Before I get to my delicious pumpkin casserole recipe, I’d like to begin with an unintentionally Halloweenish photo:
Look closely. I was trying to take a basic photo of our homegrown pumpkin–the accidental result of tossing last year’s seeds into the compost pile–when someone decided that she would make a better subject. So what you see here is an accidentally Halloweenish photo of an accidental pumpkin.
There’s probably a moral here somewhere, something like “the best things happen by accident,” but I prefer to think of the photo and the pumpkin as representative of the way I work: throw enough scraps into the compost, photos onto the memory card, or ingredients into the pot, and I’ll eventually come up with something worth growing, viewing, or eating.
And this little pumpkin was definitely worth growing and eating. When D and I first noticed a pale green and white, oval-shaped fruit hanging from a thick vine, we didn’t know what it was. Gradually it took on a more traditional pumpkin shape and color, and when it stopped getting any larger, I decided that it was the offspring of one of last year’s pie pumpkins. Weighing in at just over 2 pounds, it probably would have been just the right size for a pumpkin pie, but I decided to do something a little less traditional with it.
My idea was to make a layered pumpkin casserole, sort of like Mexican Lasagna, but with slices of pumpkin instead of tortillas. The resulting casserole didn’t come out looking quite so neatly layered, but I think it fits my “toss enough ingredients” theme just about perfectly. It won’t win any beauty contests, but who cares? It’s all about the flavor, and in this case, melt-in-your-mouth slices of pumpkin plus cumin-kissed black beans and a creamy, cheesy-tasting sauce equal a real winner!
(This dish is actually uglier than it appears in this photo! Consider yourself warned.)
Pumpkin and Black Bean Casserole
It takes a bit of effort to peel and slice pumpkin, but it's worth it!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans or one can, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 cup corn fresh or frozen
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 1/2 bell pepper finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder or other mild chili powder
- 1/8–1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder to taste
- 15 ounces canned tomatoes drained and liquid reserved*
- 1 pound pumpkin about 1/2 one small pumpkin or any winter squash (butternut, acorn, etc.)
Sauce
- 3/4 cup soymilk or other non-dairy milk
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Spanish paprika
- 1 tablespoon tahini optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the black beans with the next 8 ingredients and set aside.
- Cut the pumpkin in half. Set aside one half for another use and peel the other half. Cut it into very thin slices about 1/4-inch thick and 2 inches long.
-
Preheat oven to 425F. Line a 2-quart casserole dish with parchment paper (or wipe it with a tiny bit of oil, if you desire.) Lay one-third of the pumpkin slices in the bottom of the dish, and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Cover with half of the bean mixture. Repeat layers with another third of the pumpkin and the remainder of the beans. Finish with the final third of the pumpkin slices.
- In a blender, combine the reserved *tomato liquid (about 1/2 cup) with the soymilk and remaining ingredients. Blend well and pour over the pumpkin. Cover tightly, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the cover and bake for 20-30 minutes, until sauce is thick and bubbly and pumpkin is tender.
Recipe Notes
*If you prefer to use fresh tomatoes, use one cup of chopped tomatoes and substitute 1/2 cup of water for tomato juice in the sauce recipe.
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Anonymous
This is so good it will make you want to slap your mama!!!
I used acorn squash and had to bake 1 hour 20 minutes but it was SO worth it! Who knew vegan could be so good?
I topped mine with a dollop of soy sour cream and wish my avocado was ripe to put with it as well.
Anonymous
This was delicious. Do you think it would freeze well?
SusanV
I haven't freezed it before, but I can't think of any reason why it wouldn't do well.
Elessar
I have successfully cooked it, frozen it, micro-slaved it. Not the same as right off the stove but still incredibly yummy. It's a perfect example of a 'do-ahead-of the-ravenous-horde' meal.
