Sage Brown Butter Stuffed Squash
with Kale, Apple & Raisin Couscous
- Milk
- Wheat
You’ve filled bell peppers and packed zucchini boats … but have you ever stuffed a squash? Yep, we’re talking buttery, caramelized delicata squash loaded with tender Israeli couscous and fragrant sage brown butter. In this hearty version, apple, raisins, and kale topple out in a savory-sweet flavor explosion, then everything’s drizzled with lemon cream sauce for a final pop of tang. Basically, it’s total squash goals!
Ingredients
2 unit
Veggie Stock Concentrate
4 ounce
Kale
4 tablespoon
Cream Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
1 unit
Delicata Squash
1 unit
Lemon
1 unit
Apple
¼ ounce
Sage
¾ cup
Pearl Couscous
(Contains: Wheat)
1 ounce
Golden Raisins
1 unit
Shallot
Not included in your delivery
3 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
4 tablespoon (tbsp)
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Adjust rack to top position and preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash and dry produce. • Halve squash lengthwise; scoop out and discard seeds with a spoon. • Place squash on a baking sheet; drizzle each half with oil and rub to evenly coat. Season generously with salt and pepper, then arrange cut sides down. Roast on top rack until browned and tender, 25-30 minutes.
• Zest and quarter lemon. Halve, peel, and thinly slice half the shallot (all for 4 servings). Remove and discard any large stems from kale; roughly chop into bitesize pieces. Halve, core, and dice apple into ¼-inch pieces. Pick sage leaves from stems; chop leaves until you have 2 tsp (4 tsp for 4). • In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine raisins and juice from half the lemon. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave until softened, 20-30 seconds. Set aside, still covered, until ready to use.
• Heat a drizzle of oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add shallot and cook, stirring, until softened and lightly browned, 1-3 minutes. • Add kale and a splash of water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until kale is slightly wilted, 1-3 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper. • Add couscous, 1 cup water (1½ cups for 4 servings), and half the stock concentrates (you’ll use the rest later). Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Cook until couscous is tender, 6-8 minutes. Drain any excess liquid if necessary. • Once couscous is done, stir in apple, raisins (reserve soaking liquid for Step 5), and a squeeze of lemon juice to taste. Season with salt and pepper. Keep covered off heat.
• Melt 3 TBSP butter (6 TBSP for 4 servings) in a small pan over medium-high heat. Add chopped sage and cook, stirring, until butter is foamy and flecked with amber brown bits, 1-2 minutes. Remove pan from heat. • Stir sage brown butter, half the lemon zest, and a pinch of salt into pot with couscous mixture; set aside. Wipe out pan
• Heat pan used for brown butter over medium heat. Add ¼ cup water, (½ cup for 4 servings), cream cheese, reserved raisin soaking liquid, remaining lemon zest, and remaining stock concentrates. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened and combined, 2-3 minutes. Stir in 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4) until melted; season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Once squash is tender, remove from oven. Carefully flip squash and stuff with as much couscous filling as will fit. • Divide any remaining couscous filling between plates. Top with stuffed squash and drizzle with lemon cream sauce. Serve with any remaining lemon wedges on the side.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Sep 2026- Flavor: The savory-sweet combination of sage brown butter, apple, raisins, and lemon cream sauce earned rave reviews as a standout fall flavor profile 🍂. Some found the dish too sweet or too lemon-forward; others felt the couscous was bland — season generously and adjust lemon to taste.
- Ease of prep: Most agreed this recipe has many steps and takes longer than expected, but the majority felt the effort was well worth the result. Cutting the delicata squash in half was flagged as the trickiest part — a sharp, heavy knife and steady pressure help.
- Suggestions: Several reviewers added protein like chicken sausage, ground pork, or cannellini beans for a heartier meal. A few suggested cooking the couscous separately from the kale to avoid sogginess, and adding kale at the end; one reviewer also recommended roasting the squash seeds with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a little brown sugar. Some found the couscous watery — use slightly less water than called for and drain any excess. A few felt the lemon cream sauce was unnecessary; others loved it, so drizzle to taste.
- Leftovers: This dish reheats well and makes a generous amount — several reviewers enjoyed the filling as a satisfying next-day lunch.
- Portions: Half a delicata squash per serving is quite filling, though many wished for a second squash; adding an extra from your pantry is an easy fix.
Reviews from our home cooks
Everyone in my family, no matter what they are picky about, liked this! They all ate kale without complaining, and the golden raisins were a nice surprise. The sage brown butter and lemony sauce balanced nicely. I guess my only note is that I cooked the apples down for a few minutes with a bit of sage and butter, to bring out their flavor and soften their texture. My co-workers were jealous when I took the leftovers to work the next day!
Loved the fall flavors in this easy-to-prepare dish. The squash came out perfectly toasted and tender. It was beautifully complimented by the medley of kale, apple, raisins, and sage browned butter. Turns out half a squash is quite filling, too!
This so good. Filling, seasonal meal with generous portions. Hard to beat fresh sage and vegetables! I tried a TBSP of Greek yogurt in place of the cream cheese so the sauce was lighter; I might try it another time with just sage brown butter, lemon, salt and pepper? I am imagining clearer flavors, although I am sure you add the stock and cream cheese for good reason. THANK YOU!
Definitely a labor of love recipe but this was delicious! The squash was super tender and I really enjoyed the apple and golden raisins for the flavor profile. I also love sage so that was a huge plus. Cream sauce brought it all together nicely.
DELISH - like a bowl of fall. I didn't like the cream cheese sauce on top, so I keep that off, but the kale in the couscous with the pops of sweet from the apple and raisin were outstanding. The squash was the perfect fall flavor to tie it all together.
I've never been a huge kale person, but this dish was delicious! The citrus kick made it very fresh, while the squash and couscous were very warm and soothing. Definitely a new fav!
Kale cooking method makes soggy. Try couscous separate, and add kale at end. Cooked apples, raisin and shallot together as stuffing for squash, added cinnamon and sugar to the sage butter mix and added to apple stuffing.
Awesome! Perfect for a large 4 person meal or potluck, very presentable and pretty dish that is very hearty and vegetarian! I found that the amount of sage butter was a little heavy (a full stick total for the 4 person) so saved about 2 tablespoons for bread on the side. Also added a tiny bit more water than you said for the couscous as cooking it with all the veggies made the pan too full otherwise (worked out fine). Still making my way through the last portion and it is still good! Made it 6 days ago.
Very filling. Mixture of textures very pleasing. Pickled raisins and sage brown butter make the dish fabulous.
This is an amazing dish. It combines many of my favorite things, such as creamy squash and brown butter with sage for a fantastic flavor adventure.
