Quick and easy stuffed pumpkin recipe, homemade with simple ingredients in one pan in 40 minutes. Loaded with leftover bean chili, meat, rice, vegetables and cheese.
Pumpkins aren't just for pies! They are also for stuffing with delicious veggies, meat, rice, cheese. They are so filling, full of flavor, and a creative way to use up leftovers. The presentation is also beautiful and fun. Everyone gets their own piece of the pumpkin. These Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes (One Pan) and Stuffed Zucchini Boats (One Pan) also fall into the same category, if this is a style you really enjoy.
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How To Make Stuffed Pumpkin Recipe From Scratch?
- Bake pumpkin halves- Until the flesh is tender but it's still holding its shape.
- Prepare filling- Mix together leftover chili, leftover rice, leftover cooked carrots, and peas.
- Fill pumpkins- Add spoonfuls of filling in each each pumpkin.
- Add cheese- Sprinkle shredded on top.
- Broil- Until cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Enjoy- Garnish with fresh parsley and dig in!
Storage
Refrigerate- Store leftovers in a sealed container for up to 2 days.
Freeze- I don't recommend freezing leftovers because they don't thaw well. The pumpkin tends to become very soft and the cheese develops an odd texture.
Reheat- In the microwave or in the oven. I prefer the oven because it yields the best texture.
What To Serve With Stuffed Mini Pumpkins?
While these are a full meal on their own, soup is always a great companion dish for a warm Fall meal. Try one of these:
A salad would also go well alongside this meal such as:
You can also serve alongside bread but it would become a very heavy meal. Try it with breadsticks or dinner rolls.
Variations
Make it vegetarian- Use Vegetarian Chili (One Pot) instead of meat-based chili.
Make it healthy- Skip the cheese or use low fat cheese, and use cauliflower rice or brown rice instead of white rice. The flavor would obviously be altered, based on your modifications.
Topping options- Try sour cream, olives, avocado, jalapenos, fresh herbs like cilantro, basil, chives, parsley.
Add rice- Use a variety of rice such as basmati, jasmine, or wild rice.
Add quinoa- Replace rice with quinoa.
Add pasta- Add a small pasta such as ditalini, orzo, elbow, or whatever you prefer instead of rice.
Add beans- Such as cooked black, red, garbanzo, or cannelini beans.
Whole stuffed pumpkin- For a truly amazing presentation, stuff a whole pumpkin. Know that it will take longer to cook, so make sure to adjust time accordingly.
Add other meats- Such as ground turkey, rotisserie chicken, cubed ham, or cooked sausage.
Add veggies- Whatever you have left over from a previous meal will work well. Add green beans, peas, carrots, zucchini, cauliflower, eggplant, onion, bell peppers.
Add greens- Such as spinach or kale.
Make it spicy- Add crushed red chili flakes, or a dash of cayenne.
Add other cheeses- Use whatever cheese you like: mozzarella, provolone, parmesan, cheddar, feta, gouda e.t.c.
Tips And Techniques
What kind of pumpkin to use? I recommend using a small Hokkaido pumpkin. They taste the best and since they are small, they cook fast too.
How to prepare a pumpkin for stuffing? Make sure to wash it, cut it in half, and remove the seeds.
Oil the inside and outside of the pumpkin- This makes sure that it roasts nicely, and that the skin won't stick to the pan while cooking and rip when being removed.
Keep an eye while broiling- It only takes a few seconds to go from perfectly roasted to burnt!
How do I know when pumpkin is done? Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the flesh is softened, but the pumpkins are still firm.
Adjust seasoning- Add more or less of whatever you like or don't like.
Serve immediately- These taste best when served right away.
More One Pot Pumpkin Recipes
Recipe
One Pan Mini Stuffed Pumpkin
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Ingredients
- 2 Mini pumpkins About 1.5-2 pounds each, Washed, Cut in half, Seeds removed, Small Hokkaido pumpkin is best
- 3-4 tablespoon Olive oil
- Salt To taste
- Pepper To taste
- 5 cups Leftover chili
- 1.5 cups Leftover rice Any type of boiled rice can be used
- 1 cup Mozzarella cheese Shredded
- 1 cup Cheddar Cheese Shredded
- 1 tablespoon Parsley Fresh, Roughly chopped, For garnish
Instructions
- Start off by brushing olive oil all over the pumpkins- inside and outside.
- Sprinkle salt and pepper on the inside.
- Place them on a baking tray and bake at 375 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until flesh is softened but the pumpkins are still firm. Keep a close eye after 20 mins. Ripe pumpkin tend to bake faster.
- Remove from oven and keep aside.
- While the pumpkins are baking, prepare the filling by mixing together leftover chili with leftover rice. I also mixed in some leftover cooked carrots and peas but this is optional.
- Fill each pumpkin with the chili mixture.
- Top off each pumpkin with shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheese.
- Broil in the oven for 3-4 minutes or until cheese is filly melted and bubbly.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Notes
- Read all my tips above.
- Tastes best when served immediately but leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 2 days and reheated in the microwave.
Nutrition
An automated tool is used to calculate the nutritional information. As such, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information provided for any recipe on this site.
Gail says
Hi, at what temperature do the pumpkins bake at?
Abeer Rizvi says
It's 375 degrees F.