Our local raspberry farm was running a special on mini pumpkins this year- an entire bucket (nearly 40!) pumpkins for eight dollars. I had just volunteered to supply my daughter’s class with mini pumpkins for their decorating activity at this year’s harvest party, so you can imagine how happy I was. Inexpensive AND I was able to support a local farm- perfect.
As I thought about what to do with the extra pumpkins, I was intrigued and excited when I came across this article from the Kitchn. Goodness, we’ve had so many years of buying and throwing out mini-pumpkins because I wrongly assumed they were only decorative. Never again.
My initial ideas were to fill the pumpkins with some sort of cheesecake or custard, but I made these on Halloween and there were already going to be enough sweets that evening. Instead I went with the filling from my quinoa stuffed acorn squash for a more savory approach.
The quinoa recipe is flexible and easily adapted to using whatever variety of greens, nuts, and fruit you have on hand. I used kale instead of swiss chard, pecans instead of hazelnuts, cranberries instead of cherries, and it turned out to be quite a lovely combination. I imagine these little pumpkins being such a charming addition to any Thanksgiving table and a delicious alternative for any vegetarians.
Stuffed Mini Pumpkins
- Yield: 8 mini pumpkins
Ingredients
- 8 mini-pumpkins (see note)
- 2 teaspoons olive oil, plus more for brushing on pumpkins
- ½ cup quinoa, uncooked (I used half red, half white quinoa)
- 1 cup finely chopped yellow onion, about 1 medium
- 3 cups lightly packed kale
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano
- ¼ cup toasted pecans, chopped
- ½ cup pepitas (raw pumpkin seeds)
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- additional salt and pepper for seasoning squash
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
- Carefully cut tops off of the pumpkins and scrape out the seeds. Brush the insides with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Replace the tops back onto the pumpkins.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the flesh of the pumpkins are soft and tender.
- While pumpkins are baking, make the filling. In a medium pot, boil 3-4 cups of water over high heat. Rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer. When the water is boiling, slowly add the quinoa and boil uncovered for 11-14 minutes. After 10 minutes, start checking the quinoa for doneness. The quinoa is done when the “dot” in the middle of the quinoa starts to disappear and when some of the white filaments start to come off the seeds. Drain the quinoa over a fine mesh strainer.
- In a saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until onions start to become translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add the oregano and kale and continue to cook for another minute. Add the cooked quinoa, pecans, pepitas, cranberries, salt, and pepper. Continue to cook until the mixture is warmed through. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper.
- Spoon quinoa mixture into the mini pumpkins and garnish with some additional chopped pecans. Serve with tops on or off to the side.
Notes
Be sure that the pumpkins are not coated with a thick glossy wax- those are intended for decorative use only.
Espresso Chocolate Pecan Biscotti Tree
Roasted Harvest Salad + Champagne Vinaigrette
Sausage and Kale Spaghetti Pie
Summer says
So darling and yummy ♥
Amisha says
Such a delicious recipe Emily! Love the stuffed mini pumpkins with the filling. And that filling sounds so delicious just by itself! Perfect little sides for thanksgiving OR mains for vegetarians! 🙂
Emily says
Thank you, Amisha! I usually make extra filling just so I can have leftovers and have it by itself. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by, sweet friend. xo
Jessie Snyder says
You have officially inspired me to keep all of our mini pumpkins Emily! These are the cutest, who knew you could bake them! And honestly girl, the shots here are so stunning <3 I love your clean + bright photography making me want to take a bite out of everything you post. Hope you are all having a joyous fall up there, hugs from CA – xo
Emily says
I know, I can’t believe I’ve been throwing them out for all of these years. Yay for keeping mini pumpkins from now on. 🙂 Thanks for your encouragement on the photography- I feel like I’ve been struggling with it lately so it means a lot to me. Looks like you’ve been busy in the kitchen lately- can’t wait to see all that you’ve been working on! Hugs xo
Tonya says
Beautiful photography! What camera/lens are you using? Pinned!
Emily says
Thank you, Tonya! Currently I’m using a Canon Mark ii and I use both the Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens and Canon 100 mm f/2.8 macro lens. Hope this helps!
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says
These look just lovely Emily and I bet they taste just as delicious! Perfect way to use up those little pumpkins!
Emily says
Thanks, Mary Ann! Who knew those little pumpkins would be so tasty, right?
traci | Vanilla And Bean says
I absolutely love these little stuffed pumpkins, Emily! I delightful vessel for serving such a flavorful and delicious quinoa stuffing! I’ve only stuffed larger/but still small pumpkins like winter luxury.. but not the minis. The farmer from Prairie Bottom told us this year they were edible too! I didn’t know! So I have a few to stuff, but not near as many as you got for that bargain basement price! Yahoo! Gorgeous work my dear!
Emily says
Thanks, Traci! It’s such a great discovery to know that we can eat those cuties, right? Just printed out your pumpkin bread recipe. Hoping to get it made for breakfast tomorrow. 🙂
annie says
Oh my gosh, these are so fantastic!!! I love how you found a away to use up these little guys. I usually just have them for decoration.
Emily says
Hi Annie, thanks for stopping by! I had no idea either about those little pumpkins until this year. There’s so much that you can do with them though- possibilities are endless!