Share your pumpkin recipes please

Hi....all these recipes/ideas are amazing!  Looking forward to trying them.  I make all my pasta.  A nice meaty, thick pumpkin mashed can be added to your homemade pasta dough recipe.  Gives a beautiful color to the dough.  I recently substituted the potatoes with the pumpkin to make gnocchi.  A simple egg pasta dough with pumpkin added can be made into wonderful sheets (to fit your pan) for lasagna pasta....so much easier than those lasagna noodles and tastes delicious.  Adding dumplings to soups are hearty too.  Can mix pumpkin to your dumpling dough too.

Not really a recipe.. but I collected “used” pumpkins from folks in my nearby town, chopped them up, and fed them to my pigs. They absolutely love them. I saved lots of seeds, and plan to grow a big pumpkin patch this coming year for the pigs and myself.

My brother-in-law has a large garden from which we benefit often.  And like anyone with significant green thumb, he has an abundance of goodies, and shares.  But 4 or 5 dozen squash and pie pumpkins are a bit overwhelming all at the same time. So we bake, drain, puree and freeze many pints.  

And not all the ingredients are foraged or farmed here - but it's a great use of squash/pumpkin!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie *** Modified many times from on-line recipe we found years ago, apologies to the original author.
YIELD: 10 PC CHILL: 30 Min BAKE: 1 Hr TOTAL  2 Hr TEMP: 425°F

Cheesecake Filling
  1/4 C Diced Candied Ginger
  1/3 C sugar
  8 oz Cream Cheese, room temperature
  1 large Egg
  1 tsp Vanilla Extract

In a food processor, finely dice the ginger then add sugar and spin until uniform.
Add the cream cheese, egg and vanilla, mix until smooth.  
Refrigerate.

• Preheat oven to 425°F.

Pumpkin filling    
 ½ C White Sugar
 ¼ C Brown Sugar
 1 Tbl Cornstarch
 ½ tsp Salt
 2 tsp Ginger
 2 tsp Cinnamon
 ¾ tsp Nutmeg
 ¼ tsp Allspice
 ½  tsp Cloves
 ¼ C Molasses
 2 C Pumpkin Purée
 2 large Eggs
 1 can Evaporated Milk

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugars, cornstarch, and spices.
Stir in the pumpkin purée, eggs, molasses and evaporated milk. Whisk gently until smooth. Refrigerate.
Roll out the pie dough. Line the pie pan with the crust and crimp the edges.
Spread the cold cream cheese mixture into crust.
Ladle or pour pumpkin mixture carefully over the chilled cheesecake filling.
Cover edges of pie, and bake for 15 minutes at 425°F. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and bake for 40 to 45 minutes more.
The pie is done when it looks set, with a wobbly center; the center should read 165°F when measured with a digital thermometer.
Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature before refrigerating until ready to serve.  
Store covered and refrigerated for up to five days.

Wife likes it for breakfast with blueberries on top!

Lots of great recipes already posted!

Here are 3 of mine I didn’t see already listed.

Cut the butternut into ~ 1/2 inch cubes, sauté garlic in olive oil, toss the squash cubes into the garlicky oil, then in seasoned flour to coat.  Bake spread in single layer on cookie sheet, sprinkle a hard grating cheese like Parmesan or Romano on top.  Bake til done.  Garnish with parsley.  This is good with some cayenne in the flour.

Soup:  sauté onion, garlic, cubed squash til tender.  Add liquid, a combination of broth or dairy cream/milk, or coconut milk, or milk substitute you prefer.  Spices to taste.  Some ideas are curry paste as mentioned, curry powder of your preference, ginger, roasted green chilies, roasted red sweet peppers.  Purée the whole thing.  Serve with parsley (gorgeous!), or a swirl of red jalapeño or habanero jelly.


Soup/stew, (red orange yellow and green, chunky and beautiful):

Toast some cumin seed in the bottom of your soup pot, (as in making curry powder), then add olive oil, garlic, cubed squash, chopped onions, sauté until almost done.

Add whole kernel sweet corn, chopped tomatoes (fresh, dried or canned), chopped red bell peppers, roasted and peeled chilies (I use poblanos) and broth.  This is more like a stew, so broth to cover is probably adequate, what ever you prefer.

Heat to simmer, salt and pepper to taste. Adjust seasonings.

Prettiest served with a little bright green fresh parsley.