Elessar
And I am dreaming up ideas for a buddy who want s to cook a punkin it it's own gourd, for his kids and wife. Thanks to Susan who has always been very helpful in inspiring me when I lost the plot. You cannot go wrong hanging around her genius-run kitchen. Ultimate compliment: If I lived nearby, I'd eat over at her house on a day I am not cooking (if she let me). I have a tuxedo cat, female Zarathustra, now 13 1/2 years old. She truly believes I am her dad human.
Elessar
The nutritional yeast is also known as Brewer's yeast here in England, and thickens the whole meal in a hearty way. Spoze you could sub whole wheat flour & a little Marmite.
Con
Sorry but you’ve got it wrong. They are NOT the same! had to correct you in case you confuse others. In England its still called nutritional yeast flakes. its sold in small tubs on some health food shops. Subbing one for the other will not work.
Elessar
This the season for black and orange. I don't need to dress up and brandish my Knives. My friends know better than to doubt my cooking. And I am talking about hard-core meat-eaters here. Someone has to look after them.
Stefanie
This was really good. It is the first recipe I used nutritional yeast in and I will continue doing so. The recipe is easy to make too. I will increase the spices next time because it was not spicy enough for me.
renee @ FIMBY
I just have to add to the already long list of comments that my family loves this recipe and it has become a regular in our fall menu. Thank you Susan! I usually use more tomatoes and double the whole thing for a good supper and a bit of leftover lunch (there's 5 of us).
This recipe is also very company friendly and everybody likes it.
Anonymous
Susan, we're getting ready to make this again on Friday! Thank you for a fabulous falltime tradition!
6p00d83452b83e69e2
Wow… my girlfriend made this for me yesterday, and it was absolutely tremendous!
Absolutely great! A real stunner.
Thanks for the post!
Best (and still on vacation!), Mark
Claire
Susan,
My recently vegan-convert and gluten free roomie and I teamed up to make this casserole using a Kabocha squash instead of pumpkin. It turned out amazingly!! I also wanted to tell you that I love your blog and admire your ability to turn vegan cooking into a gourmet art. I recently started my own blog and I have been referencing yours with links and recipes a lot! (I hope that's alright..) Anyways thank you again for your awesome recipes and inspiration!
Claire
girlwhoplayswithfood.blogspot.com
Christy
Susan,
I make this one pretty often with butternut squash. It fantastic! Truth be told, my boyfriend and I can polish off a whole pan with no problem. I like to saute the onion a bit before I add it to the mixture because I found that it wasn’t getting completely cooked in the baking process. Other than that I wouldn’t change a thing. Thanks for all of your awesome recipes!
jesselee
Wow this was amazing!You are a vegan food artist. Thank you for this website 🙂
Drooling
OH drool…Im on day 11 of water fast surfing your site for vegan food porn. DYING to make a ton of it. I cant wait. Trying to plan fat free dishes so I dont go to restaurants after my fast. This dish is so ME…and spooky kitty makes the foto : )
LOVE!
eliza
This looks so good and I’ve got some pumpkins! This may be a dumb question, but do you cook the pumpkin with the outside still on it? I’ve never really made anything with a real pumpkin before (obviously)- I always use canned. I have the small pumpkin pie kind, so how would you prepare that for the casserole? Thanks!
SusanV
For this recipe, you peel the pumpkin before you cook it. Other recipes you might cook the pumpkin with the skin still on it and peel it after it’s cooked. The rind (skin) is too tough to eat, so one way or another you wind up peeling it or scraping it off of the skin.
For the small pumpkin, you would cut it in half, top to bottom, scrape out all the seeds and goop, and cut it into strips. Then you can peel each strip easily with a potato peeler.
Tosha
Delish! Thank you for another great recipe. I make at least one thing a week from you site, being new to vegan cooking and all. You have made the transition so easy!
Sherri
Yum……can you use regular milk if not concerned about the vegan factor?
SusanV
I haven’t tested it with dairy milk, but I assume it will work.
