This brown rice and pecan stuffed pumpkin recipe is vegan, gluten-free, and can be made nut-free too. It makes the ideal vegan Thanksgiving centrepiece.
It's that time of year!
Every year pumpkin season comes around so fast and with it comes Thanksgiving. But more importantly, Thanksgiving food!
Traditionally a challenging time for those who are plant-based, nowadays there is no shortage of vegan Thanksgiving food available (Tofurky Roast anyone?).
If however like me you prefer to eat less processed food and want to make your own vegan Thanksgiving main course, I have a beautiful recipe for you here - delicious vegan stuffed pumpkin.
Enjoy it for your Thanksgiving meal on its own or with a variety of side dishes such as maple glazed carrots, stuffing and vegan gravy.
I'm particularly proud of this recipe as it's a nod to my adopted home of North America (as is my Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte).
Being English, I didn't grow up eating Thanksgiving food (we don't celebrate in the UK) and as a result, things like pumpkin pie and yam mash were alien to me.
Since I've lived here though, I've thoroughly enjoyed eating my fill of pecan pies.
So enjoy this beautiful vegan stuffed pumpkin - I hope it adds a splash of colour to your Thanksgiving table!
Why you'll love this vegan stuffed pumpkin
Vegan & gluten free - This delicious stuffed pumpkin recipe is totally vegan and gluten-free, and is the perfect centrepiece for your holiday meal.
Surprisingly easy to make - but it's sure to add the wow factor and a splash of colour to any table.
Hearty & filling - The pecans give this vegetarian main dish a delicious crunch, the brown rice makes it hearty and the cranberries provide a hint of sweetness.
Vibrant & beautiful - Make this impressive dish for your vegan Thanksgiving dinner if you want to visually impress your guests with a colourful meal! (My vegan charcuterie board is also an easy dish to visually impress guests.)
(P.S. I've got plenty more vegan Thanksgiving recipes for holiday season.)
Main Ingredients & substitutions
Pumpkin - Be sure to use a pumpkin that's meant to be eaten (not carved!) like pie pumpkins or sugar pumpkins. If you don't have pumpkin, feel free to use any squash you have to hand such as butternut squash or acorn squash, and just adapt the recipe to fill the shape.
Pecans - These give a delicious crunch and flavour to the dish. You can also use walnuts (although they're less sweet).
(Nut-free option - You're welcome to use pumpkin or sunflower seeds instead of pecans. This will change the flavour slightly but it will still be delicious!)
Rice - I use either short or long grain brown rice, as I find it has a richer, nuttier flavour than white rice. This recipe is a great way to use up pre-cooked rice.
Cranberries - These add a hint of sweetness to the recipe. If cranberries are unavailable, you can use raisins or apricots. They won't have the same traditional Thanksgiving appeal but they'll be just as delicious.
Celery & onion - Add a strong flavour base to the stuffing mix.
Dried herbs/spices - I use rosemary and sage as they're cosy, savoury herbs that go perfectly with squash recipes. Use your own favourites if preferred (thyme works really well and nutritional yeast makes the filling taste cheesy).
What size pumpkin to use?
I recommend a 5-6 inch wide pumpkin for this recipe.
It goes without saying that if you have a large pumpkin, you'll need more filling mixture.
Be sure to add extra herbs, salt and pepper if this is the case, as it's easy to scale up the other ingredients but forget to increase the seasonings. You don't want a bland meal!
If you have a smaller pumpkin, it will need less stuffing. You can make stuffing balls from any leftover filling.
(Just be aware that a smaller pumpkin may not feed so many people.)
How to make
Preheat oven to 400°CF/205°C.
Using a pumpkin carving or small sharp knife, cut lid off pumpkin and scoop out insides, leaving a large hollow. Set aside.
Add pecans to small skillet and toast on stovetop for 10 minutes, until fragrant.
Blend for 6-8 seconds, until pecans are small pieces. Set aside.
To large skillet, add 1 tablespoon oil. Add diced celery and onion, and sauté on medium heat for 5-6 minutes (until onion is translucent). Add garlic and sauté 2 more minutes.
Add cooked rice, cranberries, pecans, sage, rosemary, onion powder, remaining oil, 3 tablespoons water, black pepper and salt to skillet. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently. Adjust seasoning if needed and remove from heat.
Brush inside/outside pumpkin with oil, and season inside with salt & pepper.
Spoon rice mixture into hollowed-out pumpkin - packing it fairly tightly - and place top of pumpkin back on.
