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Easy Dinner in a Pumpkin Recipe for a Cozy Family Meal

Easy Dinner in a Pumpkin

A hearty beef, tomato, and rice filling bakes inside a whole pumpkin until the pumpkin flesh is tender. Serve each portion with some of the soft cooked pumpkin scraped from the shell.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 minute
Total Time 1 minute
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Pumpkin and Filling
  • 1 medium cooking pumpkin, approximately 6 pounds
  • 2 pounds ground beef
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
  • 1 10 3/4-ounce can condensed tomato soup, undiluted
  • 1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 2 cups cooked rice

Method
 

Step-by-Step
  1. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Wash and dry the pumpkin, then set it on a sturdy shallow roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet before filling it.
  2. Cut a 5- to 6-inch circle around the stem and remove the top. Scoop out all seeds and stringy fibers while keeping the pumpkin shell intact.
  3. Brown the ground beef, chopped onion, and minced garlic in a large skillet over medium heat for 10–15 minutes, or until the beef is no longer pink. Drain excess fat.
  4. Stir the soy sauce, salt, black pepper, brown sugar, undiluted condensed tomato soup, undrained diced tomatoes, and cooked rice into the browned beef mixture.
  5. Spoon the hot filling into the hollow pumpkin and replace the pumpkin top. Keep the pumpkin on the pan because it becomes heavy and difficult to move once filled.
  6. Bake for about 1 hour, until the pumpkin flesh is tender when pierced with a knife. Confirm that the center of the beef filling reaches at least 160°F (71°C).
  7. Carefully remove the pumpkin from the oven and let it rest briefly for easier serving. Scoop filling into bowls along with tender pumpkin flesh scraped from the inside walls.

Notes

Use a small sugar pumpkin or another cooking pumpkin when available because it is usually sweeter and less watery than a large carving pumpkin. Place the pumpkin on its baking pan before filling it, and cut the lid wide enough for easy cleaning while leaving enough shell for stability.