Ghapama (Armenian Stuffed Pumpkin)

About This Recipe

Ghapama is one of Armenia's most theatrical dishes: a whole pumpkin is hollowed out, packed with a sweet-savory rice pilaf studded with dried apricots, raisins, prunes, and walnuts, then roasted until the flesh is tender enough to spoon straight from the shell. It's traditionally brought to the table whole, the lid lifted with a flourish to reveal the fragrant filling steaming inside — a dish as much about presentation as flavor. Ghapama sits at the crossroads of savory and dessert, sweetened with honey and dried fruit yet balanced by rice and a touch of butter, making it a fixture of Armenian New Year and harvest celebrations. Each spoonful mixes soft roasted pumpkin with plump fruit and crunchy walnuts, a combination that feels both rustic and celebratory.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 1small pumpkin or kabocha squash (about 3 kg), top cut off and seeds scooped out
• 300 glong-grain rice, rinsed
• 500 mlwater or vegetable broth
• 100 gdried apricots, chopped
• 80 graisins
• 80 gpitted prunes, chopped
• 100 gwalnuts, roughly chopped
• 4 tbspunsalted butter
• 4 tbsphoney, plus extra for drizzling
• 1 tspground cinnamon
• 1/2 tspsalt

Instructions

1. 1

   Prep the pumpkin

   Preheat oven to 180°C. Cut a wide circle around the pumpkin's stem to make a lid, and scoop out all seeds and stringy fibers from inside.

2. 2

   Cook the rice

   Melt half the butter in a saucepan, add rice, and toast 2 minutes. Add water or broth and salt, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer 12 minutes until the rice is just tender. Fluff and set aside.

3. 3

   Build the filling

   In a bowl, combine the cooked rice, dried apricots, raisins, prunes, walnuts, honey, cinnamon, and remaining melted butter. Mix well.

4. 4

   Stuff the pumpkin

   Spoon the filling into the hollowed pumpkin, packing it in gently but not too tightly, leaving a little headroom. Drizzle a bit more honey over the top.

5. 5

   Roast

   Replace the pumpkin lid. Set the pumpkin on a lined baking tray and roast 75–90 minutes, until the flesh is fork-tender but the pumpkin still holds its shape.

6. 6

   Rest and serve

   Let the pumpkin rest 10 minutes. Bring it to the table whole, remove the lid, and scoop out both filling and roasted pumpkin flesh together into each bowl.

Variations

• •

  Add cooked ground lamb or beef to the filling for a heartier, more savory version served as a main course.

• •

  Swap walnuts for slivered almonds and add a pinch of ground cardamom for a different aromatic profile.

• •

  Individual small pumpkins or acorn squashes can be used for single-serving portions with shorter roasting times.

Storage

Scoop out leftover filling and flesh into an airtight container and refrigerate up to 3 days. Reheat gently in a covered dish in a 160°C oven until warmed through.

Frequently Asked Questions