Cozy with Kuleana: Stuffed Pumpkin Recipe

There’s a shift in the air. The mornings feel a little cooler, the light sits differently, and something in us starts craving food that feels like a hug. In Hawaiʻi, fall doesn’t look like falling leaves — but it absolutely feels like pumpkin season.

This week we’re leaning all the way into it with a recipe that is cozy, local, hearty, and genuinely stunning on the table: a Stuffed Pumpkin filled with savory sausage, local mushrooms, goat cheese, macadamia nuts, and cranberries — all brought together with a nutty pour of Kuleana Hawaiʻi Grown Macadamia Nut Oil.

This is the kind of meal that makes people gather around and ask what smells so good. And the best part? It’s simpler than it looks.

Choose Your Pumpkin

This recipe celebrates the heirloom varieties that make fall cooking so special:

Marina di Chioggia — a deeply ridged, sea-green Italian heirloom with dense, sweet flesh that holds up beautifully when roasted and stuffed.

Sugar Pie Pumpkin — the classic small, round, sweet pumpkin that roasts into tenderness perfectly and makes a beautiful individual serving vessel.

Cinderella Squash — a flat, ribbed, deeply orange French heirloom with rich, sweet flavor that leans slightly more savory than a sugar pumpkin.

Any of these varieties will work beautifully — choose what’s available and seasonal near you, or pick up a few different varieties for a stunning table presentation.

Suggested Local Ingredients

Make your recipe hyper-local by sourcing from these Hawaiʻi producers. Looking for an easy way to source local on Oahu? Visit Farm Link Hawaiʻi, Oʻahu’s go-to for local groceries.

Mountain View Farms Pork Ground Italian Sausage brings rich, savory depth to the filling. Supporting Hawaiʻi’s local meat producers is one of the most impactful ways to invest in our islands’ food sovereignty.

Locally grown Shiitake or Blue Oyster Mushrooms — earthy, meaty, and grown right here — add a depth and umami that makes this filling feel genuinely substantial. Oko'a Farms and Lapa'au Farms on Maui are excellent sources.

Goat Cheese — creamy, tangy, and melted throughout — ties the whole filling together in the most satisfying way. Check out Sweet Land Farms and Surfing Goat Dairy.

Sattvic Kitchen Macadamia Nuts add crunch and richness.

And running through all of it: Kuleana Hawaiʻi Grown Macadamia Nut Oil — rubbed into the inside of the pumpkin before roasting, and stirred through the filling for richness, flavor, and that signature nutty depth that elevates everything it touches.

Why Macadamia Nut Oil for This Recipe?

When you rub the inside of a pumpkin with Kuleana Macadamia Nut Oil before roasting, something special happens. The oil’s natural richness seeps into the flesh as it roasts, adding a subtle, toasty nuttiness that deepens the pumpkin’s natural sweetness. Stirred into the filling, it coats every grain of rice, every bite of sausage, every crumble of mushroom with that same warmth.

Expeller-pressed and chemical-free, Kuleana Macadamia Nut Oil is the kind of ingredient that makes a good recipe genuinely great.

Stuffed Pumpkin with Kuleana Macadamia Nut Oil

Serves 6 | Prep: 15 minutes | Cook: 1 hour
by Farm Link Hawaiʻi

Ingredients

1 pumpkin, about 5 lbs — top cut off and seeds removed (Marina di Chioggia, Sugar Pie, or Cinderella Squash)
2 cups cooked rice or quinoa
¾ lb Pork Ground Italian Sausage
½ Shiitake or Blue Oyster Mushrooms, diced
½ of a yellow onion, diced
1 cup shredded goat cheese
½ cup macadamia nuts, chopped
½ cup dried cranberries
2 tablespoons Kuleana Hawaiʻi Grown Macadamia Nut Oil (plus a splash for the filling)
1 tablespoon fresh garlic chives, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Step 1 — Roast the pumpkin
Preheat oven to 375°F. Rub the inside of the pumpkin generously with Kuleana Macadamia Nut Oil, salt, and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 45–50 minutes until the flesh is tender when pierced with a knife.

Step 2 — Cook the filling
While the pumpkin roasts, cook the ground sausage in a skillet over medium heat until browned. Add the diced onion and mushrooms and sauté until softened and fragrant. Season with salt and pepper.

Step 3 — Build the stuffing
In the same pot, add the cooked rice or quinoa, goat cheese, macadamia nuts, dried cranberries, garlic chives, and a splash of Kuleana Macadamia Nut Oil. Stir everything together until combined and season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Step 4 — Stuff the pumpkin
Remove the pumpkin from the oven and carefully fill it with the savory grain mixture, pressing gently to pack it in.

Step 5 — Finish and serve
Return the stuffed pumpkin to the oven for an additional 10–15 minutes, until everything is heated through and the cheese is melted and golden. Serve warm — bring the whole pumpkin to the table and let people dig in together.