Baked Pumpkin Rice Pudding

This is one of our favorite dessert pumpkin dishes, but the recipe can be tweaked to make a variety of different dishes. Just make sure to use instant rice, or if you’re using regular rice, be sure to cook it most of the way to completion before putting it in the pumpkin. Substituting chicken stock for evaporated milk can get you on your way to a savory version as well.

Baked Pumpkin Rice Pudding

• 1 3 to 3 ½ pound sugar pumpkin

• 1 tablespoon butter, softened

• ¼ cup packed brown sugar,
   plus more for topping

• 2/3 cup instant rice

• 1 12-ounce can evaporated milk

• 1 tablespoon molasses

• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Slice off and reserve the top 1 1/2 inches of the pumpkin. Scoop out the seeds and stringy pulp. Rub the inside of the pumpkin with the butter, then rub with 1 tablespoon brown sugar and a pinch of salt.

Combine the rice, evaporated milk, molasses, vanilla, cinnamon, the remaining 3 tablespoons brown sugar and a pinch of salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.

Put the pumpkin in a baking dish and fill the pumpkin with the rice mixture. Cover with the pumpkin top and add 1 inch of boiling water to the baking dish. Cover loosely with foil and bake until the pumpkin is tender and the rice pudding is thick, about 2 hours. Scrape the pumpkin flesh and stir into the rice pudding; sprinkle with brown sugar.