Oh my gosh, how much fun is this?! I made Jack-o-Lantern Joes for dinner and my kids thought they were too cute…and delish! Basically, it’s a sloppy joe baked a bit in a pie pumpkin. My pie pumpkins were a nice size, so we used four for six people (and some of us shared). Each year, I try to come up with a spooky supper idea, and it’s one of my kids’ favorite traditions. This would be so cute to serve on Halloween night too.
Wishing you a spooktacular supper, friends! xo
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Jack-o-Lantern Joes
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 to 6 1x
Description
A spooktacular twist on a classic! These sloppy joes baked in a pumpkin are a fun way to celebrate the season!
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 pie pumpkins, tops cut off and insides scooped out
- 2 pounds of ground beef
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
- salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 (14 oz) can of pumpkin (we use Libby’s)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup of Italian-style breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Take your pie pumpkins, cut the tops off and scoop out the insides. Set aside.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Set out a baking sheet to place your filled pumpkins on. Set aside.
- In a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, brown up your ground beef in a drizzle of EVOO until it’s crumbly. Stir in a nice pinch of both salt and pepper along with your garlic powder.
- Next, stir in your tomato sauce, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and pumpkin. Bring everything up to a simmer and then reduce your heat to medium and allow your Sloppy Joes to simmer together about 10 minutes.
- Using a ladle, scoop out your sloppy joe mixture and pour it into each pumpkin. Once your pumpkins are filled, top them with the shredded cheddar cheese and breadcrumbs. Place each filled pumpkin on your baking sheet and pop them in the oven for about 12 to 15 minutes (just long enough to brown up the tops).
- Remove the pumpkins from the oven and serve.
Notes
Depending on how big your pumpkins are, depends on how many you will fill. You can always just fill 2 larger pumpkins or several smaller pumpkins depending on their size.
Libby says
Too cute! Unfortunately, my people won’t go near pumpkin. 🙁
Mix and Match Mama says
Omit it! You’ll make more of a “normal” sloppy joe…but the presentation will be fun!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog says
I love this idea! So creative and perfect for the spooky season! ❤️✨
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
MelanieL says
The cutest dinner there ever was! We love sloppy joes and now baked with cheese and breadcrumbs…yes please!!
SC says
Cute! What a fun fall dinner!
Dawn D says
Oh my goodness! This could not have been posted at a more perfect time. My father in law requested everyone bring their fave sloppy joes recipe to his bday party and o am so using this. Thank you!
Mix and Match Mama says
Yay!!!!!
Jade says
Love this! Our girls will think this is too cool!
KD says
Dumb question: can you/do you eat the pumpkin inside, or is it just a cool bowl? Asking for a friend ?
Mix and Match Mama says
I just use it as a bowl and use canned pumpkin instead…but if you want to use the inside of your pie pumpkin (remove the seeds) and add that to your sloppy joe mixture, you can! We use ours as “bowls”.
Dana says
I was a little afraid of the whole can of pumpkin but I like to make recipes exactly as stated the first time. I thought the pumpkin flavor was subtle and my family loved these! Keeping this for Octobers to come!! The pumpkin bowls were a lot of fun.
Mix and Match Mama says
Yay!!!!!!!!!
KD says
Thanks so much for the info! 🙂