If you’re going to be making fresh pumpkin recipes, why not make a day of it?
Why do we so often put off a task time and time again, dreading and agonizing over it, only to finally get around to it and find it’s no big deal?
This has happened to me countless times. It’s almost always homemaking tasks.
I’ve wanted to try my hand at making pumpkin recipes from fresh pumpkin for years now and always end up grabbing the canned stuff to save time.
However this year, I knew I wanted to grow our own pumpkin patch. And we did!
This was far and away my favorite part of gardening this year. The kids and I all loved checking the pumpkin patch to see how many new pumpkins were growing and watching them turn from green to orange.
We still have a lot to learn about gardening but even the two small Winter Luxury pumpkins we harvested and prepared on this day gave us more than enough pumpkin puree for bagels, lattes, soup, chili, pumpkin bread and more. Not to mention the roasted seeds.
How To Prepare A Pumpkin
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Cut clean pumpkin down the middle with a sharp knife on a sturdy surface
- Scoop out seeds and fibers around seeds, set aside (don’t throw away!)
- Place pumpkin halves face down on a parchment paper-covered sheet pan
- Roast for 30-60 minutes depending on size of pumpkin, until easily pierced with a fork
- Allow to cool, then puree pumpkin with an immersion blender, food processor, or hand mixer
Once you have your puree, you can store it in the fridge, and this will be the base of all these wonderful recipes.
How To Roast Pumpkin Seeds
- Pull seeds out of pumpkin fibers and place in fine mesh strainer
- Rinse seeds thoroughly then place on tea towels to dry
- Toss with oil and roast seeds in a 300 degree oven for about 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes
- Seeds are done when golden brown and crispy
- Additionally, you can toss roasted seeds with melted butter, sea salt, and any seasonings you desire
Types of Pumpkins For Recipes
If you’re going to all this trouble, you may as well do multiple pumpkins at once, especially if they’re the very small pie pumpkins. Like I said before, we grew Winter Luxury pumpkins this year, which are used as decorative pumpkins as well as for baking. There are a few that are good for recipes while others are purely ornamental, so be sure to check which kind you’re getting before attempting to roast them!
Casper, Jarrahdale, Fairytale and Musquee de Provence are all said to be delicious for cooking as well.
I’m really tempted to go crazy with the pumpkin varieties next year…
Make A Day Of It
There’s just something fun about pumpkins. They’re cute, iconic and immediately make you think of fall. What kid doesn’t love to do anything pumpkin related?
Since we grew our own pumpkins this year and would need to harvest and prepare them, I decided to knock a lot of it out all in one go. It wasn’t as difficult or messy as I figured and my kids had a blast.
If you’re going to have a Pumpkin Day here are a few suggestions:
- Get out all your supplies first: cutting boards, a sharp knife, a bowl for scooping the seeds into, a mesh strainer, a metal spoon for scraping, a plastic sack for scraps, and aprons and dish rags all around. My son even opted for plastic gloves at one point because he is not a fan of messy hands.
- Let your kids do any part they can safely do. I mostly handled the knife, but I even let my older two help a bit with, under close supervision of course. Scooping, separating seeds, tossing the seeds with oil, pureeing the pumpkin once it’s cooled, and anything else you can give them to do.
- Make a recipe right away! A Pumpkin Day wouldn’t be complete without a taste test to reward all that hard work. There are so many good pumpkin recipes out there of course, and I’ve included three below to get your wheels turning.
3 Fresh Pumpkin Recipes
1. Cream of Pumpkin Soup
I threw this together the same day we made all the puree. I needed something quick and low effort after all the prepping the kids and I did. This soup came together in about 20 minutes, right as I was pulling my sourdough boule out of the oven that I had fermenting in the fridge few a couple of days. Can soup even be a meal without bread for dipping? Not in our house.
Cream of Pumpkin Soup
All you need is pumpkin puree, cream, broth, and some herbs and seasonings to bring together this autumnal recipe. Easily adjusted to taste, sweet or savory, loaded or as-is, you're going to love this gorgeously colored soup that tastes like Fall in a mug!
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups pumpkin puree
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup broth (water works as well)
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp rosemary
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg (optional)
- sprinkle of paprika (optional)
- roasted pumpkin seeds for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Whisk together pumpkin, cream and broth in a large saucepan.
- Add the rest of the ingredients except paprika and seeds.
- Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
- Once heated through, use an immersion blender, VitaMix, or other heat-proof blender to make soup velvety smooth.
- Top with paprika and seeds, if desired.
- Serve in soup mugs or bowls alongside crusty bread if you like!
