Butternut Squash Sausage Stew

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 fall comfort food to make! {Gluten-free + Paleo-friendly}

It is pumpkin spice season, friends. And all I can say is, that stuff has zero effect on me. Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE a good pumpkin brownie or a yummo pumpkin spice cookie. But pumpkin in my morning coffee? Umm, no. And I have Twinkle to thank for that. I spent the first trimester while pregnant with her, gagging my way through pumpkin spice this and pumpkin spice that. Because autumn.

And while most of my favorite pumpkin flavors came back over time, pumpkin spice coffee is still dead to me. Totally worth it, though. Because Twinkle is way cuter and sweeter and more wonderful-er than any pumpkin drink I’ve ever sipped. Red Rover Red Rover, send Twinkle right over.

Thus, fall flavors are a little different in our house. We do a little pumpkin here and a little pumpkin there. But we also throw in a few lesser known fall flavors like this Butternut Squash Sausage Stew. Good Lord and butter, it is delicious.  

Do not be afraid if you are new to butternut squash and are worried it will be a boring vegetable in a boring stew that results in a boring dinner. Because I, for one, rarely gravitate to any squash (other than spaghetti squash) and I absolutely love this stew. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t put it on the blog. Promise.

Butternut Squash Sausage Stew is a mouthwatering gluten-free dinner recipe, that, depending on the sausage and beef broth you pick, can also be paleo-friendly. And it’s a good way to get a few vegetables in your diet. Because in addition to the butternut squash, we’re also throwing in a few carrots. You can also add sweet potatoes, if desired. 

So, even though it’s hard to say three times fast, this Butternut Squash Sausage Stew is easy to make. Sauté the onions and sausage and throw them in a slow cooker, along with the other ingredients, set it, and forget it. You’ll have a stew by dinner.

This recipe is so happening. Even though it isn’t a pumpkin recipe, Butternut Squash Sausage Stew is definitely a fall comfort food recipe worth making.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SAUSAGE STEW INGREDIENTS:

Below are the ingredients for preparing your own Butternut Squash Sausage Stew.

• 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!
• Turkey sausage. About 16 ounces will do. We read labels and look for those with the fewest ingredients and preservatives.
• Beef broth. You can buy this at the store or make your own beef broth.
• Onions. Cut white onions into wedges or large sections. They’ll cook down to size in the slow cooker.
• Carrots. Peel and chop, and 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.
• Garnishes. Add cilantro, parsley, or thinly sliced green onions.

NOTE: You can add chopped sweet potatoes, too, if you like. And 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:

Below are the steps to prepare your own stew. I do suggest sautéing the chopped sausage and onion in a skillet prior to adding it to the slow cooker. It adds just the right amount of flavor to the overall dish.

1. Combine the onion wedges, sausage, and olive oil in a skillet and sauté for about 4-5 minutes. Transfer to a slow cooker and add the butternut squash, carrots, beef broth, red wine vinegar, sage, and thyme.
2. Cook on a low setting for about 6 to 8 hours.
3. Garnish as desired. Store leftovers in the refrigerator and consume within about 2 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!

• Start out with a smaller amount of liquid and only add more broth if the ingredients are starting to dry out. This may depend on the size and depth of the slow cooker you use.
• If you want to thicken the stew even more, you can add a little gluten-free flour or a small amount of almond flour or coconut flour. Please note, the almond and coconut flours may not completely dissolve into the stew. However, the stew will thicken over time.
• This stew is perfect for leftovers. However, the vegetables will soften over time. For best results, consume within about 24-48 hours.

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.

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