Om Nom Ally - Cheese Corn & Quinoa Stuffed Pumpkin

Super Cheesy Corn & Quinoa Stuffed Pumpkins

Alison Murray Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Mains, Nut-free, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian 28 Comments

Om Nom Ally - Cheese Corn & Quinoa Stuffed Pumpkin
I tend to go a bit silly and ga-ga over three things – baby animal photos, my dorky puppy andย miniatureย fruits and vegetables. I grew delicious mini watermelons and honeydew this past summer and attempted mini cauliflower and cabbage. One of my favourite lettuces to grow in a mini cos hearting variety and my guinea pigs love the quick-growing mini round Paris Market carrots. All these varieties produce smaller or mini fruit compared with regular plants, with many suitable for raised bed and container gardening… and they are all just so darn cute!

It was for those reasons that I started 3 types of minature pumpkins before summer in my raised beds (Delicated, Jack Be Little and Golden Nugget), but the summer heat quickly killed off all three plants (though I did find this little fella while turning my garden beds). The farmer’s have had a lot more success than me however in this hot weather and I’ve been able to find Golden Nugget pumpkins everywhere in the past month.

Om Nom Ally - Cheesy Corn & Quinoa Stuffed Pumpkin

These round hand-sized pumpkins are just made for stuffed pumpkin recipes. The flesh isn’t as sweet as other varieties so their flavour is really enhanced by a delicious filling. Cut off the top, scoop out the pulp and seeds before baking, then fill to the brim and bake again! Make sure to save those prolific seeds too; wash away all the pulp and then dry before toasting or roasting with any myriad of flavour combos. This is a no-waste pumpkin.

The other bonus of these cute little Golden Nugget pumpkins is the thin, edible skin. After filling with this mixture of quinoa, corn and parmesan cheese (or savoury yeast flakes for a dairy-free, vegan meal), your whole dinner is served in a bowl you can eat! Who wouldn’t go a little ga-ga over that?

Super Cheesy Corn & Quinoa Stuffed Pumpkins @OmNomAlly | These Golden Nugget pumpkins were just made for stuffing - with thin, edible skin you can eat your cheesy corn and quinoa stuffing and then your pumpkin bowl too!

5.0 from 3 reviews
Super Cheesy Corn & Quinoa Stuffed Pumpkins
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
These Golden Nugget pumpkins were just made for stuffing - with thin, edible skin you can eat your cheesy corn and quinoa stuffing and then your pumpkin bowl too!
Author:
Recipe type: Main, Grains
Cuisine: Egg-free, Gluten-free, Nut-free, Soy-free, Vegetarian. Dairy-free and Vegan with ingredient choice.
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 4 Golden Nugget Pumpkins
  • 1 tsp + 1 tbsp olive oil, ghee, butter or coconut oil
  • 1 medium brown onion, diced
  • 2 medium carrots, scrubbed and chopped
  • 1 cup white quinoa grains, washed thoroughly and drained
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 large zucchini, washed and chopped
  • 2 cups vegetable stock
  • 1 cup chopped spinach leaves, loosely packed
  • 1 cup corn fresh or frozen corn kernels
  • ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan (use Savoury Yeast Flakes/Nutritional Yeast for Vegan/Dairy free meal)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 220C. Line two baking trays with baking paper. Cut tops off pumpkins, place cut side up on one baking tray.
  2. Pour ½ tsp olive oil/butter in each pumpkin and swirl or brush with pastry brush to coat inside. Place on second baking tray and bake with tops for 30 minutes.
  3. After baking time turn remove tray with tops and put aside to cool. Turn pumpkins upside down on tray and bake for a further 20min.
  4. In a deep saucepan saute onion and carrots in remaining oil/butter until softened, about 5 minutes. Add quinoa, garlic and zucchini and stir for 2 minutes then add chicken stock. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to simmer for 10-15 minutes until quinoa is cooked and soft and water is absorbed. Add spinach and cook over low heat until wilted. Take saucepan off heat.
  5. Add ¾ cup corn kernels to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until blended with some chunky pieces remaining. Add processed corn, remaining corn kernels and Parmesan cheese to quinoa mixture and stir well to combine,
  6. Invert pumpkins again on baking tray and fill with quinoa mixture. Return to the oven for 10 minutes and then serve immediately.
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Linked to Tasty Traditions, Fresh Foods Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday, Whole Food Wednesdays, Chef’s Day Off, What Up Wednesday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Allergy Friendly Wednesdays, Fat Tuesday, The Hearth and Soul Hop, Just Another Meatless Monday, Healthy 2day Wednesdays, Full Plate Thursday, Thank Your Body Thursday, ย  Well Fed Wednesday, Waste Not Want Not Wednesday, Handmade Tuesdays, Wow Me Wednesday, Pennywise Platter Thursday, Fight Back Friday, Fresh Bites Friday, Whole Food Fridays, Wellness Weekends,

Comments 28

    1. Post
      Author

      They do make lovely little bowls Alicia! If you can’t find these pumpkins then I think Acorn squash or Butternut pumpkin would be the next best options. They are both nice and sweet and would taste amazing stuffed with this cheesy, corn combo.

