Sausage and Pasta Stuffed Acorn Squash

Sausage and Pasta Stuffed Acorn Squash pairs the sweet flavor of acorn squash with the saltiness of sausage for a perfect, beautiful fall dish!

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1 25

Servings servings

Calories 822kcal

Preheat oven to 375F and cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Cut acorn squash in 2 and use a spoon to remove the seeds in the center.
Drizzle with 1 tbsp of olive oil, add salt and pepper and bake face down on the prepared baking sheet for 30 minutes or until tender.

Heat remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet and add mild Italian sausage without the casing. Cook until no longer pink.
Add the diced onion and clove of garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
Pour in 2 cups of tomato passata (tomato purée). Lower to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt well and cook pasta for about 3 minutes less than the suggested cooking time. Drain and add to the sausage tomato sauce and stir to combine.

Spoon the pasta mixture in the baked acorn squash halves. Top each half with shredded mozzarella. Bake in a 350F for about 20 minutes, or until the mozzarella is bubbling. Serve hot.

Tomato passata in this recipe and in all my other recipes that call for tomato sauce basically refers to an Italian variety of puréed tomatoes sold in a jar and found in most Italian grocery stores. Any type of unseasoned tomato purée will do.
Try different varieties of short pasta such as penne or fusilli if you don't have rigatoni.
If you enjoy spicy foods substitute hot Italian sausage for mild.
You'll notice that the amount of pasta is about twice as much as you'll need to fill four acorn squash halves. In my experience, there's always someone who doesn't want their pasta in the acorn squash so it's always handy to have some extra pasta. Or you can always enjoy it for lunch the following day!
If you like your pasta extra cheesy, stir some freshly grated Parmigiano cheese into the pasta before stuffing the acorn squash.