25+ Real Pumpkin Recipes to Make At Home This Fall
Save money, eat better & put real pumpkin back in your favourite fall foods with these 25 real pumpkin recipes to make at home this fall.
There’s something so comforting and nostalgic about pumpkin and pumpkin spice, which I think is why we’ve become so obsessed with it. The warm smell of pumpkin mingling with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger is enough to make anyone feel cozy this time of year. But in recent years the pumpkin spice craze has paved the way for a plethora of processed junk food (and I really hesitate on the “food” part).
There’s pumpkin and pumpkin spice everything nowadays: Pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin spice oreos, pumpkin spice marshmallows, pumpkin spice cheerios, pumpkin spice air freshener, pumpkin spice jello… There’s even a pumpkin flavoured cake mix… for your dog!
The sad part about this trend is that there’s hardly any actual pumpkin in these products (if any at all!) Mostly they’re full of sugar, preservatives, modified corn products and extremely processed flavourings and ingredients acting as pumpkin imposters. You might get a taste of real pumpkin spice in there, but TBH, it’s mostly junk.
The good news is, there is a better way. You can have your pumpkin spice cake and eat it too (well, not the dog cake. Don’t eat that).
Because let’s face it: pumpkin isn’t so bad. In fact, it’s really good for you! Pumpkins are packed with healthy vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that can do our bodies a world of good.
And there’s nothing unhealthy about authentic pumpkin spice, which is simply a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and allspice. When we take our food choices into our own hands we can control what we put in our meals and our bodies, and keep dangerous additives off of our dinner (and dessert) plates.
So embrace the pumpkin madness of the fall season by trying out some of these REAL pumpkin and pumpkin spice recipes. And save the junk food for Halloween;)
Savoury Pumpkin Dishes
Savoury pumpkin dishes are less common than sweet treats and desserts. But they really do rival their sweet counterparts in both taste and ease of cooking.
These simple and delicious savoury pumpkin recipes can take you from the pumpkin patch to your dinner table tonight!
“Way Better Than Canned” Pumpkin Purée by Back To Our Roots
Pumpkin Pasta by Buy This Cook That
Rich & Savory Pumpkin-Thyme Soup by Back To Our Roots
Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good by Martha Stewart
Sweet Pumpkin Dishes
Sweet dishes are where pumpkins rule supreme. There’s no end to the number of desserts, breakfasts, breads and sweet snacks you can make with pumpkin. Here are just a few of the very best homemade sweet treats to get you started.
No-Bake Whipped Pumpkin Pie by yours truly at The House & Homestead
Never-Fail Pumpkin Cheesecake by Feathers In The Woods
Old-Fashioned Pumpkin Sugar Cookies by Melissa K. Norris
Homemade Pumpkin Roll by Melissa K. Norris
Pumpkin Spice Scones by Common Sense Homesteading
Spiced Pumpkin Muffins by Buy This Cook That
Pumpkin Spice Steel Cut Oats – The Reid Homestead
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling by Shut The Front Dorr
Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies with Cranberries and Walnuts by Common Sense Homesteading
Pumpkin Cranberry Banana Bread by Country Living In A Cariboo Valley
Pumpkin Spice Waffles with Maple Cinnamon Whipped Cream by Common Sense Homesteading
Homemade Pumpkin Caramels by Feathers In The Woods
Chocolate Pumpkin Truffles by Purposefully Simple
Pumpkin Preserving Recipes
Sometimes it’s just not possible to use up all of that pumpkin at once. Luckily, pumpkins store very well in cold storage for a long time thanks to their hard outer skin.
If you’re looking for other ways to preserve your pumpkin to last a little longer, here are some great ideas by some trusted homesteaders!
*Remember: NEVER can pumpkin purée at home! You may pressure can cubed pumpkin, but pumpkin purée is too thick to can at home as home canners do not reach high enough temperatures to kill dangerous bacteria. Freeze purée or pressure can cubed pumpkin and purée when ready to use.
