With fall in full swing, the season for pumpkins and squashes of all sorts is finally here too. It’s also the season of colds unfortunately and as I’ve had the ‘pleasure’ of having been intimately acquainted with a nasty one this past week I was not in a state to shoot a new recipe. Instead, I gathered all of my favourite pumpkin and squash recipes here hoping to bring you some culinary inspiration while I get better.

While the post title talks about pumpkins, I included both pumpkin and squash recipes in my round up as they are very close cousins and many of them can be used pretty much interchangeably. In fact, whether a plant is classified as a pumpkin or squash differs between counties. In my native Poland, for example, butternut squash is a type of pumpkin. Yup, it’s dynia piżmowa and dynia is Polish for pumpkin. Even within English speaking world there does not seem to be a consensus. While in the UK and America, the same vegetable is called butternut squash, in Australia and New Zealand, they call it butternut pumpkin. So in this spirit, I included both types of recipes on here. As long as you replace a squash with a firm, eating pumpkin you enjoy, you’ll get similar results. If the recipe calls for a pumpkin, use a firm, yellow-flesh squash instead and you won’t be disappointed either.

VEGAN PUMPKIN PANCAKES

Let’s start off with an indulgent weekend breakfast or a special treaty. These vegan pumpkin pancakes are soft and fluffy and easy to make too. They are deliciously spiced and fabulous served with some seasonal fruit – I used fresh blackberries but if you are making them later in the season frozen blackberries turned into a compote will work just as well. I love serving them with a dollop of creamy coconut yoghurt, a sprinkling of cinnamon and some toasted pecans. This is what breakfast dreams are made out of…

BAKED PUMPKIN FALAFELS

These pumpkin falafels are delicious and healthy too. As opposed to traditional falafels they are baked in the oven, rather than fried. If you are ready to scroll past them because you’ve had enough of overly dry baked falafels in your life, don’t. These are different. I use soaked rather than cooked chickpeas to make these stubby falafels, which means that they absorb excess moisture from the pumpkin puree while they bake making these falafels perfectly moist, but not too moist. Try them, you’ll fall in love and want to make them with beetroot, sweet potato and even a zucchini too 😉 .

MISO PUMPKIN PASTA

Pumpkin pasta is one of my mid-week staples when days before shorter and this miso pumpkin pasta does not disappoint, it’s creamy, full of umami with some contrasting crunch too and not hard to make either.

VEGAN PUMPKIN LASAGNA

If you are entertaining a crowd or simply want to take a meal that will keep you going for a few days, this vegan pumpkin lasagna has your name on it. Like most lasagnas, it needs a bit of love and care to come together, but once it does, it’s a delicious and nourishing meal that provides heaps of comfort.

VEGAN PUMPKIN RAMEN

Pumpkin and squash are both ideal candidates for a soup, but if you are especially hungry or want to go all out, why not convert them into a satiating bowl of ramen instead – it’s a kind of soup but so much more than that. This vegan pumpkin ramen is by no means traditional, but it tastes great and doesn’t take heaps of time to make so that’s what matters. It mostly gets made in an oven tray and in a blender. I love it, hope you’ll too.

LEBANESE PUMPKIN HUMMUS

Sweet roasted pumpkin lends itself well to being turned into a silky smooth dip and this Lebanese-inspired pumpkin hummus fusion is to die for. I find its sweetness against tangy lemon juice and nutty tahini truly addictive.

VEGAN PUMPKIN GALETTE

This pumpkin and caramelised onion galette wrapped in a tender spelt flour pastry is such a delicious vegan centrepiece. As galettes are freehand pies, you can adapt the recipe to whatever size you need – if you plan to serve more people, scale it up or make into cute individual pies.

VEGAN PUMPKIN CURRY

I hesitated to include this vegan pumpkin curry recipe as it’s a very old recipe so the photos are not the most appetising, but the flavours really are on point! It’s a fairly mild curry – although you can always up its hotness by adding fresh or ground chillies to taste – fragrant with warming spices of cumin, coriander, cinnamon, turmeric and garam masala. It’s finished off with creamy coconut milk and a squeeze of lime to balance pumpkin’s natural sweetness. I love it with plain rice, fresh coriander and toasted cashews for some much needed crunch.

VEGAN CHEESELESS PIZZA

Pumpkin makes a delicious fall-inspired pizza topping too. This vegan cheeseless pizza uses Jim Lahey’s famous no knead pizza base and a few simple toppings to a delicious end result.

CARAMELISED SQUASH AND ONION PASTA

This simple caramelised squash and onion pasta is really easy to make and so super achievable on a mid-week night. I roasted balsamic marinated red onion and chopped up squash in a hot oven while I get on with the rest of the prep. I used squash for this pasta, but good eating pumpkin (like Kabocha, for example) will work just as well.

VEGAN PUMPKIN RISOTTO

A bowl of creamy risotto is a perfect cold weather fare and this vegan pumpkin risotto is no different. I incorporated roasted pumpkin in two forms here, some of it is blended and added to the rice with the stock and the rest kept whole and used as a topping.

ROASTED SQUASH SALAD

The start of this delicious fall-inspired salad is roasted acorn squash but the flavours will work just as well with a good eating pumpkin so pick whichever you prefer. Squash sweetness is perfectly balanced with the acidity of quick pickled onion and balsamic glaze. Cook black rice bulks this salad up and toasted pecans add another layer of texture.

ROASTED SQUASH ON BEAN MASH

This roasted squash on bean mash makes for a delicious starter or main when coupled up with your favourite bread. This recipe uses acorn squash but any good eating pumpkin variety will work with these flavours and produce just as delicious end result.

VEGAN PUMPKIN CAKE WITH PECAN FROSTING

Naturally sweet pumpkin flesh makes for a fantastic addition to cakes and desserts of all sorts. This moist and fragrant with pumpkin pie spices vegan pumpkin loaf comes together in a single bowl. It’s topped with a luscious pecan butter frosting that makes this simple cake even more special.

PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CUPS

These dainty looking pumpkin chocolate cups make for delicious diminutive treats. They are easy to put together and keep well so you can make loads and keep them in your freezer for a rainy day.

VEGAN PUMPKIN PIE

Pumpkin pie is a classic Thanksgiving dessert and this vegan pumpkin pie is my take on in, it’s silky smooth, fragrant with warming spices and easy to make too.

VEGAN PUMPKIN CAKE WITH CHEESECAKE SWIRLS

This simple pumpkin cake with swirls of tangy vegan cheesecake on top is one of my favourite autumn cakes on my blog. It’s simple to make and really delicious. It combines sweetness of pumpkin, pumpkin pie spices and tangy, citrusy and creamy cheesecake layer. To die for, seriously!

VEGAN PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE JARS

Finally, these pumpkin cheesecake jars are a no bake dessert that will make your coffee break a little more exciting. They are just the right amount of sweet, fragrant with spices, creamy and with just a little bit of crunch from the biscuit base. Yum.