I love the summer, but by the time it draws to an end and the leaves start changing, I get excited for autumn in the Northeast. For me, fall signifies hiking through the foliage, apple cider, and of course, all things pumpkin! If you’ve got that fall pumpkin craving, check out these awesome and inexpensive pumpkin inspired recipes. I have compiled a list of five pumpkin recipes that the whole family will enjoy and won’t break the bank!
- Roasted Pumpkin Seeds. This is one of my all-time favorite snacks. Not only are pumpkin seeds delicious, but they are also a healthy snack or addition to soups and salads. If you’re carving pumpkins, don’t throw away the seeds! Just separate them from all that pulp, wash them, and let them dry on a baking sheet overnight. In the morning, preheat your oven to 250 degrees. Spray the sheet with cooking spray, and line the seeds evenly on the baking sheet, throw a pinch of salt overtop and place them in the oven. Let the seeds bake for around an hour, stirring them every 15 minutes or so. When the seeds are done and crispy, take them out and enjoy!
- Pumpkin Crumb Coffee Cake. Enjoy this delicious dessert or breakfast cake that embodies all the great flavors of fall – warm spices, pumpkin, and a cup of coffee on the side!
- At only 82 cents per serving, these Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars are the perfect dessert for a family dinner or Halloween party. Impress your friends and family with these cheap and easy treats.
- My cousin’s fiancé, a generally quiet guy who keeps to himself, goes bananas for pumpkin pie. Every year, my aunt makes an extra pie just for him, and he will pretty much fight you to the death if you come near it. You’ll go just as crazy for this inexpensive sweet treat.
- I had a friend in college who broadened my culinary horizon in two ways. The first – showing me how to make an amazing salad dressing. Two – introducing me to pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Every Friday during my senior year of college, the girls I lived with would sit down for a family dinner together. We would rotate who cooked dinner, and we came up with some pretty adventurous foods, but dessert never changed. Nearly every week for the entire year, my friend made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies on Fridays. Leftovers never made it to Saturday. In fact, more often than not, we’d finish dozens of cookies within an hour of them coming out of the oven. Food can take you back to another time and place. The memories I associate with pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are irreplaceable, and the memories that you can make with this cherished recipe will be too.
Pumpkin is a great addition to all of your favorite fall recipes. Having pumpkin as the main ingredient in a dish is a very cost effective way to get a lot of flavor. Try out one of the above recipes and enjoy a cheap fall treat!