9 Savory Pumpkin Recipes So Good, You’ll Forget About Pie

Overhead view of Ghapama on a purple background — Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

Pumpkin's earthy, mild sweetness makes it a versatile ingredient in more than just pumpkin bread and pie. It's just as effective as a pizza topping, tossed with pasta, and puréed into soups. These are nine of our favorite savory recipes to celebrate pumpkin season the way it was intended (no disrespect meant to the pumpkin spice latte's many fans).

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Yeasted Pumpkin Bread

This yeasted pumpkin bread is the perfect way to take your sandwich game up a notch. The soft and chewy bread is simply a white sandwich loaf that uses pumpkin purée instead of water. Despite its vibrant color, the purée's flavors are mild, giving the bread a subtle earthiness. It's as perfect for a grilled cheese as it is for French toast, bread pudding, or some morning toast with butter and jam.

Yeasted Pumpkin Bread
Stuffed Roast Pumpkins

There's more a vegetarian can enjoy on Thanksgiving and other holidays than tofurkey or a huge plate of sides. This stuffed pumpkin is a show-stopping option. The filling is made up of mushrooms, kale, pepitas, pecans, Gruyère, spiced cream, and kabocha squash, which intensifies the pumpkin's flavor. Once roasted, the pumpkin serves as a flavor-packed meatless main that even the omnivores will want to get their hands on.

Stuffed Roast Pumpkins
Hobak Beombeok (Korean Squash, Sweet Potato, and Bean Porridge)

Vicky Wasik

For a combination of warmth and fall in a bowl, make this Korean porridge. Traditionally, the dish uses a Korean pumpkin called neulgeun hobak, but since it can be difficult to find, butternut squash serves as a fine substitute. The squash is mixed with chestnuts, sweet potatoes, jujubes, and beans in a Dutch oven, all of which can be mashed and mixed with water until it reaches your preferred consistency. Serve hot or room temperature for a comforting meal at any time of day.

Hobak Beombeok (Korean Squash, Sweet Potato, and Bean Porridge)
Ghapama (Armenian Stuffed Pumpkin)

Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

Ghapama is a dish so beloved by Armenians that it even has its own traditional song, titled “Hey Jan Ghapama,” which translates to, “Hey Sweet Ghapama” or “Hey Dear Ghapama.” It’s easy to see why ghapama is worth singing about. A honey-butter glazed pumpkin is stuffed with a jeweled rice mixture that’s studded with a medley of dried fruits and nuts, sealed up, then slowly roasted to caramelized perfectionu ntil the pumpkin flesh is silken and buttery, and the rice perfectly plumped and evenly cooked.

Ghapama (Armenian Stuffed Pumpkin)

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The Best Pumpkin Pizza

J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

The plump pumpkins sitting on your doorstep might look pretty, but their flesh tends to be bland and stringy. When cooking, reach for smaller sugar pumpkins or kabocha squash. One of the best ways to prepare either is by roasting, which concentrates the sweet, earthy flavor—and one of the best ways to put it to use once you're done is this pizza. The name may sound gimmicky, but the combination of ingredients—mashed roasted pumpkin and sautéed pumpkin cubes, apple, sage, and a trio of gooey melted cheeses—is balanced and perfectly appropriate for fall.

The Best Pumpkin Pizza
Roasted Pumpkin Soup With Brown Butter and Thyme

J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

It takes a long time to roast a pumpkin until it's tender—this recipe calls for an hour and a half in the oven—but the rich, caramelized sweetness that the pumpkin develops as a result makes it all worthwhile. That deepening of flavor makes strong spices, like cinnamon and cloves, unnecessary in this warming, golden soup. We do add a little maple syrup, which complements the sautéed leeks and onions without turning the soup into a dessert.

Roasted Pumpkin Soup With Brown Butter and Thyme
Pumpkin Cornbread

Carrie Vasios Mullins

If you have strong feelings about cornbread, you probably fall on one side of a very clear divide: sweet, Northern-style bread, or the traditionally unsweetened Southern-style. This moist, lightly orange-hued bread manages to straddle that line: It leans a bit closer to Northern-style, with enough sugar to support the squashy sweetness of the pumpkin, but it isn't at all dessert-like. That makes it just as good for accompanying a main course, like a soup or chili, as it is spread with butter and jam for breakfast.

Pumpkin Cornbread
The Best Squash Lasagna

J. Kenji López-Alt

Though kabocha squash isn't the same as pumpkin, its flavor is so similar (and, as mentioned above, its texture often preferable) that it makes a totally adequate substitute. Like our pumpkin pizza, this lasagna incorporates both roasted and sautéed squash for lots of squash flavor and contrasting texture. The roasted batch is puréed with cream cheese, then layered with a squash and apple sauté, a thick béchamel, and no-bake lasagna noodles for the richest, creamiest fall casserole imaginable.

The Best Squash Lasagna

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Salty Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

J. Kenji López-Alt

While the flesh of carved pumpkins isn't great for eating, the seeds are another story. Wash and dry them, toss them with a little oil and seasonings, then roast for a crunchy snack. You don't need anything beyond salt and pepper to flavor them, but we've got nine tasty variations—featuring flavor combinations like browned butter and sage or soy sauce and furikake—if you want to spice them up.

Salty Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

November 2020

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9 Savory Pumpkin Recipes So Good, You’ll Forget About Pie

November 2020

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