The Best Ways to Use Pumpkin This Autumn

Pumpkin season is upon us, and we're 'fall'-ing head over heels for it!  From the classics that warm your heart to the bold and unexpected, we're about to take your pumpkin game to a whole new level of awesome! Ready, set, let's gourd!

The leaves are changing, the days are growing shorter, our outfits are less pastels and flowy, more dark and cozy, as the season calls for it. When we think of autumn, we think of ooky spooky and the amber glow of a jack-o-lantern, or more notably, pumpkins! Pumpkins are truly the fruit of the season, you can probably start finding them appearing on porches and driveways to ring in the autumn chill! Baking and hot beverages are on the rise to keep us warmer as the temperatures go down, and what better way to immerse yourself in the autumn season than with pumpkin? From pumpkin spice lattes to pumpkin pies, here are a few neat ways to use pumpkin in your dishes or have more pumpkin based meals throughout the autumn, spooky season! 

Pumpkin Desserts 

Who can go wrong with a pumpkin pie? It’s sweet, and is the perfect dessert for fall, and not only that, but you can make it as easily (and as healthy) as 1, 2, 3! Put together some pie crust, pumpkin puree, condensed milk, eggs (or an egg replacement if you don’t use eggs in baking), and organic pumpkin pie spice, bake it all together for 15-20 minutes (depending on the recipe you’re following) and you’ve got yourself an easy and delicious dessert! You can also get more into the autumn spirit by accompanying this sweet dessert with a dollop of pumpkin ice cream, which is also another great dessert that incorporates pumpkins in your meal! If you want to try your hand at making pumpkin ice cream and have left over ingredients from your pumpkin pie, but don’t have an ice cream maker, not to worry, because all you’d need is all the same ingredients, with some vanilla extract, some heavy whipping cream, and graham crackers that you can crush up (this is for texture and as a binder/thickener). Mix all the ingredients, except for the heavy whipping cream and graham crackers, together and keep it aside. Get a hand mixer and mix up the heavy whipping cream until you have stiff peaks and on a cutting board, crush and grind up the graham crackers until they are a powder. Add the whipped cream into your mixture a bit at a time until everything is mixed then fold in the graham crackers a bit at a time so it’s evenly dispensed throughout the mixture and freeze it! In as little as 3-4 hours (you can periodically check the density to see if it’s at a consistency you like) you’ll have yourself some pumpkin ice cream to go with your pumpkin pie or even just to enjoy on its own!

Pumpkin Meals

Keep the pumpkin vibes going by integrating pumpkin into your breakfast! You can start your day off by having pumpkin spice pancakes and no need to worry about compiling all the ingredients, you can just make it from a pre-packaged pancake mix with water or an oat milk of your choice for a quick and nutritious, pumpkin-y breakfast. Continue your day with some pumpkin shaped pasta for an easy and festive lunch idea! If you want to elevate your lunch, you can make a pumpkin based sauce to go with your pasta by using some pumpkin puree, cooking oil, seasonings like salt, pepper, etc, and fresh garlic and onion! You can also add in some bone broth to give your sauce more dimension and some milk or cream for some richness, but butter works just as well! Simply boil the pasta in some water with a pinch of salt until softened and in a separate pan, cook up the garlic and onion in a pan with the oil, once they’ve crisped up a bit, add in the pumpkin puree and bone broth, and let it all simmer, then add in the butter and/or cream until it’s all mixed together. Add some salt and pepper to taste and then you can either add the pasta in your sauce, or serve your pasta on your dish first then add the sauce on top!  

Finally, cozy up with some pumpkin soup for dinner after a long day of work! If you don’t have fresh pumpkin on hand (even with the surplus of pumpkins that’ll start popping up in grocery stores), then you can also use pumpkin puree as a substitute base for your pumpkin soup and at least this way you don’t have to devote time to making the base yourself when it’s already made for you! Get some onion and garlic, and some bone broth to give your soup an extra kick of flavor, and if your tummy allows for it and you want a thicker kind of soup, add in a touch of milk, cream or half and half to add some extra richness to your soup. Boil all the veggies together (if you’re working with fresh pumpkin), if you just have the onion and garlic you can boil this together with the bone broth until all the veggies are soft and then get a blender to blend the ingredients together with the pumpkin puree with some milk or cream (you can veto this though), until everything is smooth. Serve with some toasted bread and enjoy!   

Pumpkin Beverages

Autumn isn’t complete without those cozy, pumpkin spice drinks and coffee. Rather than wait in line to get your own barista made pumpkin spice latte though, you can make your beverages right at home with a  pumpkin spice barista blend or a pumpkin spice oat creamer. The great thing about making your own beverages at home is that you can add your personal touch and customizations as you want by using what’s in your pantry versus paying crazy amounts of money to have your cup of coffee or beverage just the way you like it! If you’re not much for coffee though but still love yourself some pumpkin, you can try your hand at making some fun and festive pumpkin milkshakes (of course with the milk of your choosing), or if you’re not much for milk, a pumpkin smoothie is just as pumpkin-y and delicious! The possibilities for pumpkin beverages are endless so long as you’re in the pumpkin spirit! 

We hope you have a very pumpkin season this autumn!