‘Twas eight days before Halloween, and if you’re looking for something to make this time of year extra special for your loved ones, here you go. My Jack-o-lantern Joes are festive, delicious, and pretty darn simple.
Basically, it’s a sloppy joe baked a bit in a pie pumpkin.
The older my kids get, the more and more I lean into celebrating every opportunity we can as a family. I’m grateful for all the memories we made when they were younger, and I’m extra grateful to continue to have the time with them now to make more. Just last night, we carved our jacks and watched Hocus Pocus and well, my mama heart was full.
Grab you some pie pumpkins and give this recipe a try. It’s EXTRA festive! This would be so cute to serve on Halloween night too.
Wishing you a spooktacular supper, friends! xx
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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.
Sandi T. says
These are so cute! This is probably a dumb question…. However, does the pumpkin inside cook enough to scoop and eat it with the Sloppy Joe mixture? I make a similar recipe with spaghetti squash but precook the squash and then fill it.
Mix and Match Mama says
It gets tender like a squash on the inside, so yes, you can certainly eat that as well!
Leslie Wilcox says
Those look so cute! My mom and I are going to watch Hocus Pocus tonight. I’ve never seen it, and she has dementia but did watch and can’t remember. It will be new for both of us. 🙂
Heather S says
So we usually make your moms ghoulosh for trick or treat every year. I’m thinking we might change things this year and make these instead!
Mix and Match Mama says
Yay!! I do too!!!