11 Sweet and Savory Pumpkin Recipes to Make the Most of Fall

🎃 Pumpkin isn’t just for decorating the porch

Every October, same story. You buy one for the front steps, watch it go soft, and forget you can eat it. Once it’s turned into puree, though, pumpkin goes everywhere: into a pie, a loaf, muffins, a sauce for gnocchi.

Most of what’s here is sweet, because cinnamon and ginger are where pumpkin shines. But there’s also a soup, quesadillas and even a cocktail. Want to start from scratch? Homemade puree is on the list. The canned stuff does the job just fine too.

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Pumpkin Pie Recipe (Old-Fashioned)

The classic: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and allspice, with evaporated milk in the filling. The trick to keep the crust from going soggy is in the recipe. With homemade whipped cream, obviously.

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Pumpkin bread

A moist loaf scented with cinnamon and ginger, topped with pumpkin seeds. Stir just enough to wet the flour and no more: that’s what keeps it tender. It spends a good hour in the oven and the whole house smells like fall.

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Pumpkin muffins with pecan streusel

Tall, domed muffins with a pecan streusel and a maple glaze. The dome comes from the oven: you start very hot, then lower the temperature partway through. There’s orange zest in the batter, and you can tell.

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Pumpkin Cookies Recipe (Soft and Chewy)

Soft cookies the way we like them, with the sugar and cinnamon set on top instead of rolled. They look done before they are, so leave them in the oven right to the end. They firm up as they cool.

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Pumpkin Bars Recipe (Cream Cheese Frosting)

A moist cake cut into squares, under a thick layer of cream cheese and maple syrup frosting. The frosting chills in the fridge before it’s spread: that’s what lets you pile on so much. Stir the batter as little as you can.

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Pumpkin Crème Caramel

A crème caramel where pumpkin puree meets vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. The milk is steeped with orange and lemon zest first. The dessert to bring out when you have company and want something other than pie.

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Pumpkin Puree Recipe (Homemade)

The base for everything else. The pumpkin roasts in the oven, goes through the food processor, then drains overnight in the fridge. Don’t skip that step, it’s the one that makes the difference. And keep the seeds.

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Pumpkin and leeks soup with apple beer

Pumpkin, leeks, sweet potato and a Cortland apple, simmered with apple beer and chicken broth. Finished with chives and parmesan shavings. A mellow, slightly fruity soup for weeknights.

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Gnocchi with pumpkin and fine herbs sausages

Fresh gnocchi in a pumpkin puree and pecorino sauce, with herb sausage meat and fresh thyme. A pinch of nutmeg to finish. Everything happens in the same pot.

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Quesadillas with chicken, pumpkin and smoked gouda

Oven-roasted pumpkin, curried chicken, slow-cooked onions and smoked gouda melting between two tortillas. Dip it in chipotle sour cream. Proof that pumpkin belongs at supper.

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N'Espresso pumpkin spice martini

A fall espresso martini: pumpkin spice coffee, coffee liqueur, vodka and a pinch of pumpkin pie spice, shaken over ice. A few coffee beans on top. You can even serve it in a hollowed-out mini pumpkin.

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