This Roasted Pumpkin side dish is so easy to make, delicious to eat and perfect for the holidays! Sweet pumpkin is just perfect for your Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey.
The pumpkin is roasted in a hot oven so it gets a wonderful crust and soft tender inside. The dried cranberries are soaked in hot water, so they become plump and juicy.
The roasted pumpkin and cranberries are combined with pecans, herbs and maple syrup to make a beautiful side dish with very little effort.
I love roasted pumpkin, it is so sweet, packed with goodness and so easy to make!
Do you need to remove the skin from your pumpkin?
This depends on your pumpkin. Some pumpkins have soft skins that when roasted will soften and become delicious. A thick-skinned pumpkin just becomes chewy and hard to eat.
For this recipe where the soft texture of the pumpkin is key, I would peel your pumpkin.
How to reconstitute cranberries
Dried cranberries are delicious sweet nuggets, but they can be chewy. perfect for a salad, but here you want them to be juicy and plump.
Soaking the cranberries in hot water means they absorb water and become plump and burst in the mouth as you eat them! DELISH!
Want to save this recipe?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Other Holiday Side Dishes:
- Savory Baked Pears (Side Dish)
- The Best Savory Mashed Sweet Potato Recipe
- Braised Celery - A Simple Side Dish
- Sweet Onion Casserole with Crispy Topping
- Bourbon Glazed Carrots and Pumpkin with Brown Sugar
- Creamed Corn Casserole with Bacon
- See ALL Holiday Side dishes
Get the Recipe
Roasted Pumpkin with Cranberry and Pecans
Ingredients
- 4 lb pumpkin - unpeeled weight
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1 cup boiling water
- 3 tablespoon maple syrup
- ½ cup pecan nuts
- fresh or dried parsley - optional garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF/200ºC.
- Peel, deseed and chop the pumpkin.4 lb pumpkin
- Lay the pumpkin out on a baking sheet then drizzle with olive oil then sprinkle with the chopped rosemary, salt and pepper.2 tablespoon olive oil1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary1 teaspoon salt½ teaspoon pepper
- Toss gently to coat.
- Roast the pumpkin for 40 minutes.
- Whilst the pumpkin is roasting, pour the boiling water over the cranberries and let them soak for 10 minutes. Drain.1 cup dried cranberries1 cup boiling water
- Remove the pumpkin from oven and drizzle over the maple syrup.3 tablespoon maple syrup
- Scatter over the drained cranberries and roughly chopped pecans.½ cup pecan nuts
- Garnish with parsley and serve.fresh or dried parsley
Nutrition
Nutrition is per serving
Ronnie says
This is a fabulous recipe! I think next, I will toss some feta or goat cheese crumbles over the dish as well.
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
Oh goats cheese or feta would be delicious! I hope you do try it again 🙂
Cx
Justen says
Don't make my mistake and cook the pumpkin in a pan! I slowly watched my hard-labored pumpkin chunks turn into a mush.
Kelly says
I'm planning to make this for our thanksgiving this week (doubled) and am wondering if it reheats well/ how far in advance I can get away with making it. Thanks!
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
Hi Kelly,
It reheats quite well, but you do lose the subtle crispy edges on the pumpkin.
You could definitely make it the night before and reheat in the oven once the turkey is resting.
Hope that helps
Cx
Deb B says
Is this a good make ahead and reheat dish?
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
I have never tried it, I wonder if the pumpkin might overcook?
Cx
Marnie says
Really love this recipe. Made it for the first time for thanksgiving and now it is on my menu for two Christmas dinners. Thanks!
Marina says
Can I use fresh cranberries? What steps should I adapt to make it work? Thanks!
Claire McEwen says
I think they would be too sour for the dish. But you could try roasting them with sugar and adding them at the end of the recipe as a garnish.
Sorry I can't be more help
Cx
Shawna says
This looks so wonderful but I was wondering if you could substitute butternut squash for the pumpkin? If so, how much? Thanks!
Claire McEwen says
You can definitely substitute in butternut squash, and it will just be the same amount of of pumpkin.
Hope that helps 🙂
Cx
Lynn says
ooh butternut squash sounds lovely and a bit easier to handle than a pumpkin... I'm so tired of bringing green bean casserole for holiday dinners.... this looks colorful and festive ...... I think I'll try sugar free maple syrup for those watching their sugar.