James Landreth wrote:Will definitely be following this thread.
One thing I do is blend pumpkin with tomato sauce to use on pizza or pasta.
Pumpkin empanadas is another option. I also just add the puree to bread dough, for extra nutrition and to use up my squash

Hey James! I miss you. So good to see you here.

Yes me too, this is a good thread to follow! Thanks to Liv Smith for the link to this in the daily-ish email.

So many good ideas here, like mixing with corn masa. Have to check out Pumpkin empanadas too.

I too love growing lots of winter squash, especially delecata. I even saved my own seeds for years to see what would happen. They turned less striped and more solid green and orange. Nope not from cross pollination with other winter squash types, but from reverting to their original genetic, I forget the term. Now I just buy one each year and save and grow the seeds. Easy.

Anyway, this is about how to eat and cook 'em so here is how  what I often do.

Heathy(er) Pie with Nut Crust:
Nuts and seeds pie crust with coconut oil and coconut sugar, some salt and cinnamon. (I never measure). Then, I melt the coconut oil in a glass pie plate or cassarole dish in the pre heating oven (350) or while baking the squash (cut in halfs or parts).  Pour some of the melted oil into the food processor on top of pureed baked (or boiled) squash and eggs (2-4/pie). (don't want to cook the egg with the hot oil) - mix that in real quick before oil cools and hardens. Now, spread the oil around the glass container sides and bottom then add the ground nuts/seed mix and mix in the oil then press it out to make a yummy crust.

Finish your  squash filling, by adding nutmeg (a must!) and cinnamon or other spices you like, coconut sugar or other sweetener, salt and process until smooth (unless you like chuncks - thats yummy too). Pour into the dish ontop the nut crust and back for ... your guess ... try 35-45 minutes.

Seeds:
I always save the seeds. Once Charlotte A asked me to send her all the squash seeds I had to do a restorative soil garden project. Since then I save them all.  They all are yummy to eat too, especially meaty are the think ones. Like Kombocha. My mom used to rost the seeds (like in the post above). But I discovered years ago that rinsing them and drying them on a plate, then eating raw it also very yummy. Plus I can plant what I don't eat or share with other growers.
Does anyone have an easier way to get the outer seed skin off though?

Pureed Squash Soup:

In a big pot of boiling water, place a Kambucha (or other think skinned squash) for about 5-10 min. Remove and cool. then take a spoon and skin. Saves more of the meat then baking or it can. Then cut in chunks and cook in a pot of water or stock with onions and other veggies, potatoes are always good, herbs and salt. Puree when done. I love my immersion blender for this - I like to wear hot pad gloves to prevent splash burns.  Sometimes I take some out before puree-ing for some chunkie-ness in the smoothness.

Other then roasting squash, that's all I got. I too need more ideas,
I love all of these other ideas. Please do keep them coming!

Oh and pumpkin bread made with squash - Oooo that sounds good, I think I will make some with the last of my delicata harvest. (some rotted sadly is that cuz I took too long and they got too cold or frozen on the vine? - never had that happen before).

Looking for more... do share ideas!

Acorn Squash maybe easily substituted?

Acorn Squash Sweetbread
https://mailchi.mp/e8511148f496/growing-and-canning-your-own-food-673222?e=b08d69d7c1

This soup is the absolute best, and works with just about any winter squash, though the original recipe was made with Hokaido. It comes from the Reformhaus in Ratingen-Lintorf, Germany.

2 small leeks
60 g butter
1000 g flesh from Hokaido squash, peeled and chopped
300 g white potato, peeled and chopped
1 L broth
1 cup creme fraiche
sea salt
pepper
grated ginger

1. Wash and slice leeks in thin slices. Melt butter in a soup pout. Add leeks and saute until soft.
2. Add squash and potato. Stir
3. Add broth, salt and pepper to taste. Simmer 30 minutes
4. Remove soup from heat. Puree in a blender until smooth.
5. Stir in creme fraiche. Sprinkle with grated ginger.

Eat and enjoy!

I feel like this is cheating, but I do read a lot of cooking blogs.  My girlfriend, Kristin, just roasted a big winter squash so I plowed through a few of my favorite vegetarian cooking sites and came up with a few more squash recipes.  I sent them all to her, including a link to this thread, and then decided to share with you as well.   Enjoy!

Squash, winter roasted with shallots and thyme
2 lbs of winter squash – any variety
6 shallots
2 T vegetable oil
2 t thyme
Salt and pepper
Heat oven to 425°. Peel and cube the squash, peel and coarsely chop the shallots. Place in a roasting pan. Toss with oil, thyme, salt and pepper. Roast and toss every 15 minutes until tender and browned.  Takes about 45-50 minutes. You can substitute onions for the shallots and any savory herb for the thyme.

