Sweet meets savory in this irresistibly delicious butternut squash stuffing with chopped dates & juice chunks of apples. A special stuffing recipe made with sourdough bread and lots of fresh herbs. Make it this holiday season.

This post is sponsored by Natural Delights. All opinions are my own.

If you’ve been following my blogging journey for awhile you may already know that stuffing is hands down my favorite dish to make, serve and eat come Thanksgiving. I often wonder why we don’t make it a more mainstream side dish.

If you love stuffing as much as I do, check out my Leek, Fennel & Charred Lemon Stuffing and these Mushroom & Sage Cornbread Stuffing Muffins, which are perfect for the more intimate Thanksgiving celebrations many of us are bound to be having in 2020.

Sweet meets savory in this irresistibly delicious butternut squash stuffing

No matter the size of your Thanksgiving celebration this year, I couldn’t let the holiday pass without creating a new stuffing recipe for you, and it’s a good one. I made a full sized batch of this Butternut Squash Stuffing and we ate the whole thing over the course of a few days. I’m still not tired of it and am seriously considering making it again for our Thanksgiving meal for two.

Butternut squash, apples and Natural Delights Pitted Dates shine in this stuffing. The natural sweetness of these ingredients is balanced perfectly by a generous amount of fresh herbs and a loaf of tart sourdough.

I especially love the addition of the dates in this stuffing recipe. They feel just unexpected enough to add an interesting appeal but they also pair beautifully with the other ingredients. I used Natural Delights Pitted Dates for this recipe- since there are a fair amount of other ingredients to chop, using dates with the pits already removed cuts down on prep time, which is especially important if you’re also preparing the entire Thanksgiving feast!

What you’ll need to make this butternut squash stuffing recipe

• 1-pound loaf sourdough bread
• butter
• butternut squash
• apple
• celery
• onion
• pitted dates
• fresh thyme, leaves stripped from the stems
• fresh sage leaves, chopped
• Italian parsley
• low-sodium vegetable broth
• eggs
• salt and pepper

Which bread shall I use for making stuffing?

The best bread to use for stuffing really depends on your taste. In more traditional stuffing recipes we will find bread with a neutral flavor and a tight crumb, often sweet. Think white bread, challah, or brioche to name a few. I like sourdough as I enjoy the crunch of the crust and the slightly sour taste. It is really my personal preference so feel free to use a different loaf.

Top tips for making the best stuffing

• While you can use any type of bread you’d like for this butternut squash stuffing recipe, I highly recommend sourdough bread. Its naturally tart flavor lends the right amount of balance to the sweeter ingredients.
• Toasting the bread cubes in the oven first helps prevent a soggy stuffing. If you don’t have time (or oven space) to toast the bread, using one or two day old bread is another option.
• Don’t skimp on the fresh herbs! They add lots of savory flavor to this stuffing and brighten up the dish, too. Here I use fresh sage, thyme and parsley, but fresh rosemary or even fresh oregano would be lovely.
• You can cover the baking dish with aluminum foil while baking if you prefer a more moist stuffing, removing the foil during the last 15 minutes or so to let the top crisp up a bit.

More recipes for your holiday table:

• Cranberry Smash Cocktail
• Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes
• Cranberry Tart with Pears

If you make this butternut squash, date and apple stuffing, leave a comment and rating below, and share it on Instagram with #LePetitEats!

5 from 1 vote

Print

Butternut Squash, Date & Apple Stuffing

Sweet meets savory in this irresistibly delicious butternut squash date & apple stuffing

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American, Thanksgiving

Keyword easy stuffing recipe, stuffing, Thanksgiving side dishes, vegetarian stuffing recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes

Servings 8

Calories 400 kcal

Author Denisse

Ingredients

• 1- pound loaf sourdough bread
• 8 tablespoons butter
• 10 ounces butternut squash cubed (about 2 cups)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 large apple chopped
• 3 stalks celery chopped
• 1 medium onion diced
• 3/4 cup Natural Delights pitted dates chopped (about 8)
• 10 sprigs fresh thyme leaves stripped from the stems
• 10 fresh sage leaves chopped
• 2 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 2 eggs lightly beaten
• 3 tablespoons Italian parsley chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 2-quart baking dish and set aside.
2. Cut or tear the bread into 1-inch cubes and spread evenly on two baking sheets. Toast the bread in the oven until beginning to crisp and brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
3. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the squash and a few pinches of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add 2 more tablespoons butter, apple, celery, and onion. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables have softened, about 5 minutes. Add dates, thyme, sage and remaining 4 tablespoons butter. Cook for another minute. Add broth to skillet and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat and let cool slightly.
4. Pour the broth mixture, eggs and parsley over the bread cubes and toss to combine until the bread cubes absorb the liquid. Pour the mixture into the greased baking dish. Bake in the center of the oven until heated through and the top is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Remove the stuffing from the oven and allow to cool about 15 minutes before serving.

Recipe Notes

• While you can use any type of bread you’d like for this butternut squash stuffing recipe, I highly recommend sourdough bread. Its naturally tart flavor lends the right amount of balance to the sweeter ingredients.
• Toasting the bread cubes in the oven first helps prevent a soggy stuffing. If you don’t have time (or oven space) to toast the bread, using one or two day old bread is another option.
• Don’t skimp on the fresh herbs! They add lots of savory flavor to this stuffing and brighten up the dish, too. Here I use fresh sage, thyme and parsley, but fresh rosemary or even fresh oregano would be lovely.
• You can cover the baking dish with aluminum foil while baking if you prefer a more moist stuffing, removing the foil during the last 15 minutes or so to let the top crisp up a bit.