Name: Meat-Free Stuffed Acorn Squash
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 3 acorn squash, halved and seeded.; 2 Tablespoons butter 30 g; 2 rib of celery, chopped; 1 teaspoon ground ginger 3 g; ½ teaspoon allspice 1 g; 1 teaspoon cinnamon 3 g; 3 apples, peeled, cored, and chopped.; 1 cup dried cranberries; 3 cups dried bread cubes; 2 egg, beaten; 1 teaspoon salt 5 g; ½ teaspoon pepper 1 g; 2 Tablespoons olive oil to drizzle 30 ml

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Updated October 20, 2025

By Rebecca St.Clair

This Fall Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash is a perfect autumn side dish or main course. Now that apples and squash are plentiful, and at their freshest, it is a perfect time to enjoy this recipe. This meat-free acorn squash recipe is a fall favourite — roasted squash halves filled with a savoury blend of season stuffing, vegetables, and sweet apples. It’s comforting, nourishing, and beautiful enough to impress at any dinner.

A baking sheet filled with baked acorn squash. They are stuffed with bread cubes, apples, and cranberries. Beside is a white plate with a stuffed squash cut in half.

In the fall, we love going to apple picking at a few of the orchards around us. So, I am always looking for delicious recipes to try featuring apples. Most recipes are sweet recipes, like apple pie, apple butter, or apple sauce. This meat-free stuffed acorn squash is fall comfort food at its best.

Roasted until golden and tender, it’s a wholesome, satisfying meal that celebrates the flavours of autumn. A colourful, flavourful dish packed with texture and warmth. It’s perfect for Meatless Monday, cozy weeknights, or as a stunning side for your holiday table. Every bite has the perfect balance of creamy roasted squash, sweet apples, and savoury filling.

Half of an acorn squash with bread stuffing inside.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Satisfying- Warm, hearty, and completely satisfying. This is hearty enough to serve as a meat-free meal.
Seasonal – Made with seasonal fall produce and full of warm fall spices. Perfect for the cold weather months.
Hearty side dish – A cozy side dish to serve on the side of any fall meal and elegant enough to serve with your holiday feast.

Do I need to use acorn squash?

Not at all! Acorn squash has a sweet nutty flavour and a hard outside. But so do many winter squash varieties. Try substituting these other varieties.

Butternut Squash might be the most readily available at the grocery store. It has a very similar taste to acorn squash. It has a very smooth and creamy texture when cooked, which is why it is a very popular choice for soups in the colder months.
Hubbard Squash is a similar shape and size to acorn squash. Cook this squash exactly the same as you would an acorn squash. This squash has a slightly more earthy taste, but don’t let that deter you. The sweetness of the apples, balances out the flavour perfectly.
Pumpkin. Use a small pie pumpkin. They are similar in size and shape to acorn squash. They have a slightly different taste to acorn squash, but would be a great substitution, nonetheless. They become sweet and tender when baked in the oven.
Buttercup Squash is very sweet and creamy. Similar to acorn squash in taste, perhaps a little sweeter and earthier. It is also similar in shape and size to an acorn squash, so using this as a substitution is pretty straightforward.

What apples should I use?

There are so many apples varieties out there that a comprehensive list of apples to cook with is near impossible. As a guideline, when you are baking with apples, you want an apple that will hold it’s shape and not turn to pure much, unless to are making sauces or butters.

Some of my favourite apples to use for baking are:

Granny Smith– These apples are tart and quite firm. They do well in baking because they hold their shape. They are one of the most popular apple varieties and should be no problem to find at your local store or market.
Fuji– These apples are much sweeter than granny smith, but they have a bit of tartness to them. They hold up well to baking and are also a very popular variety.
Honey crisp– The characteristics of this variety are spelled out in the name. Sweet but crisp enough to hold their shape while baking.
Gala– This is one of my favourite apple to eat raw. It has deliciously sweet smooth flavour. I almost always see this variety at the grocery store. They should be no problem to find at most grocery stores or markets.
Cortland– Another great crisp and sweet-tart apple. These are popular apples to eat fresh, bake, or cook with.
Empire– Another sweet and tart apple. This flavour profile lends itself well to eating fresh, baking, or cooking with.

Ingredients

Acorn squash – This type of squash can be substituted for your favourite winter squash.
Butter – For frying.
Celery – Flavour and texture.
Apples – Use your favourite variety of apples.
Spices – I used ground ginger, cinnamon, and allspice.
Bread crumbs – You can use store bought stuffing bread of dry your own by slicing bread in cubes and leaving it to dry in a 200 °F oven for 1 hour.
Dried cranberries – This can be substituted with raisins.
Eggs – To moisten and hold the stuffing together.
Oil – Use extra virgin olive oil.
Salt & pepper – For flavour.

Method for Apple stuffed acorn squash

Preheat oven to 400 °F (200 °C).
Cut squash in half and remove the seed area.
Place squash skin side up on a roasting pan. Bake for 45 mins, or until fork tender.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat, melt 2 Tablespoons butter and add 2 ribs of chopped celery. Cook, stirring occasionally. About 5 minutes.

5. Add 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and 3 chopped apples.

6. Cover and cook everything together, for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.

7. Remove from heat and add 3 cups dried bread cubes and 1 cup of dried cranberries.

8. Toss everything together.

9. Remove the squash from oven and turn over, skin side down, in your casserole dish.

10. Add 2 beaten eggs to the bread crumb mixture. Toss together until moistened.

11. Spoon the mixture into the middle cavity of each squash. Drizzle the tops with oil.

12. Reduce oven temperature to 350 °F (180 °C). Bake another 30 minutes.

13. Remove from oven and serve.