Spaghetti Squash Pancakes  Servings: 10, about 30 patties (Not quite on point, but worth having.)
Ingredients:
6 cups spaghetti squash, cooked by your favorite method and separated into strands (click here for instructions)
4 eggs
2 tablespoons chopped green onion or chives
salt and pepper to taste
oil for skillet
Add eggs, onion or chives, salt and pepper to cooked spaghetti squash. Form into 3 inch patties. Heat oil in a skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side.
Author Notes:
A pancake without any starch, these little gems make great side dishes.
You can dress them up with all kinds of sauces or dressings, but sometimes they are nice simply cooked in olive oil and sprinkled with a little salt and coarsely ground pepper.
For a different flavor, you can sauté the patties in butter. For an Asian flair, sauté in canola oil mixed with a few drops of sesame oil, serve with soy sauce.

https://ohmyveggies.com/?s=squash

https://minimalistbaker.com/?s=squash

https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/?s=squash

https://www.inspiredtaste.net/?s=squash

https://www.daringgourmet.com/squash#search/q=squash

https://smittenkitchen.substack.com/p/uncompromised-vegetarian-holiday then search for squash or try this link:
https://smittenkitchen.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&s=squash

Wow! Such great ideas! Following for help in working through my pumpkins as well.

Homemade Pumpkin Bread
makes 2 loaves or many muffins!

2 c. fresh cooked pumpkin OR 16 oz canned pumpkin
3 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (not self-rising)
2 teasp. baking soda
3 c. sugar or Splenda
4 eggs, beaten
(note for vegans: each egg can be replaced by 1Tables. flax meal + 3 Tables. water- the bread takes about 15 minutes longer to bake and is a bit more dense)
1 c. vegetable oil (I use olive as a healthier choice)
1 1/2 teasp. salt
2 teasp. each cinnamon and nutmeg
1/2 teasp. allspice
1/2 c. water if using fresh pumpkin; 2/3 c. if using commercial canned pumpkin
OPTIONALS:
1 c. chopped pecans or walnuts
1/2 c. raisins and or chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F.
In a large mixing bowl stir together all dry ingredients. Add eggs, oil, water and pumpkin. Stir until blended. Add the optional ingredients now and mix well.
Pour into 2 lightly greased and floured 9"x5" loaf pans. (If I remember right, this also makes about 8 mini loaves using the foil pans. Cooking time is reduced, but I can't remember how long and didn't make a note of it. I'd check at about 30 minutes for doneness.)
Bake approximately 1 hour. Test for doneness is a knife stuck in the middle comes out clean it's done.

Cool 10 minutes in pans before removing to a rack to finish cooling. Freezes well.

I can’t believe no one has mentioned risotto - my absolute favourite is https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/butternut-squash-sage-risotto. Very simple and very lovely, mouth is watering at the thought of it!

I like pumpkin pie but it had been a long time, because store bought pumpkin pie has dairy in its ingredients, so, recently I made it myself, with organic pumpkin and a pie shell, and just sweetening it with agave nectar, with nutmeg in it. I think I could do this frequently with the simple living I want to come to.

pumpkin + apples + some sugar/honey
baking 40-60minutes

Sweet pumpkin dishes are not really a thing here in Europe so I can resonate most with the savoury dishes! I prepare pumpkin (Hokkaido) similar to some of the recipes given here.
Another dish I tried on the weekend was pasta with fried pumpkin, sage and dried tomatos. Very creamy and rich, and even my picky kids ate it:

(minute 5:30).

Monica Strazz wrote:  I recently substituted the potatoes with the pumpkin to make gnocchi.  A simple egg pasta dough with pumpkin added can be made into wonderful sheets (to fit your pan) for lasagna pasta....so much easier than those lasagna noodles and tastes delicious.

Glad you mentioned gnocchi! If I have enough hokkaido (this year not really, although you get organic ones in the supermarket easily) I always make gnocchi with either sage butter or a cream-heavy tomato sauce with lots of parmesan. I guess I should make them one of these days!

