From Soups to Salads to Pastas, These Are the Best Ways to Savor Fall Vegetables

With butternut squash, potatoes, tomatoes, celery root, and onions, this rustic-luxe dish is shot through with the essence of saffron.

“This salad is all about texture. The crispy chicories, jammy dates, and crunchy walnuts are very satisfying,” says Kelly Mariani, chef at Scribe Winery, in Sonoma County.

For this recipe, throw the pumpkins directly into the embers of a wood oven or charcoal grill fueled with lump charcoal and cook them on the coals. The pumpkins are then topped with a mushroom dashi and a pomegranate sauce.

This hearty stew with kabocha squash and cranberries is perfect for chilly fall nights.

Infusing butter with saffron is a great way to extend and transmit flavor to whatever you mix it with.

Scribe chef Kelly Mariani says this pasta “feels like a hug on a cool day. The creamy radicchio filling is delicious with the nuttiness of brown butter and hazelnuts.” She suggests using a scale for the best results with the pasta.

Beets are “ridiculous with bacon,” says Clare Carver, co-owner of Big Table Farm winery in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. There’s lots of garlic in her dish, but it candies and mellows in the bacon fat.

This roasted delicata squash by chef Mateo Granados has a Yucatecan twist. Squash and chiles are native to both the Western U.S. and Mexico; pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and pomegranate seeds are common in south of the border cooking. The skin of delicata squash is tender when roasted and very flavorful, so try it along with the flesh.

The last of late-summer’s corn, cooked so it still has a light crunch, accents this silky squash soup. Clare Carver of Big Table Farm winery in Oregon uses rich homemade chicken broth, but store-bought works too.

Chef Andrew Spurgin uses fresh chestnuts when they’re in season in fall and winter. He cuts them in half and boils them quickly to soften, then pops the chestnut flesh out of the shell before roasting.

“The pairing of beets with pistachios and citrus is a classic blend of flavors in the California cuisine repertoire, and we [often] take a twist on this combination with the addition of mandarins that are bursting with salinity, spice, and heat,” explains Bryan Oliver, who is chef de cuisine at Little Saint in Healdsburg, California. “Roasted baby beets are tender, sweet, and earthy, allowing the bright flavors of spring mint from the farm to round out the dish. [In the restaurant] we make our own pickled mandarin for this dish using California mandarins, but [here] store-bought pickled lime can be used as a substitute for similar results.”

A twist on veggie egg rolls, these by Chef David Kuo, owner of the West L.A. restaurant Little Fatty, uses in-season chard.

With its exotic notes of saffron and smoke, tenderness and crunch, this is a meal that doesn’t get old. All of its components last at least a week in the refrigerator and months in the freezer, so you can thaw them and assemble whenever you like. Look for dukkah, an Egyptian spice blend, at well-stocked grocery stores, Middle Eastern markets, and online. Or make your own: Blend 1/4 tsp. each sesame seeds, ground coriander and cumin, dried thyme, and finely chopped roasted hazelnuts.

Cooking with store-bought cubed squash saves time on weeknights. You can sub in almonds or walnuts for the pistachios.

Brilliant orange roasted pumpkin replaces the traditional mashed-potato topping here, giving new life to classic English pub grub.

This side dish (or vegetarian main, if made with vegetable broth) is a colorful version of scalloped potatoes. For richest flavor and color, look for deep-orange-fleshed sweet potatoes with skin that’s burnt orange to dark red. A food processor’s shredding disc and 2-mm. slicing blade make quick work of the cheese, sweet potatoes, and shallot.

This vegetarian dish is fragrant with garam masala, an Indian spice blend that typically includes black pepper and a mix of sweet and savory spices.

This classic side dish is the perfect accompaniment to roast turkey or chicken.

Although this posole tastes like it’s been simmering all day long, it takes less than an hour to cook. For shorter prep time, buy bagged cut squash and sub in coleslaw mix for the garnish.

We love the play of savory-sweet flavors and big textures in this hearty winter salad.