Editors' Picks: Our 12 Favorite Fall Recipes
From savory-sweet pumpkin butter to decadent beef stew, our editors share the recipes they always keep in their back pockets.
With the first hint of cool breeze, we feel it—an insatiable, itching desire to make our favorite fall meals. It doesn’t matter if it’s still 75 degrees out, and stragglers are still flocking to the beach. Our minds instantly drift to warm spices, fragrant sage, and all the squash, pumpkin, and apple recipes we can think of. If it’s hearty and filling, it’s on our list, bookmarked to make for cozy nights by the fire. Karen Shimizu waxes poetic about delicate squash and sausage crostata; for dessert, Nina Friend reminds us that apple cider doughnuts are an unbeatable classic. Read on for those recipes, and all of the other fall dishes we can’t wait to make.
Pumpkin Butter
“I make pumpkin butter every fall; it's a seasonal ritual for me. I love this particular version because it's not too sweet. I stir it into pancake batter, brown butter pasta sauce, or smear it on grilled cheese sandwiches.”– Kelsey Youngman, associate food editor
Get the recipe here.
Butternut Squash Soup with Crisp Pancetta
“I love greeting fall with lots of soups and stews! This one is a personal favorite because it's topped with crunchy, salty pancetta—even better than a crouton.” – Maria Yagoda, digital restaurant editor
Get the recipe here.
Pasta with Pumpkin Brown Butter Sauce
“Pumpkin butter, sage, and a healthy topping of Parmigiano-Reggiano—this hearty dish is everything I love about fall. I can’t wait to pile it into a bowl and curl up by the fireplace, Netflix on and a warm mug of tea within reach.” – Bridget Hallinan, digital reporter
Get the recipe here.
Pork Loin Stuffed with Apples and Pumpkin Seeds
"This pork loin speaks to all of my Bavarian sensibilities: my natural affliction for crispy pork skin and its happy marriage with apples, my love of robust rye bread, and my obsession with nutty pumpkin seed oil from our neighbors in Austria. I make this to knock the socks off my Sunday dinner guests. It always works.” – Melanie Hansche, deputy editor
Get the recipe here.
Delicata Squash and Sausage Crostata with Ricotta and Honey
“I’ve been waiting all year for delicata squash to come back into season so I can make this Delicata Squash and Sausage Crostata. The dough, which gets some extra tooth and flavor from a little buckwheat flour, is simple to make, and the toppings—that creamy, pretty squash, crumbled Italian sausage, fennel seeds, and ricotta with fresh oregano and honey swirled in—are incredibly delicious and satisfying.” – Karen Shimizu, executive editor
Get the recipe here.
Momos with Red Chile Chutney
“I’ve been hungrily awaiting this momos recipe from Romy Gill ever since she described it to me a few months back. She fell in love with them after a farmstay in Ladakh where the family helped her master the method. I love cooking where I can really get my hands in there, and while I know I'll probably mess up pleating the first batch, it'll just give me an excuse to keep making them.” – Kat Kinsman, senior editor
Get the recipe here.
Beef Stew in Red Wine Sauce
“I’m excited to make hearty, warming stews. Between the red wine and the root vegetables, this one from Jacques Pépin is basically fall in a pot.” – Nina Friend, assistant editor
Get the recipe here.
Nigvziani Badrijani (Eggplant Rolls with Walnut Filling)
“I’m also completely obsessed with these Georgian Eggplant and Walnut Rolls, where you slice and fry long eggplant strips, then stuff and top them with a lavishly spiced, garlicky pesto-like walnut spread that's packed with fresh herbs. I first tried them in Georgia when I visited that country in the fall 15 years ago, and a taste of these rolls (which make a great dinner side or an appetizer) always bring me right back there. Bonus: they pair wonderfully with natural wines.” – K.S.
Get the recipe here.
Chipotle-Roasted Baby Carrots
“I’m excited to do everything with carrots! I love using chiles in adobo to dress up vegetables, and the yogurt topping is just *chef's kiss*.” – Oset Babur, associate restaurant editor
Get the recipe here.
Mountain Rose Apple Pie
“Classic lattices are gorgeous to look at but I for one cannot wait to dig in to the crumbly oat and sugar top of this apple pie.”–Megan Soll, associate digital editor
Get the recipe here.
Zabaglione
“Zabaglione, the boozy Italian custard, is an endlessly riffable technique. In this version, a sweet wine such as Marsala is whisked together with sugar and egg yolks over low heat. The result is a creamy, dreamy sauce that is perfect drizzled over fresh fruit. Feel free to experiment to your taste based on your favorite pairings.” – Mary-Frances Heck, senior food editor
Get the recipe here.
Apple Cider Doughnuts
“Everyone knows that the best part of going apple picking is apple cider doughnuts. I've eaten tons of them but never actually made them myself, and this recipe looks like it'll make for an ideal fall weekend baking project.”—N.F.
Get the recipe here.