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    Home / Recipes / Main Dishes / Beef Recipes

    Dinner In a Pumpkin

    Jump to Recipe
    ground beef and rice dinner in a pumpkin

    Festive Dinner in a Pumpkin—a baked dinner in a pumpkin full of hearty beef, rice, and vegetables—is a great way to use pumpkin patch pumpkins.

    ground beef and rice dinner in a pumpkin
    Dinner in a Pumpkin with a hearty beef, rice, and vegetable filling

    Jump to:
    • 🎥 Video
    • ⏲️ Time needed
    • 🥘 Ingredients
    • 📋 Instructions
    • ❓ FAQ
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 📌 Pin this recipe

    🎥 Video

    ⏲️ Time needed

    Allow just under 2 hours for this recipe due to the long bake time. Prep is only about 20 minutes and can be done in advance.

    🥘 Ingredients

    ingredients for dinner in a pumpkin
    Ingredients for Dinner in a Pumpkin
    • 1 medium pumpkin
    • cooked ground beef
    • onion
    • carrots
    • cream of chicken soup
    • canned sliced mushrooms
    • garlic salt
    • sliced celery
    • diced green pepper
    • brown sugar
    • cooked rice
    • water chestnuts
    • Worcestershire sauce
    • salt and pepper

    📋 Instructions

    Bring all ingredients except pumpkin to a boil in a pot and simmer for about 10 minutes.

    ground beef and rice mixture for dinner in a pumpkin
    Cook filling ingredients for Dinner in a Pumpkin

    While the beef mixture is simmering, cut the lid from pumpkin and scoop out seeds and any strands, cleaning the inside.

    hollowed out pumpkin to bake with a ground beef and rice mixture
    Clean out the pumpkin before filling and baking

    Place the pumpkin in a sturdy baking pan and fill with the beef mixture. Depending on the size of your pumpkin, you may not be able to fit all of the stew mixture inside; bake any extra stew in a covered dish.

    ground beef and rice dinner in a pumpkin
    Fill pumpkin with beef mixture and bake on a sturdy baking dish

    Place the lid on the pumpkin and bake at 350°F for approximately 1-1 ½ hours, or until the pumpkin is tender and brown.

    ground beef and rice dinner in a pumpkin
    Baked Dinner in a Pumpkin filled with ground beef, rice, and vegetables

    ❓ FAQ

    Can the pumpkin filling be made in advance?

    The filling can be prepped in advance and stored in the refrigerator until you are ready to fill and bake the pumpkin. Because of the extended baking time, you should not need to add extra baking time.

    Can I serve this in individual pumpkins?

    Yes! A fun variation of this recipe is to fill individual smaller pumpkins for each serving and serve in the pumpkin. Bake time may need to be adjusted for multiple smaller pumpkins.

    Can I eat the pumpkin too?

    Yes, but be mindful of the kind of pumpkin you buy. Carving pumpkins are larger, have less flesh, and are generally not as good for eating as baking pumpkins. While you can eat the pumpkin flesh in any pumpkin, it's best to choose a pumpkin labeled as a sugar pumpkin or pie pumpkin if you plan to eat the pumpkin itself. Those pumpkin varieties have a better texture, more flesh, taste better, and are more suited to cooking.

    Can I make a vegetarian version of dinner in a pumpkin?

    You can adapt this recipe to be vegetarian by omitting the meat and increasing the vegetable and rice filling, or by using a plant-based ground "meat."

    Can I use chicken instead of ground beef?

    Cooked chicken can be substituted for cooked ground beef; just chop or shred it before mixing. When using chicken, swap the Worchestershire sauce and brown sugar for a few tablespoons of cream cheese.

    📖 Recipe

    ground beef and rice dinner in a pumpkin

    Dinner In a Pumpkin

    Dinner In a Pumpkin is a festive fall recipe with a hearty beef, rice, and vegetable filling baked and served in a pumpkin. It makes a fun fall tradition—either make one large pumpkin or multiple smaller pumpkins for individual servings.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Add to Collection Go to Collections
    Prep Time 20 mins
    Cook Time 1 hr 30 mins
    Total Time 1 hr 50 mins
    Course Main Dish, Soup
    Cuisine American
    Servings 6 servings
    Calories 483

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 medium pumpkin, about 6 pounds
    • 2 pounds ground beef, cooked
    • 1 chopped onion
    • 3 sliced carrots
    • 10 ounces condensed cream of chicken soup
    • 6.5 ounces canned sliced mushrooms, drained
    • 1 tablespoon garlic salt
    • 1 celery stalk, sliced
    • 1 green pepper, diced
    • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
    • 2 cup cooked rice
    • 8 ounces can sliced water chestnuts, drained
    • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
    • salt and pepper to taste
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    Instructions

    • Bring all ingredients except pumpkin to a boil in a pot and simmer for about 10 minutes.
    • While the beef mixture is simmering, cut the lid from pumpkin and scoop out seeds and any strands, cleaning the inside.
    • Place the pumpkin in a sturdy baking pan and fill with the beef mixture. Depending on the size of your pumpkin, you may not be able to fit all of the stew mixture inside; bake any extra stew in a covered dish.
    • Place the lid on the pumpkin and bake at 350°F for approximately 1-1 ½ hours, or until pumpkin is tender and brown.

    Notes

    The filling can be prepped in advance and stored in the refrigerator until you are ready to fill and bake the pumpkin.
    A fun variation of this recipe is to fill individual smaller pumpkins for each serving and serve in the pumpkin. Bake time may need to be adjusted for multiple smaller pumpkins.

    Nutrition per serving

    Calories: 483 calCarbohydrates: 58 gProtein: 39 gFat: 11 gSodium: 1575 mgFiber: 5 gSugar: 16 g
    Pin Recipe Share

    📌 Pin this recipe

    ground beef and rice dinner in a pumpkin
    Dinner in a Pumpkin with hearty beef, rice, and vegetable filling
    ground beef and rice dinner in a pumpkin
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    More Beef Recipes

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    • Layered Italian Beef Casserole

    Posted by Mary Ann on October 6, 2012; Updated on October 31, 2022Filed Under: Beef Recipes, Oven Recipes, Recipes Using Cooked Ground Beef

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. annemarie

      October 05, 2013 at 8:21 pm

      what kind of pumpkin ? a pumpkin patch pumpkin ? i'm new at cooking a pumpkin and well this ought be kinda interesting

      Reply
      • Mary Ann

        October 05, 2013 at 9:06 pm

        Yes, a medium sized pumpkin from either the grocery store or a pumpkin patch. You wouldn't want to use that kind for cooking with the contents, but it is perfect for this dish. Just discard the contents (if you'd like, you can keep the seeds to clean and roast in the oven with a little salt).

        Reply
        • annemarie

          October 05, 2013 at 10:33 pm

          a medium size pumpkin shouldn't be hard to find I'll scoop out its innards and put the meat mixture in it and dinner done ! oh cool thank you !!!

          Reply

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