, but you can use mild or any flavor you wish.  I prefer plain ground pork and season it myself with black pepper and sage.

2-3 cups kale or baby spinach, torn into pieces

½ large onion

1 celery rib, chopped (optional)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 large apple, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 egg, slightly beaten

½ cup almond flour (if you have nut allergies, you can just leave out the almond flour. It’s not necessary for the recipe, but it helps hold the stuffing together nicely)

salt and pepper

pinch of nutmeg

coconut oil, grass-fed butter, ghee, or olive oil for brushing

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush the yellow-orange part of the cut acorn squash with a generous amount of coconut oil, olive oil or butter. Sprinkle salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg over each half. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

 While that is cooking, fry the sausage in a pan until cooked. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon and put it into a large bowl. Leave the fat in the pan. You might need to add additional 1-2 T of fat or oil (bacon fat, coconut oil, olive oil, or butter) if there is not enough. I added in about a tablespoon more of bacon fat. Sauté onion, celery, mushrooms, garlic, apple, kale and carrots for about 5 minutes. Put the vegetable mixture into the bowl with the sausage. Add beaten egg and almond flour and mix until combined. Fill the squash halves with the stuffing and bake covered for 20 minutes. Enjoy!

If you would like to  get your fancy pants on and do fried sage garnish, check this out!