SarahC
this looks so yummy! i love one dish meals! i’ve tried cutting one in the past and found it sooooo tough to cut up, that i’ve only stuck with using butternut squash that are already cut up into cubes from the market. any suggestions on how to make it easier to cut them (pumpkins, acorn squashes, butternut squashes, etc) up?
Kerri @ Plant Power Family
Try popping it in the microwave for 3 minutes first. It softens it just enough for me to cut it without chopping my hands as well:)
Mareile
I made this today and am one step further to veganising my family. 😀 Though next time I’d sweat the onions a little first as they were a little sharp.
But how do you stop eating this, please? I made the whole recipe for the 3 of us (virtuously planning to put one portion in the fridge for tomorrow) and it’s all gone! =D
Nikki
I made this last night and it was delicious! Even my meat-eating dad loved it. This was the first time I had ever cooked with pumpkin, and now I know how tasty it is. Pumpkin is also extremely good for you. It’s high in vitamin A, potassium, iron, etc.
Thanks for the great recipe!
Andreia Serra
My husband was so enthusiastic with this recipe that he did it by himself. By the end he said: “This recipe is actually good”.
Thanks for your great cooking ideas!
Healthy Eating
I am adding the ingredients to my shopping list right now. I have never cooked using a whole pumpkin before and am anxious to try. I love all pumpkin dishes and this sounds terrific.
Fiona
I made this last night and it is definitely repeat worthy! The only downside is the prep time for the pumpkin (which was made worse by my dull knives). Prepping the pumpkin took 45 minutes alone and gave me sore wrists. I need new knives, I know. But I love this fall recipe, so it is worth it! I didn’t add salt between the layers and the flavor was still great. I also only did one layer of pumpkin at the bottom and one layer of pumpkin on top with the bean mixture in the middle and it came out fine. My fiance has loved all of the recipes we have tried so far too, except the Kale and Chickpea soup, which was too healthy tasting for him. (I liked it, and I think anyone who’s been a vegan for a while would like it.) It really is quite amazing how creative you are with many of your recipes! Thank you for yet another winner!
spinnerchick@ymail.com
I can’t stop laughing at this warning….
“This dish is actually uglier than it appears in this photo! Consider yourself warned.”
HAR!
Melissa
Oh my goodness, do we love this recipe!
I use butternut squash and it’s fantastic. I love that it’s such a big, hearty serving for such a nice, moderate amount of calories. I get to feel all happy and full of comforty foody goodness while still keeping within my calorie ranges. 🙂 Thank you!
Kristi Link
Wow, was this good! I am eating some of the leftovers now. It really is ugly, but truly delicious. We made this in a dutch oven over hot coals outside on Thanksgiving. Awesome!
Jenna
I’m thinking of making this, but what exactly is Spanish paprika? Is that the same as smoked paprika? Or is it something different? Could I use regular or smoked paprika in it’s place?
SusanV
Jenna, yes, it’s the same as smoked paprika.
Amy
This recipe looks great! Would it be possible to replace the nutritional yeast with flour or something similar without ruining the recipe??
SusanV
If you leave out the nutritional yeast, you’ll need to increase the seasoning and maybe even add something (maybe vegetable bouillon?) to give it more flavor. Adding anothe teaspoon of corn starch will take care of the thickness, but nutritional yeast has such a distinctive flavor that it will be hard to replace it.
Beth
I’m not vegan, but am very anxious to try this recipe. Can I substitute shredded cheese for the nutritional yeast? I’m imagining that it’s the thing that gives the recipe the cheesy texture and flavor.
Get Skinny, Go Vegan.
Love the pumpkin photo.
Elizabeth
Hi There! I just wanted to say thanks so much for this recipe! My family and I enjoyed it for dinner. My husband really enjoyed it and that’s high praise coming from him as he is an accomplished meatatarian 😉
Amy
I made it this morning and it is fantastic! I do have 2 questions though: I used a 4 pound pumpkin and have half left, what other creative things can I do with it? Also, I’m planning on making this for the in-laws next week and will be replacing the pumpkin with zucchini – will the cooking time be the same?
