44 Sweet and Savory Pumpkin Recipes That'll Warm Your Soul (2024)

FAQs

What is the most popular dessert made from pumpkins? ›

I'd be remiss not to mention the star of all pumpkin desserts: pumpkin pie. It's an icon when it comes to Thanksgiving pies, but I don't reserve it for just one day of the year. My recipe is simple to make and packed with pumpkin flavor. I use a touch of black pepper to accentuate the pumpkin spices…

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.

Vibrantly coloured and bursting with natural sweetness, pumpkins are one of autumn's most versatile vegetables. The soft flesh is perfect for roasting and mashing and tastes great sweet or savoury.

Instead of using premixed pumpkin pie spice (which has probably been sitting around for months on a grocery store shelf), make your own by combining cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice.

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.

For cooking, you'll want to use sugar pumpkins (also called pie or sweet pumpkins), which are small and round. Long Island Cheese pumpkins, which are more oblong and can look like a wheel of cheese, are also good to eat. Field pumpkin types are larger, have watery, stringy flesh, and are best for decorating.

BUTTERNUT PUMPKIN

One of the best known pumpkin varieties for its shape, quick growing time and versatility. It marries well with strong flavours like blue cheese or spices like cumin and grows well all across most of Australia. Butternut pumpkin is also great for sweet dishes, like pumpkin fruitcake and pumpkin pie.

Squirrels love their pumpkin!

These creatures are attracted to pumpkins primarily due to the soft, edible interiors and the seeds, which are a rich source of essential fats that aid their survival through the winter.

What does milk do for pumpkins? ›

Milk has calcium in it, pumpkins like calcium as it allows them to uptake various nutrients. Maybe that's where the connection is for people.

Covering the inside of your pumpkin with cinnamon can help inhibit mold growth. The ingredients that make the spice flammable, cinnamaldehyde and eugenol, also have antifungal and antibacterial properties that prevent mold and bacteria growth. Cinnamon is also a great pest repellent, as bugs can't stand the scent.

Yes, dogs can eat pumpkin and it is actually often added to dog foods. Check the label of some dog treats and you may find pumpkin on the ingredient list there too. However, if you are feeding fresh pumpkin, you will need to be careful about which part you're feeding as the stem and leaves are covered in prickly hairs.

Classic Pumpkin Pie

It's no surprise that pumpkin pie is at the top of everyone's list, so we're leading with it too. This version is exactly what you expect when you think of classic pumpkin pie — a velvety smooth custard that's sweetened and lightly spiced, baked into a buttery, crisp pie crust.

Kabocha. A popular Japanese variety, the Kabocha has a rough but edible peel, and a round plump shape. It can be dark green or bright orange-red, and has firm, orange flesh. One of the sweetest varieties of pumpkin, its flavour has been compared to sweet potato, while its firm flesh holds together well in the oven.