How Do I Cook Pumpkins?

Pumpkins are highly nutritious and grow across the world. Pumpkins provide a good source of Vitamin A which gives the pumpkin its orange colour. Pepita, the seeds of a pumpkin also are beneficial as they contain good fats and protein. 

Storing raw pumpkin

Whole pumpkin: 

  • in a cool place like a pantry or garage.
  • Store it upside down!

Cut pumpkin: 

  • Wrap and put in the fridge.
  • If the pumpkin has a thin film of mould and the pumpkin is still firm, cut off 1cm of the flesh touching the mould and it can still be eaten.
  • If the pumpkin is mouldy and soft, it is not safe to eat.

Generally whole pumpkins last around 2-3 months when stored in a cool, dry place. A cut pumpkin keeps for around 4-5 days in the fridge.

Cleaning pumpkins

Place your pumpkin in a kitchen sink, lightly scrub the pumpkin skin with a brush or hands under running water. This will remove any dust or debris that is on the pumpkin. Rinse thoroughly and pat dry the pumpkin with a kitchen towel.  

How to prepare pumpkins

Cut the stem off the pumpkin. Slice the pumpkin in half and scoop to remove the pulp and seeds. (TIP: You can save the seeds for planting, roasting or baking!) You can eat the skin if you roast it, but you should cut it off if you're making a curry or soup. 

When you buy pumpkin, pick a good one:

When you buy pumpkin, pick a good one:

Pick one with firm, hard skin with no bruising or soft parts as it may be rotting. Choose a pumpkin that feels heavy for its size as this means there is more pumpkin flesh.

Types to choose from: 

  • Roasting: Butternut, Golden Nugget

  • Soups, boiling and baking: Kent, JAP, Queensland Blue, Jarrahdale

  • Read more here.

Ways to Cook Pumpkin

  1. Oven Roasted
  2. Boiled
  3. Air fried
  4. Puree

RECIPES: Ingredients included in each recipe are oil, salt, pepper and pumpkin! Extra ingredients are how many more ingredients are needed.

Stovetop Recipes

Pumpkin Stir-fried With Garlic

Difficulty: 1/5 | Extra ingredients: 6 | Time: 30 mins

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Korean Pumpkin Porridge (Hobakjuk)

Difficulty: 2/5 | Extra ingredients: 2-3 | Time: 40 mins

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Thai Pumpkin Curry

Difficulty: 3/5 | Extra ingredients: 10+ | Time: 40 min

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Parmesan Pumpkin Fritters

Difficulty: 2/5 | Extra ingredients: 6-8 | Time: 30 mins

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Microwave Recipes

Pumpkin Puree

Difficulty: 1/5 | Extra ingredients: 0 | Time: 40 mins

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Pumpkin Spice Mug Cake

Difficulty: 1/5 | Extra Ingredients: 5-8 | Time: 5 min

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Mashed Pumpkin

Difficulty: 1/5 | Extra ingredients: 3 | Time: 40 mins

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Microwave Pumpkin Soup

Difficulty: 1/5 | Extra ingredients: 7 | Time: 30 mins

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Oven Recipes

Pumpkin Feta Empanadas

Difficulty: 2/5 | Extra ingredients: 6 | Time: 60 mins

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Vegan Pumpkin Kibbeh

Difficulty: 3/5 | Extra ingredients: 6 | Time: 30 mins

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Roasted Pumpkin and Garlic

Difficulty: 1/5 | Extra ingredients: 1 | Time: 1h

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Cinnamon Baked Pumpkin

Difficulty: 1/5 | Extra ingredients: 2 | Time: 1h+

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Pumpkin Scrap Recipes

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds (Pepita)

Difficulty: 1/5 | Extra ingredients: 0 | Time: 20 min

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Pumpkin Skin Chips

Difficulty: 1/5 | Extra ingredients: 2 | Time: 35 min

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Pumpkin Gut Bread

Difficulty: 2/5 | Extra ingredients: 6-7 | Time: 1h+

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Pumpkin Seed Dip (Sikil P'ak)

Difficulty: 2/5 | Extra ingredients: 5-8 | Time: 45 min

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If you have any recipes using pumpkin that you would love to share, email foodhub.officer@arc.unsw.edu.au and we'll share it on our Facebook group UNSW Student Cooking & Eats and the Food Hub Community UNSW

Feel free to click the links to join them!