Maple Roasted Acorn Squash with Vegan Cornbread & Sausage Stuffing
on Nov 15, 2020, Updated Aug 25, 2024
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This beautiful Stuffed Acorn Squash is a hearty holiday recipe that works as a main dish or side dish, and it’s always a crowd pleaser around the holidays!
Maple Roasted Acorn Squash with Vegan Cornbread & Sausage Stuffing
You are going to love this Maple Roasted Acorn Squash with Vegan Cornbread & Sausage Stuffing! Whether you’re hosting your vegan and vegetarian friends, or looking for something delicious to make yourself for dinner tonight, this versatile recipe is a winner!
This stuffed acorn squash recipe requires three simple steps. Season the squash with maple syrup, melted vegan butter, salt, and pepper. Then fill each half with a tasty cornbread and sausage stuffing, and roast until tender and golden. I promise it’s easy and actually really fun to make!
The stuffing is a real showstopper in this recipe! It’s savory, with a touch of sweetness, thanks to a variety of tasty ingredients like vegan cornbread, sausages, onions, celery, dried cranberries, and hearty herbs like sage and rosemary. The result is a flavorful stuffing that perfectly compliments this Autumn vegetable!
Stuffed Acorn Squash Recipe Ingredients
- Acorn Squash – look for squashes that are similar in size for even roasting.
- Maple Syrup – compliments the natural sweetness of the squash.
- Vegan Butter – adds richness and flavor to this recipe. Feel free to use olive oil if you prefer!
- Cornbread – not sure where to find vegan cornbread? In the FAQs section below, I’ll show you how to use a box of cornbread mix to make your own!
- Vegan Sausages – adds a subtle smokey flavor and extra protein to this recipe.
- Cozy Herbs – ’tis the season for rosemary, thyme, and sage! We’ll use all three to make this stuffing smell and taste like the holidays!
- Onions, Celery, and Garlic – an aromatic base for our stuffing.
- Ground Flax Seeds & Baking Powder – replaces the egg in traditional stuffing recipes.
- Liquids – you’ll need both veggie broth and some dry white wine to bring this stuffing together.
- Dried Cranberries – adds a sweet and tangy flavor that compliments the savory elements in the stuffing.
How to Make Stuffed Acorn Squash
The full recipe is on the recipe card below, but here’s an overview to give you an idea!
Step One
Start by cutting the acorn squashes in half, remove the seeds, and season with maple syrup, butter, salt, and pepper. Place cut-side up on a cookie sheet and set aside.
Step Two
Cut the cornbread into large 1″ squares and place on another cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until dried out and toasty. Once toasted, transfer the cornbread to a large mixing bowl. While the cornbread is in the oven, sauté the sausages until golden brown. Then remove from the heat and set aside. Next, cook the onions, celery, garlic, and herbs until fragrant. Then add the white wine and simmer until evaporated.
Step Three
Transfer the cooked sausage and veggies to the mixing bowl with cornbread and add the butter, dried cranberries, and veggie broth. Mix well, and spoon the stuffing on top of the acorn squashes and bake until tender and lightly golden brown.
RECIPE FAQS
Some grocery stores carry vegan cornbread. Whole Foods often has it in the bakery section and Abe’s makes a widely available muffin version that should work well too.
You can also buy a box of cornbread mix and make your own by following the instructions in this simple video! Just make sure to pick a mix that doesn’t have milk powder in it 🙂
Anything you like will work, but if you can find a vegan sausage made with apples and sage, I think that would work best!
Impossible and Field Roast make a great ones, but any brand of vegan sausage will be good!
You can sub butternut or honey nut squash and adjust the cooking time as needed, or simply skip the squash all together and bake the stuffing in a casserole dish to serve as a side.
I found this step-by-step guide very helpful!
Recipe Tips
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. Cook on medium heat until the veggies are soft and translucent, but try not to let the onions brown. You want them to be subtle and sweet in this recipe.
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!
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 the chopping process quick and easy.
Toast the cornbread
- Cut the cornbread into large 1" 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 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 2 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 40 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for another 10 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!
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:)
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!
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!