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SusanV I'm SusanV, and I love good food. Join me as I create delicious dishes made with whole foods and without a lot of processed fat and sugar. Want to know more? Check out my FAQs, look through my recipe index, or get inside info on Facebook. Like what you see? Then subscribe to receive email updates. But above all, enjoy!


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Sunday, November 30, 2008

What to Do With Leftover Pumpkin

PumpkinI'm willing to bet that immediately after Thanksgiving, Google sees the number of searches for "leftover turkey" skyrocket. A comparable search for vegetarians would have to be "leftover pumpkin," though having half or two-thirds a can of leftover pumpkin after the holidays is certainly not a strictly vegetarian problem. Many recipes call for just a half or a whole cup of pureed pumpkin, but the standard can contains about 1 1/3 cups. I hate to think of all the pumpkin that goes into a storage container, then into the refrigerator, and finally into the garbage after a few days. It's needless waste since there's plenty you can do with that pumpkin once everyone's finished devouring your pumpkin cheesecake. Using Veg Blog Search, I've tracked down a wealth of recipes that use less than a can of pumpkin. So before that leftover pumpkin starts to grow a green coat, get up and put it to one of these good uses:

Pumpkin Spice BreadBake it! Try pumpkin bread, biscuits, cookies, or scones. If you don't have quite enough pumpkin leftover, don't open another can; just top off what you have with some applesauce or mashed sweet potato.

Stir a few spoonfuls into a bowl of oatmeal. Add some pumpkin pie spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves) and maybe a few raisins, and you've got a breakfast that will brighten up your day.

Pumpkin WafflesIndulge in pumpkin waffles or pancakes. This recipe is good for either one, but you can also add a couple of tablespoons of pumpkin to your favorite recipe.

Make ice cream. Or how about pumpkin pie wontons?

Get very ambitious and make pumpkin pasta or pretzels or gnocchi. I'm thinking that pumpkin sausage looks like a winner.

Mexican Pumpkin SoupMake soup. Check out Toor Dal Pumpkin Soup, Hearty Pumpkin Soup, and Mexican Pumpkin Soup. Or just add it to your favorite vegetable soup recipe for an instantly thick and flavorful broth.

Drink it! Try a nog or a smoothie.

Don't feel like eating it? Treat yourself to homemade pumpkin body butter or a pumpkin facial (veganized, of course).

Finally, if you're just plain sick of pumpkin, you can always freeze your leftovers until inspiration strikes. Of course, I've got at least a dozen pumpkin recipes right here on this blog that might stimulate your appetite for pumpkin!

What's your favorite use for leftover pumpkin?

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46 Comments:

Blogger purplesque said...

A very timely post. I like microwave pumpkin halwa..quick and delicious. http://purplesque.vox.com/library/post/pumpkin-halwa--the-microwave-version.html

9:47 AM, November 30, 2008  
Blogger VeggieGirl said...

Great tips!! I love using leftover pumpkin for baking my Pumpkin-Pecan-Raisin loaf :-)

Happy belated Thanksgiving, Susan!!

9:54 AM, November 30, 2008  
Blogger shelby said...

Leftover Pumpkin = Pumpkin Oatmeal!!! I eat it couple times a week and usually buy pumpkin just for that purpose! I also love it in pasta dishes and waffles. Mmm, pumpkin!

10:19 AM, November 30, 2008  
Anonymous Ricki said...

This is sort of on topic--I recently made Pumpkin Butter for the first time, and I find 2 Tbsp. of that, blended with some almond or soymilk, makes a fabulous smoothie/nog! (I can't get the Silk Pumpkin drink here, either, so had to become inventive) ;)

Hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful!

10:20 AM, November 30, 2008  
Blogger Veronica said...

Mmm, fantastic compilation! Of course, pumpkin rarely goes to waste in my house - I'm obsessed. If we have extra, I'll make milkshakes, oatmeal, cookies, or if I'm not lazy, pumpkin sticky buns.

10:25 AM, November 30, 2008  
Anonymous Judy said...

Pumpkin never goes to waste in this house -- I make some of my animals' food myself, and it almost always includes pumpkin! I buy pumpkin year-round.

However, I did make some pumpkin waffles this morning (hope to get photos up on my blog tomorrow). I love pumpkin muffins. I still have to make the chocolate pumpkin pie I didn't make for Thanksgiving.

11:00 AM, November 30, 2008  
Blogger Lisa -- Cravin' Veggies said...

Love your ideas!! I made pumpkin ice cream for the first time this year. Delicious!!

11:12 AM, November 30, 2008  
Blogger Jenny said...

Bless you! I came to your site specifically looking for ways to use up my cooked pumpkin; I baked one for two pies and have a TON leftover. It is cubed in the freezer right now, awaiting a plan. Thanks SO much for all the great ideas. Your site is absolutely wonderful.

11:20 AM, November 30, 2008  
Blogger Aparna said...

Since, in Indian cooking (at least my kind), pumpkin is always used in savoury dishes I will have to check out your links.

And we get fresh pumpkin which is sold, freshly cut and weighed as we want it, so there's rarely left overs.:)

12:26 PM, November 30, 2008  
Blogger Speedwell said...

