Wild Rice Stuffed Mini Pumpkins with Herbed Breadcrumbs

It's never too early to start thinking about your Thanksgiving menu, right? These mini rice stuffed pumpkins are the perfect addition to your table, either as a side dish for the whole family to enjoy or as a vegan/vegetarian entree. 

While you could certainly use any squash for this recipe (acorn would be great!), we love the festive look of these mini pumpkins. You shouldn't have any trouble finding them at your local grocery store.

We stuffed our pumpkins with a filling of cooked wild rice, mushrooms, onion, garlic, celery, herbs, pecans, cranberries for a pop of color (and sweetness), and herbed breadcrumbs (the best part!). 

Homemade gluten free breadcrumbs are super easy to make. Simply toast bread of choice, then pulse in a food processor with herbs, spices and toasted almonds.

We won't blame you if you start eating it by the spoonful. We use the breadcrumbs in two ways. First we stir them into the wild rice stuffing for a bit of texture and added flavor.

Second, we add more breadcrumbs to top the stuffed pumpkins so you get that savory toasted flavor with every bite. 

Here are a few other ways you can use gluten free breadcrumbs:  

As a crunchy topping for homemade mac and cheese.

As a topping for a pureed soup, like this Curried Root Vegetable Soup

In a gratin - a holiday favorite!  

In homemade meatballs - works for both traditional and vegan versions.

Sprinkled over roasted vegetables - we love this with eggplant in particular!  

Though you can certainly buy pre-made gluten free breadcrumbs from the store, they're so much better homemade.

Wild Rice Stuffed Mini Pumpkins with Herbed Breadcrumbs

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★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

• Author: Lexi
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Yield: Serves 8 1x
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

It's never too early to start thinking about your Thanksgiving menu...these mini stuffed pumpkins make a great vegan/vegetarian main dish!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 4 mini pumpkins
• 1 ½ cups cooked wild rice
• 4 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 ½ cup diced yellow onion
• 1 ½ cups cremini mushrooms, diced
• ½ cup finely diced celery
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 ¾ teaspoon dried basil
• 1 ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ¾ teaspoon dried sage
• 3 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley
• 1 ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon + ⅛th  teaspoon pepper
• ⅓ cup vegetable broth
• ½ cup chopped pecans
• ½ cup organic fresh cranberries
• ½ cup homemade breadcrumbs (recipe below)

Homemade Gluten Free Breadcrumbs:

• 4 slices day old gluten free bread
• ½ cup toasted almonds, chopped
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon sage
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¾ teaspoon pepper
• ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¾ teaspoon onion powder
• 1 ½ tablespoon olive oil

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. To prep pumpkins, cut off the tops (but don't throw them away!), then scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Set aside.
3. Cook wild rice according to package directions.
4. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a sauté pan. Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms, celery and garlic and continue to cook until softened. Add basil, oregano, sage, parsley, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Add vegetable broth and let reduce for a minute of two.
5. Stir vegetable mixture into cooked wild rice, then stir in pecans, cranberries and ½ cup of the breadcrumbs.
6. Stuff each pumpkin with about ½ to ⅔ cup of filling, packing it in with a spoon. Replace pumpkin top and bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven, remove tops, sprinkle with remaining breadcrumbs and bake for 10 more minutes.

Breadcrumbs:

1. Leave 4 slices of bread out for 24 hours at room temperature, turning after 12 hours. (If you forget this step, it's not a huge problem - simply proceed with the recipe.)
2. Toast bread in toaster until golden brown. While bread is toasting, toast chopped almonds for 2-3 minutes in small frying pan over medium heat. Stir several times to prevent burning.
3. Add bread and almond slices to food processor and pulse until you have breadcrumbs. Add spices herbs and olive oil and pulse to combine.

Notes

You should be able to find mini pumpkins in your local specialty store from about September-November, but if you can't, acorn squash works fine.

• Category: Dinner
• Method: Stovetop, Oven
• Cuisine: American

Keywords: vegan thanksgiving main dish