halloween

50+ Must-Make Pumpkin Recipes to Celebrate Fall

updated Sep 1, 2023
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Credit: Kelli Foster

I used to wait until we were deep into fall, when the leaves were changing and the cool weather demanded cozy sweaters, to jump into pumpkin mode. But as Starbucks has moved up the release of their Pumpkin Spice Lattes earlier and earlier, I can’t help but to follow their lead (although I still stick with making my pumpkin lattes at home). It’s never too soon to dig into a batch of pumpkin cookies, quick breads, porridge, or stuffed pumpkins and even quesadillas.

If you, too, are currently smitten with all things pumpkin — whether you’re using canned or homemade pumpkin purée — consider this your recipe hit list. And if you’re ready to get cooking or baking only to realize you’re out of pumpkin purée, roasted butternut squash, acorn squash, and sweet potatoes all make good pumpkin purée substitutes.

We’re sharing more than 50 sweet and savory pumpkin recipes is sure to satisfy your fall cravings from breakfast, dinner, to all the snacks in between.

Vegetarian Pumpkin Recipes

Whether you start by roasting a fresh pumpkin in the oven or opening a can of purée, there are so many ways to make this seasonal squash the star of the dinner table. From soups and creamy pastas to casseroles and quesadillas, what will you try first?

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Instant Pot Pumpkin Purée
Yes, you can make fresh, homemade pumpkin purée at home with the help of an electric pressure cooker. Here's how.
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2 / 10
Pumpkin Pasta Sauce

This vegetarian one-pot pasta, which is built on cans of diced tomatoes and pumpkin purée, is ready in about 15 minutes.

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3 / 10
Pumpkin Quesadillas with Lime-Jalapeño Yogurt
The next time you have a lone cup of leftover purée lingering in the fridge, I highly suggest using it for cheesy quesadillas.
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4 / 10
Slow Cooker Vegan Pumpkin Curry
A few hours in the slow cooker leaves the pumpkin wonderfully tender and infused with warm, spiced aromas.
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5 / 10
Creamy One-Pot Pumpkin Pasta
If you love a good creamy pasta dinner, you cannot let fall pass you by without making this one.
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6 / 10
How To Make Pumpkin Soup in 20 Minutes
The easiest (and tastiest) pumpkin soup, thanks to a can of pumpkin and your spice drawer.
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7 / 10
Pumpkin & Ricotta Pasta Casserole
Take a pound of pasta, a can of pumpkin purée, some cheese, some herbs, and there you go — a hot, bubbly, fragrant casserole for dinner. All with about 10 minutes of work.
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8 / 10
Miso Pumpkin Soup
After you've had your fill of basic pumpkin soup, go ahead and try this one. Umami-rich miso paste packs this naturally sweet soup with a wave of savory flavor.
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9 / 10
Two-Ingredient Pumpkin Hummus
It’s an easy, impressive-looking super fall-themed appetizer that wows friends and calls for just two ingredients.
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10 / 10
Pumpkin Risotto Recipe
If you only make one savory pumpkin dish this season, this just has to be it. Pumpkin risotto is one of the many variations on the classic Italian slow-cooked rice dish, which is made with a type of rice that releases some of its starch into the cooking liquid, creating its own sauce.
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Best Pumpkin Desserts

When it comes to pumpkin desserts, there are so many options. So to help make your decision a little easier and guarantee you’ll have a truly delicious treat, we’re sharing the best of the best, from pie to cake to no-bake treats and everything in between.

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Pumpkin Ice Cream
Whipped together with pumpkin purée and warm baking spices, this no-churn pumpkin ice cream practically screams fall.
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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
They’re everything you love about a classic chewy-yet-crisp chocolate chip cookie amped up with a generous amount of pumpkin and warm spices.
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Pumpkin Scone

Showering the tops with crunchy sugar and irresistible cinnamon glaze gives this pumpkin scone a touch of texture and decadence. They're just sweet enough for breakfast or anytime dessert eating.

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Classic Pumpkin Pie
When you're craving classic pumpkin pie with a just sweet enough, lightly spiced, creamy custard, this is the answer.
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Pumpkin Tres Leches

The classic "three milks" cake gets a cozy autumnal makeover thanks to pumpkin purée and warming spices like cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves.