Wrap pumpkin in a layer of aluminum foil and place the whole thing on a baking tray. Bake for 45-50 minutes.
Remove foil and bake pumpkin, uncovered, for a further 10 minutes. (The pumpkin is ready when you can easily push a knife into the skin.)
Remove from oven and serve cut into four wedges with your favourite seasonal greens or salad, mashed potatoes and gravy (if desired).
Check out my web story on how to make this stuffed pumpkin.
Expert tips
Pack filling into pumpkin tightly - The filling will naturally shrink slightly as it cooks. By packing it tightly into the pumpkin, you'll ensure your pumpkin looks full when cooked!
Use a pumpkin carving knife if you have one - Trust me, this will make removing the pumpkin lid MUCH easier. Failing that, a small sharp knife is what you want.
Taste rice stuffing before filling the pumpkin - You want it to be flavourful to balance out the mild taste of the pumpkin. I add about ½-1 teaspoon salt.
Storage
Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To reheat, cover pumpkin in foil and place in oven until piping hot.
FAQs
Yes. The stringy bits inside of the pumpkin are edible and won't do you any harm. I like to make sure my pumpkin is well-seasoned on the inside so these bits taste as good as the rest!
Pumpkin skin is edible, but on most larger pumpkins the skin is too tough for eating. I don't recommend eating it in this recipe, unless you have a very soft-skinned pumpkin.
Side dishes to serve with this stuffed pumpkin
Best Vegan Stuffed Pumpkin (Gluten Free)
Special Equipment
- Blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 1 medium pumpkin (no more than 5-6 inches wide)
- ¾ cup pecan pieces (can use walnuts if unavailable)
- 2 tablespoon olive oil (plus a little more to brush the pumpkin)
- 1 stick celery, finely diced
- 1 small onion, finely diced (about ⅔ cup)
- 3 large cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 cup cooked short or long grain brown rice (⅓ cup uncooked rice)
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ tablespoon dried ground sage
- 1 teaspoon dried ground rosemary
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- Sea salt to taste (I use ½-1 tsp)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Parsley, optional, to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°CF/205°C.
- Using a pumpkin carving or small sharp knife, cut lid off pumpkin and scoop out insides with a large spoon, leaving a large hollow. Set aside.
- Add pecans to small skillet and toast on stovetop on low-ish heat for 10 minutes or until fragrant.
- Place in blender/food processor and blend for 6-8 seconds, until pecans are small pieces. Set aside.
- To large skillet, add 1 tablespoon of oil. When oil is hot add diced celery and onion, and sauté on medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes (until onion is translucent). Add garlic and sauté for 2 more minutes.
- Add cooked rice, cranberries, pecans, sage, rosemary, onion powder, remaining oil, 3 tablespoon water, black pepper and salt to skillet. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently. (Mixture should be crumbly.) Adjust seasoning if needed and remove from heat.
- Brush inside and outside of pumpkin with olive oil, and season inside well with salt and pepper.
- Spoon pumpkin filling into pumpkin - packing it fairly tightly - and place the top of the pumpkin back on.
- Wrap pumpkin completely in a layer of aluminum foil and place on baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes.
- Remove foil and bake pumpkin, uncovered, for a further 10 minutes. (The pumpkin is ready when you can easily push the tip of a knife into the skin.)
- Remove from oven and serve cut into four wedges with your favourite seasonal greens or salad, mashed potatoes and gravy (if desired). Optionally garnish with parsley.
Notes
Nutritional information per serving
If you’ve tried this vegetarian stuffed pumpkin recipe, please leave a comment or tip for others below. I'd love to know how you’ve made it your own!
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Ansley
Hi! The font did not work on my end so it has a rectangle where the number should be before the word cup for the rice. I am guessing it should be 1. I see it with the veggies too. "About cup". This sounds delicious! Can't wait to try it!
Elizabeth
Hi Ansley, thanks so much for letting me know! So glad you like the look of the recipe. I've copy + pasted the text out for you below so you have the measurements if the fractions don't display properly for you in the recipe above. x
1 small to medium-sized pumpkin (about 5 inches wide and 2½lb in weight)
1/3 cup short or long grain brown rice
3/4 cup pecans
2 tbsp olive oil (plus a little more to brush the inside and outside of the pumpkin with)
1/2 stick celery, finely diced (about ⅔ cup)
1 small onion, finely diced (about ⅔ cup)
3 large cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp dried sage, finely ground
1/2 tbsp dried rosemary, finely ground
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 tbsp water
Sea salt to taste (I usually use about 1 tsp)
1/2 tsp black pepper
D. Brooks
Great recipe. Swapped in wild rice (forgot to stock up on brown), was still excellent. Received compliments across the board on flavor and presentation. Passing them on to you as deserved. Got requests to make it again next year from 3 meat-eaters. Was also rated above the family dressing recipe, which has been made the same way (with an entire cup of butter) for the past 20 years. New thanksgiving staple, with actual nutrition. Thank you!
