Recipes

Pumpkin Recipes to Pin and Prepare to Please Your Palate

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Tony Maples Photography

 

For many, fall means pumpkins, but what do you do with all those orange gourds? Even if you love pumpkin spice, that doesn’t have to be the only thing you add to pumpkin. You can prepare pumpkin recipes that include both sweet and savory dishes, so why not try some of both this season? By incorporating pumpkin into your recipes, you open the door to hundreds of tasty dishes to try.

Which Pumpkin Variety to Use in Recipes

Pumpkins

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

As far as picking the perfect pumpkin for recipes goes, the answer is in a can. Yes, canned pumpkin puree works best in most recipes. Since you don’t have to bake, puree, and drain the squash when you use canned pumpkin, you can save over an hour of prep time. Just be sure to grab pure pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie mix, which has sugar and spices added to it.

1. Pumpkin Alfredo

Pumpkin Recipes Pumpkin Alfredo

Photo: Pinterest/Kristin B | Yellow Bliss Road

When you tire of the same basic fettuccini alfredo, upgrade it with the addition of creamy pumpkin. Yellow Bliss Road mixes pumpkin into an alfredo sauce, for a richer flavor. Plus, the pumpkin boosts the nutrients in the dish, since pumpkin has high levels of vitamin A and fiber. And don’t leave out the nutmeg. It adds just the perfect flavor foil to the savory parmesan and cream.

2. Grandma’s Pumpkin Bars

Pumpkin Recipes Pumpkin Bars

Photo: Pinterest/recipe-diaries.com

Even if your grandma never baked pumpkin bars, you’ll still be able to appreciate the old-fashioned goodness of this dessert from Recipe Diaries. Though they’re called bars, these have a cake-like consistency and get a generous topping of vanilla buttercream icing. You may find yourself making these for fall birthday cakes if you have pumpkin lovers in your home.

3. Healthy Pumpkin Chili

Pumpkin Recipes Healthy Pumpkin Chili

Photo: Pinterest/Shannon | The Glowing Fridge

If you are a chili purist, stop reading now. Though this recipe from The Glowing Fridge deviates from traditional Texas chili, it still tastes wonderful on a chilly fall evening. Not only does this chili taste good it’s also good for you. Made with plenty of healthy vegetables, it fits into a vegan diet. Whether you eschew meat or not, you should try this hearty, healthy fall dish.

4. Pumpkin and Cheddar Mac and Cheese

Pumpkin Recipes Cheddar Pumpkin Mac and Cheese

Photo: Pinterest/Kelly | Trial and Eater

Though many crave the neon-orange cheese from a box of macaroni and cheese, it does not come from the most natural sources. Why not make macaroni and cheese with real cheddar? Trial and Eater created a recipe that uses pumpkin puree to boost the color and flavor of the dish while still using real cheese. You may never go back to the box after this. Add this to your pumpkin recipes for something to please everyone in the whole family.

5. Pumpkin Risotto with Goat Cheese

Pumpkin Risotto with Goat Cheese

Photo: Pinterest/Platings and Pairings

Risotto has a rich, creamy flavor, and the Platings and Pairings website takes this comfort food and adapts it to the fall. Goat cheese and dried cranberries add the perfect tanginess to offset the richness of the dish. Though it requires some patience, risotto is worth the effort.

6. Pumpkin and Chorizo Tamales

Pumpkin and Chorizo Tamales

Photo: Pinterest/Let’s Taco Bout It Blog

Tamales included in a collection of pumpkin recipes? Of course! Many traditional Mexican dishes use pumpkin or other types of squash. After all, squash comes from the New World. Let’s Taco Bout It uses roasted and diced pumpkin instead of pumpkin puree. Despite the extra work it takes, you should still prepare these savory tamales at least once.

7. Pumpkin Sage Hummus

Savory Pumpkin Sage Hummus

Photo: Pinterest/Two Healthy Kitchens

Not all pumpkin recipes come together in five minutes, but this recipe for pumpkin sage hummus from Two Healthy Kitchens does. Serve it as a fast appetizer or even as a part of a light lunch. You are just a couple of cans and five minutes away from a flavorful hummus that waits for pita to get dipped into it.

8. Pumpkin Tortilla Casserole

Pumpkin Recipes

Photo: Pinterest/Gina | Running to the Kitchen

Though you may want to make pumpkin recipes that require a lot of time, such as enchiladas, some days you don’t have that luxury. Running to the Kitchen has a solution with this pumpkin tortilla casserole. It has the flavors of pumpkin enchiladas with the ease of a casserole. It only takes 35 minutes in total to prepare this dish, and you can easily make it gluten-free. When you crave Mexican-inspired pumpkin recipes but lack the time to make tamales or enchiladas, prepare this dish.