Sausage-Stuffed Portobello with Maple Butternut Squash

Maple pairs wonderfully with sausage, and it pairs great with butternut squash, too! I like to serve this dish with a big bowl of fresh greens on the side, as it makes an excellent topper for a simple salad. The recipe below calls for pork sausage, but you could easily make this vegetarian by using meat-free sausage, or lighter in calories by using chicken sausage. No butternut squash? Acorn squash is a great swap.

Sausage-Stuffed Portobello with Maple Butternut Squash

Ingredients

Protein

ground pork sausage1 pound, casings removed if necessary

Produce

butternut squash1 small to medium sized
portobello mushroom caps4 large

Spices

smoked paprika2 teaspoons

Dry Goods

maple syrup1/3 cup
olive oilto taste
Kosher saltto taste

Instructions

Maple pairs wonderfully with sausage, and it pairs great with butternut squash, too! I like to serve this dish with a big bowl of fresh greens on the side, as it makes an excellent topper for a simple salad. The recipe below calls for pork sausage, but you could easily make this vegetarian by using meat-free sausage, or lighter in calories by using chicken sausage. No butternut squash? Acorn squash is a great swap.

  1. Preheat the oven to 400*F and line a large sheet pan with foil or parchment paper. 
  2. Cook the sausage over medium heat in a large skillet, using a wooden spoon to break it up, until it is mostly cooked (a little pink is fine- it’ll finish cooking in the oven). 
  3. While the sausage is cooking, prepare the butternut squash: Peel the squash and scoop the seeds out with a spoon, discarding them. 
  4. Slice the butternut squash about 1/4 inch thick and arrange on the sheet pan, placing the slices side by side (you may need two sheet pans if you squash is large)
  5. Drizzle the squash with olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and smoked paprika, then drizzle with maple syrup.
  6. Use a spoon to remove any stems in the mushrooms and scrape away some of the gills, creating a small “bowl” in the underside of the mushroom cap.
  7. When the sausage is cooked, arrange the mushrooms gill-side up on top of the butternut squash and top with the sausage.
  8. Place the pan in the oven and bake, 22-25 minutes, until the butternut squash is completely cooked through and the mushrooms are soft and cooked through. 
  9. Remove and serve together. 

Prep Plan

Prep it for later:
1. Peel, deseed, and slice the butternut squash.
2. Transfer to a resealable bag and press out any excess air.
3. Cook the sausage and, when cool enough to handle, transfer to a resealable bag or container.

You’ll need:
1 bag of peeled, sliced butternut squash
1 bag or container of cooked sausage

Prepare from prepped:
1. Preheat the oven to 400*F and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper or foil.
2. Arrange the butternut squash on the pan (you may need two pans if you have a lot of sliced squash)
3. Drizzle the squash with olive oil, salt, smoked paprika, and maple syrup.
4. Arrange the mushroom caps on top of the squash, gill side up, and drizzle with the oil and salt.
5. Spoon the sausage into the mushrooms.
6. Place pan in the oven and bake 22-25 minutes, until the butternut squash is cooked through and the mushrooms are soft and cooked through.