Barbara Manning wrote:
Spaghetti Squash Pancakes  Servings: 10, about 30 patties (Not quite on point, but worth having.)
Ingredients:
6 cups spaghetti squash, cooked by your favorite method and separated into strands (click here for instructions)
4 eggs
2 tablespoons chopped green onion or chives
salt and pepper to taste
oil for skillet
Add eggs, onion or chives, salt and pepper to cooked spaghetti squash. Form into 3 inch patties. Heat oil in a skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side.
Author Notes:
A pancake without any starch, these little gems make great side dishes.
You can dress them up with all kinds of sauces or dressings, but sometimes they are nice simply cooked in olive oil and sprinkled with a little salt and coarsely ground pepper.
For a different flavor, you can sauté the patties in butter. For an Asian flair, sauté in canola oil mixed with a few drops of sesame oil, serve with soy sauce.

Ooh, great, this one is really new to me! I searched for squash recipes the first year I grew Lofthouse C. maximas and ended up with way more than I knew what to do with. Well, this is spaghetti squash, not winter squash, but I think I'll try it with winter squash too.

Savory pancakes are one of my favorite ways to eat up leftover curry. And scallions/green onions are always good in savory pancakes.

I'm just seeing this post from last year, and there are such great ideas here. Anyone have any other pumpkin cooking ideas to add? I have a big pumpkin sitting on my kitchen counter from my CSA, and I definitely don't want it to go to waste. Thanks for the inspiration to everyone who posted!

This has been my go-to recipe for pumpkin bread for years. It's made with oat flour. Really enjoy warming up a few slices of this bread and eating with butter at breakfast time. Good for busy mornings.

Healthy Pumpkin Oat Bread

Ingredients (makes 2 loaves)
2 eggs
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup quick oats
1 cup oat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt

Directions
1.) Preheat oven to 350F and line loaf pans with parchment paper.
2.) in a small bowl, whisk eggs.
3.) Add pumpkin, yogurt, honey and vanilla, stir to combine.
4.) In a large bowl, mix together spices, salt, baking soda, oat flour and oats.
5.) Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir to combine.
6.) Pour batter into loaf pans and bake in oven for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Source: https://www.erinliveswhole.com/healthy-pumpkin-oat-bread/

The original recipe calls for chocolate chips, but I've never added them and I think it's been delightful without that extra ingredient. At times I've used molasses instead of honey and I did not use the full 1/3 cup for molasses. This added a depth in flavor to the bread, which was a nice change too. It's easy to use my own pumpkin puree, made from baked pumpkin, which I keep frozen in per-measured amounts for this recipe specifically.

Pumpkin/squash cream sauce, using roasted pureed squash.
Start it like any cream sauce, by heating butter or oil and adding a few handfuls of flour to make a roux. After a few minutes, add milk or broth of choice, cook till thickened, then add roasted pureed squash. I don’t measure, but you can add quite a bit. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg, and sage or thyme to taste.
Serve on veggies, pasta, or potatoes. Add a bunch of cheese and pour over pasta, then bake for pumpkin mac and cheese.

This recipe is for pumpkin cupcakes but I double it & make a cake that fits my glass casserole dish.

1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

mix wet ingredients
mix dry ingredients
mix dry ingredients into the wet ingredients

bake at 350 F for 20-22 minutes


Frosting

4 oz cream cheese
2 Tbsp butter
1 or 2 Tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners sugar (about 1/2 to 1 cup honey is an excellent substitute)

whisk butter, cream cheese, & vanilla
gradually add sugar
add milk

We had an overproduction of Squash and Pumpkins and had lots of recipes as well from my Thai family members as also from my German history.
The last recipe, which was impacting even the last Thai taste bud, was my stuffed Squashes and Pumpkins.

-Clean the inside of your Pumpkins or Squashes until the seed core is completely removed
-Spoon out the flesh until the rind with about 1/2" or 12 millimeter are left
-Pre-fry minced meat  (Pork or Beef or 50/50) in Olive oil, add equally diced Onions till they are glassy, the diced pumpking pieces you spooned out and last the diced tomatoes
-Add chopped Coriander, Salt, Pepper  (Oregano, Thyme who likes)

when the ingredients are slighly softened spoon them into the hollow Pumpkin until the Pumpkin/Squash is slightly dense filled.

Cover it with grated Cheese (Gouda, mild Cheddar or grated Pizza mix which I use) and bake it in the oven by 160 degree celsius (320 degr F)
In picture Nr 3 I used Hokkaido Puimpkins with the common processed cheese slices you find on every Cheeseburger, its also ok but not that exclusive.

After 45 minutes to an hour the flesh of the pumpkin should be soft and penetrateable with a fork as sign its all done.

Enjoy