Sweet roasted pumpkin provides the perfect flavor contrast to a savory mix of bread, cheese, bacon, and herbs in these pumpkins stuffed with everything good. This irresistible combination comes from a superb recipe originally published by the delightful Dorie Greenspan in Around My French Table. While I tend to employ a bit heavier hand with the heavy cream than Dorie, the most significant difference in this version is simply my choice of pumpkin variety. Rather than stuffing one large gourd, I prefer to use dainty sugar pie pumpkins here. This way each lucky diner gets to dive into a whole entire pumpkin with their very own stuffing to unveil...a veritable feast on every plate.
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Ingredients for Pumpkins Stuffed With Everything Good
- sugar pie pumpkins
- sourdough bread (preferably slightly stale)
- Gruyère cheese
- garlic
- cooked bacon
- fresh chives
- fresh thyme
- heavy whipping cream
- freshly grated nutmeg
- kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Using a sturdy knife, very carefully cut the top off each pumpkin (as if you were making little jack-ò-lanterns), reserving the lids. Remove all the seeds and stringy bits. Then liberally season the inside of each pumpkin with salt and pepper.
Heat the oven to 350℉. In the meantime, prepare the bread, cheese, garlic, bacon, and herbs for the stuffing.
Toss the bread, cheese, garlic, bacon, and herbs together in a bowl. Taste the stuffing mixture for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as desired.
Then whisk the nutmeg into the cream, along with a bit of salt and pepper to taste.
Spoon the stuffing into the seasoned pumpkins.
Then drizzle half of the cream mixture into each pumpkin, pouring it evenly over the stuffing.
Place the pumpkins on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper (just in case of any sticking). Put the lids back on top and bake for about 1 hour. Then remove the lids and bake for about 15 to 30 minutes more, or until the pumpkin flesh can be easily pierced with a sharp knife and the stuffing is slightly golden on top.
After roasting, allow the pumpkins to cool for at least 10 minutes before transferring to plates and serving.
Hint: This recipe can be easily scaled up if you are cooking for more than two, and these cozy little roasted pumpkins are perfect for an autumnal dinner party.
Variations
There are all sorts of ways to adapt this recipe, but here are just a few ideas...
- The Bread - I adore the tangy flavor of a good sourdough bread in this dish, but almost any artisan loaf would do here.
- The Cheese - Emmentaler, cheddar, or fontina are just a few alternatives that would also be delicious in this dish.
- The Bacon - Diced cooked ham is another terrific option here...or for a vegetarian version, simply omit the meat all together.
- The Herbs - No thyme on your hands? Fresh sage would be another lovely choice in lieu of the thyme.
Storage
These little pumpkins stuffed with everything good are best enjoyed right after they are baked, but I have been known to reheat a leftover stuffed pumpkin for breakfast the next day....and I have no regrets.
Pairing
These are a few of my favorite recipes to include in a menu featuring pumpkins stuffed with everything good:
📖 Recipe
Pumpkins Stuffed With Everything Good
Ingredients
- 2 small sugar pie pumpkins about 2 pounds each
- about ¼ pound sourdough bread (preferably slightly stale) thinly sliced and cut into ½ inch chunks
- about ¼ pound Gruyère cheese cut into small chunks
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 4 strips cooked bacon broken into bits
- about ¼ cup fresh chives chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme finely chopped
- ¾ to 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- pinch nutmeg freshly grated
- kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350℉.
- Using a sturdy knife, very carefully cut the top off each pumpkin (as if you were making little jack-ò-lanterns), reserving the lids.
- Remove all the seeds and stringy bits. Then liberally season the inside of each pumpkin with salt and pepper.
- Prepare the stuffing ingredients. Then toss the bread, cheese, garlic, bacon, and herbs together in a bowl. Taste the stuffing mixture for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as desired.
- Whisk the nutmeg into the cream, along with a bit of salt and pepper to taste.
- Spoon the stuffing into the seasoned pumpkins. Then drizzle half of the cream mixture into each pumpkin, pouring it evenly over the stuffing.
- Place the pumpkins on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper (just in case of any sticking). Put the lids back on top and bake for about 1 hour. Then remove the lids and bake for about 15 to 30 minutes more, or until the pumpkin flesh can be easily pierced with a sharp knife and the stuffing is slightly golden on top.
- After roasting, allow the pumpkins to cool for at least 10 minutes before transferring to plates and serving.
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