We love cooking and baking with the season and this butternut squash, sausage and quinoa skillet recipe just screams fall! It is fast, easy, healthy and so flavorful! We especially love the combo of sweet and savory. It has simple ingredients and it is perfect for a week night meal or even breakfast (add an egg).
One thing that we both like to do is to prep our meals in the morning when we have time. Let’s be honest though, most mornings are chaotic and we run out of time. It takes every ounce of energy to just get everyone out the door! But if you are a morning person by chance and get up early, you may have a few extra minutes in the morning to do a little chopping. 🙂
Something that I like to do is chop the butternut squash and place it in a ziplock bag in the morning before work. This is by far the most time consuming part of the recipe and no one really likes cutting squash. They are so hard and they make your hands all weird. You know what I am talking about, right? I was told the other day that it’s a real thing called ‘squash hands‘. Want to skip this step all together? Buy the precut squash from Costco. No chopping and no squash hands! 🙂
There are a few different options for ingredients, so feel free to use what you have on hand. We love that cooking can be so flexible. Don’t have pepitas? No problem, use pecans or walnuts. Dislike goat cheese? Use feta instead! The two of us have been cooking for a while. I feel like learning the ins and outs of substituting is something you learn (and get better at) as you cook more! We will always try to give substitutions whenever possible. When we live in Wisconsin, we totally understand not wanting to run to the grocery store when the air is so cold it hurts your face! Use what you have on hand.
Butternut Squash, Chicken Sausage, and Spinach Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 2 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock or water)
- 1 medium butternut squash – peeled and chopping into 1" pieces
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 yellow onion – chopped
- 12 ounces apple chicken sausage links – cut into 1/2" coins
- 4 cups baby spinach – roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic – minced
- 1 Tbsp fresh sage – chopped
- 1/2 cup craisins (dried cranberries)
- 5 ounces grumbled goat cheese (or feta)
- 1/2 cup toasted pepitas (or roughly chopped pecans and/or walnuts)
Dressing
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees
- Place chopped butternut squash in a ziplock bag and shake with 2 Tbsp of olive oil until well coated. Dump out the squash onto a baking sheet lined with parchement paper. Season with salt and pepper.
- Bake for about 25 minutes, until squash is soft and can be pierced with a fork.
- Meanwhile, place quinoa and 2 cups of chicken stock in a medium pot and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat, cover, and let simmer for 18-20 minutes, or until quinoa has absorbed all of the water.
- While quinoa and squash are cooking, add remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a skillet over medium heat.
- Add onion and chicken sausage and cook until onion begins to soften, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the chopped spinach, garlic and sage and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 4-5 minutes.
- Once squash and quinoa have cooked, add them both to the skillet with the sausage and spinach, and stir to combine.
- Mix together dressing ingredients and drizzle over quinoa mixture, stirring to combine.
- Top with craisins, goat cheese, and toasted pepitas! Enjoy!
Let us know if you try out this butternut squash, chicken sausage, and quinoa skillet recipe and what you think! Are you looking for more butternut squash recipes? Try our Roasted Butternut Squash Soup recipe! It’s so simple and made in the blender!