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Pumpkin Bundt with Cinnamon Streusel and Salted Caramel
With a moist pumpkin base, a sweet brown sugar streusel, and a generous pour of salted caramel sauce, it’s the cake you’ll want to make more than once this fall.
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Pumpkin Cheesecake
The lively, familiar spices of classic pumpkin pie are balanced by the creamy goodness of a New York-style cheesecake.
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Pumpkin Pie Bars
With just 5 ingredients, these pumpkin pie bars are easy to make and share.
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Frozen 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter-Pumpkin Bites
You only need 3 ingredients for these frozen treats: chocolate-covered pretzels, pumpkin purée, and peanut butter!
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Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
A classic sweetly-spiced pumpkin sheet cake with soft cream cheese frosting.
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Pumpkin Patch Brownies
These chewy chocolate brownies are topped with toasted coconut "hay" and candy pumpkins for a fun and festive fall treat.
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Easy 5-Ingredient Mini Pumpkin Pies
Mini pies are just as sweet, creamy, and warmly spiced as their full-sized friends, but they bake up faster and are easy enough for kids to make.
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No-Bake Easy Pumpkin Cheesecake
This easy-peasy dessert packs all the best parts of a full-sized cheesecake — the light-as-air spiced pumpkin filling, the crumbly graham cracker crust, the swoosh of whipped cream — into a single-serve treat.
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Easy, Foolproof Pumpkin Roll
This delicately sweet and warmly spiced cake tastes just as gorgeous as it looks and bakes up tender and moist. Here's a pumpkin roll that anyone can make!
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No-Knead Pumpkin Rolls with Brown Sugar Glaze
With a full can of pumpkin purée and a sticky pecan filling, these swirled rolls might just be the best thing you eat for breakfast all fall.
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Pumpkin Spiced Peanut Butter Cups
If peanut butter cups hold a permanent spot in your heart, you've got to make this fall-inspired version ASAP.
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Sweet Pumpkin Recipes

When we think of pumpkin recipes, it’s easy to jump straight to sweets, like quick breads, cookies, cakes, pies, bars, and breakfast treats. This lineup includes favorites we’ll be devouring all season.

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Pumpkin Pancakes

These ultra-fluffy pancakes are loaded with real pumpkin and sweet spices.

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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

In case you didn't know, pumpkin, warm fall spices, and chocolate chips are a delicious trifecta.

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3 / 21
Pumpkin Bread
Inspired by the version at Starbucks, this is the pumpkin bread our whole team keeps coming back to again and again. Best of all, it uses up a whole can of pumpkin.
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4 / 21
Pumpkin Custard
Pumpkin custard is the ideal dessert for anyone who loves the filling in pumpkin pie.
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Soft and Easy (Lofthouse-Style) Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
These soft and easy Lofthouse-style pumpkin cookies come together with just five ingredients, and are finished with cream cheese frosting.
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Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
Cheesecake meets pumpkin pie, all layered on a classic graham cracker crust.
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Ginger Pumpkin Pie with Graham Cracker Crust
A new favorite take on pumpkin pie made with a graham cracker crust and a heaping spoonful of fresh ginger.
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Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispie Treats
This easy recipe for Rice Krispies treats flavored with pumpkin purée and spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg.
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Maple Pumpkin Pie with Streusel Topping
Classic pumpkin pie gets a totally delicious twist with a maple-sweetened filling and crispy streusel topping.
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Pumpkin Dump Cake
This pumpkin dump cake, which bakes up into three distinct, delicious layers, is impressive enough to serve on your holiday table, but easy enough for even the most amateur baker.
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Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pumpkin purée and chocolate chips give oatmeal cookies an instant upgrade.
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Easy Pumpkin Pie
With just five ingredients and no measuring cups required, this is truly the easiest pumpkin pie you'll ever make.
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Pumpkin Spice French Toast
This recipe is everything you love about Starbucks' iconic pumpkin spice latte transformed into a quick and easy French toast recipe. It comes together in less than 20 minutes and is seasoned with warm pumpkin pie spice and a dash of espresso powder to make it taste just like the real deal.
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Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Just when you thought cinnamon-kissed snickerdoodles couldn't get any better, this recipe shows you otherwise.
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Pumpkin Magic Cake
This cake has a little something to satisfy all the pumpkin lovers around the table. It's thick at the bottom, rich and custardy in the middle, and fluffy like a super-moist sponge cake on top.
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How To Make Pumpkin Dessert Lasagna
Pumpkin dessert lasagna is an easy make-ahead dessert perfect for Thanksgiving.
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Pumpkin French Toast Casserole
Thick cubes of brioche are infused with rich custard packed with warm spices and a double dose of pumpkin, then topped with a brown sugar-pecan streusel.
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Slow Cooker Creamy Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal
Toss everything into the slow cooker before going to bed, and not only will you wake up to breakfast, but your kitchen will smell amazing.
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Korean Pumpkin Porridge with Rice Dumplings (Hobakjuk)

