This charming Dinner in a Pumpkin recipe brings festive flair to your table in just 75 minutes. The hearty meal packs 14g of protein and wholesome nutrients like Vitamin A and C into every serving. Perfect for fall gatherings, this unique dish transforms an ordinary weeknight dinner into a memorable experience. At just 340 calories per portion, it’s a creative way to enjoy seasonal flavors while serving up a balanced, nutritious meal that will have everyone at the table smiling.
Ingredients
- Pumpkins: 3 pie pumpkins (6-inch) or 1 medium regular pumpkin, fresh and firm
- Italian Sausage: 1 pound, casings removed (choose mild or hot per preference)
- Vegetables: 1 diced yellow onion, 1 cup diced red bell pepper, 1 shredded carrot, 2 chopped celery ribs
- Aromatics: 4 minced garlic cloves
- Fresh Herbs: 2 teaspoons each of chopped thyme, rosemary, and sage (or ¾ teaspoon each if using dried)
- Seasonings: 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
- Rice: 2 cups cooked wild rice
Instructions
- Pumpkin Preparation: Remove pumpkin top, clean interior thoroughly, and season with salt and pepper. Heat oven to 350°F.
- Sausage Cooking: Brown sausage in skillet over medium-high heat, breaking into small pieces. Remove excess grease if needed.
- Vegetable Sauté: Add onion, carrots, pepper, and celery. Cook 8-10 minutes until tender.
- Seasoning & Assembly: Mix in garlic, herbs, and seasonings. Combine with wild rice.
- Stuffing: Fill pumpkin with mixture, replace top, and place on lined baking sheet.
- Baking: Position in center of oven, bake 50-60 minutes until pumpkin flesh is tender.
- Serving: Scoop filling along with tender pumpkin flesh. Add hot sauce if desired.
Cooking Techniques
This cozy recipe combines two main cooking methods: stovetop sautéing and whole pumpkin roasting. When browning the sausage, take your time breaking it into small, even pieces – this helps the flavors mix better with the vegetables later. For the pumpkin, make sure to clean out all the stringy bits, just like you would for a jack-o’-lantern. A metal spoon works great for scraping the sides clean. The pumpkin is done when you can easily pierce the flesh with a fork, but be careful not to overcook it, or it might collapse!
Variations & Substitutions
Don’t have wild rice? Regular brown rice or a rice blend works just as well. For a vegetarian version, swap the sausage for mushrooms and veggie crumbles. Any color bell pepper will taste great – green adds a slightly different flavor that’s really nice with the sausage. If you can’t find pie pumpkins, try using a medium-sized regular pumpkin and increasing the cooking time by about 15-20 minutes. You can also play with different fresh herbs – oregano or marjoram would be tasty additions!
Serving Suggestions
This beautiful stuffed pumpkin makes quite an entrance at the dinner table! Serve it right in the pumpkin, letting everyone scoop out both the filling and some of the tender pumpkin flesh. A splash of hot sauce adds a nice kick, and some warm, crusty bread on the side is perfect for soaking up the tasty juices. For a fall dinner party, put the pumpkin in the center of the table and surround it with some colorful roasted fall vegetables.
Storage Tips
If you have leftovers, scoop the filling and soft pumpkin flesh into an airtight container. It will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, just pop it in the microwave or warm it in a covered skillet with a splash of broth to keep it moist. The stuffing freezes well too – just thaw overnight in the fridge when you’re ready to enjoy it again!
Dinner in a Pumpkin
Equipment
- Skillet
- Baking sheet
Ingredients
- 3 pumpkin pie pumpkins (6 inch) or 1 regular medium-size pumpkin
- 1 pound Italian sausage mild or hot, casings removed
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 1 cup red bell pepper diced
- 1 large carrot shredded
- 2 ribs celery chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme chopped (or ¾ teaspoon dried thyme)
- 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary chopped (or ¾ teaspoon dried rosemary)
- 2 teaspoons fresh sage chopped (or ¾ teaspoon dried sage)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
- 2 cups cooked wild rice
Instructions
- Cut the top off of the pumpkin, leaving a large enough opening to fit hand and spoon inside to remove seeds (like you would a Jack-o-lantern). Clean out the seeds and insides of the pumpkin until the inner walls of the pumpkin are smooth. Season the inside of the pumpkin with some salt and pepper.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Remove casings from sausage and add to a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, breaking it into small pieces, until browned. Use paper towels to blot out some of the grease, if necessary.
- Add onion, carrots, bell pepper and celery and sauté for 8-10 minutes. Add garlic, thyme, rosemary, sage and salt and pepper. Stir in cooked wild rice.
- Spoon mixture into pumpkins and place the lid/stem back on top.
- Place the pumpkin on a lined or greased baking sheet and place it on the lowest rack of your oven (or whatever rack positions the pumpkin to cook in the center of the oven). Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until the inside pumpkin flesh is tender when poked with a fork.
- Scoop some of the delicious cooked pumpkin from the sides of the pumpkin as you spoon the mixture out into bowls. Top with hot sauce and additional salt and pepper, if desired.
