Our 29 Best Pumpkin Recipes

By Food & Wine
Updated November 01, 2019
Credit: Abby Hocking
Pumpkin makes a delicious pie, but the squash is far more versatile than you might think. We love it in creamy soups and moist cakes, or made into a pumpkin butter for the ultimate fall spread. Don’t forget about those seeds, either—you can use them in everything from dips to bread salad, and they’ll add the perfect crunch. Read on for those recipes, and more of our favorite pumpkin dishes.
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Pumpkin Butter

Credit: Justin Walker
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In the fall, when squash and pumpkins are in their prime, make this addictive pumpkin butter your go-to add-in. This silky preserve toes the line between sweet and savory: Try it on toast with cream cheese, in whipped cream, or melted into a mixture of sage and brown butter for an autumnal pasta sauce.

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Pumpkin Lasagne

Credit: Karen Mordechai
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No need to roast fresh pumpkin for this dish (although you certainly could); using canned unseasoned pumpkin puree is much quicker, and it works just fine. Like most lasagnes, this one is easier to cut if left to set for ten minutes or so before serving.

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Pumpkin Cookies

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These soft, lightly spiced cake-like cookies are studded with minced candied ginger and topped with a buttery sugar glaze.

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Pumpkin Soup with Creole Lobster

Credit: © Petrina Tinslay
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This version of creamy pumpkin soup is topped with lobster bathed in a spicy butter. The natural brininess of the lobster helps bring out the deep, earthy flavor in the soup.

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Pumpkin Cheesecake Tart with Cranberry Gelée

Credit: © Anna Williams
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The combination of pumpkin and cranberries in this delicious cheesecake makes it an ideal Thanksgiving ending.

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Pumpkin Pie-Croissant Pudding

Credit: © Fredrika Stjärne
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Bakers make traditional diplomat pudding with soaked ladyfingers or cake baked with fruit and custard. In this take, Frédéric Morin likes using the leftover croissants. He says he always buys too much of everything ("Ask my wife," he says, "I even buy too many T-shirts"), so he created this simple recipe for using up his leftovers.

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Fingerling Potatoes with Pumpkin Seed Romesco

Credit: © Cedric Angeles
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Tim Love cooks these potatoes on a cast-iron griddle (also called a plancha), set right on a hot grill. His version of Spain's garlicky romesco sauce calls for pumpkin seeds instead of the usual almonds.

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Austrian Cheese Spread with Pumpkin Seed Oil

Credit: © Michael Turek
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Pumpkin seed oil from southern Austria gives this spread its nutty flavor.

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Classic Pumpkin Pie

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To create a crisp crust on the bottom, Grace Parisi partially bakes the pie shell before adding the filling. If the edge starts to darken too much, cover it with a pie shield or strips of foil.

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Pumpkin Seed Bread Salad

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Crusty country Italian bread is the star of this dish, paired with pumpkin seeds, scallions, celery, and garlic with a touch of sherry.

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Pumpkin-Gingersnap Tiramisù

Credit: © Lucy Schaeffer
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Pumpkin pie meets tiramisù, with layers of pumpkin-mascarpone custard and gingersnaps brushed with Calvados syrup. In the freezer, the flavors and textures meld to form a deliciously creamy dessert.

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Tea-Scented Pumpkin Soup

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Han Feng lightly flavors this silky, creamy soup with Ceylon tea, garnishing it with a drizzle of roasted pumpkinseed oil. She always restocks her supply of the lovely, nutty oil whenever she's in New York.

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Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Credit: © Anna Williams
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Why bother toasting pumpkin seeds when you can buy them pretoasted? Because they'll have an irresistibly nutty flavor that the store-bought version never does.

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Pumpkin Cake with Caramel-Cream Cheese Frosting

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In this fun variation on traditional pumpkin pie, pumpkin cake spiced with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves gets frosted with a slightly tangy, super-caramelly frosting. It's delicious served cold or at room temperature.

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Pumpkin and Yellow Split Pea Soup

Credit: JOHN KERNICK
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In her reimagining of holiday pumpkin soup, Melissa Rubel Jacobson adds pumpkin to dal—the spicy, soupy Indian legume dish. The result is a hearty, healthy soup with a lovely edge of sweetness.