In addition to the velvety pumpkin, hobakjuk has delightfully chewy rice balls and makes a delicious winter breakfast or subtly sweet dessert.

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Chai-Spiced Pumpkin Bars
Made with a tender, nutty crust and fluffy pumpkin and chai spice filling, these bars also happen to be completely free of gluten, dairy, eggs, nuts, and refined sugar.
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Pumpkin Chai-Spiced Monkey Bread
This sweet and gooey monkey bread comes loaded with pumpkin and chai flavors, and is sure to be loved by the entire family.
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Pumpkin Recipes for Dinner

Consider this one last reminder that pumpkin most definitely has a place in savory dishes on the dinner table. Its natural sweetness pairs particularly well with warm, smoky spices and meats.

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One-Pot Creamy Pumpkin Pasta
This vegetarian one-pot pasta, which is made with mostly pantry staples, is ready in 15 minutes flat.
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2 / 7
Pumpkin Chili
Stir in some pumpkin purée and you'll be on the fast track to a truly memorable pot of chili.
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3 / 7
Syrian Stuffed Pumpkins
Syrian stuffed peppers are the inspiration for this hearty seasonal recipe
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4 / 7
Pork, Pumpkin, and Cornbread Casserole
This savory and smoky casserole is totally doable any night of the week.
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5 / 7
Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good

From the mind of Dorie Greenspan comes a festive cooking project that is as tasty as it is fun to make.

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6 / 7
Pork, Poblano, and Pumpkin Stew
Starting with lean pork tenderloin keeps the cook time on this seasonal stew to a minimum, and doable on a weeknight.
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7 / 7
Savory Stuffed Pumpkin with Sausage and Gruyère
Stuffed with an ultra-savory, cheesy bread pudding, this dinner tastes just as incredible as it looks. You can keep it vegetarian by using plant-based sausage instead of Italian sausage.
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Pumpkin Drinks

Pricey coffee-shop drinks aren’t the only way to get your fill of pumpkin-kissed favorites. Stay in your PJs and make these cozy drinks at home.

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Pumpkin Spice Frozen Latte
A blended frozen coffee drink made with ice, coffee concentrate, milk, syrup, pumpkin spice, and pumpkin purée.
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2 / 7
Pumpkin Spice Latte
How to make the best-ever PSL in your own kitchen — no milk frother or special syrup required.
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3 / 7
Slow Cooker Pumpkin Spice Lattes
This pumpkin spice latte recipe keeps warm in the slow cooker and doesn't even require an espresso machine, so you can cozy up and stay inside instead.
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4 / 7
Spiked Pumpkin Spice Creamer
Homemade pumpkin spice creamer, spiked with bourbon and flavored with pumpkin purée and spices, turns coffee into an after-dinner treat.
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Spiked Pumpkin Pie Milkshake
Or if you want something a bit more decadent, go for the spiked pumpkin pie milkshake. You won't be sorry.
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6 / 7
Hot Pumpkin Buttered Rum
Hot buttered rum is already like a warm hug. Add pumpkin and you've got fall's best cocktail.
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7 / 7
Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
Yes, pie for breakfast is a wonderful treat on it's own, but this pumpkin pie smoothie really takes that to the next level!
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