19 Fall Pumpkin Recipes

Making this crowd-pleaser couldn’t be easier—just stir together seasoned pumpkin pie filling and ice cream and spoon into a gingersnap crumb crust.

Recipe: Pumpkin Ice Cream Gingersnap Pie

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

Recipe: Pumpkin Shepherd's Pie

Basically an open-face pie, this is a great dessert for pie-phobes to make because the crust is so easy to handle.

Recipe: Apple Pumpkin Galette

Empanadas get their name from the Spanish word empanar, “to bake in pastry.” For these handheld pies, we’ve used pie dough for a more delicate, buttery crust.

Recipe: Pumpkin Curry Empanadas

This incredible fall pumpkin recipe is pumpkin pie meets crème brûlee, and worthy of your next dinner party.

Recipe: Pumpkin Brûlee Tart

This irresistible pumpkin recipe features layers of pumpkin and vanilla ice cream inside a graham cracker crust, with gooey caramel on top.

Recipe: Pumpkin Caramel Ice Cream Pie

Skip the canned stuff and make a fresh pie filling with plump squash or pumpkin—both are in season now. This easy purée is delicious in our Pumpkin Caramel Ice Cream Pie and Pumpkin Brûlée Tart. To make it, choose a dry-fleshed baking pumpkin like Sugar Pie (Halloween pumpkins are too moist) or a dense orange squash like butternut or kabocha.

Preheat oven to 375°. Cut 2 lbs. pumpkin or squash in half with a large, heavy knife, then scoop out the seeds (save them for toasting if you like). Rub the inside of the pumpkin halves with vegetable oil and set them, cut side down, on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until very soft when pierced, 45 to 75 minutes. Scoop flesh into a food processor and whirl until smooth. If the purée is watery, let it drain in a strainer for 30 minutes. Makes 1 1/2 to 2 cups purée

Curry leaves make this vegan curry intensely aromatic.

Recipe: Cashew, Coconut, and Pumpkin Curry

Not quite enough pumpkin for you? Serve it in mini pumpkin bowls.

Recipe: Pumpkin Soup with Pumpkin Seed-Mint Pesto

Recipe: Mini Pumpkin Bowls

Pumpkin tacos are easy appetizers to prepare, but offer complex flavors. Guests can assemble their own, adding toasted chiles, slaw, and pumpkin seeds.

Recipe: Pumpkin Tacos

Warm spices and caramelized onions underscore the natural sweetness of pumpkin and butternut squash in this comforting dish. The easy swirl of ginger butter at the end adds a bit of flavor and a lot of style.

Recipe: Spiced Pumpkin Soup with Ginger Browned Butter

Come autumn, nothing beats the sweet and spicy waffles at Garland's Oak Creek Lodge in Sedona, AZ. Now you can make them in your own kitchen.

Not only do you get chunks of fruit, but you get a sweet river of apple cider syrup, too. To keep them warm and crisp, put directly on a rack in a 200° oven for up to 40 minutes.

Recipe: Pumpkin Waffles with Apples and Apple Cider Syrup

Harder cookies—like Nabisco’s—keep the most crunch (softer ones will dissolve).

Recipe: Pumpkin Gingersnap Ice Cream

Adding a little cream of tartar keeps the hot caramelized sugar from crystallizing; orange zest intensifies its flavor.

Recipe: Caramelized Orange Pumpkin Flan

For a fissure-free cheesecake, beat your filling just until it's blended--no more. (Too much air in the mixture will make it pouf up, and then deflate, in the oven.)

Recipe: Pumpkin-Orange Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust and Salted Caramel

Need we say more than "no-cook?"

Recipe: No-Cook Pumpkin Chocolate Icebox Pie

The canned pumpkin in the batter keeps these cupcakes moist, reducing the amount of oil you need to use.

Recipe: Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes

If you prefer your shakes thicker, just follow the make-ahead directions.

Recipe: Pumpkin Bourbon Shakes

Reader Ruth Miller, of Eugene, Oregon, sent us this pumpkin pancake recipe. She likes to slice the apples; sauté them in a little butter, sugar, and cinnamon; and spoon them on top. To save time, we skipped the sautéing and put the apples right in the batter.

Recipe: Pumpkin Apple Pancakes