P.S. Love this website and all the amazing recipes!
SusanV
I like cubes of pumpkin in stews and chili and have added cooked, pureed pumpkin to soups and stews to make them thicker and heartier. Zucchini will cook much more quickly and will be more watery so reduce the time and watch a little.
Laina
Hi Susan,
We don’t have pumpkins yet in the supermarket so I’m going to use butternut squash.
Is the 1 pound before peeling or afterwards?
Thanks!!! 🙂
SusanV
Hi Laina! I think the one pound was before the peeling, but a little bit more or less won’t hurt the recipe any. I think butternut squash would be great!
Angie
I am going to try this… sounds so good. Love the photo!
Katie L.
This looks delicious! I have four buttercup winter squash sitting on my sideboard and was trying to think what to do with them. Here’s the answer! Thanks, Susan.
Susan, your photos are just spectacular. Can you write a blog post sometime about your evolution as a photographer? How you learned to take such gorgeous food photos, what equipment you use? I would love to know some of your photo tips, too. Thank you!
Debra
I’ve been lurking in your site for awhile and have only had success with your recipes. I love this one because I live in Germany and getting a “fix” of Mexican food can be tough (tortillias are hard to find). I happen to have a pumpkin (no canned pumpkin in Germany) and a can of black beans, so I’ll be making this tomorrow. Now, I just need a substitute for corn (which is also rare, but sometimes available in cans). Thanks again for all your contributions to my menu.
Christy
Wow… this was REALLY good! It is a definite winner! Incredibly filling and hearty. I had run out of cornstarch, so I used flour instead, and I added the tahini. It was indeed a little ugly, but the second we started eating it, we forgot it. All of the seasonings were just right. Thanks for this delicious recipe!
KBeane
What an awesome way to use pumpkin. I made this tonight and it was so good! Thank you so much for posting such a creative recipe!
Annie J
That’s how we got the pumpkins in our garden, too! (and the butternut squash!)– seeds in the compost! This freezes well and it is MOUTHWATERING!!! When I have time to cut up a pumpkin, I love this one!
Christaface
This was delicious! The tex-mex flavour really made me want some cornbread. Which reminded me of a cornbread-topped casserole my mom makes. So next time, I just just throw some cornbread batter on top before baking, and see how it turns out (or at least make some cornbread muffins to serve with it.) 🙂
Kerno
Hi Susuan this looks amazing and I’m going to cook it tonight for my wife and I. the only issue I have is I can’t buy black beans ANYWHERE. I live in a country town in Australia and they simply don’t exist here. Any ideas on a decent substitute? I have some red kidney beans, do you think they will do?
Susan Voisin
Just use the smallest beans you can find, and it should turn out okay.
Con Conz
Best casserole ever. Wish pumpkin was around more!
bluegrass2
Susan, I’m making this tonight for non-vegan houseguests and I’m very nervous. The nutritional yeast with the milk and tomato juice and spices smells terrible in the blender. Have non-vegans liked this? I almost cut back on the yeast but nobody else said they did.
My lasagne type baking dish is a 3 quart. I have a two quart but it is round and deep–like a souffle dish. Would it be best to bake it in the lower dish and just cook it less time?
waldripp
I have never cooked with fresh pumpkin or with nutritional yeast so didn’t know what to expect but this was SO good! It has a real comfort-food feel to it. I will definitely be making this again! Thanks, I am really enjoying this site!
Crystal
I have cooked more than a dozen of your recipes and have liked each one but this one was by far the most delicious! My meat and cheese loving daughters and husband were scraping their plates when it was gone. I did use acorn squash, doubled the recipe and cooked it in a 9×13 baking dish but aside from that I didn’t change anything else and I’m so happy I didn’t. It did need to cook longer, which I anticipated from the reviews and because I doubled it. It cooked for 1 1/2 hrs and I let it sit another 10 minutes but it was more than worth the wait. Thanks again, Susan, for another great recipe!