I make a cheesecake filling sort of thing with tofu, cashews, pumpkin, and spices, sweetened with erythritol and topped with a sprinkle of pecans. It only takes a minute in the blender. Since I'm a recently diagnosed diabetic keeping my blood sugar down by a low-carb diet, it's often the only dessert I can get away with.

We also freeze solid-pack, plain canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling) in ice cube trays. Whenever one of our three cats gets constipation (and wouldn't you, if you ate what a cat eats), we thaw a cube and mix it with half a can of wet food. It usually takes less than three meals of this for things to clear up. Seriously, a vet told me this.

3:20 PM, November 30, 2008  
Anonymous bryony said...

im in the uk, and i have never seen canned pumpkin. is there a special way to prepare pumpkin to use in recipes where the canned stuff is called for?
bryony

3:32 PM, November 30, 2008  
Blogger SusanV said...

Bryony, the easiest way is to cut your pumpkin into equal-sized pieces and steam it until tender. Remove the peel (it comes off easy after cooking) and mash. To get it to have approximately the same water content as canned pumpkin, it's best to line a strainer or colander with cheesecloth and put the mashed pumpkin in it to drain over a bowl or sink. Once it's stopped dripping, you should have pumpkin that is the same consistency as canned.

3:39 PM, November 30, 2008  
Anonymous Joan said...

If you have a cat, a tablespoon of pumpkin makes a great nutritious treat and helps with hairballs, too!

4:15 PM, November 30, 2008  
Anonymous Laurel from Simple Spoonful said...

I love pumpkin oatmeal with lots of spice, dried cranberries, toasted walnuts, and a drizzle of maple syrup. Yum!

Oh--and pumpkin pancakes.

I made butternut squash risotto the other day. I bet pumpkin would work just fine as well. Huzzah for beta carotene! ;)

6:20 PM, November 30, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I use or should I say sneak Pumpkin in many foods at home. Sneaking it in adds more nutrition that the kids don't have to know about. I mix it in the ketchup bottle, soups, pasta sauces, enchilada sauce. I do love the pupkin pancakes,waffles,pies & muffins.

Susan, we absolutely Love your GF immpossible pumpkin pie recipe! I thought I could never have Pumpkin pie again because of gluten until your recipe..awesome. I made it with sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving and it worked out well also.

Thanks!
Melissa in Tennessee

6:27 PM, November 30, 2008  
Blogger Some call me... rocky said...

Leftover pumpkin? Not a problem here. I usually make yeasted pumpkin rolls, pumpkin raviolis, pumpkin gnocchies.

I am definately going to have to try the toor dal pumpkin soup though! And the facial looks good. But I do not have any honey. Did not like it before becoming vegan anyway.

Cheers!

6:35 PM, November 30, 2008  
Blogger Gina said...

I totally love the idea of making my own beauty products. I am totally going to try the body butter...yum! (for my skin, of coourse, heh)

8:27 PM, November 30, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

FYI...do not visit the link in the first comment (purplesque) it will directly to a site that installs adware and potentially viruses!

9:57 PM, November 30, 2008  
Anonymous jaxin said...

My answer is... Make more cheesecake!

I can't help it.

11:01 PM, November 30, 2008  
Blogger aurora508 said...

The absolute best is pumpkin french toast! Add it in to your regular mix with pumpkin pie spice and vanilla and rip up the bread pieces. Pour it all onto the skillet and you have yummy bite size pieces!

7:24 AM, December 01, 2008  
Blogger Jennywenny said...

Mmm. I also added it to a thai curry, thus being able to thicken it a little without too much coconut milk. It worked beautifully.

4:51 PM, December 01, 2008  
Blogger Elysse said...

On halloween, I wanted to make a warm, festive breakfast for my partner. I took some leftover pumpkin and mixed it with some agave nectar, vanilla, and soy milk in a sauce pan. Then, I mixed that into oatmeal.

pumpkin oatmeal is by far my favorite thing to use leftover pumpkin-ness in.

11:41 PM, December 01, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

If only I could have leftover pumpkin...But it's impossible to find canned pumpkin here in France...:'(

3:32 AM, December 02, 2008  
Anonymous veganformation said...

Good tips for lefover pumpkin. Thks

5:59 AM, December 02, 2008  
OpenID culinarycory.com said...

Great suggestions. I love making baked pumpkin doughnuts with my leftover pumpkin.

8:33 AM, December 02, 2008  
Blogger Vegan_Noodle said...

Great ideas!! BTW I made your double layer pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving and my family LOVED it!! Thanks so much for the recipe :-)

10:50 AM, December 02, 2008  
Blogger Sarah said...

I love the ideas! I was actually trying to think of something to make with my pumpkin. I've decided on a pumpkin sage sauce for some pasta. It sounds good, but I've never had pumpkin as a savory dish.

12:38 PM, December 02, 2008  
Anonymous Patrick said...

Dear Susan,

Greeting!!