Elizabeth
This made my day! Thank you so much for the lovely feedback. 🙂 Love that you swapped in wild rice too - I would actually prefer that myself, it's just pretty expensive here!
Cathryn Stephens
This was fantastic! I love the flavor of the toasted pecans with the roasted pumpkin. Ours was so tender and moist. I think this will be super with a little onion gravy,
Elizabeth
Thanks so much Cathryn! I'm so glad you liked it. I love the combo of pecans and pumpkin too. 🙂 I'll actually be sharing a simple thyme gravy recipe this week on the blog that would go well with this so stay tuned!
Rebecca
Hi,
Can you eat the skin of the pumpkin?
Elizabeth
Hi Rebecca, yes you can! It does depend on the particular pumpkin you have as some can be a bit tough, but it is edible. 🙂
Linda Nunis
Deleted the celery, added shiitake mushrooms, and a small amount of wakame seaweed and adzuki beans.
Yummy!
Elizabeth
What lovely swaps! This sounds amazing and I'd do that too. 🙂
Sabine
This stuffed pumpkin was just amazing. I loved the combination of the roasted pumpkin, pecan and dried cranberry. It worked out really well.
Elizabeth
Thanks so much Sabine - so happy you loved it too. 🙂
Claire
Can I add fresh chopped spinach? I want a dish that has some green in it. Will the spinach get mushy?
Elizabeth
I don't see why not! The spinach will naturally wilt as the filling cooks, but I think it would be a great addition. Just be sure to check your seasoning, as you may need to add a little more.
Nora
This stuffed pumpkin looks amazing! And it doesn't take as long to prepare as I thought it would! Thanks for the recipe!
Elizabeth
So glad you love it Nora! And I hate recipes that take a really long time. 🙂
Jean
i had two small pumpkins leftover from Halloween and this was the perfect recipe to make with them. I did use fresh cranberries but that was my only substitution.
Elizabeth
Great substitution Jean! So glad you loved it. 🙂
Mina
I'm so excited to try this! I love how it is served. So gorgeous!
Elizabeth
Thanks so much Mina!
Debbie
Happy Thanksgiving. I wanted to find a recipe for stuffed pumpkin. And googled and found yours and tried it today. It was very good and quick and easy!! I posted a picture on FB and had a request right away and directed her to your website. Thank you.
Elizabeth
I'm so happy to hear that Debbie. So glad you loved it and thanks for sending your friend to my site! Happy Thanksgiving 🙂
Katie
Hi, this recipe looks great - thanks so much for sharing. Can you make up to the end of Step 8 in advance? I want to do this for a dinner party, so ideally would prep everything beforehand and then just bake whilst guests are here.
Elizabeth
Great question! I think this would be fine - I would just refrigerate the pumpkin (with filling) until you're ready to roast it. Enjoy! Hope it goes well. 🙂
Jill
If I am not going to stuff a pumpkin with the rice mixture do I still need to bake it?
I am putting it in a ceramic pumpkin. Thinking of adding cubes of baked sweet potatoes
Elizabeth
Good idea! No, as long as you're cooking the mixture as per the instructions on the stove first you should be fine to use it as is - just ensure it's cooked through. I'd maybe cook it for an extra 5-10 minutes just so it's nice and soft (which the oven would do). Enjoy 🙂
Jill
I just did a trial run, delicious. Thank you for responding
Elizabeth
SO happy to hear you loved it. Thank you for sharing this!
Dianna Cuckler
This is absolutely delicious. I'm not vegan, but my son is. I made a test recipe first and can't stop eating it. The fact that it is vegan will remain secret until after Thanksgiving dinner this evening. I'm certain EVERYONE will love this, vegan or not. I used raisins instead of dried cranberries. Another commenter suggested onion gravy. That sounds delicious too!
Elizabeth
This feedback made my day! I'm so happy you loved it so much Dianna. 🙂 Can't wait to hear how it went with everyone for dinner. Happy Thanksgiving!