Savoury Pumpkin Recipes

Check out these pumpkin recipes savory ideas. I have included a few of my own and a few recipes from other food bloggers!

When it comes to “pumpkin season,” thoughts come to mind of pumpkin cakes, lattes, bars, pie, etc., but I also want to share two of my favorite recipes that use this fall vegetable in a savory way, which I love! I hope that they inspire you to get back to this vegetable’s real basics. It tastes great without all the sugar and cinnamon! And for me, I love most of my pumpkin recipes savory!

These savoury pumpkin recipes would also make some beautiful plates for your Thanksgiving holiday! Pumpkin provides a lot of health benefits; it is rich in vitamin A and beta carotene, and fiber!

Check out my Mexican pumpkin recipe below!

Mexican Pumpkin Soup Recipe

What makes this pumpkin soup Mexican? The chiles, cumin, and lime pair well with the pumpkin, but it can also be made from winter squash in addition to pumpkin. Most pumpkin soup recipes are often a little on the sweet side, but this soup is savory and spicy! You could also mix winter squash in it, so it becomes a pumpkin butternut squash soup.

Makes 6-7 servings.

4 cups roasted pumpkin

4 1/2-5 cups of vegetable broth

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cups chopped onions

2 poblano peppers, seeded

2 large cloves of garlic, minced

1-1 1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons chile powder

1 tablespoon freshly ground cumin

3-4 tablespoons lime juice

Fresh ground pepper to taste

Toppings: toasted pumpkin seeds, chopped cilantro, Greek yogurt

Peel and toss the pumpkin in a small amount of olive oil and roast on a cookie sheet at 425 degrees until it is soft and begins to caramelize.

Allow the pumpkin to cool and blend it into a puree.

In a large stock pot, saute onions until they begin to soften. Chop poblano peppers and add them to the pot. Add chile powder, cumin, and garlic. Add broth and pureed pumpkin/squash.

Allow soup to simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve soup in bowls and add toppings.

But what if you don’t have pumpkin for a recipe? Let’s talk a little bit about how to substitute a winter squash for a pumpkin.

How to Substitute Winter Squash for Pumpkins?

I have had a lot of success interchanging winter squash and pumpkins in recipes. If I am roasting them in chunks, the winter squash and pumpkin cook up similarly, and if you are using a cooking pumpkin instead of a fibrous ornamental pumpkin, I feel that I get the same smoothness as a winter squash.

I love this resource on making pumpkin puree without the pumpkin, and the fact that Alanna has tried several types of winter squash is very helpful!

https://bojongourmet.com/homemade-pumpkin-puree-no-pumpkin

I have also used cooking pumpkin in place of winter squash in recipes with success. I created the recipe below using winter squash, but you can have success using pumpkins instead.

Roasted Butternut Squash Goat Cheese, Pear, and Arugula Salad

You can substitute roasted pumpkin for this butternut squash goat cheese salad, but you could use pumpkin instead. This is a salad recipe from my book, Farm Fresh Nutrition: Eating Green and Clean. Supporting Your Local Economy. You can find most of the ingredients for it locally during the fall and winter.

Makes 4 servings

1 large butternut squash or cooking pumpkin, seeded, peeled, and cut into one-inch cubes, or other squash you have on hand

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary from the garden

Salt and pepper

4 cups arugula

2 medium pears

1-2 tablespoons goat cheese or blue cheese

1-2 tablespoons pecans

2 pounds arugula

Preheat oven to 400 degrees as you seed, peel, and chop squash into one-inch cubes.

Roast the squash, tossed with one tablespoon of olive oil, for about 30 minutes until it gets soft and begins to caramelize.

In a small pan, add pecans to the oven and toast for 5 minutes.

Take out and let cool. While the squash is roasting, wash arugula well, drain, and add to a large shallow bowl.

Make dressing with balsamic vinegar, mustard, olive oil, chopped fresh rosemary, salt, and pepper.

After the squash is finished, allow it to cool slightly and add it on top of the arugula.

Drizzle with dressing and top with crumbled goat cheese and toasted pecans.

Additional Savoury Pumpkin Recipes

In addition to these 2 bountiful fall ideas for pumpkin recipes savory options, here are some more savoury pumpkin recipes.

Let’s start out with some on this website, and then I will share additional food bloggers’ recipes.

Risotto with Kale and Butternut Squash or Pumpkin

In addition, I have written several blog posts on cooking winter squashes, where you can replace pumpkin. Check these out!

Stuffed squash, which could also be a stuffed pumpkin

Pumpkin or Butternut Squash Macaroni and Cheese

Here are some of my other winter squash that can easily be pumpkin recipes savory ones that I hope you will love:

Cooking Winter Squash

Try These 10 delicious and easy best winter squash recipes

butternut squash pasta recipes

Here are the additional pumpkin recipes savory ones from other food bloggers that I want to make also:

Vegetarian Pumpkin Chili

Vegetarian Spinach Pumpkin Lasagna

Vegetarian Pumpkin Sloppy Joes

I love this recipe from registered dietitian Maggie at Once Upon a Pumpkin for enchiladas:

Pumpkin Enchiladas with Avocado Crema (you may also like my pumpkin/winter squash tacos, which also could be made into quesadillas)

Vegetarian Pumpkin Curry

Pumpkin Hummus

Make Some Pumpkin Recipes Savory Style

I hope that you will enjoy some of these pumpkin recipes savory options and know that it doesn’t have to always be sweet!

I hope that you get a chance to make this savory Mexican pumpkin soup recipe and the velvety butternut squash feta salad that has a special place at my fall table! As an Asheville Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, I love helping others find delicious recipes using seasonal ingredients that provide some health benefits too! I have a lot of menu and recipe ideas for the holidays on the Vine Ripe Nutrition blog, too! I hope that you find lots of tasty things that you will love.

If you would like to read more about nutrition and health in midlife, you can subscribe to my newsletter on Substack. I also have a free e-book on there on fighting chronic inflammation.