Butternut Squash Sausage Stew

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This Butternut Squash Sausage Stew is a delicious gluten-free stew recipe that can also be made paleo-friendly! Prepared with sausage, vegetables, sage, and thyme, it’s an easy cool-weather comfort food to make! {Gluten-Free + Paleo-Friendly}

Good Lord and butter, Spiriteds, Butternut Squash Sausage Stew is delicious. If you reside in our house and go on Colorado-bound road trips with us, then you might also bellow, “Hot deli and liquor!” This lovely phrase is from a sign on our journey west that promotes a stop with…you guessed it…hot deli and liquor. We laugh and hoot and holler every time we see it.

It’s also fitting here because although this Butternut Squash Sausage Stew isn’t hot deli and doesn’t include liquor, it is a hearty. It’s a filling meal that’s full of herby flavors. And it’s ready for cool weather and darker evenings, road trips west or otherwise.

Furthermore, Butternut Squash Sausage Stew is slow cooker-ready and easy to assemble, so that while the flavor is BIG the effort is not. And I’ve found the best way to prep a butternut squash for this stew is to carefully slice it in half and then roast it just long enough to intensify the flavor and make it easier to dice.

This is how we get our fall and winter vegetables in meal planning rotation. And this lovely treat does not disappoint. So, if you are ready to turn your soups in an autumnal or wintry deal, then grab your slow cooker because, hot deli and liquor, we’ve got a stew to make!

Butternut Squash Sausage Stew is

• Paleo-friendly
• Gluten-free and dairy-free
• Hearty, herbaceous, and earthy
• Warming and spicy

Side note: It doesn’t matter terribly whether you work with a large, small, or somewhere-in-the-middle butternut squash. Whatever you can get your fingerlings on will work. We also don’t add sea salt until it’s time to serve the stew. This allows all the flavors, including the sausage, to simmer and infuse the broth, preventing over-salting of the stew. 

Butternut Squash Sausage Stew ingredients

• Butternut squash. Cut the butternut squash into cubes. They don’t need to be fancy or terribly uniform. If you’re curious about how to safely cut a butternut squash, then check out Ali’s How to Cut Butternut Squash tutorial over at Gimme Some Oven!
• Sausage. About 16 ounces will do. We’ve made this using turkey sausage as well as polish sausage, and both turned out delicious! There are even some paleo-friendly options out there that taste excellent. For example, Amylu is a brand we often use.
• Broth. If you don’t have beef broth, bone broth, or vegetable broth on hand, then do what my late, great mother-in-law used to do and add…water. With all the other flavorings, it will turn out just fine.
• Onions. Cut white onions into wedges or large sections. They’ll cook down to size in the slow cooker.
• Carrots. Peel and chop, and then you’re ready to go!
• Red wine vinegar. Just a small amount is needed for incredible flavor.
• Sage and thyme. I used dried herbs and added equal amounts of each to the stew. You can also add fresh herbs, if you have them on hand.
• To taste: Sea salt and coarse black pepper.

Side note: We typically don’t add a lot of salt prior to cooking because the sausage will flavor up the stew while it simmers in the slow cooker. When we’re ready to serve, then we add sea salt and pepper to taste.

How to make Butternut Squash Sausage Stew

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice the butter squash lengthwise. Next scoop out the seeds and pulp and discard them. Drizzle the flesh with olive oil and place face down on the parchment-line baking sheet. Roast for about 15-20 minutes.
2. While the butternut squash is roasting, to a large sauté pan add the onion wedges, sausage, and enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Sauté for about 5-7 minutes.
3. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the ingredients from the sauté pan to a slow cooker. Stir in the carrots, dried thyme, dried sage, broth, and red wine vinegar. You can add sea salt and pepper now or wait until just before serving. Set the slow cooker to LOW for 6-8 hours.
4. Once the butternut squash is done roasting, then slice it and trim off the outer skin. Cut the butternut squash into squares and transfer them to the slow cooker.
5. Once the Butternut Squash Sausage Stew is done, season with sea salt and coarse black pepper to taste and serve. Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container and consume within about 3-4 days.

Best practices

This is a super-simple stew to prepare, however I have included a few notes below so you can customize your recipe how you want it!

• To make cutting the butternut squash into cubes easier, roast the halves face down. Then when they’re done, slice them, lay them on their side, and trim off the skin.
• Tapioca flour is an excellent thickening and binding agent, but it tends to seize up and congeal when added to hot liquids or dishes. So, once you add the tapioca flour, make sure to stir it in and dissolve it quickly before it has a chance to clam up on you! If it does seize and congeal, then scoop out as much as you can and add another 1-2 tablespoons, stirring as quickly as possible.
• This stew is perfect for leftovers. However, the vegetables will soften over time. For best results, consume within about 24-48 hours.

More slurps and soups!

If you like this stew, then you might also enjoy:

• Cinnamon, Sweet Potato, and Carrot Soup
• Paleo Zuppa Toscana
• Easy Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

Today’s recipe was inspired by Carol Heding Munson’s Sausage and Butternut Squash Stew, published in her book, Complete Slow Cooker Cookbook. We adjusted for dietary needs and paleo-ized the stew as much as possible.

Spiriteds, stay well and stay wild. Jump into the fun whenever you can, and always remember I’m glad you’re here. ❤️

Butternut Squash Sausage Stew

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This Butternut Squash Sausage Stew is a delicious gluten-free stew recipe that can also be made paleo-friendly! Prepared with sausage, vegetables, sage, and thyme, it’s an easy cool-weather comfort food to make! {Gluten-Free + Paleo-Friendly}

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 6-8 hours
• Total Time: 0 hours
• Yield: 6 servings 1x
• Category: Soups and Stews
• Method: Slow Cooker
• Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 medium butternut squash
• Olive oil
• 3 white onions, halved or cut into wedges
• 16 ounces turkey or polish sausage, sliced into rounds
• 3 cups carrots, sliced or chopped
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 3 cups beef broth, vegetable broth, or bone broth
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1–2 tablespoons tapioca flour, optional broth thickening agent
• Sea salt and pepper, to taste
• Optional garnishes: sautéed garlic slivers, fresh thyme and sage leaves, or fresh parsley

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice the butter squash lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and pulp and discard them. Drizzle the flesh with olive oil and place face down on the parchment-line baking sheet. Roast for about 15-20 minutes.
2. While the butternut squash is roasting, to a large sauté pan add the onion wedges, sausage, and enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Sauté for about 5-7 minutes.
3. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the ingredients from the sauté pan to a slow cooker. Stir in the carrots, dried thyme, dried sage, broth, and red wine vinegar. You can add sea salt and pepper now or wait until just before serving. Set the slow cooker to LOW for 6-8 hours.
4. Once the butternut squash is done roasting, then slice it and trim off the outer skin. Cut the butternut squash into squares and transfer them to the slow cooker.
5. Once the Butternut Squash Sausage Stew is done, season with sea salt and coarse black pepper to taste and serve. Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container and consume within about 3-4 days.

Notes

• To make cutting the butternut squash into cubes easier, roast the halves face down. Then when they’re done, slice them, lay them on their side, and trim off the skin.
• Tapioca flour is an excellent thickening and binding agent, but it tends to seize up and congeal when added to hot liquids or dishes. So, once you add the tapioca flour, make sure to stir it in and dissolve it quickly before it has a chance to clam up on you! If it does seize and congeal, then scoop out as much as you can and add another 1-2 tablespoons, stirring as quickly as possible.
• This stew is perfect for leftovers. However, the vegetables will soften over time. For best results, consume within about 24-48 hours.