  1. Are you kidding me right now?!? This recipe should have been in my hands so long ago. I LOVE quinoa and pumpkin!!! I have a squash in my fridge so I may attempt this with that so I can have it tonight! I am so glad that you shared it with me! I can’t WAIT to try this one out. I am vegetarian but totally can do this with veg stock! Thank you for sharing!

    1. Post
      Author

      Haha, glad you love it Heather. It’s so delicious, I recommend you cook it pronto ๐Ÿ˜‰
      I should have actually added vegetable stock into the ingredients list, glad you mentioned it so I can clear that up now!

    1. Post
      Author

      Thanks for having me over at the Hearth and Soul hop April and thanks for the comment! This is a really yummy way to use quinoa, I’m always collecting new ideas on how to use it too ๐Ÿ™‚

  2. Such a lovely pumpkin recipe!! I love the presentation of this, perfect for those Autumn months. I also go ga-ga for baby animal pics, I google them all the time lol

    1. Post
      Author

      This would be a lovely warming recipe for Autumn Natalie, it’s very comforting ๐Ÿ™‚ Glad I’m not the only softy too, I’ve got a pic of a baby seal grinning at me on my desktop at the moment awwww!

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  3. I totally forgot it’s fall season in Australia haha! We won’t have pumpkins again for another few months ๐Ÿ™‚ I love how you can eat out of the pumpkin, that’s so neat! It’s a great idea for a dinner party and I love quinoa -anything. Great job!!

    1. Post
      Author

      I think we’re lucky Rose that we always seem to have pumpkin available here. While I only get them for a few months from the garden (if at all, grumble, grumble) I don’t ever remember them not being at the supermarket.
      Thanks for the comment Rose ๐Ÿ˜€ Oh, these would be lovely for a dinner party, what a good idea!

  4. I’ve stuffed many squash in my time, but it’s never looked quite like this.,. Yowza! That filling must be so creamy and savory, I wish I could take a forkful right through the computer screen.

    1. Post
      Author

      The filling is so, so creamy and delicious Hannah, I could easily eat this over and over during the colder months.
      What would you say your favourite squash filling would be? I know you would make something fabulous!

    1. Post
      Author

      Thanks for the comment Kristy ๐Ÿ™‚ For this particular pumpkin, yes the skin is edible, but not for all of them! I’m sure you’ve noticed how many pumpkins have really thick skin, for those it’s not even worth trying and they are better off in the compost bin or worm farm. If you like to peel your skin off before cooking pumpkin you can also bake the peels on a low temperature to make pumpkin peel chips.

      1. Oh yes, you wouldn’t want to eat the skin off a butternut pumpkin! I’ve never actually made anything with golden nugget pumpkins because I wasn’t sure how to use them (or that you could eat the skin!) but I’m going to give this a try ๐Ÿ™‚

        1. Post
          Author

          Let me know how you go Kristy! If you can find a yummy chilli or lamb based stuffing recipe that would go down a treat too, these pumpkins need a strong, savory filling to draw out their sweetness. ๐Ÿ™‚

  5. Ally! These little pumpkins are ADORABLE! And look tasty to boot! i had no idea you could get pumpkins in the Spring – I’ve only ever seen them in our CSA during Autumn. I guess it all depends where you live. Either way, I’m pinning so I can make them when pie pumpkins come into season next fall.

    thank you so much for sharing your post with us at the Wednesday Fresh Foods Link Up! I hope to see you again this week with more seasonal & real food posts! xo, kristy

    1. Post
      Author

      Thanks for the comment Kristy, and for hosting the Wednesday Fresh Foods Link Up ๐Ÿ™‚ It seems to be a very Australian thing to have locally grown pumpkins available year-round, I’ve heard from several people in the last week that you can only enjoy pumpkins in autumn in most of the northern hemisphere. I don’t know how I would survive, I think I eat fresh pumpkin in some form at least one a week! When you can, I hope you really enjoy the recipe – these stuffed pumpkins are to die for ๐Ÿ™‚

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  6. YUMMY, my little Amish market by my house has these little pumpkins in the fall! YUM Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Really looking forward to seeing what you bring to the party this week! It starts Thursday evening!

    Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com

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      Author
  7. Pingback: #glutenfreefridays #35 is live! Come share your #glutenfree recipes! - Vegetarian Mamma

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