Every autumn you look at all those beautiful pumpkins in Dutch supermarkets and think: I should really buy one.

And then you remember that a whole pumpkin can look slightly intimidating when you have no idea what you're actually going to do with it.

The good news is that you don't need a complicated recipe and you can keep in for longer. In this article I'll share some lifehacks with you.

One of the easiest things you can do is roast a pumpkin, turn the flesh into a smooth purée, and keep it in the fridge or freezer. Once you have the purée ready, it can become the base for a surprisingly large number of meals, from risotto and curry to muffins, waffles and even brownies.

And pumpkin is not just a pretty autumn ingredient. It also has a rather good nutritional profile.

Why is pumpkin worth eating?

Pumpkin is particularly rich in carotenoids, including beta-carotene, which gives it that beautiful orange colour. Beta-carotene is a provitamin A carotenoid, meaning that our bodies can convert it into vitamin A when needed. Vitamin A plays an important role in normal vision, immune function and maintaining healthy skin and other tissues.

Pumpkin also provides fibre and potassium, while being relatively low in calories. The exact nutritional composition varies depending on the variety and how it is prepared, but pumpkin is a useful way of adding vegetables, fibre and micronutrients to everyday meals.

There is also something interesting about cooking pumpkin. Heat changes the food matrix and can make some carotenoids easier to access during digestion, although the effect depends on the variety and cooking method. Studies looking at cooked pumpkin have found that a substantial proportion of provitamin A carotenoids can remain after cooking.

So no, you don't need to eat your pumpkin raw to make it "healthy".

In fact, roasting it is one of my favorite ways to prepare it.

How I roast pumpkin

You don't need much.

Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds. You can save the seeds for roasting later if you like. Cut the pumpkin into large pieces and place them on a baking tray. Or you can wrap the pumpkin in foil — this helps retain more moisture, so the purée will be juicier.

I usually roast it at around 200°C until the flesh is completely soft and you can easily pierce it with a fork. Depending on the size and type of pumpkin, this can take roughly 30-50 minutes.

And that's it.

You can roast it with the skin on and scoop out the soft flesh afterwards, which I find much easier than trying to peel a hard raw pumpkin.

Once it has cooled a little, blend the flesh until smooth.

You now have pumpkin purée.

And this is where it gets interesting.

What can you make with pumpkin purée?

This is the part I love because one batch of roasted pumpkin can turn into completely different meals.

For breakfast

Pumpkin overnight oats are an easy place to start. Add a spoonful or two of purée to your usual oats together with milk or yoghurt, cinnamon and whatever toppings you normally enjoy.

You can also use pumpkin in waffles or muffins, where it adds moisture and a naturally sweet, earthy flavor.

And if you like making snacks ahead of time, pumpkin works surprisingly well in energy balls.

For something sweet

Pumpkin is not only for pumpkin pie.

You can use the purée in simple oatmeal cookies, for example with oats and a little syrup, or make a chia pudding with pumpkin and spices.

It also works beautifully in a coconut milk pudding.

And yes, you can even put pumpkin into brownies. You don't have to tell anyone before they try them.

For lunch or dinner

This is where pumpkin really earns its place in my kitchen.

You can stir it into a creamy risotto, turn it into a quick pumpkin curry, or use it as the base for a warming soup.

You can also mix pumpkin purée with soft cheese and use it to make a creamy pumpkin pasta sauce.

And if you're feeding the whole family, baked pumpkin pasta is another easy option.

Pumpkin can also go into homemade bread, where it gives the dough a lovely color and softness.

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Three easy recipes using pumpkin purée

If you've roasted a big pumpkin, you might as well make enough purée for several recipes. Here are three simple ways to use it.

Pumpkin Banana Bread

This is a lovely way to use up both very ripe bananas and pumpkin purée. The pumpkin keeps the loaf moist, while the banana adds sweetness.

Ingredients

150 g pumpkin purée

150 g ripe bananas

65 g vegetable oil

180 g flour

2 tsp baking powder

A pinch of salt

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Optional: a handful of nuts or dried fruit

Method

Mash the bananas with a fork. Add the pumpkin purée and vegetable oil and mix well.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir until just combined. Don't overmix.

If you like, fold in some chopped nuts or dried fruit.

Pour the batter into a loaf tin and bake at 180°C for about 40-50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Let it cool before slicing.

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Easy Pumpkin & Chickpea Curry

This is one of those recipes where you don't really need to measure everything perfectly. The pumpkin purée creates a naturally creamy sauce, while chickpeas make it more filling.

Ingredients

250-300 g pumpkin purée

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 small onion, chopped

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp curry powder

200 ml coconut milk

1 tbsp vegetable oil

A handful of spinach, optional

Salt and pepper

A squeeze of lime juice, optional

Method

Heat the oil in a large pan and sauté the onion for a few minutes until soft. Add the garlic and curry powder and cook for another minute.

Add the pumpkin purée, coconut milk and chickpeas. Stir well and let everything simmer gently for about 10-15 minutes.

Add a handful of spinach towards the end if you like.

Season with salt and pepper and finish with a squeeze of lime juice.

Serve with rice, naan or simply on its own.

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Creamy Baked Pumpkin Pasta

This is an easy one for a weekday dinner. The pumpkin purée becomes the sauce, so you don't need to make a separate cheese sauce.

Ingredients

250 g pumpkin purée

250 g pasta

100 g soft cream cheese

1 garlic clove, minced

50-100 ml milk, depending on how thick you want the sauce

50 g grated cheese

Salt and pepper

½ tsp dried oregano or thyme

A handful of spinach, optional

Method

Cook the pasta until just underdone according to the packet instructions. Reserve a little pasta water before draining.

Mix the pumpkin purée, cream cheese, garlic, milk, herbs, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add a splash of pasta water if the sauce is too thick.

Combine the pasta with the pumpkin sauce and transfer everything to a baking dish.

Sprinkle with grated cheese and bake at 200°C for about 15-20 minutes, until the top is golden and bubbling.

You can also add spinach, roasted vegetables or some cooked chicken if you want to make it a more substantial meal.

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One thing I wouldn't do

I wouldn't try to make every pumpkin recipe "healthy" just because pumpkin itself is nutritious.

A muffin with pumpkin is still a muffin.

A pumpkin brownie is still a brownie.

And that's completely fine.

For me, the point of using pumpkin is not to turn every recipe into a health food. It's simply an easy way to add a nutritious whole food to meals that people actually enjoy eating.

And because pumpkin purée freezes well, you can do the slightly annoying part once and then use it whenever you need it.

I often find that this is what makes healthy cooking realistic: not having to start from zero every time you cook.

So if you see a beautiful pumpkin at your local Dutch supermarket (or farm) this autumn, don't leave it there because you don't know what to do with it.

Roast it.

Make a big batch of purée.

Freeze some.

And then start experimenting.

Risotto, cookies, coconut pudding, overnight oats, energy balls, muffins, curry, bread, brownies, soup, waffles, chia pudding, creamy pasta or baked pasta...

One pumpkin can take you much further than you might expect.

A note on nutrition

Pumpkin is a nutritious food, but no single ingredient is going to transform your health on its own. Think of it as one useful piece of a varied diet. And because pumpkin is relatively low in protein and fat, meals based around it will usually be more satisfying when you combine it with foods such as yoghurt, eggs, beans, lentils, fish, meat, nuts, seeds or cheese, depending on the dish.

That's how I prefer to approach nutrition: less focus on individual "superfoods" and more on how the whole meal comes together.