Stuffed Pumpkin with Sausage and Apples

Stuffed Pumpkin with sausage, apples, cranberries, spinach, pecans, feta cheese, onions, garlic, and fresh herbs - on a white plate.

Stuffed Pumpkin with Sausage and Apples

This Roasted Stuffed Pumpkin is packed with delicious ingredients—sausage, apples, cranberries, onions, garlic, spinach, pecans, feta cheese, and fresh herbs. The filling combines savory and sweet flavors, making it an ideal dish for a holiday gathering or any occasion! Serve it alongside Thanksgiving turkey or Christmas ham (or both!).

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword stuffed pumpkin

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 40

Total Time 45

Servings

Calories 965kcal

Author Julia

Ingredients

Roasted Pumpkin

2 small pumpkins about 6 inches wide
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon salt or more
freshly ground coarse black pepper

Apple Sausage Filling

1 small onion diced
5 cloves garlic finely chopped
19 oz hot Italian sausage crumbled
5 oz fresh spinach
2 large apples cored and diced into small cubes
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup pecans toasted
½ cup crumbled feta cheese optional
fresh thyme

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Roast the Pumpkin

Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Use edible pumpkin (such as sugar pumpkin or pie pumpkin), not the carving kind.
Remove the outside stem (if present) and slice each pumpkin in half. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and any fibrous strands. Brush the inside and cut sides of the 4 pumpkin halves with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Place the pumpkin halves cut side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast for 30-40 minutes on the lowest rack or until the pumpkin is soft and easily pierced with a fork from the outside.

Make the Apple-Sausage Filling

While the pumpkin roasts, prepare the filling.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the crumbled sausage, chopped onion, and garlic. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, breaking up the sausage, until the sausage is fully cooked and the onions are softened.
Add the diced apples and the spinach and cook for several minutes until the spinach wilts. Stir in dried cranberries.

Stuff the Pumpkin

Note: I highly recommend using toasted pecans. Here is how to toast raw pecans: Spread them out in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast them in the preheated oven at 350°F for about 10 minutes, just until they darken slightly.
Once the pumpkin is roasted, remove it from the oven and turn the halves cut side up.
Stuff each pumpkin half with the apple-sausage mixture, then top with toasted pecans and, if desired, feta cheese and more dried cranberries. Finish with a sprinkle of fresh thyme.
If needed, reheat the stuffed pumpkins on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet in the oven for about 10 or 15 minutes.

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