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What happens when you stuff an acorn squash with a delicious turkey chili recipe? You have an edible bowl that’s not just good for you, it tastes great too!

Turkey Chili Stuffed Acorn Squash
These turned out better than I could have expected! The turkey chili is mild and savory, which is the perfect balance to the slightly sweet acorn squash (would be great with delicata too!). If you want to make this dairy-free and Whole30 friendly, simply omit the cheese.
I had this for dinner last night and I loved every bite of this. It was filling and so good I am excited to have leftovers for lunch today. This reheats well, if you want to save half for another night, leave the cheese off until you’re ready to reheat. Here’s a short video if you would like to watch how it’s made.
Turkey Chili Stuffed Acorn Squash
What happens when you stuff an acorn squash with turkey chili? You have an edible bowl that's not just good for you, it tastes great too!

Yield: 4 servings
Serving Size: 1 stuffed half
Ingredients
- 2 acorn squash, halved, seeded
- 1 pound 93% lean ground turkey
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/3 cup onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 10 ounces canned Rotel mild tomatoes with green chilies
- 1/2 cup canned tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 3/4 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 tablespoons shredded sharp cheese, omit for Whole 30 and dairy free
- fresh cilantro, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.
- Place squash halves on the baking sheet, cut sides down. Bake until soft, 30 to 35 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, brown turkey over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it cooks into smaller pieces and season with salt and pepper.
- When meat is browned and cooked through add onion and garlic; cook 3 minutes over medium heat.
- Add the can of Rotel tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, cumin, chili powder, paprika, and bay leaf.
- Cover and simmer over medium-low heat about 25 minutes stirring occasionally.
- Remove bay leaf, flip the squash over and fill each half with 3/4 cup chili.
- Top with cheese and bake until melted, about 5 minutes. Top with cilantro.
Last Step:
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To reheat, bake in a 350F oven 20 to 25 minutes or until heated through.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 stuffed half, Calories: 320 kcal, Carbohydrates: 29.5 g, Protein: 28 g, Fat: 12 g, Saturated Fat: 3.5 g, Cholesterol: 91 mg, Sodium: 650 mg, Fiber: 5 g, Sugar: 3.5 g