Tender roasted acorn squash boats are stuffed with a flavorful wild rice and sausage filling for a stunner fall side dish that goes great with roast chicken or turkey.
See that acorn squash boat up there, y’all? It’s basically covering all our fall bases today. Just in case you were under the impression that I was slacking on the savory portion of fall and only into pumpkins and apples…here’s your proof.
Your very delicious proof that if I were you, I would just take and RUN. Ask questions later.
By the way…guys, October is way past half over and how is this even happening?? Before too long it’s gonna be time to start thinking about snow, Thanksgiving, the prospect of more snow….which by the way, is a very dim memory for me right now since I’m currently still melting in the 85 degree Texas weather.
I’m honestly okay with forgetting what that white stuff looks like. I’ve seen my fair share.
But speaking of Thanksgiving though…I knooooow it’s like forever away, but these acorn squash boats are kinda making me think about it right now. By think about it, of course I mean stress about it. That’s me.
Honestly though, let’s talk about these boats! They’re so freaking fun and filled with fall and all of the above.
We start by cracking a big ‘ol acorn squash open, scraping out all the seeds and squash guts, then we’re gonna rub it down with some olive oil, salt, and pepper and throw that bad boy in the oven to get all roasty and toasty.
Meanwhile…let’s focus on that filling. Tender wild rice + caramelized onions and garlic + sliced sausage + dried cranberries + pecans. We’ve got FALL in the house now, guys.
I pile my roasted squash boats as full as they literally can go, guys. Jam it all up in there.
Also…no need for plates if it’s just you at the dinner table tonight. You just gotta love those dinners that come in their own edible bowl, right??
No judgement for just eating with your face either, guys. It happens to the best of us.
Wild Rice Sausage + Cranberry Acorn Squash Boats
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Ingredients
- 1 medium acorn squash cut in half and seeds scraped out
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 small onion finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup cooked wild rice
- 2 chicken sausages thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. Rub inside of acorn squash with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Roast squash at 400F 30-35 minutes or until tender. Remove from oven and set aside.
- Heat remaining olive oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic to pan and saute, 5 minutes until lightly browned. Stir wild rice, sausage, cranberries, pecans, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste into skillet.
- Spoon rice filling into squash boats and bake boats at 400F 10 minutes or until heated through. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Make sure you try this Honey-Glazed Roasted Butternut Squash + Cranberries next!!
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says
How pretty are these squash boats?! I’m in awe, Sarah! I’ve never seen a dish like this before, so I’m loving this recipe! The rice and sausage go perfectly in here. Love those fall flavors!
Olivia - Primavera Kitchen says
Sarah, what a comforting dish for fall!! I love the filling. It looks very flavourful 😉
ps: I adore your new blog design 😉
Ashley - The Recipe Rebel says
This is so strange for me because here, Thanksgiving was a week and a half ago! Lol. You are definitely not slacking on fall with these — hello gorgeous!
Rachel @ Bakerita says
You’re winning the dinner game for SURE with these beautiful squash boats!! They look like dinner time perfection with all those fabulous colors and flavors. Loving this so much!
Nicole @ Young, Broke and Hungry says
These acorn squash bowls looks heavenly!
Bethany @ Athletic Avocado says
I want to sail away in one of these acorn squash boats and never return…… they look so yummy! That filling has got me SWOONING!
Melody says
Sarah,
These look sooo good! I do have a question about the serving size – you say a serving size of 4, but only use one acorn squash halved. So does that mean that you need to cut each stuffed half in half again for a serving? Or maybe we could get 2 smaller size squash to halve, roast, and fill so we can keep them in cute little boats.
Thanks!
Sarah says
Hey Melody! Each squash half is rather large so it does serve about 2 per half. Two smaller squashes would work just fine though if you wanted 4 individual boats!
Amanda says
People love wild rice in Minnesota, so these would go over big here. And the presentation is perfect!
Manali@CookWithManali says
what an incredible meal Sarah, so perfect for fall 🙂
puja says
Oh wow Sarah, this recipe is so colorful, so delicious and very creative!
I think I can replace chicken with Tofu since I am a vegetarian…
Anna Wright says
Looks great! I’m eager to tryout this style of cooking, gonna do this by evening, thanks a lot for sharing this great post!
Robin says
Makes a great meal for two! Hubby loved it(and that’s high praise for squash>)