This recipe is an absolute show stopper. Individual pumpkins stuffed with bacon, cheese, bread, herbs and spices makes a dramatic and delicious presentation. It is not nearly as complicated to make as it looks; and it is a creative way to use whole pumpkins.
I first saw the recipe on PBS during a cooking segment by Dorie Greenspan. It was prepared in a large 3-4 lb pumpkin, and made a stunning centerpiece. Because I always take a practical view of cooking, I adapted the recipe to make individual portions, solving some of the challenges of transporting and serving the pumpkin. I also fiddled a bit with the seasonings to make it more to my liking.
Pumpkin is high in fiber and low in calories. Pumpkin is an excellent source of vitamin A and beta-carotene. These nutrients contribute to maintaining a healthy weight, help to lower cancer risks and improve the immune system. Pumpkin is an excellent way to get more healthy, plant based foods into your diet.
You can make this recipe even more healthy by substituting faro or quinoa for the bread, and cutting the heavy cream in half with vegetable broth. To make this a vegetarian option, you can add sautéed spinach (well drained and chopped) and sautéed mushrooms. You can also bake your Thanksgiving stuffing in a pumpkin!
Serving:I like to serve the pumpkins as an individual entree. You can also slice into wedges and serve as a first course. Pumpkins go nicely with a crisp fall salad.
Tip: A silicone baking mat comes in handy for this recipe, and many others! It’s a great tool to have in your kitchen.
Savory Stuffed Sugar Pumpkins
Ingredients
- 2 sugar pumpkins each 1-1.5 pounds. I look for the smallest ones.
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1/4 pound stale bread or unseasoned stuffing mix 1/2-inch cubes
- 1/4 pound cheese such as Gruyere, swiss, cheddar, or a combination cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 2-4 garlic cloves chopped
- 4 slices bacon sliced into cubes and cooked until crisp
- 1/4 cup snipped fresh chives
- 1 tbs fresh thyme
- 1 tsp fresh sage chopped
- 1/2 cup heavy cream - more if needed
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Center a baking rack in the middle of the oven.
- Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment.
- Rinse outside of pumpkin to remove any residue and dirt.
- Take a sharp knife and cut a cap out of the top of the pumpkin. Cut at a degree angle and make the opening large enough to scrape seeds and loose pulp out of the pumpkin. Reserve seeds for toasting.
- Scrape clean inside of the pumpkin and cap, and season well with salt and pepper.
- Toss bread, cheese, garlic, bacon, and herbs together in a bowl.
- Season heavy cream with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
- Combine bread and cream mixtures, mixing well until moist. Add more cream if needed, mixture should be moist, not too wet.
- Stuff each pumpkin with the bread mixture until slightly overflowing, and place pumpkin caps on top of stuffing.
- Bake for 1 hour. Remove caps and bake for 15-30 minutes more until pumpkins are done. Pumpkins should be soft to the touch, but not collapsing, when they are done.
- Ninety minutes usually does it, but it can be sooner depending on pumpkin size.
Kristen Coffield
I am a passionate advocate for food as medicine, life navigator and culinary coach. This is my space for sharing what excites, inspires and motivates me to live my best life. It began as a recipe blog for nourishing, simple, weekday meals and has become something much bigger… a guide to resilient wellness. I am excited to share my knowledge of how daily habits can cumulatively help you to live like you mean it and age like you want to.
Recipe sounds quite interesting & neat serving idea to use sweet pumpkin in this way.
I’m curious, what country are you from orginally? Your recipes are worded very differently from American recipes. Not complaining, just interesting! 😷👍🏻😊
This was truly a showstopper for my husband’s birthday dinner! I would not use stuffing mix again though as was very salty and the flavor of the stuffing seemed to overtake the dish. A keeper!
This is a favorite recipe and using fresh bread and following the recipe is easy. But making your thanksgiving stuffing in the pumpkin is an interesting idea too!
Try my Fall Cookbook for more delicious fall inspired recipes: https://theculinarycure.com/fall-cookbook/
If you substitute farro or quinoa, how much do you use and do you cook it first?
Nancy,
If you prefer a vegetarian version here is my Vegetarian stuffed sugar pumpkin recipe https://theculinarycure.com/vegetarian-stuffed-and-roasted-sugar-pumpkins/. You can swap quinoa for the rice.
Please be sure to rate the recipe and thank you for reaching out.
Eat Well. Be Well.
Kristen
Your recipe sounds amazing. What do you think about replacing the bread with Chicken and the bacon with mushrooms? I’m really looking for a stuffed Chicken and Mushroom Pumpkin recipe. If you know of one please share with me.
Thank you
What I LOVE about stuffing pumpkins is the versatility.
You can make a mixture of partially cooked chicken and sautéed mushrooms, I might add something like cooked wild rice for texture.
Let me know how it turns out.
Zestfully Yours,
Kristen