A Must Try! These delicious sausage stuffed pumpkins are the perfect way to start fall off with a bang! Pecans, dried cranberries, celery, and our flavorful sausage stuffed and baked in a sweet quartered pumpkin. Yum! Fall has never tasted so good!
Sausage Stuffed Pumpkins
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Wash & Dry outside of pumpkin. Using a sharp knife carefully cut small pie pumpkin into four equal size pieces.
- Use a spoon to scrape out seeds & membrane. Set seeds aside.
- Place cleaned out pumpkin quarters on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil cut-side down.
- Roast pumpkin for 20 minutes until somewhat softened. Remove from oven & flip each piece cut-side up to create "bowls" to stuff.
- Sauté sausage over medium heat until browned, breaking up with a spoon into large crumbles.
- Add diced celery to sausage and sauté for a few minutes until slightly softened. Remove from heat to slightly cool. There is no need to drain this sausage as there is very little oil left in skillet and the small amount there is adds to the flavor of the stuffing.
- In a large mixing bowl toss together the breadcrumbs, sausage mixture, dried cherries, and pecans.
- Mix orange juice & broth together and pour over ingredients in bowl. Stir gently to combine. Bread cubes will soak up most of the liquid. Season with salt & pepper.
- Fill each "pumpkin bowl" with the sausage stuffing. Pour any liquid left in mixing bowl over filled pumpkin quarters. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.
- Serve with a sprinkling of roasted spicy pumpkin seeds if desired.
Notes
How to make your own Spicy Pumpkin Seeds:
Clean off seeds from inside pumpkin removing all membrane; rinse and pat dry with paper towels, toss seeds in a bowl with a sprinkling of herbs and spices such as paprika, chili seasoning, garlic powder, and salt. Another great combination is to toss seeds with a splash of soy sauce, thyme, and brown sugar. Roast seeds spread out on a baking pan for about 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven, until light golden brown and toasty. Wonderful for garnishes and snacks.
How to make a Red-Wine Spritzer:
Fill glasses with ice and pour red wine to fill half the glass; top with club soda or other sparkling water garnished with a lemon or lime slice. To make a non-alcoholic version just use grape juice or any of your favorite juices.
This stuffed pumpkin recipe can be doubled easily for more servings.
Sausage Stuffed Roasted Pumpkin Bowls make an easy impressive presentation. Kids love the "bowls". You can prep pumpkin for this recipe the day ahead through the first baking. Let cool and wrap each bowl separately. Store in refrigerator to fill the next day.
These are great for a seasonal dinner party.
Any of the winter squashes can be used to make this recipe as well.
Look for small pie pumpkins at local farmer's markets and your supermarket.
Pumpkins are low in saturated fat & sodium & cholesterol. High in Vitamin A, C, E, Riboflavin, Potassium, Maganese, Vitamin B6, Folate, Magnesium…to name a few.
They are naturally sweet which complements the sausage, nuts, and dried fruit.
4
servings
30 - 40 min
prep time
30 min
cook time
ingredients
1 small pie pumpkin (about 8 inches in diameter, now in farmer's markets & supermarkets)
½ lb Swaggerty's Farm roll sausage
2 cups whole wheat bread cubes (for a gluten-free recipe use gluten-free bread slices)
1/3 cup each: diced celery, dried cherries or cranberries, pecans
Juice of one large orange
½ cup chicken broth
1 generous tsp dried sage
Salt & black pepper to taste
Optional: roasted spiced pumpkin seeds
Level of complexity:
Easy to intermediate
Number of ingredients:
9
Pairs well with:
Red wine spritzer over ice, a simple cabbage coleslaw
Special Kitchen Tools:
N/A
