Roasted Stuffed Pumpkin

Name: Roasted Stuffed Pumpkin
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 130 min
Ingredients: 1½ teaspoons dried oregano; 1½ teaspoon sage; ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1 teaspoon fresh nutmeg; 1 teaspoon ground cumin; ¼ teaspoon salt; ¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper; ½ cup butter (or vegan butter substitute; divided); 1 large onion (chopped); 1 cup diced celery; 1 cup sliced mushrooms; 20 slices whole grain bread (toasted and cubed*); 1 large apple (chopped); ½ cup chopped walnuts; ¾ cup chopped Brazil nuts; ¾ cup golden raisins; 2 whole eggs (or vegan egg substitute; slightly beaten); 3 cloves garlic; 1 cup white wine; 1 medium pumpkin (8-10 inches, or 2 smaller pumpkins**); ¼ cup butter (or vegan butter substitute); 2 tablespoons butter (or vegan butter substitute); 4 tablespoons flour; Drippings from pumpkin; 2 cups vegetable stock; 4 tablespoons cooked dressing from pumpkin

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Roasted Stuffed Pumpkin with Golden Nut Stuffing & Pumpkin Gravy is the perfect vegetarian centerpiece for your holiday meal.

Roasted Stuffed Pumpkin on plate with green beans

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A Vegetarian Thanksgiving Feast
What Goes into this Recipe
FAQs & Expert Tips
Related Recipes
Roasted Stuffed Pumpkin

A Vegetarian Thanksgiving Feast

Are you looking for a warm, rich, and satisfying vegetarian main dish for your holiday menu this year? Something healthy that everyone will love? Then you're in the right place!

When I got out of college, I had two magazine subscriptions – Mother Earth News and American Songwriter. (Which pretty much sums it all up, if you know me.) In November sometime around 1986, Mother Earth News published a recipe for Stuffed Pumpkin as an alternative to the traditional meat-based holiday fare.

I wasn’t a vegetarian back then (nor am I now), but it sounded good, so I decided to give it try. Since then, I’ve made Stuffed Pumpkin nearly every year as part of our Thanksgiving menu.

Over time, this Stuffed Pumpkin recipe has evolved into something uniquely mine, but (like Mother Earth and American Songwriter today) the original flavor and feel is still there, deliciously down-to-earth as ever.

The stuffing in this recipe is amazing; infused with savory, pumpkiny warmth and loaded with the goodness of fruit, nuts, veggies and whole grains.

What Goes into this Recipe

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

★ Bread: We like to use 20 slices of Dave’s Killer Good Seed Bread. We've used honey-wheatberry bread many times also, with great results.

★ Pumpkin: You can use any hollow, sweet squash, or use a couple of smaller pumpkins for a beautiful holiday presentation. (The one pictured here is a Sweetie Pie Pumpkin.) Kuri squashes are also fantastic!

FAQs & Expert Tips

Can this recipe be adapted for vegans?

Easily! Simply replace butter with vegan butter. (Recipe has been tested using Earth Balance Buttery Sticks.)

For the eggs, which act as a binder in this recipe, use ½ cup plain or vanilla soy yogurt or 2-egg equivalent of your favorite vegan egg replacer.

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5 from 4 votes

This beautiful Roasted Stuffed Pumpkin - overflowing with savory fruits, nuts, veggies, and whole grains and complete with pumpkin gravy - is the perfect vegetarian centerpiece for your holiday table.

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Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Holiday, Vegan, Vegetarian

Diet: Vegetarian

Prep Time:40 minutes

Cook Time:1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time:2 hours 10 minutes

Servings:

Calories: 382kcal

Author: Renee

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

Pumpkin & Stuffing

1½ teaspoons dried oregano
1½ teaspoon sage
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon fresh nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
½ cup butter or vegan butter substitute; divided
1 large onion chopped
1 cup diced celery
1 cup sliced mushrooms
20 slices whole grain bread toasted and cubed*
1 large apple chopped
½ cup chopped walnuts
¾ cup chopped Brazil nuts
¾ cup golden raisins
2 whole eggs or vegan egg substitute; slightly beaten
3 cloves garlic
1 cup white wine
1 medium pumpkin 8-10 inches, or 2 smaller pumpkins**
¼ cup butter or vegan butter substitute

Pumpkin Gravy

2 tablespoons butter or vegan butter substitute
4 tablespoons flour
Drippings from pumpkin
2 cups vegetable stock
4 tablespoons cooked dressing from pumpkin

Instructions

The Stuffing:

In a small bowl, combine the dry herbs and spices (first seven ingredients) and set aside.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat until bubbly.
Sauté onion over until translucent.
Add celery and cook 3-4 minutes more, and then toss in mushrooms and cook more 1 minute.
Remove from heat.
In a large bowl, combine bread cubes, dry herb & spice mix, sautéed vegetables, chopped apples, nuts and raisins.
Mix everything and set aside.
In a large skillet, heat remaining butter over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute.
Remove from heat and stir in wine.
Add slightly beaten eggs after wine has cooled the mixture.
Pour the wine, egg and garlic sauce over stuffing mix and stir.
If the mixture seems too dry, mix a little more liquid in: wine, water or vegetable stock all work fine.

Roasted Pumpkin

Preheat oven to 350°F | 175°C.
Clean out squash.
Cut top like a Jack-o-Lantern.
Slit sides and fill with pats of butter.
I usually press it into the slits and smooth it over, and then give the pumpkin a light “butter rub-down” before I put it into the oven.
Bake in rimmed baking dish or roasting pan for at least an hour – it can take up to 2 ½ hours depending on the size of your pumpkin.
After an hour, check for doneness by piercing the flesh with a fork.
If pumpkin is still difficult to pierce, bake an additional 15 minutes and try again.
For larger pumpkins, don’t even bother until an hour and a half has passed.
When the pumpkin is tender, remove it from the oven.
Allow pumpkin to set or at least 15 minutes before serving.
To serve, cut into pumpkin onto wedges and spoon on stuffing over the top.
Serve with pumpkin gravy.

Pumpkin Gravy

To make simple easy pumpkin gravy from the drippings:
Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a medium pan.
Add drippings from pumpkin.
Add 4 tablespoons of flour, stirring constantly and cook 1 minute.
Pour in 2 cups of vegetable stock and stir to thicken.
Remove from heat and add ½ cup of stuffing, breaking up the stuffing with the back of a wooden spoon.
Season to taste.

Notes

Ingredient Notes:

Bread: We like to use 20 slices of Dave’s Killer Good Seed Bread. We've used honey-wheatberry bread many times also, with great results.

Pumpkin: You can use any hollow, sweet squash, or use a couple of smaller pumpkins for a beautiful holiday presentation. (The one pictured here is a Sweetie Pie Pumpkin.) Kuri squashes are also fantastic!

Vegan adaptations:
Replace butter with Earth Balance Buttery Sticks
2 eggs = use ½ cup plain or vanilla soy yogurt or 2-egg equivalent of your favorite egg replacer)

Inspired by a recipe in Mother Earth News, circa 1986.

Nutrition

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.

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Roasted Stuffed Pumpkin

A Vegetarian Thanksgiving Feast