Give Your Desserts An Easy Fiber Boost With One Ingredient

When it comes to pumpkin, many immediately envision pumpkin spice lattes and autumnal festivities. However, pumpkin is more than just a seasonal flavor, as it's also the next fiber-boosting addition you need to try in your desserts — just one can of pumpkin contains approximately 7 grams of fiber. Since many recipes incorporate anywhere from just half a cup to multiple cups, this ingredient will make quite the fibrous addition to your sweet treats.

This unconventional fruit is more universal than you might realize, both in the form of fresh pumpkin and puree. Pumpkin happens to boast many health benefits, as it is packed full of various nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. Fiber is an important component to work into your diet, as it positively impacts overall health by helping your body manage the gut microbiome, cholesterol, and blood sugar. Therefore, adding pumpkin is both a healthy and delicious option.

It's important to note that pumpkin pie filling and pumpkin puree are not interchangeable, despite having similar primary components. If you're looking to get the most out of pumpkin in your recipes, you'll want to roast and puree the gourd yourself. You can also opt for standard blended pumpkin to avoid the extra sugar and other added ingredients that are common with pumpkin pie filling. Ultimately, if you've got a sweet tooth and are looking for a way of getting more fiber into your diet, pumpkin may be the unsung hero you've been missing in your kitchen pantry.

Pumpkin can become the highlight of many recipes — it really just depends on your personal tastes and plans for your dessert. Pumpkin puree blends seamlessly with various cake and muffin recipes, such as carrot cake or blueberry muffins. You could even throw your ingredient into a slightly sweeter zucchini bread muffin, which will give your recipe an added kick of fiber and a bit more unexpected flavor.

Standard bakes can be elevated with the addition of pumpkin as well. You can make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies by combining the chocolatey, doughy goodness with the vegetal, warming flavors of pumpkin. It's also possible to simplify the process by using a yellow, white, or vanilla cake mix and incorporating your pumpkin to create a moist dessert with two affordable components. Some recipes only require a single can of pumpkin and a standard package of cake mix (plus whatever frosting you decide to use).

If incorporating pumpkin is a new venture for you, it may feel a little intimidating to figure out how to properly add this into your recipes. If you're making your own puree, you'll want to avoid throwing off the other textures – adding too much of this fiber-rich ingredient may result in a bland, watery texture. Doing a test batch is always helpful for figuring out measurements, and when in doubt, you can consult a top-notch baking cookbook for guidance.