Roasted Pumpkin Stuffed with Rice
A rustic Autumn dish that’s as beautiful as it is satisfying—sweet roasted pumpkin filled with a savory rice blend, herbs, and cranberries. Serve this easy dish through fall and winter, and you can sub walnuts for pecans, raisins for cranberries, it’s very versatile. Double the recipe easily and use a bigger pumpkin to serve more folks at once! This is great as a side, but is hearty enough to be the main attraction with a slice of fresh French bread! Bonus: nutritionally dense, and if you want to add a protein, an apple sausage fits the bill (cooked first) perfectly!
Ingredients
- 1 medium pumpkin (about 3–4 lbs)
- 2 cups cooked rice (wild or brown preferred)
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup mushrooms (optional)
- ½ cup apple chunks
- ½ cup toasted walnuts, chopped
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup chopped spinach
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 teas chopped parsley
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Prep the pumpkin: Slice off the top third of the pumpkin and scoop out seeds and stringy bits. Rub the inside with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
- Sauté the filling: In a skillet, cook onion and garlic until golden. Add mushrooms (optional), spinach, and seasonings/herbs. Stir in cooked rice, cranberries, apples, and walnuts.
- Stuff and bake: Fill the pumpkin tightly with the rice mixture. Replace the top, wrap the whole pumpkin in foil, and bake at 400°F for 1½ hours or until tender.
- Rest and serve: Let cool for 30 minutes before slicing into wedges and serving on plates, or pasta bowls.