Kristi
Yay cat!
nurseratchit
Hi Susan, this looks delicious…do you recommend red or green bell pepper?
Thanks!
Christine
Susan Voisin
Both will work fine, but I bet the red will be prettier. 🙂
nurseratchit
thanks for the quick reply, Susan…that’s what I thought too. It’s in the oven now…I couldn’t find all the spices, but I think it’s still going to be good. Also…shouldn’t total cooking time say 50-60 minutes? Thanks! Christine
Susan Voisin
Good catch on the cooking time! I’ll change it right away. I hope you enjoy the casserole!
nurseratchit
OMG, this was amazing and a hit at our potluck! I think this is one of those recipes you’d have to try pretty hard to screw up. These are some of the alterations I made. Replaced pumpkin with a Sweet Dumpling squash because there were no more pumpkins at the store. I used oat milk instead of soy. I could not find ancho chile powder or chipotle powder so they were omitted. I used Hungarian paprika instead of Spanish paprika, because that was what the store had and I figured it was close enough. And I used 3 cloves garlic instead of 2 ’cause I love garlic. It turned out amazing! The sauce is really good and turns out really creamy…it did not taste overwhelmingly of the nutritional yeast. I like nooch, but I know a lot of people don’t and I wouldn’t let that put you off this recipe unless you absolutely can’t stand it. Oh, and I also only used 1/4 tsp. salt…wondering if I could just leave it out altogether next time?? I also microwaved my squash for 5 minutes after cutting in half, which made them easier to cut and peel. Thanks for another awesome recipe! Will be making it again this week because my poor husband only got a tiny bit of leftovers since he couldn’t go to the potluck.
nurseratchit
and I did not use tahini either
lynn
Thanks for the great info and love your comment about the food actually being uglier than the photo – made me laugh!
Blessings,
Lynn
Lani
This is so super delicious!! I admit, I made a non-vegan version with cream instead of soy milk and no yeast as I am allergic, but it was soooooo good and still super healthy! I have bookmarked and will definitely be making again and again!
crabbylove
Well, it’s not pretty, but it gets the job done 🙂 I always make this with butternut squash instead of pumpkin. I dice it and mix it with the other ingredients instead of layering, then top it all with the sauce and bake. I do use the optional tahini, and I increase the amounts of the spices in the sauce. Sometimes I replace the seasoning on the veggies with one of the wonderful chili seasonings from Penzey’s. My husband actually make some sort of burrito thing with this casserole, whole grain tortillas, and lettuce.Whatever will get him eating more meat-free meals is fine with me! Thank you Susan for all the wonderful recipes
Karmalily
This is so good! I just made it for the first time after having this recipe bookmarked for years, and I’m sad I didn’t make it sooner. It’s super easy and yummy!
KBeane
I made this a couple of years ago, but tried it out again last night and had forgotten how fantastic it is, so I felt it deserved another comment. I highly recommend this recipe (as well as topping with some avocado 🙂 )
Anne
Hi,
I would like to make your recipe today. I have all the ingredients in the house except for chipotle and ancho chilli powder. Can I do something alternatively with what I have:
– jalapenos
– hot chilli powder
– cayenne pepper
– (sweet authentic) chilli sauce
– hot bean sauce
– chilli bean sauce
– red chilli flakes
Thank you,
Anne
Susan Voisin
You could probably replace them both with the hot chili powder, but it may turn out spicier than I intended.
Liane Blanco
I made this some time ago and it was incredibly delicious! This time I’m going to experiment a little. I’ll leave out the pumpkin, and roll the black bean mixture into corn tortillas before pouring the sauce over and baking it. Black bean enchiladas! If they turn out well I”ll make them for a gathering I’m going to this month.
Thank you for the inspiration!
