41 Savory Pumpkin Recipes for Delicious Fall Dinners

Pumpkin isn’t just for your lattes and sweet treats. Put the season’s most popular veggie to use with these delicious and satisfying savory pumpkin recipes.

Is Pumpkin Savory or Sweet?

The answer to this super common conundrum? It’s both! When you think about pumpkin, your mind might immediately picture a deliciously sweet pumpkin spice latte. Or pumpkin bread. Or pumpkin pie! Though pumpkin does have a slight natural sweetness to it, it’s also relatively neutral, meaning it can take on both sweet and savory flavors. I like to think of pumpkin as similar to sweet potatoes or other winter squashes – sometimes I like to add a little salt, sometimes a little sugar. It’s all about the spices you add to it. It’s also about preference! Some people might put pumpkin staunchly in the pie category, while others crave pumpkin packed into a hearty chili. As for me, I love it all.

Pumpkin Nutrition

Another reason to love pumpkin: it’s extremely nutritious. About one cup of canned pumpkin contains:

7 grams of fiber
3 grams of protein
209% DV of Vitamin A
37% DV of Vitamin K
22% DV of Vitamin E
18% DV of Iron
Some magnesium, vitamin B2, vitamin C, and potassium

Should I Use Canned or Fresh Pumpkin?

Though we often hear the rhetoric that fresh is best, canned pumpkin contains exactly the same nutrients as fresh pumpkin. Most recipes you’ll find call for canned pumpkin because it’s super easy to work with, it has a great texture, and some find it actually tastes better. You can absolutely slice, de-seed, and cut up pumpkin similar to other squashes, and you can make your own puree too, but when in doubt, grab a can.

What Does Pumpkin Pair Best With?

In the sweet camp, you can’t go wrong with nutmeg, cinnamon, or ginger. However, for savory pumpkin recipes, there are a ton of options. Spices that pair well include cayenne, black pepper, turmeric, cumin, and curry powder. Herbs like rosemary and thyme can really add that warm fall flavor, too. If you peruse the recipes below, you’ll see a variety of other ingredients, from salty cheese to dried fruit to proteins like chicken and turkey.