Notes
A bit of cayenne and black pepper is also delicious in this soup
Topping ideas:
bacon
crispy sage leaves sautéed in brown butter
sunflower seeds
pepitas
toasted pecans
sour cream
additional herbs like fresh thyme, rosemary or sage
extra cream
hot honey
croutons
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a 5-Star review!
2. Sourdough Pumpkin Bagels
You can make these sweet or more on the savory side. We made ours more savory/plain so we had options on toppings. Cream cheese with cinnamon sugar as our go-to sweet option, and salted butter with cheesy scrambled eggs for savory.
Sourdough Pumpkin Bagels
Make these sweet with brown sugar and cinnamon, or savory for delicious breakfast sandwiches. Either way, this recipe is super simple and satisfying.
-This recipe was adapted from The Pantry Mama-
Ingredients
- 110g (1/2 cup) sourdough starter- bubbly and active
- 250g (1 cup) fresh pumpkin puree (canned will also work)
- 30g (1.5 Tbsp) honey
- 9g (1.5 tsp) salt
- 30g (1/4 cup) water* if needed, see instructions
- 1 Tbsp baking soda* for boiling
Instructions
- Once your starter is bubbly and ready (fed within the last 4-12 hours), add starter, pumpkin puree and honey (see notes if you're making the sweet option)* to the bowl of a stand mixer, or a regular bowl if you're kneading by hand, and stir to combine. A whisk may be preferable here.
- Add the flour and salt and stir with a wooden spoon. Dough will be shaggy. At this point you can assess if you need to add water. Use yours hands to bring the dough together and if it's just too dry, add the water little by little. If you used canned pumpkin rather than fresh, you're more likely to need that extra water. Either way, the dough should be on the dry, shaggy side.
- Cover bowl with a tea towel or plastic wrap and allow to autolyse (absorb moisture) for about 15 minutes.
- With your stand mixer, knead on low speed until the dough is smooth, not sticky. This sort of dough doesn't need to pass the windowpane test and won't be elastic, but it should be smooth and firm. (You can also sot his by hand going for the same effect. It might take upwards of 10 minutes of kneading as it is a stiff dough).
- Cover and allow to rise for 10-12 hours until doubled and puffy.
- Divide the dough into 10 equal parts, roll the pieces into balls, poke a hole in the center of each ball, and pull to create a ring. Stretch the hole larger than it actually needs to be as it will shrink up as the bagels rise and especially while boiling.
- Cover and allow the bagels to do their second rise, 2-4 hours or until very puffy.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add the baking soda. Boil the bagels 2-3 at a time, for 30 seconds on each side. Remove to a towel-covered plate or cooling rack to drain excess water.
- Transfer boiled bagels to a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown.
- Once baked, you can brush them with butter, as well as dip them into cinnamon sugar for your sweeter option.
- Use a sharp bread knife to cut bagels down the middle. I recommend toasting any leftover bagels for the best texture. You can also decorate them with chocolate chips like we did, especially if yours happens to send up with a triangular hole 🙂
Notes
* For the sweeter option, add 50g (1/4 cup) brown sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon along with the starter, pumpkin and honey, then continue to prepare as directed.
* Only add the water if you need it to bring the dough together. If it will only crumble apart even when you press it with your hands, then add the water a little at a time. It will be a little difficult to bring it together either way and the dough will be on the dry, stiff side, but a little water might be necessary, especially if you aren't using fresh pumpkin which has a higher water content than canned.
* Don't add the baking soda to the dough, it is only for the boiling water. The sourdough starter is all you need to leaven the bagels.
3. Pumpkin Honey Cold Foam
Cheaper and healthier than Starbucks by a long shot. All you need is a way to froth the cream to make this super thick cold foam to adorn your next autumn coffee creation.
Pumpkin Honey Cold Foam
Try this thick and luscious cold foam when you want a cold coffee treat with an autumn feel.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 Tbsp pumpkin puree
- 3 Tbsp honey
- 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice OR 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp each nutmeg and allspice
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Add heavy cream to a wide-mouth jar (if using immersion blender), blender, or non-heated milk frother. You can also use a hand mixer with whisk attachment and a small mixing bowl, or shake vigorously in a mason jar with a secure lid.
- Add the pumpkin, honey, salt and spices.
- Blend until very thick, just short of whipped cream.
- Add to the top of an iced latte or favorite drink.
- Store leftovers in a jar with a lid. Use within 5 days.
You don’t have to grow your own pumpkins to have a Pumpkin Day and enjoy fresh pumpkin recipes. You could even make a cute craft or print some coloring pages to reinforce the theme and round out the day. I hope you and your family have fun with it!
-Tara
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