Description
A hearty beef dish with beans and roasted butternut squash, baked in a pumpkin for a festive dish at any gathering.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 pumpkin, cleaned and seeds removed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cups butternut squash, peeled and diced into 1/2” cubes
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 orange bell pepper, diced
- 1 (14 ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 2 (15 ounce) can black beans
- 1 (15 ounce) can cannelloni beans
- 1 (15 ounce) can small red beans
- 3 tablespoons herbs de provence
- 2 tablespoons italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 (4 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400° F, line 2 baking sheets with parchment and set aside.
- Clean pumpkin and drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil in the interior, place the pumkin on one of the prepared baking sheets and set aside.
- Arrange the butternut squash on the remaining parchment-lined baking sheet and drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil on the cubes. With your hands, toss the cubes of squash so all sides are coated with oil.
- Roast the butternut squash for 15 minutes in the preheated 400° F oven.
- While the squash is roasting, in a large dutch oven, over medium heat, brown ground beef and sweet Italian sausage, as the meat browns, break it into small chunks.
- Add the diced onion and minced garlic to the meat mixture and cook until the meat is no longer pink.
- Stir the diced orange bell pepper and the fire roasted dice tomatoes into the meat mixture.
- Drain the liquid from the cans of beans and add the contents to the dutch oven.
- Stir in the herbs de provence, Italian seasoning, cinnamon, cocoa powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and stir to combine.
- After 15 minutes, remove the butternut squash from the oven and carefully add the par cooked pieces to the dutch oven.
- Turn oven down to 350° F.
- Add the tomato sauce and stir to combine all the ingredients. Season with salt and pepper, adding more if needed. Add crushed red pepper flakes if desired.
- Carefully spoon the mixture into the prepared pumpkin and place the baking sheet with the filled pumpkin in the 350° F oven. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the flesh of the pumpkin is soft. (Any mixture that does not fit in the pumpkin can be baked at the same time in the dutch oven.)
- Serve warm and eat the pumpkin flesh along with the hearty meat and beans.
Notes
You can buy already cubed butternut squash in the produce section of the grocery store.
This recipe is also wonderful served on its own without the pumpkin.
Any leftovers can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup