These Pumpkin Recipes Will Have You Rethinking Fall Dining (2024)

FAQs

What is the best pumpkin to cook with? ›

1. Choose The Right Kind. For cooking, you'll want to use sugar pumpkins (also called pie or sweet pumpkins), which are small and round.

To complement pumpkin with sweet flavor pairings, consider using spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice and vanilla, or sweet ingredients like chocolate, maple, honey, cranberries or brown sugar. Create savory dishes by pairing pumpkin with spices like chilies, cajun, cayenne or pepper.

Did you know pumpkins aren't just for carving? The insides can be used to make lots of different tasty meals. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin soup, and even pumpkin curry can be made with the flesh from leftover Halloween pumpkins.

Pulp. The pulp is part of the pumpkin fruit that we eat, and is often called the 'meat' of the pumpkin.

Canned pumpkin and pumpkin puree are the same thing, and you'll often see the terms used interchangeably in recipes and cookbooks. Unlike pumpkin pie mix, canned pumpkin does not have any spices, sugars, or other additives. In many cases, the only ingredient is pumpkin.

For even more flavor, you can add spices (like the celebrated pumpkin pie spice!) to the purée during the cooking step. Heating spices “blooms” them, releasing their flavorful, fragrant oils.

Due to its high soluble fiber content, pumpkin is very good for your dog's digestion. If you feed your dog some pumpkin, it will add bulk to their stool. This helps reduce issues with diarrhea. In addition, fermentation of the same fiber produces beneficial fatty acids that supply energy to cells.

Blue cheeses like gorgonzola team up well with the notes of dried fruit typical of pumpkin. Another excellent pairing is with a nice fresh goat's cheese since its acidulous notes offset the sweetness of pumpkin.

Pumpkin spice (a.k.a. pumpkin pie spice) is an aromatic blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Sometimes allspice is included. You can buy the spice blend at the store or use ingredients you already have on hand to make DIY pumpkin spice.

Pumpkin is notorious for pairing well with warm winter spices – as found in a variety of Moroccan-inspired cuisines. Try incorporating cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cumin and chilli with your pumpkin dishes for flavour-packed feasts.

What to do with the guts after carving the pumpkin? ›

Generally, carved pumpkins last between 3 to 5 days, but weather and sunlight can play a huge role in your lantern's life. If you live in a colder climate, your pumpkin could last up to a week, but if it's exposed to heat, it may only last a few days.

If it's a carved pumpkin you're treating, you can use petroleum jelly or vegetable oil to rub into all the exposed parts (do this after a bleach soak for twice the benefits). Petroleum jelly, according to these carving experts, helps it to not dry out and shrivel up.

Ginger: Ginger often plays a supporting role in pumpkin spice mixes, but it deserves it's own time in the spotlight. Mix your pumpkin with freshly-grated ginger for a spicy, sweet treat. Chili Powder: A good chili spice blend brings out the warm, savory notes in pumpkin. It's pumpkin like you've never seen it before.

I top it with proteins (chicken and goat cheese) which are good after my gym workout. Pumpkin is a super healthy vegetable, like many orange or red vegetables it contains a lot of vitamin A. Next to vitamin A it also has a large doses of vitamin C, B (1, 2, 3, 5, 6 & 11) and E.

Espresso, cold brew, or strong coffee – I use 2 shots of espresso or a half cup of either type of coffee. Milk – Any type you like! I typically use almond milk because it's what I keep on hand, but oat milk and regular milk are also great. Maple syrup – It sweetens the latte and adds delicious maple flavor.

What to pair with pumpkin pie? Well, coffee, duh! Coffee and pumpkin pie, and a tiny slice of apple, and an even teeny-tinier slice of French silk. That's what goes with pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving.