I first had this dinner 42 years ago when I went to my first Halloween Party. It was originally called Grandma’s Stuff in a Pumpkin, but that doesn’t sound very scary. When my own kids started having Halloween parties, I began making this for them, with a little tweaking. I have also bought small pumpkins and made individual servings for each child at the party, it doesn’t take that much longer to do, and the kids loved drawing the faces on their pumpkins and watched while I did the carving. My oldest son is now 21, and starting a cooking career – last October he called me and begged for this recipe. This is now a 3rd generation favorite- and who knows- may be passed onto more.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 55 min |
| Prep: | 25 min |
| Inactive: | 15 min |
| Cook: | 1 hr 15 min |
| Yield: | 6 to 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 (9 to 12-inch) pumpkin
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 green pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
- 1 red pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
- 4 carrots, thinly sliced into rounds
- 3 celery sticks, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 pound ground chicken or turkey
- 2 cups cooked rice (instant is okay)
- 1 large can diced tomatoes
- 1 large can tomato soup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cut the top off the pumpkin and scoop out the insides. Rinse well. Carve a scary face onto the pumpkin, without going all the way through the flesh. Rinse well, oil outside of pumpkin. Bake the pumpkin shell for 30 minutes.
- While shell is baking: saute the onion, green and red peppers, carrots, celery, and garlic until the vegetables begin to soften, about 8 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside. Brown ground beef and chicken. Add the veggies and cooked rice and cook over low heat, stirring often, for 10 to 15 minutes to let the flavors meld.
- Remove pumpkin from oven and let stand 15 minutes. Stir the tomatoes and soup into the meat mixture. Place meat mixture into pumpkin. Put back in oven for 20 minutes. Serve on a platter with cheesy biscuits- -very yummy.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 376 |
| Total Fat | 17 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Carbohydrates | 35 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 11 g |
| Protein | 24 g |
| Cholesterol | 89 mg |
| Sodium | 221 mg |
Reviews
Delightful, fun, and seasonal. Need an extra kick for your palette? Add two tablespoons of fresh rosemary when you add the tomato soup. The added flavor gives the dish a sophisticated flair!
I did not think this had enough flavor, but my boyfriend liked it a lot. I would definitely add salt and pepper and maybe some red pepper flakes or some other seasoning to make it more flavorful.
I have made this around Halloween every year for the past 3 years. Everyone loves it (and loves the pumpkin decoration/serving bowl). Very easy and very good.
I usually do not like stews but this was fantastic. I found this recipe searching for a festive fall potluck stew/soup. I love how the vegetables still have a bit of crunch to them and the two different meats add so much flavor. Everyone loved it at work. I can not wait to make this for Halloween night! I will surely keep this recipe.
I made a similar dish 20 years ago, and lost the recipe. This was as close to it as I could find. I tweaked it by adding browned cubed beef, plus the other ingredients, including cut up chicken breasts, rather than gound. Remind the guests that they should scoop out a bit of the inside of the pumpkin along with the filling. It’s a very nice dish for the night-before-Thanksgiving, or sometime over the week-end after. I surely won’t lose this recipe again!
I made this stew for my niece’s Halloween themed birthday party. The kids ate the stew even though it had vegetables in it and loved it! The adults as well as the kids loved the pumpkin pot presentation.
I loved the presentation of the stew in the pumpkin shell. However, I thought the taste of the stew itself was rather bland. Additions of thyme, red pepper flakes, and maybe some homemade chicken stock would help. I plan to use the pumpkin idea again, but instead fill it with my favorite beef stew.
I made this recipe last year for our annual Halloween family dinner. Everyone loved it! The kids especially liked the “cool” pumpkin tureen. I plan to make it again this year.
I made this for my daughter’s 21st birthday party which had a Halloween theme. I couldn’t believe how easy it was to make. It looked great as part of the Halloween buffet and everyone loved the stew. I told a friend about the recipe and she made it for Halloween in three small pumpkins. She had one for her family, brought one to a neighbor, and gave one to her mother. It was definitely a hit!
Great for Halloween, everyone loved it. Recipe to make over and over again!!! I love Halloween and this was perfect.