It’s Fall … Halloween is right around the corner. A festive and fun meal to prepare this time of year, and is relatively easy to make is baking dinner in a Pumpkin! Dinner in a Pumpkin makes a very hearty and flavorful dinner in a self-contained casserole.
The beauty is as the ingredients cook together the pumpkin insides soften it makes a completely savory meal. This recipe has several of Melissa’s Modifications to make it Vegetarian or Vegan and gluten free.’
Fall Dinner in a Pumpkin
A meal in a pumpkin can become a tradition for Halloween or any fall holiday dinner, I know it is in my home! The finished dish brings a festive meal to the table. It even saves a serving dish, since you serve it right from the pumpkin!
Ingredients
- 1 medium Pumpkin You can use smaller pumpkins for individual pumpkins per person, if preferred
- 1 Tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil May use butter or vegan butter
- 1 small Onion Diced
- 1 cup Fresh Mushrooms Sliced
- 1 lbs Lean Ground Beef, Chicken or Tofu Use Beefless Grounds or other meat substitutes such as Beyond Meat or Just Chicken strips, or even baked Tofu.
- 1/2 cups Fresh Green Beans Cut
- 15 oz Vegetable Broth May use chicken broth if you prefer
- 2 Tbsp Braggs Liquid Aminos May also substitute soy sauce
- 2 cups Rice: White or Brown Cooked (I used quinoa, see Cook's notes below)
- Fresh Basil or Oregano Optional spices
- Cinnamon or Nutmeg Optional spices
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Line a baking sheet with foil.
- Thoroughly wash and dry the outside of the pumpkins.
- Cut the top off the pumpkin and clean out the pulp and seeds. Keep the top.
- Don't miss out on roasting the seeds - spray a foiled cookie sheet with olive oil and spread the seeds. Cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
- In a large skillet, sauté onions, mushrooms and green beans in oil or butter. Add ground beef or plant-based options. Drain grease if using ground beef.
- Add seasoning to taste.
- In a large bowl, mix soup, nutritional yeast, and Braggs Aminos (or soy sauce).
- Add meat & veggie mixture, cooked rice or quinoa.
- Empty bowl into the cleaned out pumpkins and replace the top.
- Bake on the lower rack of the oven.
- After 1 hour, remove the top and check the sides of the pumpkin for doneness. The outside of pumpkin will turn a beautiful dark orange.
- Depending on the size of the pumpkin, it may take an additional 10-15 minutes. I made two smaller individual pumpkins so they didn't need the extra time.
- Using hot pads, place pumpkins onto serving plates, remove the "lids" and stir. Scoop chunks from the pumpkin's insides into the casserole dish as it is served.
Notes
Cook's Notes
Melissa's Modifications: Making this recipe Vegetarian/Vegan is easy. Replace the ground beef with a meat substitute such as Beyond Meat crumbles, or diced Just Chicken (new from the JUST Eggs company). It decreases the calories and fat as this modification increases protein and fiber! Chock full of Vitamin A, C and iron too.
To make this Gluten-Free: Use brown rice or a rice of your choice, but do not use quinoa if you're making this gluten free. Quinoa is considered high-risk as it may cross contact in the harvesting process or even grown with wheat, barley and/or rye, and therefore not recommended for those with Celiac disease.
Number of servings depends on the pumpkins you choose, or you can get small pumpkins and make individual pumpkin meals.
To Healthy Cooking & Eating!
Melissa
Nutrition
Serving: 6Calories: 159kcalCarbohydrates: 21.9gProtein: 13gFat: 4.2gSaturated Fat: 0.4gSodium: 563mgPotassium: 394mgFiber: 9.4gSugar: 7g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
