The Ultimate List of Healthy Vegan Pumpkin Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the healthiest way to eat pumpkin? ›

Pureed, baked or roasted pumpkin is a nutrient-dense food that is low in calories and fat while being high in fiber, helping you feel full for longer.

The claim is that these pumpkins have been grown specifically for pumpkin puree in cooking and baking, so the result is a sweeter and creamier product. Interesting. Of course, anything that's been canned will likely taste different than the fresh product.

For even more flavor, you can add spices (like the celebrated pumpkin pie spice!) to the purée during the cooking step. Heating spices “blooms” them, releasing their flavorful, fragrant oils.

Pumpkin's creamy texture and great taste makes it the perfect ingredient for substitution of oil, eggs or butter in your favorite recipes to cut fat and calories per serving! Replace half the butter in your baking recipe with canned pumpkin or try substituting one whole egg with ¼ cup canned pumpkin.

Supports heart health

Pumpkin is recommended as part of a heart-healthy diet that may help lower your risk of heart disease. It offers a long list of nutrients that protect and support the heart, such as vitamins A, B1, B6, and C, copper, fiber, folate, and manganese.

You can also support liver function by including pumpkin and other antioxidant-rich foods in your diet. These antioxidants help your liver break down fats, proteins, and carbohydrates — and filter harmful substances out of your bloodstream.

Libby's, the quintessential canned pumpkin brand, uses a proprietary strain of the Dickinson pumpkin variety in their product, which is also often called a Dickinson squash. On Libby's website, it states that their product is 100 percent pumpkin.

Canned pumpkin may also help relieve gastrointestinal issues such as constipation, as it also contains enough fiber and a low amount of sodium. According to current guidelines, 1 cup of canned pumpkin contains about 7.1 grams (g) of dietary fiber.

Beth Czerwony, RD, a registered dietitian at Cleveland Clinic, said pumpkin is a superfood that is low-fat, low-calorie, and packed with plenty of nutrients. “It's going to have more fiber, it's going slowdown that rate of digestion, so it's going to keep you fuller longer,” she said.

Feed the birds, but not the hedgehogs

You would be right to think most wild animals would love some pumpkin, but not all of them do. In fact, leaving out pumpkin scraps can be really dangerous for some wildlife, especially hedgehogs.

Is A pumpkin a fruit or a Vegetable? ›

A pumpkin, from a botanist's perspective, is a fruit because it's a product of the seed-bearing structure of flowering plants. Vegetables, on the other hand, are the edible portion of plants such as leaves, stems, roots, bullbs, flowers, and tubers.

Pumpkin is notorious for pairing well with warm winter spices – as found in a variety of Moroccan-inspired cuisines. Try incorporating cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cumin and chilli with your pumpkin dishes for flavour-packed feasts.

Potassium. Potassium is essential for electrolyte balance and supports muscle function. Pumpkin also contains this vital mineral, helping keep your muscles in top shape.

Pumpkins are considered a major superfood and believe it or not, they're actually an exceptional anti-inflammatory food. They are rich in carotenoids, especially in lutein, alpha-carotene and beta-carotene, along with other vitamins and minerals.

Canned pumpkin does not need to be cooked before eating. It is perfectly safe eaten in it's puree form out of the can, in fact it's used straight from the can in a lot of recipes that aren't cooked. It's also safe to give to your dog right out of the can too to help with digestive issues.

Yes, you can eat pumpkin raw. Furthermore, eating raw pumpkin and raw pumpkin seeds provides significantly more nutritional and health benefits than eating it cooked. Cooking minimizes water-soluble nutrients like vitamins B and C, and also reduces the vitamin A, potassium and copper content.

While raw pumpkin and its seeds may have slightly more vitamins and minerals, their taste and texture are often considered less appetizing. They may also contain more antinutrients and fewer antioxidants than their cooked counterparts.

Cut into chunks and bake or roast (30-40 mins) or boil (15-20 mins). Use to make soups, add to stews or mash as a side dish. Get some ideas from our pumpkin recipe collection.

Why is Pumpkin better than White Potato? Distinctly more vitamin A (RAE) per 100g.