8 Ways to Preserve Pumpkin at Home by Melissa K. Norris
How to Can Pumpkin At Home by yours truly at The House & Homestead
Pumpkin Fruit Leather by Common Sense Homesteading
Homemade Pumpkin Drinks
There’s nothing quite like the drink that started it all: The infamous Pumpkin Spice Latte (or “PSL”). But you don’t need to shell out $5 a drink at Starbucks to get your hands on a PSL this fall. Make your own for a fraction of the cost (and be sure that there’s some actual pumpkin in there!). Lattes not your thing? How about some pumpkin spice kombucha or wine? The choice is yours. Pick your potion!
Homemade Pumpkin Spice Syrup from yours truly at The House & Homestead
Pumpkin Wine by Common Sense Homesteading
Pumpkin Spice Kombucha by Common Sense Homesteading
Everything Else
Pumpkin seeds, pumpkin spice (sans pumpkin) and pumpkin pot-pourri are just a few of the “other” things you can do with pumpkins aside from cooking and eating the flesh.
If all else fails or you’re just at a loss when it comes to what to do with your carved Jack-O-Lantern after Halloween, remember you can always add it to your compost pile and build up your soil for next spring. No pumpkin should ever go to waste!
But here are a few more ideas on how to use them up anyway (and other uses for pumpkin spice!)
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds by Our Stoney Acres
Roasting Pumpkin Seeds with Garlic & Cumin by Lady Lee’s Home
Pumpkin Spiced Peach Sauce by The Old Walsh Farm*
Pumpkin Pie Potpourri Recipe by My Homestead Life*
*While there’s no actual pumpkin in these last two recipes, they are made with real pumpkin spices and natural ingredients.
So there you have it! 25 real pumpkin and pumpkin spice recipes you can make at home. Save money and eat better with all the comforts of pumpkin this fall.
Stay cozy my friends:)
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If you haven't checked-in lately, the last week or so, we've sorta been in the trenches of homesteading and life over here. While some make it out to be glamorous all the time there are high's and low's just as there are in life.
With all that's going on, I've been making a point to find my way back into the garden, which is not only needed to feed my family, but also for some personal spiritual nourishment.
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Not only is it one of my favorites, but we've also found it's one of the easiest veggies to grow so if you haven't tried it or added it to your garden yet, there's no better time than the present.
I've got an entire post on How to Grow Broccoli from Seed here: https://thehouseandhomestead.com/how-to-grow-broccoli-from-seed/ if you're looking for any tips or tricks.
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Can I be honest?
Sometimes you've gotta take a step back and look at the life you've created for yourself and ask yourself "is this truly what I want?"
The other day I shared about losing two of our rabbits this week to Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease. The stress of losing them comes amidst a backdrop of heightened tensions around here...
From work pressures for Ryan to me trying to run a business and handle a very fussy, colicky 2-month-old (and a very busy 6-year-old), to things ramping up in the garden again and all of the other million things that need to get done (including multiple loads of laundry a day thanks to more spit up than I ever knew a baby was capable of producing), I finally felt like I was ready to crack this week.
Oh, not to mention we're doing this all on next to no sleep thanks again to our sweet boy.
I know this is all part of what we signed up for, but when it all happens at once, it can feel completely overwhelming. And when I'm completely overwhelmed and stressed out, that's exactly when I get sick too, which is exactly what happened a couple days ago.
Then yesterday (Saturday) I woke up feeling awful and decided to scroll Instagam as I nursed Noah. I saw other mothers with 6, 8 or even 10 kids somehow keeping it all together getting three square meals on the table every day while managing to keep a tidy kitchen and find time to Instagram about it.
I saw other homestead bloggers reaching new levels of success in their business that I can only dream about right now. And as I sat there in bed, covered in spit up with a ravenous baby nursing off me as I tried to console him, I felt sad for myself in that moment that I couldn't live up to the folks I was comparing myself to.
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Sometime homesteading looks like homegrown vegetables and freshly laid eggs and sourdough rising on the counter.
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Homesteading isn’t always sunshine and rainbows and snuggly barnyard animals. Homesteading teaches us hard lessons and helps us to become stronger and more resilient by challenging us daily.
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Theme of the Month: ADIDAS
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