Going to the pumpkin patch, with its rows and rows of pumpkins of all sizes and colors, is one of my favorite fall traditions. This festive fall recipe—a baked dinner in a pumpkin full of hearty beef, rice, and vegetables—is a great way to use those pumpkin patch pumpkins.
⏲️ 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
- 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.
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 the pumpkin is tender and brown.
❓ FAQ
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.
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.
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.
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."
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
Dinner In a Pumpkin
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
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
Nutrition per serving
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annemarie
what kind of pumpkin ? a pumpkin patch pumpkin ? i'm new at cooking a pumpkin and well this ought be kinda interesting
Mary Ann
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).
annemarie
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 !!!