Butternut Squash & Asian Pear Cornbread Stuffing is a must have on your Thanksgiving table, but also makes a tasty side dish any day of the year.
On Thanksgiving, we always make our standard favorite side dishes and one of those is Portuguese Stuffing. It’s a definite “must have” similar to the feelings I shared recently about green bean casserole.
But I also like to make another type of bread stuffing just to have variety. Since I had some butternut squash and a lone Asian pear I decided to combine the two to create this new Butternut Squash & Asian Pear Cornbread Stuffing.
What does Butternut Squash Taste Like?
Butternut squash on it’s own tastes like a cross between a sweet potato and pumpkin so the flavor is pretty mild. However, roast the squash in the oven and the flavor is even sweeter.
Combine that with the Asian pear, crunchy water chestnuts, celery, onions and cornbread stuffing mix and you have a new side dish that is sure to please every palate.
I prefer to make my stuffing (or dressing…I don’t want to offend anyone here) on the side rather than stuff it into the bird. It’s probably because I like my stuffing to be more on the drier side rather than soggy and mushy as what tends to happen when you stuff the turkey with it.
How do you make Butternut Squash and Asian Pear Cornbread Stuffing?
The first thing you want to do is peel the squash, scoop out the inside seeds and pulp; then dice into 1-inch pieces. Or, you could cheat and purchase the squash already peeled and diced.
I opted for the middle road and got one that was peeled, but not diced already to save some time.Once you have your diced squash, place on a baking sheet then lightly coat with cooking spray.
Place in a preheated oven and allow to roast for about 10 minutes. The pieces of squash are small so they shouldn’t take longer than that to soften.
While the squash is roasting, you’re going to multi-task. Honestly, it’s the only way I ever get anything done in the kitchen. If you wait around for one thing to be done in order to start another, you’d be in there for hours! 🙂 You’re going to heat the stock and butter together.
It has to be hot/warm when you add it to the stuffing mixture or it won’t mix properly. I used vegetable broth, but you can use chicken if that’s all you have.
While the broth is coming to a boil, combine all of the rest of the ingredients in a bowl; including the squash. Add the broth, mix well; then place in an oven safe baking dish.
Bake for about 20 minutes until a light brown crust forms. If you would like to save some time on Thanksgiving, prepare this the night before and save the baking part until Thanksgiving day. While the turkey is resting, you can heat this in the oven.
This Butternut Squash & Asian Pear Cornbread Stuffing was delicious and my family really enjoyed it. They did think it was a bit odd to have a Thanksgiving meal in October as a trial run, but after almost 5 years of doing this blog they’re kind of getting used to it. ~Enjoy!
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Ingredients
- 2 cups peeled and diced butternut squash
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 14 ounces cornbread stuffing mix
- 1 peeled, cored and diced asian pear
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1- (5-ounce)can chopped water chestnuts
- 3 stalks chopped celery,
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Cooking Spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Place the diced butternut squash on a baking sheet, spray with cooking spray and roast for 10 minutes until they start to soften. Remove from oven.
- While the squash is roasting, heat your broth and butter in a small saucepan until boiling; then turn off heat.
- Add the stuffing mix, pears, onion, water chestnuts, celery and sage to a large bowl; then add the roasted squash.
- Gradually add the broth to the stuffing mixture; mix well. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add the stuffing to an oven safe baking dish and bake for 20 minutes until the stuffing is heated through and the top gets a light brown crust.
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i have never seen a recipe like this!! very interesting twist. i will have to try it!
Thank you Alicia
This looks like a great cornbread stuffing.
I love cornbread stuffing.
I would not have thought to combine these but it sounds and looks really good.
Thank you Sandra, it was really good!