Pumpkin dishes are popular all over the world. People use it to make soup, casseroles, puree, or salads. For example, in Austria, you can even try pumpkin schnapps or pumpkin coffee. We at AdmiGram.com are saddened that you can only bake a pumpkin in the oven.
To rectify this regrettable oversight, we’ve selected five of the simplest and most delicious dishes you can make with pumpkin. These dishes are not only incredibly tasty but also exceptionally nutritious, as pumpkin is a low-calorie vegetable loaded with essential vitamins!
What to cook with pumpkin: 5 best recipes
Pumpkin soup with chicken and corn
Ingredients:
- Pumpkin – 2 lb (900 g)
- Chicken breast – 2 lb (900 g)
- Fresh or canned corn – 1 lb (400 g)
- Bell pepper – 7 oz (200 g)
- Hot chili pepper – 1 oz (30 g)
- Olive oil – 1 oz (30 g)
- Onions – 2 pieces
- Ground chili pepper – 1 tsp
- Paprika, ground black pepper, salt, cumin, fresh oregano – to taste
- Flour for sprinkling vegetables – 1-2 tbsp
How to cook:
Peel and cut the pumpkin, bell pepper, and onions into sticks or cubes. Set them aside. Heat olive oil in a skillet, add sliced or cubed chicken breast, and fry over medium heat until golden brown. Transfer the browned meat to a separate pot with salted water and boil for 20 minutes.
At this time, place the previously cut pumpkin, bell pepper, and onions in a skillet. Sauté for 10 minutes. Then add flour, cumin, paprika, hot peppers, salt, and stir-fry for 5 minutes. Add the corn to the mixture, stir, and transfer it to a large pot. If you’re using fresh corn, add it to the skillet together with the pumpkin.
Put the vegetable mixture into a separate pot, add 1/3 of the chicken broth, cover with a lid, and simmer for 15 minutes. Then, empty the contents of the pot with the vegetables into the pot where the meat is boiling. Add the remaining spices (oregano, cumin, and paprika) to the soup.
Simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. Serve the soup immediately. You can add a spoonful of sour cream and croutons to the soup. The soup should have a spicy flavor to balance the sweetness of the pumpkin.
Fried pumpkin in breadcrumbs
Ingredients:
- Pumpkin – 1 lb (400 g)
- Breadcrumbs – 3 oz (85 g)
- Vegetable oil – 4 tbsp
- Ground black pepper, spices, and salt – to taste
How to cook:
Slice the peeled pumpkin into slices or other shapes for presentation. Coat the pumpkin pieces well with breadcrumbs, salt, and spices. Fry the slices in vegetable oil on both sides until they are cooked, flipping them several times. The pumpkin slices should have a golden crust on all sides. Serve the pumpkin with spicy ketchup or tartar sauce.
Pumpkin lasagna
Ingredients:
- Pumpkin – 1 lb (400 g)
- Lasagna sheets – 8-10 sheets
- Walnuts – 2 oz (60 g)
- Parmesan or other hard cheese – to taste
For bechamel sauce:
- Butter – 1 oz (30 g)
- Flour – 1-2 tbsp
- Milk – 2 cups
- Pepper, ground nutmeg, salt – to taste
How to cook:
Peel the pumpkin and grate it coarsely. Prepare the bechamel sauce: melt the butter, sauté the flour in it until it has a nutty aroma, gently pour in hot milk, making sure no lumps form, and mix well. Season the sauce with salt, grated nutmeg, and let it simmer for 4-5 minutes, stirring well.
If any lumps have formed, pour the sauce through a sieve into another container. Toast the walnuts in a skillet and lightly crush them. Boil the lasagna sheets in boiling salted water for 3-4 minutes, adding two tablespoons of vegetable oil to prevent them from sticking together. It’s better to cook the sheets in batches rather than all at once (to prevent them from sticking together).
Pour the sauce onto the bottom of a baking dish, place a lasagna sheet, spread a sufficient layer of grated pumpkin, sprinkle with walnuts, pour sauce, and sprinkle with Parmesan. Arrange all the layers of pumpkin and lasagna sheets in this sequence.
Generously sprinkle the top layer with grated cheese and walnuts. Bake in the oven at 340°F (170°C) until it’s ready, approximately 20-25 minutes. Serve the lasagna hot with fruit or vegetable juice.
Pumpkin milk buns
Ingredients:
- Pumpkin – 1 lb (400 g)
- Dry yeast – 1 tsp
- Water – 0.5 cup
- Pumpkin puree – 3-4 fl oz (100 ml)
- Vegetable oil – 1.5 fl oz (50 ml)
- Almonds – 1 oz (30 g)
- Milk – 3-4 fl oz (100 ml)
- Dried sage – 1 tsp
- Salt – 1 tsp
- All-purpose flour – 2 cups (400 g)
How to cook:
Peel the pumpkin and cut it into small pieces. Boil the pumpkin pieces until they are tender. Drain the water and make a puree. In a mixing bowl, add the dry yeast, water, pumpkin puree, milk, salt, dried sage, and oil. Mix well until it’s homogeneous, then add the flour, reserving a bit for dusting the work surface. Knead the dough until it’s smooth, cover it, and place it in a draft-free, warm area to let it rise.
Once the dough has risen, roll it out into a sheet about 1 inch (2-3 cm) thick. Divide into 12 pieces and form into balls. Use a knife to make slits on the sides of the balls to resemble pumpkins. Brush the buns with oil to create a golden crust when baked. Transfer them to a baking sheet and place them in a preheated oven at 480°F (250°C) for 20-30 minutes. Serve the buns warm with homemade jam or milk.
Pumpkin marmalade
Ingredients:
- Sweet pumpkin flesh – 7 oz (100 g)
- Sugar – 7 oz (100 g)
- Cinnamon sticks – 1-2 pieces
- Vanilla – 1-2 pinches
- Lemon juice – 2 tbsp
How to cook:
Grate the pumpkin using the finest grater and mix it with sugar. Leave it for 2 hours to let the pumpkin release its juice. Then add vanilla, ground cinnamon, and lemon juice to the mixture and mix well. Over low heat, stirring periodically, cook the mixture until it thickens. Be careful, the mixture may sputter from the pan and burn you!
Simmer for 20-30 minutes after it starts boiling. In the end, the pumpkin mixture will become thicker and slightly translucent. Line large ice cube trays with plastic wrap. When the pumpkin mixture has cooled down and is just slightly warm, scoop it into the trays. Place the marmalade in the refrigerator overnight to allow it to set properly.