Fern
I used kabocha, and didn’t have any corn so threw in some .. canned cactus (I know, who doesn’t have a can of corn but DOES have a can of cactus?). I was a little dubious about doing so but the results were tremendous. Seriously, such a simple (and odd) combination. My husband was floored 🙂
Rebecca
I made this dish a few weeks ago, and I loved it! I especially loved the cheesy sauce, and I don’t even care for nutritional yeast that much. Thanks for this recipe! 🙂
Erinn
Thanks for the great recipe idea! I modified your recipe using butternut squash and some jalepeno’s. You were the inspiration and thank you for introducing me to nutritional yeast! My version of the recipe here:
http://www.pinkspantry.com/2014/02/black-bean-butternut-squash-bake.html
And yes, it really doesn’t photograph well (but tastes delicious!)
crabbylove
We really like this recipe. Thanks for posting all of your wonderful food. Some changes I’ve made: I’ve always used butternut squash instead of pumpkin, because I can’t ever find pumpkin. Instead of layering, I cube the squash and mix it with the other ingredients, then pour the sauce over all, and bake. I use arrowroot, so I cut that down to 1 tablespoon.
Liane Blanco
Susan, I finally made this as an enchilada casserole and it’s HEAVENLY! I used small corn tortillas and made 3 layers instead of 2. When I took it out of the oven I scattered green onions over the top.
I’m eating a bit now to test and will have it for dinner tonight with a salad. What’s more, it’s going to taste even better after a night in the fridge. I’ll have it for lunch tomorrow too.
My next experiment will be to layer with polenta, using two layers this time and polenta on the top.
Thanks so much for your awesome recipes! Everyone thinks I’m a fabulous cook thanks to you. 🙂
Lydia
Simply incredible. Made this tonight for my husband and myself and used buttercup squash as it was what we had on hand. He LOVED it, and of course I did as well. This may become a repeat in our home!
Margo Smith
Loved the pumpkin and black bean casserole recipe! I used an orange kuri (kabocha) squash and substituted a can of Trader Joe’s Cuban black beans. Since they already have spices added, I adjusted down on the chiles. My husband was really hungry and I knew he wanted something “substantial”, so I also layered in a can of Eden Organics Caribbean Rice and Beans. I
t made a very delicious and satisfying dinner that even if my husband, a hesitant vegan at best, really enjoyed. Thanks for all you do and best of health to you!
Susan
Another fantastic recipe Susan! I had a small pumpkin from my community garden that I used. I will definitely make this again.
Sarah Mc
Wow. This is such a winner. Had never cooked with a fresh pumpkin (as opposed to canned pumpkin), so searched for recipes after I bought one to cook. My mouth is watering just thinking about how good this was. Thanks.
Werner
Perfect fall casserole. Must admit, however, I threw in the towel on peeling and slicing my acorn squash. Just cubed it the best I could and threw it in. Next time will consider a pumpkin (fewer ridges-more flesh) or use pre-cubed squash! Doubled the recipe = one can black and one can pinto beans, and used fire-roasted tomatoes with green chiles. Toppped with chopped pumpkin seeds. It was so delicious and satisfying! Love that you offer up these suggestions via your facebook, good reminder for seasonal dishes.
P.S. Mine was def not ugly, actually very colorful 🙂
Maia
I’ve made this dish several times and I really love it. I am planning to make it again, but I just realized that the cookware I have at the moment is only oven-safe up to 350 degrees F. I’m wondering if the casserole would still work if I oven-roasted the squash separately, sauteed the filling ingredients, boiled the sauce and then just assembled everything in my 350 degree pot until heated through. I am not concerned with eating fat free, so I don’t mind adding oils to this. I am just wondering whether this would work properly. Thank you!
Susan Voisin
My only concern is that once the squash is cooked, it may be too fragile to handle and break apart awn you try to layer it. I think I would just cook it on 350 and count on it taking longer than the recipe indicates.
Maia
That makes sense. Thanks!
Tracey
I’m dying to make this! How many actual grams of pumpkin flesh do you need?