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Pumpkin-Walnut Praline Bars

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Carrie Dove's young son, Jeremy, says these are one of his favorite sweets. The family makes them at Halloween and gives them out to trick-or-treaters. The pumpkin pie filling is terrific smothered in the buttery, nutty praline topping.

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Goat Cheese-Edamame Dip with Spiced Pepitas

Credit: © Lucy Schaeffer
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Canned chipotles in adobo sauce, sold at Latin markets and many supermarkets, give this clever, creamy dip an enticing heat and smokiness. The spiced pepitas (roasted and salted pumpkin seeds) scattered over the dip are addictive and great as a snack on their own.

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Pumpkin Cheesecake with Brown-Butter Pears

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Jane Tseng uses the tangy, pungent, soft-ripened Italian cheese Robiolina and homemade gingersnaps to make her luscious cheesecake; the simplified version here calls for cream cheese and boxed cookies.

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Chocolate Panna Cotta with Spiced Pepita Brittle

Credit: © Con Poulos
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This light, silky panna cotta tastes a lot like hot cocoa in custard form. The brittle is easy to make; heat sugar and water on the stove, swirl in butter and spiced pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds), then let cool.

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Pumpkin Soup with Sage and Ham

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Sage and pumpkin are a perfect pair. Add chunks of apple and ham and you have the makings of a delicious autumn soup. We use canned pumpkin here in the name of speed, but in fact it taste as good as fresh once it simmers with the vegetables and herbs. If the soup gets too thick, just stir in a little extra broth or water.

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Warm Pumpkin Cake

Credit: © Ray Kachatorian
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Warm, soft, spicy and simple, this cake may be one of the best pumpkin desserts you'll ever eat.

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Pumpkin Pudding with Mile-High Meringue

Credit: © John Kernick
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Dean Fearing and Jill Bates collaborated on this spiced pumpkin pudding covered with meringue swirls. "It's what all Southerners love about their pies, whether they're coconut, chocolate or banana—the meringue," Fearing says.

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Pumpkin-and-White Chocolate Mousse Pie

Credit: Con Poulos
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This reimagined pumpkin pie from Mr. Holmes Bakehouse in San Francisco has an ethereal pumpkin-and-white-chocolate-mousse filling and a stellar, crunchy crust.

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Pumpkin and Shellfish Bisque with Pumpkin Seed Pistou

Credit: Greg DuPree
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This creamy bisque is best paired with a crisp, lemony Chenin Blanc.

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Pecan-Pumpkin Cream Pie

Credit: Tara Donne
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This pie slices beautifully to reveal not one but two fillings: both pumpkin custard and gooey, syrupy pecan. Chef Joanne Chang’s technique ensures the bottom of the pie shell is perfectly cooked and avoids sogginess. Cooling the blind-baked pie shell with weights keeps it hotter, and flatter, longer.

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Pumpkin Seed Albóndigas

Credit: Antonis Achilleos
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Salted pumpkin seeds, toasted shell-on, are a super-popular snack all around Mexico. They form the base of pipián, a minimalist, savory mole sauce famous in states like Puebla, and they are an indispensable ingredient in Yucatán’s famous “pumpkin seed guacamole” called sikil pak. While they aren’t the most celebrated Mexican ingredient, they certainly deserve to be, especially when you taste these albóndigas (that’s Spanish for meatballs) made from ground pumpkin seeds, cooked rice, and tomatillos.

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Gingered Pumpkin Pie with Candied Pepitas

Credit: Christopher Testani
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This take on pumpkin pie has the smooth texture of the classic, but with extra layers of ginger-caramel flavor. Candied pepitas on top add extra flavor and crunch.

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Pumpkin Pancakes

Credit: Abby Hocking
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Pumpkin butter adds a sweet and spicy flavor to these classic buttermilk pancakes, and a boost of moisture. Cooking them over moderately low heat ensures each pancake cooks through, and gets a perfect golden color with lightly crispy bite. Serve with extra pumpkin butter, or melted butter and drizzles of maple syrup.

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Pasta with Pumpkin Brown Butter Sauce

Credit: Abby Hocking
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A classic browned butter and sage sauce gets a boost of fall flavor from pumpkin butter. Be generous with the Parmigiano-Reggiano, its salty, savory bite adds the perfect hit of umami flavor to this decadent pasta dish.

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