Stuffed Honeynut Squash

This Stuffed Honeynut Squash recipe is one of the prettiest, most unique, and most delicious Thanksgiving side dish recipes. Really, it's lovely for any meal during the fall and winter.

My mom used to set the table a couple of weeks out for Thanksgiving. (No joke.) And she'd begin caramelizing onions for the stuffing one week out. The whole house would smell amazing! 🙂

Sweet caramelized onions can greatly enhance so many foods, and they are in the filling for this roasted honeynut squash recipe. Add to that, tart cranberries and spinach, and you have a stunning holiday dish.

And to make it even more appealing for a holiday feast, you can make it a day ahead!

Ingredient Notes

• honeynut squash - Honeynut squash are mini butternut squash that are about ½ to ¾-pound each, just a few inches tall. With edible skin, they have a super delicious sweet nutty flavor, and the flesh has an incredibly smooth, creamy texture. They've only been around since about 2007. Honeynut squash season is typically late September through November.
• onion - Always choose those that are firm and heavy for their size. I use yellow onion in this recipe, though red would also work well.
• garlic - Choose firm heads of garlic without any soft spots or green shoots, which are an indication it's old and bitter. Raw garlic cloves should be firm without any dark spots. (Pro tip: if there are green shoots in your garlic cloves, slice them in half, lengthwise, and remove the green root with the tip of a knife. The rest of the clove should still be good.)
• nutmeg and cloves - These spices add an earthy, warm flavor to the recipe. Substitution: Cinnamon is the best substitution. 
• cayenne pepper - Only a pinch -- I love the touch of heat with the sweet squash.
• cranberries - You can use fresh or frozen cranberries. If you choose frozen, just be sure you thaw and drain them of any excess liquid first.
• spinach - If you use baby spinach, there's no need to chop it. If possible, use fresh spinach -- if you can't, frozen spinach is okay as long as you squeeze as much liquid out of it as possible. Substitutions: Kale and Swiss chard are both good substitutions, though both are stronger in flavor than spinach, which is quite mild.
• roquefort cheese - Roquefort is a strongly flavored cheese, that's creamy, salty, and tangy. Substitutions: Gorgonzola, stilton or blue cheese. Feta, though not a blue cheese, would also be very tasty.

Honeynut vs. Butternut

Honeynut squash is sort of an intensified version of butternut. Its flavor is a slightly sweeter and nuttier, and I find the texture creamier.

How to Roast Honeynut Squash

- Preheat the oven to 425°F and adjust a rack to the center. Cover a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.

- Wash and dry the squash, and then cut them in half, lengthwise. Remove the seeds and any stringy membranes with a spoon, and place them, round side down on the parchment-lined sheet pan. Drizzle the squash generously with olive oil and then sprinkle them lightly with salt and pepper and 1 teaspoon brown sugar. Turn them over, round side up.

* Pro Tip * Did you know a sharp knife is safer than one that's dull? Be sure your knife is sharp when you cut the squash. It's not a firm as a butternut, but it can still be precarious.

- Place the sheet pan in the preheated 425°F oven and roast until the thickest part of the squash is very tender, about 30 minutes. (A fork should slide in and out very easily.) Remove them from the oven, set it aside, and turn the heat down to 375°F.

Making the Filling and Assembling

- While the squash is roasting, coat the bottom of a medium-sized skillet with olive oil and place it over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic, and sauté, stirring frequently, until they're soft and golden, about 15 minutes. Then add the nutmeg, cloves, cayenne and cranberries.

Turn the heat to low-medium, and cook until the cranberries are soft and broken into small pieces, about 15 minutes. (If the cranberries are soft but not broken, you can gently press on them with a spatula. )

- Add the spinach and cook until it's wilted, about 2 minutes. Stir and then season to taste with salt and pepper, and add the remaining 2 teaspoons of brown sugar. (Here's How to Season to Taste.)

- Turn the squash halves over, and evenly divide the cranberry mixture between them, filling each one as much as possible. Now use your fingers to break the Roquefort into tiny pieces, and evenly distribute it on top of each one.

- Place the sheet pan in the preheated 375°F oven and heat just to melt the cheese and bring the flavors together, about 6 minutes. Serve!

Serving Suggestions

This honeynut squash recipe is perfect for either a side dish, or a beautiful first course. And it's special for any occasion, as it exudes warmth and bursts with seasonal flavors.

Variations

• Vegan version. Just omit the cheese. (No need for a replacement.)
• Use another squash variety. You can make different variations of this recipe with butternut, acorn, buttercup, or delicata squash.  All of these are much larger than honeynut, so you can either fill each half and then slice them into serving portions once they're cooked, or roast, slice and then spoon some of the filling over the slices. And filling amounts will vary.
• Add a protein. Much like my fall sweet potato recipe, this is also delicious with bacon. Rather than adding olive oil to the pan to make the filling, cook the bacon first, and use its fat instead. Chicken and sausage are also great additions. I would add shredded chicken to the filling once it's finished, and use the sausage the same way you would use the bacon.
• Add nuts. Pecans, walnuts, or pine nuts pair well with orange squash. Both the pecans and walnuts should be roughly chopped first. And all of them can be added to the filling when the cranberries are almost done cooking.

Where can you find Honeynut squash?

When they're in season (late September through November), you'll find them in many grocery stores -- I've seen them at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Costco, and my local farmers' market (they might be at yours, too).

Can you make this ahead?

While following the timeline below is ideal if you can't do it all in one day, I have stored completely assembled leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge, reheated them the next day, and they were great. 

• 2 days ahead: Make the stuffing minus the cheese. After it's cooked, let it cool completely, and refrigerate in a tightly sealed container. Take it out of the refrigerator an hour before adding it to the squash.
• 1 day ahead: Roast the squash. To do this, let it cool completely, wrap each half individually in plastic wrap, and refrigerate. Take them out of the refrigerator an hour before assembling them.
• about 15 minutes before serving: Add the stuffing to the squash, add the cheese, and heat in a 375°F oven for about 10 minutes.

Other Must-Try Fall and Winter Squash Recipes

I hope you love this as much as my family and I do!