A few years back, the task of cooking the Thanksgiving meal somehow got passed down to me. Before my parents became empty-nesters and began to spend more time in Korea, on Turkey Day, my mom would prepare several of her infamous Korean holiday recipes while I made the classic Thanksgiving side dishes, like stuffing and green bean casserole. Now I fly solo. Well, except for the turkey that is. I need my Hungryman to do that bc the process of prepping and bring the bird is not my cup of tea. We cooked an entire bird for the first time last year, and it was indeed a glorious sight to behold. Not to mention its perfectly roasted and herbilicious flavor.
At our house, it's not the turkey that steals the show. With my sister and brother, the word Thanksgiving seems to be synonymous with stuffing. I have plenty of text messages from them reminding me that I must make it or else face their wrath. Perhaps this year, I'll just make 4 different kinds of stuffing and call it a day ^_^. That wouldn't be so hard to do as there are plenty of unique recipes out there.
It's no secret that I adore butternut squash, and I do everything I can to get my fix before they start costing a fortune again. As I was thinking about different stuffing recipes to experiment with, I thought why not stuff these orange beauties? The inspiration for this actually came from my Loaded Southwestern Quinoa Sweet Potatoes. Apparently, I like my orange veggies and fruits ginormous ;).
While I normally use sausage, I opted for lean ground turkey in this recipe. Shh…don't tell my siblings. As for the bread, I'm sure you're aware of the endless possibilities going from white bread to whole grain. But for stuffing, I almost always prefer cornbread, not just bc I'm a lover of all things corn, but bc it imparts a light, slightly nutty flavor and sweetness to the dish. I took a little shortcut and used the packaged Pepperidge Farm cornbread stuffing mix. I'm with Megan from The Kitchn when she says that learning to let things go is a beautiful thing during the holidays.
This truly was an easy recipe to prepare. Probably the hardest part was cutting the butternut squash in half, and I even managed to find an easy way out of that - enter Hungryman.
Even after Thanksgiving has come and gone, this is a dish I see myself enjoying as long as the weather stays cool. Hope you will give this a try if you are on the look-out for something different.
Question:
Do you have a favorite stuffing recipe? If so, please feel free to share the recipe or leave a link ;).
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash
- 1 Tbs olive oil
- 1 Ib lean ground turkey I used 93% lean
- 1 Tbs butter
- 1 cup yellow onion diced
- 1 cup celery diced
- 1 granny smith apple diced
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt and pepper
- 6 oz cubed cornbread stuffing mix I used Pepperidge Farm
- ½ - ¾ cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 eggs
- Parmesan
Instructions
For the butternut squash:
- Preheat oven to 375F. Grease baking dish or line with aluminum foil. Halve squash lengthwise and remove seeds and strings. Arrange cut side up in baking dish and brush lightly with olive oil. Cover with foil and bake until tender, about 45 min to 1 hour. Remove from oven and let squash cool before handling. Scoop out most of the flesh.
For the stuffing:
- Heat a large skillet over med-high heat and cook turkey, about 8-10 min, breaking it up with a wooden spoon to avoid oversized clumps. Remove turkey from skillet, then wipe down skillet with a paper towel. Add butter and cook onion, celery, and apple until tender. In a large mixing bowl, add turkey, veggies, cornbread stuffing, scooped out butternut squash, chicken broth, and eggs. Mix until well incorporated.
- Add stuffing to hollowed out squash and top with generous amounts of parmesan. Bake uncovered until stuffing is cooked through and cheese has melted, approx 15-20 min.
Dee says
Does this receptor call for 2 squash or 1 squash cut into 2? The pictures show only one squash so it’s a little confusing.
Min says
So sorry for the confusion! I should've said 2 squash halves or 1 whole squash
Adrienne says
Thanks for the instructions! I bought a HUGE banana squash at the local farm store and I want to stuff it for Thanksgiving. I wasn't sure exactly how to do it, but this will help! I can't wait to dig in 🙂
Abbie @ Needs Salt says
I love this dish! It's SO perfect!
Butternut squash is seriously one of the best things in this world, isn't it? I could eat just a bowl of it for dinner every night and be happy. But stuffed like this? AWESOME.
pinned. 🙂
Lea Ann (Cooking On The Ranch) says
I adore butternut squash and love the sounds of this recipe. Now if I could just get your husband to come over and cut open that squash for me. 🙂
Min says
I hope you give this recipe a try, Lea Ann! I think Tim would be willing to make a trip Highlands Ranch ;).
Krista @ joyfulhealthyeats says
Haha... You should totally play a joke on them and forget the stuffing while it's really in the other room. Hehe. This stuffing looks good and worth a try, coming from the girl who is not a fan of stuffing. 🙂 pinning min!
Min says
Oh my, they may throw rocks at me haha. I should try one of these days though ;). Gasp! you don't like stuffing? What's your favorite Thanksgiving dish? Thank you for pinning!
Kari @ bite-sized thoughts says
This is a lovely twist on standard turkey dishes! Inside out amazingness 🙂
Min says
Thanks, Kari!
Ashley | Spoonful of Flavor says
I love the thought of turkey stuffing in butternut squash. Looks amazing, Min!
Min says
I try to maximize the veggie intake whenever I can ;). Hope you give this a try, Ashley!
Danielle @ Its A Harleyyy Life says
OMG this looks delicious! Pinning it!
Min says
Thanks, Danielle!