Dinner in a Pumpkin Recipe

Posted on October 4, 2015

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This recipe is a 20+ year tradition in our house. I cannot remember when I started making it, but I know it’s been over 20 years ago. My oldest son is going to be 25 years old and to the best of my knowledge we have been enjoying Dinner in a Pumpkin each fall season as long as he has been eating table food. Boy, that was a long time ago.  All 3 of my kids and even their significant others still enjoy eating this every October.

Dinner in a Pumpkin is a 25 year fall and Halloween tradition for our family. It's an all in one meal that we can't get enough of. Why not start a new family tradition today?

 Most people don’t think about cooking in let alone eating the same pumpkins you can turn into jack-o-lanterns. Pumpkin is an amazing vegetable, that tastes great cooked and is very good for you. Orange vegetables are full of fiber, betacarotene and vitamin A, just to name a few of its benefits.

Dinner in a Pumpkin is a 25 year fall and Halloween tradition for our family. It's an all in one meal that we can't get enough of. Why not start a new family tradition today?

What’s really great about this recipe, if you have younger kids, you can use acrylic paint to decorate the pumpkin before baking and have a dinner in a jack-o-lantern if you choose to decorate.

Dinner in a Pumpkin is a 25 year fall and Halloween tradition for our family. It's an all in one meal that we can't get enough of. Why not start a new family tradition today?

Dinner in a Pumpkin Recipe

The recipe is very simple and takes about 30 mins of prep and 1 hour of cooking time. Your kids will be thrilled to see a pumpkin on the table for dinner. Scoop it out and enjoy! Do you have any family traditions you follow in the fall or for Halloween? Let us know what happens in your home.

Dinner in a Pumpkin is a 25 year fall and Halloween tradition for our family. It's an all in one meal that we can't get enough of. Why not start a new family tradition today?

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Dinner in a Pumpkin Recipe

The whole recipe makes approx. 5 cups. You may need to double the batch for a bigger crowd or a bigger pumpkin!

Ingredients

  • Small round pumpkin
  • 2 lbs lean ground beef browned with onions mushrooms and garlic. Drained
  • To Stir in meat
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • 3 Tbsp Brown Sugar
  • 3 cups cooked rice
  • 3 10.75 cans cream of celery soup.

Instructions

  1. Wash the outside of the pumpkin.
  2. Cut top of the pumpkin off and remove the seeds and pulp.
  3. Fill hollowed out pumpkin with meat mixture and bake on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for one hour.
  4. Pumpkin should be soft.
  5. Scoop out onto plates and enjoy!

The whole recipe makes approx. 5 cups. You may need to double the batch for a bigger crowd or a bigger pumpkin!
Dinner in a Pumpkin is a 25 year fall and Halloween tradition for our family. It's an all in one meal that we can't get enough of. Why not start a new family tradition today?

Michele Brosius

Owner/Editor at Michele Brosius Media Inc
Michele is a married mom of 3 adult children. She is currently enjoying spending time with her husband in the empty nest. Michele can be found working on a healthy lifestyle, camping or having some frugal fun. Not necessarily in that order!

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20 Comments

  • Reply
    Mer
    October 19, 2013 at 3:22 pm

    What a cute tradition! We always make a day of going out to the pumpkin patch to pick our jack o lantern, but this year I think we’ll have to get a pumpkin to eat as well.

    • Reply
      Michele Brosius
      October 31, 2013 at 1:34 pm

      Thanks, Mer! We have been enjoying dinner in a pumpkin for over 20 years! Hopefully our kids will pass on the family tradition!

  • Reply
    Amanda
    September 16, 2014 at 11:04 am

    LOVE it! But I do have a question. How much of the now cooked pumpkin’s meat do you eat in this meal? Can you/do you save the leftover pumpkin meat for another meal? I know there are things like pumpkin chili you could make. I will have to give this a try once I decide what to do with the leftover pumpkin. I hate wasting good food.

    • Reply
      Amanda
      September 16, 2014 at 11:06 am

      Oh and I use the guts to make pumpkin bread an roasted pumpkin seeds too.

      • Reply
        barbara
        October 21, 2018 at 11:39 am

        i would take the left over pumpkin scoop out the pulp. cut into small pieces and add to my dog food. i freeze it and make homemade dog food so this would be great to add to her food.

  • Reply
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    Cathy
    October 14, 2015 at 11:09 am

    Wow, really cool! This looks like one fabulous recipe!! I love fall inspired food! 🙂 I would love for you to stop over and say hello!
    Cathy

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    Pale Blue Corner
    September 28, 2016 at 3:32 am

    Thanks for sharing this old family recipe, I will definitely try it this weekend!
    Emese

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  • Reply
    Emily
    October 11, 2016 at 6:26 pm

    Such a neat idea! Thanks for sharing with the Delicious Dishes Recipe party!

  • Reply
    Liz Jo
    October 13, 2016 at 2:15 pm

    Wow definitely different! And what a nice tradition!

    Thanks for linking up with Welcome Home Wednesdays! Live every Wednesday at 7AM CT.

    liz @ j for joiner

  • Reply
    Cathy T
    September 16, 2018 at 11:38 am

    Could you use smaller pumpkins for individual servings? I think it would be neat to eat it directly from the pumpkin.

    • Reply
      Michele Brosius
      September 16, 2018 at 5:43 pm

      Yes smaller pumpkins would be great. You may have to adjust your baking time. I’ve also had someone tell me they’ve baked the recipe inside a butternut squash too! Enjoy!

      • Reply
        Sharen
        October 13, 2018 at 2:06 pm

        We always use individual pumpkins and everyone loves it. When the kids were young we made a big deal out of going to a pumpkin patch and choosing our own pumpkin.

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