Perfectly tender maple roasted Acorn Squash filled with savory vegan cornbread and sausage stuffing.
This hearty holiday recipe works as a main or side dish and it’s always a crowd pleaser. Perfectly balanced with sweet and savory notes, and a white wine garlic butter herbed stuffing that is incredibly flavorful!
HOW TO NAIL THIS RECIPE
It’s all about the details when it comes to the aromatics. Give the onions and celery enough time to sweat in the pan so that they render down and become intensely flavorful. It’s also a good idea to finely chop the fresh herbs and garlic so that the flavors are evenly distributed throughout every single bite!
Cut the cornbread into large pieces at first because it will crumble when you add the veggie broth and mix it all together. This ensures that you’ll have nice texture and lot of variety in the finished stuffing.
WHERE CAN I FIND VEGAN CORNBREAD?
Some grocery stores carry vegan cornbread. Whole Foods often has it in the bakery section and Abe’s make a widely available muffin version that should work well too.
So far, I’ve only made this recipe with semi-homemade vegan cornbread which I make by using a box mix of cornbread and sub a flax egg and an extra tbsp of oil for the egg it calls for in the instructions. Unsweetened applesauce can also be used as an oil replacement if desired in box mixes.
WHAT KIND OF VEGAN SAUSAGE?
Anything you like will work but if you can find a sausage flavored with apples and sage, I think that would work best! Field Roast makes a great one but use what you have 🙂
DON’T HAVE ACORN SQUASH?
You can sub a different kind of squash and adjust the cooking time as needed, or simply skip the squash all together and bake the stuffing in a casserole dish.
HOW TO CUT AN ACORN SQUASH
I found this step-by-step guide very helpful!
Maple Roasted Acorn Squash with Vegan Cornbread Sausage Stuffing
Ingredients
For the Stuffing
- 1 tbsp ground flax + 2 tbsp water
- 5 cups vegan cornbread cut into 1" cubes
- 2 vegan sausages I use the Apple Sage flavor from Field Roast
- 1/2 large yellow onion
- 2 stalks celery
- 1 large garlic clove
- 5 tbsp vegan butter
- 1/3 cup dry white wine
- 1 ½ tsp fresh rosemary finely chopped
- 1½ tsp fresh sage finley chopped
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves removed from stem
- 1 cup veggie broth low sodium
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 handfuls dried cranberries
For the Squash
- 4 medium acorn squash
- 2 tbsp vegan butter melted
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- salt and pepper
Instructions
Prep
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Wash and dry the acorn squash. Cut in half, remove the seeds, and set aside. Finely chop the onions, celery, garlic, and herbs. Tip: The smaller the pieces the better. You can opt to use to a food processor to make this process quick and easy, just make sure to do the onions and celery first since they'll need to cook longer.
Toast the cornbread
- Cut the cornbread into large 1" crouton shaped squares and place on a lined cookie sheet. Bake at 325 for 20-25 minutes or until dried out and toasty. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and set aside.Raise the heat in the oven to 400 degrees.
Make the Flax Egg
- In a small bowl combine the ground flax and water. Stir and set aside to thicken.
Brown the sausage
- Remove the casing from the sausages and cut or crumble into a warm pan set to medium high heat with 1/2 tbsp of vegan butter. Cook for 2-3 minutes to brown slightly then remove from the pan and set aside.
Cook the veggies
- Return the pan to the heat and add 1 ½ tbsp of butter, the onions, and the celery. Cook on medium heat for 7-8 minutes. Then add the garlic and finely chopped rosemary, sage, and thyme leaves. Cook for 2-3 more minutes. Stir occasionally and try not to let the garlic burn. Then raise the heat to medium high and the white wine and simmer until the liquid is almost evaporated. Add the remaining vegan butter and turn off the heat. Leave the pan on the stove to melt the butter while you move on to the next step.
- Next, add the sausage, cooked veggies, thickened flax egg, baking powder, salt, pepper, dried cranberries, and veggie broth to the mixing bowl with cornbread. Mix very well, mashing slightly with a wooden spoon as you go,until all of liquid is absorbed. Taste to see if it needs more salt and pepper, add more if desired, then set aside.
Assemble the Squash and Bake
- In small bowl, add the melted vegan butter and maple syrup. Stir to combine and brush liberally over the squash and into the center. Season with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
- Then place the squash in large nonstick or lined baking pan and fill the squash with the cornbread stuffing. Press down lightly to make it stick together a little. Cover with foil and bake on the center rack of the oven for 25-30 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes or until the squash is fork tender and stuffing is golden brown on top. Serve warm and enjoy!
If you’d like some more holiday recipes, these Thanksgiving Sweet Potatoes were a big hit with my friends! Or try my perfectly roasted Brussel Sprouts, Browned Butter, Sage, and Almond Green Beans, or my all time favorite Vegan Pumpkin Bread.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider giving it a 5 star rating and comment below and let me know if you make this recipe at home.
Happy holidays everyone!
Hey! I’m Nicole and I make practical vegan recipes for REAL life. I cook with simple, easy to find ingredients and I’m passionate about creating delicious plant-based meals that everyone will love!
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I did a test run today on this stuffed acorn squash, and let me tell you, it was ah-mazing! I did tweak it just a bit–I used riced cauliflower instead of the cornbread because I eat mostly grain-free. It was soooo good, Nicole. All the smells and flavors of Thanksgiving are in this dish. It will be the main star on my plate for sure! I feel very confident serving this to my non-vegan family members on Thanksgiving. Hats off to you again, Queen!💯😍
Made these for Thanksgiving and they were awesome! Wouldn’t change a thing:)
Author
Oh that’s so nice to hear! I’m thrilled that my recipe was part of your holiday 😊
This will be the third year I make this for Thanksgiving. I am mostly vegetarian (except for sushi) which is somewhat difficult over the Holidays. But I absolutely love this dish as does my husband, son, and mom, all of whom are carnivores. Favorite dish on the table with several folks actually scooping up the extra stuffing by the spoonful!
Author
KIM!!! EEeeee this comment made me so happy! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know. It’s so cool to hear that you and your family members like this recipe. That really means so much to me 🙂 Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Happy Holidays!