Halloween Stuffed Pumpkins

Easy Halloween carved pumpkins with wholesome wild rice stuffing. Serve these spooky kid-friendly stuffed pumpkins for a healthy holiday treat!

How cute are these little mini pumpkins? When I saw them in the store, I had to buy them, I just couldn’t resist. I think the best thing to do with these babies is to stuff them with something wholesome and delicious and bake. I tried to give them a festive twist and make them a spooky fun Halloween meal. They are stuffed with a comforting vegetarian mixture of wild rice, broccoli, cranberries, prunes, pecans and feta cheese. Thanks to the cooking method, the stuffing is almost black, so the colors fit so well to a Halloween-inspired dinner! Besides, these mini Halloween stuffed pumpkins are so delicious! Luckily, I had too much stuffing, so I made some more and could enjoy the leftovers on the next day.

These mini pumpkins are surprisingly easy to carve. So if you are looking for an easy kid-friendly treat for your Halloween party, they would be a great option to choose! Moreover, they are healthy, gluten-free and can be adapted to a vegan diet by simply omitting the feta cheese!

How to Make Halloween Stuffed Pumpkins

For this recipe I used five mini pumpkins but you can also use bigger pumpkins like Hokkaido or Sweet Dumpling. The only difference will be that you’ll have to bake them a little longer, until they are tender when pierced with a fork.

The first step is to cut off the tops of your pumpkins and scoop out the seeds using a spoon. Drizzle them with a bit of olive oil and bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes. They should be tender but not mushy, as we will bake them once again after stuffing.

Now the mini pumpkins should be really easy to carve. I went the easy way and just carved two little triangles representing jack-o-lantern’s eyes on each mini pumpkin. If you want, you can also carve a mouth. My idea was that after I carve the eyes, the black stuffing would shine through them and it worked!

Meanwhile, make the pumpkin stuffing. I used wild rice pilaf that is basically self-cooking. To make it, sauté chopped shallot and garlic in a bit of olive oil until translucent, then add wild rice and whole sprigs of rosemary. Add vegetable stock and cook until rice is ready, about 40 minutes or more (check the directions on your package). In the end remove the rosemary and add steamed broccoli, cranberries, chopped prunes, pecans and diced feta cheese. Mix to combine and stuff your pumpkins with the stuffing. Bake for 10-15 more minutes, until the pumpkins are soft. Check the recipe below for more details:

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Halloween Stuffed Pumpkins

Easy Halloween carved pumpkins with wholesome wild rice stuffing. Serve these spooky kid-friendly stuffed pumpkins for a healthy holiday treat!

Course Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 55 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 5

Author Elena Szeliga

Ingredients

Pumpkins:

• 5 medium-sized mini pumpkins
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Stuffing:

• 1 shallot chopped
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 160 grams or 1 cup wild rice
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 600 ml or 2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
• 100 grams broccoli steamed or boiled
• 65 grams or 1/2 cup pecans toasted, chopped
• 40 grams or 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 40 grams or 1/3 cup prunes quartered
• 80 grams or 1/3 cup feta cheese diced
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C or 400 °F. Cut off the tops of your pumpkins and scoop out the seeds using a spoon. Drizzle them with a bit of olive oil and bake for 20 minutes. They should be tender but not mushy, as we will bake them once again after stuffing.
   
2. Make the pumpkin stuffing. Sauté chopped shallot and garlic in a bit of olive oil until translucent, then add wild rice and whole sprigs of rosemary. Add vegetable stock and cook until rice is ready, about 40 minutes or more (check the directions on your package). In the end remove the rosemary and add steamed broccoli, cranberries, chopped prunes, pecans and diced feta cheese. Mix to combine. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
3. Carve two little triangles representing jack-o-lantern's eyes on each mini pumpkin. If you want, you can also carve a mouth. Stuff your pumpkins with the stuffing. Bake for 10-15 more minutes, until the pumpkins are soft. Enjoy!
   

What is your favorite pumpkin stuffing? Leave a comment below!

Hope you enjoyed these mini stuffed pumpkins! Have a happy Halloween!

Elena

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