These Pumpkin Recipes Will Have You Rethinking Fall Dining (2024)

FAQs

Is pumpkin high in carbs? ›

Pumpkins keep for a long time when stored in a cool place. Pumpkin isn't just a delicious thing to eat, they're also relatively low in carbs (4-12 grams per 100 grams). This makes pumpkin a great seasonal low-carb alternative to starchier sides like rice, potato and pasta.

Pumpkin innards, the stringy orange mess which you scoop out with a spoon ahead of carving, can be roasted, or pureed for cooking in soups.

Peel away the skin and you've got a hunk of the good stuff. The flesh of big pumpkins is perfect for soups and curries. The flesh of smaller pumpkins, squash and gourds is best suited for pies, breads and cakes - although it's also delicious in a soup.

Pumpkin has a high GI at 75, but a low GL at 8 (7). This means that as long as you eat a single one-cup portion of pumpkin or less, it shouldn't significantly affect your blood sugar levels. However, eating a large amount of pumpkin could drastically increase your blood sugar.

There are many ways to enjoy pumpkin. For the healthiest versions, try using it in savory dishes like soup or as a roasted vegetable.

And, don't forget the tasty pumpkin leaves and flowers are also edible. Even the pumpkin vines are edible. However, the stem, skin, and stringy sinews inside the fruit are not used in cooking or baking.

Although most people prefer eating them cooked or roasted, you can also eat pumpkin and pumpkin seeds raw. Still, key differences set apart raw and cooked varieties, especially in terms of taste, texture, and nutritional value. This article explains how raw and cooked pumpkin and pumpkin seeds compare with one another.

Depending on what type of squash you are using you might not need to peel it, with thinner skinned squash such as butternut squash you can eat the skin. For thicker skinned squash it is often easier to cut the squash into large wedges, roast, and then peel the skin off after it's cooked when it's softer and easier.

To complement pumpkin with sweet flavor pairings, consider using spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice and vanilla, or sweet ingredients like chocolate, maple, honey, cranberries or brown sugar. Create savory dishes by pairing pumpkin with spices like chilies, cajun, cayenne or pepper.

What are 5 ways pumpkins can be used? ›

The short answer is yes, dogs can eat pumpkin. In fact, if prepared correctly, pumpkin can be a beneficial addition to your pet's diet. It's naturally rich in fiber as well as vitamins A, C, and E and minerals like potassium and iron.

You can eat pumpkin raw and add it to salads and smoothies, but thoroughly wash it before eating it to remove bacteria that may make you sick.

For cooking, you'll want to use sugar pumpkins (also called pie or sweet pumpkins), which are small and round. Long Island Cheese pumpkins, which are more oblong and can look like a wheel of cheese, are also good to eat. Field pumpkin types are larger, have watery, stringy flesh, and are best for decorating.

You can enjoy pumpkin on a keto diet. How many carbs in pumpkin? One cup of cooked pumpkin contains roughly 10.6 total carbs. If you're looking at the net carbs, there are just 7.9 grams of net carbs if you subtract out the fiber.

It's carbs where the difference lies. Potatoes have the most carbs at 20 grams per 100 gram serving. Sweet potato has 17-18 grams, and pumpkin has just shy of five, which is why it's so low-calorie.

Pumpkin is low in calories and high in fiber, which may help with weight loss. Fiber can help you feel full, reduce appetite and food intake, encourage regular bowel movements, reduce blood sugar and cholesterol levels, and improve mineral absorption in the gut, all of which may benefit weight management.

Eating fresh pumpkin is a great way to pack vitamins, minerals, and flavor into your keto diet without too much risk of dropping out of ketosis. A cup of fresh, cubed pumpkin contains around 8 grams of carbs and about 0.5 grams of fiber, leaving you with 7.5 grams of net carbs.