Pumpkins aren’t just for carving and decoration, they are also a source of healthy nutritious food. Why not find ways to eat the pumpkin too! We’ve got 17 super ideas to try that will help you use up those pumpkins.
Many people will take a pumpkin or two home around Halloween to carve, maybe stick a candle in it for a day or two on the porch, but not many people actually cook a pumpkin and use it for food. That’s a huge shame.
A 2014 study showed that of the nearly 2 billion pounds of pumpkin grown in the U.S., an estimated 1.3 billion pounds were thrown away instead of eaten or composted, according to the US Department of Energy. In 2021, the number of wasted pumpkins has got to be even bigger!
We want to help stop the waste of pumpkins by giving you some ideas to use it rather than toss it. Below you will find 17 of our best and favorite pumpkin recipes that you can make with pumpkin.
Obviously if you’re using them for carving and have them sitting on your porch until they rot, you can’t use them for food anymore, but there are other ways to keep from throwing them out. We’ve also linked to a few other articles with ideas for how to compost them, as well as how to use the pumpkin guts, rather than throwing them away.
Pumpkin soup without cream is just as creamy, delicious, and rich as it is with cream. You might not believe it until you try it, but you don't need to add cream to pumpkin soup for it to be smooth and silky.
This Beetroot & Pumpkin Salad, packed with tender pieces of roasted pumpkin and beetroot, blue cheese, pine nuts, and dressed with a simple vinaigrette, makes a fantastic fall side dish or lunch salad.
Mini pumpkin pies have just five simple ingredients plus those aromatic spices we all love at the holidays. And they're just so darn cute! These pies are a great way to serve individual desserts.
These Instant Pot pumpkin pie bites are a great way to make a fun dessert quickly and easily in the Instant Pot. You don’t need the oven with this fantastic recipe.
Want to make fresh pumpkin puree with all those beautiful fall pumpkins? Use these easy instructions to cook a whole pumpkin in the Instant Pot in under 25 minutes.
Wondering what to do with all those pumpkin seeds you’ve harvested from inside your baking pumpkins this season? We used to bake them, but the air fryer is much faster and the seeds get super crunchy and evenly cooked.
These keto pumpkin cookies have delicious pumpkin spice flavor without the carbs. The recipe uses almond and coconut flour with a sugar substitute to make low carb and keto friendly cookies.
Laura is a home cook, with 25 years experience behind the stove, who spends an extraordinary amount of time in the kitchen cooking. She loves making new recipes and finding wonderful new things to eat, both at home or abroad. She spends a lot of time researching, crafting, and perfecting her recipes.