10 Recipes for Pumpkins

10 Recipes for Pumpkins

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Last Sunday, the Tempe Pathfinders Club went on a fun all-day field trip to Pioneer Living History Museum to work on some of the requirements for the Pioneering Honor. It just so happened our trip coincided with the first weekend of the museum’s fall festival. The kids had a lot of fun and, hopefully, also learned a lot about what life was like about a hundred to hundred and fifty years ago. At the end of the day, each family group was able to select a free pumpkin of their choice from the museum’s pumpkin patch. As to be expected, most of the kids hunted for the biggest possible pumpkin to take home.

That got me wondering about their poor parents. What can a family do with a gigantic pumpkin, especially if they are not of the pumpkin carving persuasion?

I admit that growing up, despite my love for most squashes, I never cared for pumpkin, but that is because my only experience with it was in pumpkin pie and I do not like any pie. Pumpkin seeds, on the other hand, I have always enjoyed. Then last Fall, I fell in love with a lasagna recipe that uses pumpkin and my world suddenly expanded (or exploded, take your pick!)

So I have dug around the Internet and brought together ten recipes that use fresh pumpkin or pumpkin puree. To make pumpkin puree from your fresh pumpkin, check out these awesome instructions.

As I am linking to recipes by others, not all of these recipes are gluten-free nor vegan nor allergy-safe, but I tried to select recipes where ingredient substitution should be possible without too much additional work.

1. Crockpot White Bean and Pumpkin Lasagna

Recipe by Kathy at Healthy Slow Cooking

pumpkin-white-bean-lasagna This is the pumpkin recipe that started it all and is my absolutely favorite dish for company in the autumn months. It is unbelievably simple to make: you prepare the tofu ricotta the night before so the tofu has time to soak up the flavor, and then an hour or two before you want to eat, you simply layer the lasagna in a crock pot. It does all the work for you and you get the most delicious, flavorful lasagna ever! I usually put the crock pot on low Sabbath morning, go to church, and it is ready for lunch and guests! This is definitely a fan-favorite. I substitute regular lasagna noodles for gluten-free lasagna noodles and none of my guests have ever noticed. I tend to serve with my very own “Veggie Delight” recipe (roasted vegetables).

2. Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Recipe by Elise at Simply Recipes

roasted-pumpkin-seeds-vertical-2-dm If you do have a fresh pumpkin, don’t throw away the seeds! Pumpkin seeds are yummy and it is surprisingly simple to roast them yourself! This recipe by Elise takes you step-by-step on how to scoop the seeds from the pumpkin, then clean them, boil them in salt water, drain, and then roast in the oven.

3. Roasted Pumpkin with Shallots

Recipe by Country Living

pumpkin_roasted This roasted side dish is naturally vegan and gluten-free. If you love roasted vegetables, this simple dish might the one for you! It pairs pumpkin with shallots and garlic and uses fresh oregano and a mix of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

4. Pumpkin Salsa

Recipe by Stacey at Little Figgy

Pumpkin-Salsa-5 Oh my! This recipe looks muy delicioso! I love salsa, but it never crossed my mind to add a bit of pumpkin to it! As far as homemade salsa recipes go, this one looks very simple. I cannot wait to give it a try. If you are using a fresh pumpkin, be sure to puree the pumpkin first. Best of all: this recipe is naturally vegan and gluten-free!

5. Pumpkin Apple Harvest Rice

Recipe by Kathy at Healthy Happy Life

pumpkin-harvest-rice- This recipe is similar to my recent Pumpkin Coconut Pasta only using rice and a few other ingredients. Doesn’t it look heavenly? I really like the idea of mixing pumpkin with apple. If you already have the brown rice cooked up, this dish is very simple to prepare in a skillet on the stove.

6. Pumpkin Cannelloni with Sage Brown-Butter Sauce

Recipe by Country Living

pumpkin-cannelloni-sage-brown-butter-sauce-recipe-1009-xl I think this recipe might be the next one of my list to make. To make vegan and gluten-free, substitute the lasagna noodles for a gluten-free lasagna noodle, make a basic tofu ricotta (like this one from Whole Foods Market), and use a vegan butter. Ooo… I really want to make this recipe. My mouth in watering and stomach growling just looking at the picture and imagining the delicious-ness. Unfortunately, it will have to wait until my husband and I return from our camping trip!

7. Crispy Tofu Sandwich with Sweet Potato-Pumpkin Spread

Recipe by Kathy at Healthy Happy Life

pumpkin-sweet-potato-tofu-sub-sandwich 14 Oh, how I wish I had this amazing sandwich in my lunchbox for today! It has been quite a long time since I last did a crispy tofu sandwich, but I never ever thought about making a pumpkin/sweet potato/garlic hummus spread. What an interesting idea that is making me super hungry right now. To make gluten-free, you just have to use your favorite gluten-free bread.

8. Pumpkin and Cauliflower Casserole

Recipe by Country Living

pumpkin-casserole-lgn You can make this recipe gluten-free by substituting in gluten-free all purpose flour and gluten-free bread crumbs. It might be a little trickier to make vegan, but it is still worth a try. Replace the regular butter with a vegan butter and instead of half and half, try full fat coconut milk (I use Thai Kitchen brand).

9. Pumpkin Bread Rolls with Cinnamon Butter

Recipe by Tessa at Handle the Heat.

Pumpkin-Bread-Rolls-07 This recipe looks so cute and yummy! I really want to try making it gluten-free and vegan. I think it will be possible by substituting:

  • All Purpose Flour – for a Gluten-free All Purpose Flour available at local stores
  • Unsalted butter – make your own or try Earth Balance Buttery Sticks
  • Milk – a non-dairy milk (almond milk for me)
  • Eggs – Flax seed or applesauce

Buuuuuut turning regular “bread” recipes into gluten-free bread recipes can be tricky so I am mostly including this on the list because of how cute and yummy these little bread rolls look.

10. Pumpkin and Carrot Soup

Recipe by Mike at The Iron You

Pumpkin-Soup As the weather turns cooler, soups become a weekly stable in our house. This amazing soup not only looks delicious, but it is naturally vegan and gluten-free as long as you leave off the unclean pork topping (pancetta/bacon). If you want that smokey flavor without the unclean meat (see Leviticus 11), you could try sprinkling smoked paprika on top or Chipotle chili peppers for a little kick.


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