Stuffed butternut pumpkin

Preheat the oven to gas mark 6, 400°F/180°C fan (or 200°C conventional). Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, and then place the halves on a baking tray. Drizzle half of the olive oil on top of the squash and bake for around 1 hour until the squash is fork tender.

Remove from the oven, leave to cool and then scoop out the flesh from both halves, leaving a small inch border at the sides.

To prepare the stuffing, heat the remainder of the olive oil over a medium heat in a large pan. Then add the carrots, onion, and minced garlic and allow to soften. Once starting to brown, add the wild rice and vegetable broth, bring to a simmer then cover and cook for around 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, add white rice to the ingredients and leave for a further 10 minutes for the rice to absorb the broth. Then add the fresh sage, salt, black pepper, and thyme leaves to the stuffing and stir to combine well.

Add the stuffing to the scooped out squash, and try to get as much into each side as possible. Once it’s all tightly packed in, take one squash half and place it on top of the other to reassemble the squash. Use kitchen string to tie the squash together, brush the top with any remaining olive oil and bake for 30 minutes until it’s hot all the way through.

Once cooked, remove from the oven and serve hot to the table as a vegetarian roast centerpiece. Season with black pepper and any leftover herbs when serving.

Tips & tricks

If you’re hosting a big Thanksgiving dinner, and need to make a couple of elements ahead of time, this is one of those fantastic dishes that can be made and stored in the fridge for a couple of days prior to baking. Simply cover with foil once the stuffed squash is assembled together and transfer to the fridge to wait until the big day. You don’t need to peel the butternut squash in this recipe as the roasting time will ensure the skin is nice and tender when eating the dish. If you do want to remove the skin, or for more tips on how to prepare butternut squash, we have a helpful guide covering all the basics.

In the recipe above we’ve included sage and thyme, but other chefs will add ingredients like walnuts and cranberries for even more seasonal touches to the dish. If you prefer to add a meaty section to the dish for a meat-stuffed pumpkin recipe, then that’s easy enough to do. Try adding ground pork to your stuffing for added sweetness and flavor. And if this butternut squash dish is a hit with your friends and family, there are many more recipes to explore from comforting butternut squash soup with quinoa to butternut muffins for a fall-inspired breakfast.

How to serve it

As stuffed butternut pumpkin recipes go, this one is a real showstopper. As in the recipe above, we suggest you take this to the table fresh from the oven and cut to serve in front of your guests. Plate up alongside other roast favorites like roast potatoes and vegetables.

Storage

You can store stuffed butternut squash in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days, though it’s best enjoyed on the day of cooking.