My name is Patric Shih, and I am running a vegetarian website, VegTomato,
http://www.vegtomato.org, with my vegetarian friends to advocate
vegetarianism/veganism among Chinese community around the world. It is a non-
profit unofficial website, which update monthly, and all of us are
volunteers.

Just come across your wonderful blog with so many well made vegan recipes, I
don’t know if it is possible to get permission from you to translate some
of the recipes into Chinese and post in my website for sharing? The credit
is yours and I will link back for reference.

Thank you for taking time to read this message and looking forward to
hearing from you soon.

Best regards,

Patric Shih
VegTomato
http://www.vegtomato.org/

4:28 AM, December 03, 2008  
Blogger bonbon and sapid said...

You've given some great suggestions. My favorite thing to do with leftover pumpkin is make curry pumpkin fritters. So delicious warm and oddly enough, they taste great dipped in soy yogurt or an onion and garlic dip of silken tofu. I think I'll make some this weekend!
-bonbon

10:27 AM, December 03, 2008  
Blogger Kiersten said...

Recently I used 1/2 a can of leftover pumpkin in a soup I created. It was delicious. It's definitely one of my new favorite ways to use pumpkin. I like using pumpkin in anything though-desserts, breakfast, soup, you name it.

1:05 PM, December 03, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Pumpkin Dip!
So yummy.
I think you take 1/2 c. pumpkin 1/2 c. tofu cream cheese, 1/3 c. brown sugar. Mix well with mixer still smooth. Then add 1 Tbs. maple syrup and 1 tsp. cinnamon and mix in well.
Serve with green apple wedges or ginger snap cookies.

3:55 PM, December 03, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow! Great pumpkin ideas. I have baked pumpkin pudding for breakfast (canned pumpkin, silk pumpkin spice soy milk, pumpkin pie spice, and a small amount of brown sugar). Right now I am re heating stuffed pumpkin with a small amount of ff onion gravy. It is a year round staple in my kitchen. Yummy!

4:01 PM, December 03, 2008  
Anonymous Vegan Restaurants Menu said...

Who would have thought pumpkin was such a versatile ingredient? I like these ideas.

7:04 PM, December 03, 2008  
Blogger funwithyourfood said...

UM i saw this, got all excited b/c my recipes on there, then didn't comment?? What was I thinking?!
:)

my favorite thing to do with pumpkin is cookies or scones... Can you tell I'm in a baking sort of mood lately?

Teddy

11:03 AM, December 04, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

right you are!

see: google trends

12:14 PM, December 04, 2008  
Anonymous Anne from Vegan Digest said...

One of my favorite things to do with leftover pumpkin is to make a great recipe from Vegan Family Favorites, "Broccoli Soba with Peanut-Pumpkin Sauce". Basically, you make the sauce for the soba noodles and broccoli by adding peanut butter, water, and soy sauce to the pumpkin. I've used all kinds of nut butter and it makes the most delicious, surprisingly creamy sauce. Yum!

3:12 PM, December 04, 2008  
Blogger Monica Crowe said...

Hi! I'm a new vegan who lives in north Louisiana and I just found your blog. What a surprise to find a vegan with an awesome and helpful blog in Jackson. I'll certainly be linking to this one.

9:22 PM, December 04, 2008  
Anonymous Foodista said...

Great tips here! I love your blog, If you have time will you drop by at Foodista ? We are building an online food and cooking encyclopedia ala wikipedia. You can also just browse along the recipes we have featured in the past :) Thanks!

11:05 AM, December 05, 2008  
Blogger Sally said...

I made vegan, whole wheat, pumpkin walnut bread. Here's the recipe I made up: http://www.livingwithoutmeat.com/homemade-whole-wheat-pumpkin-bread/

My leftover pumpkin was leftover from making pumpkin pancakes!

2:09 PM, December 05, 2008  
Anonymous Lori said...

I just stir it into some vanilla yogurt for a yummy breakfast.

6:19 AM, December 06, 2008  
Anonymous Alisa said...

I am a little late on this one, but my vote is definitely with pumpkin waffles! Muffins usually make it onto the leftover pumpkin agenda too.

9:15 PM, December 07, 2008  
Blogger Susan G said...

I also did a post on leftover pumpkin - chickpea stew!

http://veganathome.blogspot.com/2008/12/another-use-for-leftover-pumpkin.html

1:12 PM, December 12, 2008  
Blogger Sherri - PDX Yogini said...

Will have to check out some of the many ideas with the pumpkin I had leftover from making cupcakes. For the leftover roasted, stuffed pumpkins I made I found that dicing up the leftovers and adding to quinoa is delicious (http://pdxvegancookingclub.blogspot.com/2008/12/pumpkin-quinoa.html)

11:58 PM, December 13, 2008  
Anonymous Ana said...

I love pumpkin, pumpkin soup is my favorite. I never tried making a pumpkin cupcakes but I will now:-)

7:55 AM, January 13, 2009  
Anonymous Jerry said...

Thanks for good post....

Thanks for good tips I will try as soon as possible

12:04 AM, February 12, 2009  
Anonymous QOAS said...

Pumpkins are healthy and delicious food. Thanks for sharing this great recipe:-)

9:55 AM, March 26, 2009  

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