11 Clever Ways To Use Canned Pumpkin That Aren't Pie

Canned pumpkin appears in our kitchens every fall, often as the star of a Thanksgiving pie. And who doesn't love a slice of pumpkin pie with a dollop of whipped cream? However, the ingredient is capable of a lot more than you might think. Pumpkin puree adds moisture, thickness, creaminess, and nutrients to dishes any time of year. 

Perhaps surprisingly, the goal of canned pumpkin isn't to turn your dish into a pumpkin spice creation. In most of these suggestions, the flavor is very subtle, and the puree acts as a replacement for fat, oil, eggs, or butter — that's exactly why it's so clever.

We spoke with chefs, dietitians, and food bloggers to find some of the unexpected ways to put canned pumpkin to work. From sweet treats and savory entrees to refreshing drinks, these picks show just how far one can of pumpkin can go when you think outside the box.

Canned pumpkin probably isn't the first thing you think about adding to turkey chili. But surprisingly, you likely won't actually taste the pumpkin at all. We spoke with Priscilla Swahn, MS, RD, and founder at Swahn Thyroid Reset, and Reed Dunn, award-winning home cook, photographer, and food blogger at Pesto & Potatoes, who told us that including canned pumpkin in chili is one of their favorite ways to use it.

"I think canned pumpkin is one of the most underrated pantry staples because people associate it with sweet fall recipes, when I actually love it as a way to add creaminess, fiber, nutrients, and volume to everyday meals," Swahn said. "From a dietitian's perspective, I love ingredients that allow us to add nutrition rather than constantly focusing on what we need to take away."

Dunn's best tip: "Thickening is the underrated use case. [Canned pumpkin] does the work that flour, cornstarch, or extra tomato paste would normally do, but it also adds body and a slight creaminess without needing dairy. It's one of my favorite ways to bulk up a sauce without watering down the flavor." His vegetarian pumpkin chili uses canned pumpkin for thickness alongside cubed butternut squash. Dunn also recommends adding smoked paprika or a bit of chipotle to your chili, noting that pumpkin's natural sweetness complements the heat.

Canned pumpkin is an easy way to give your hummus a fall twist while making it even creamier. While we sometimes think of pumpkin as being associated with sweet treats, Priscilla Swahn told us that its mild flavor also works very well in savory dishes.

Swahn recommends mixing a small amount of canned pumpkin into hummus and pairing it with ingredients like garlic, cumin, and smoked paprika. "People immediately think [of] cinnamon and nutmeg, but pumpkin works beautifully with savory and spicy flavors," she said. There's a nutritional perk to the combination as well. Swahn explained that the fat in ingredients like tahini and olive oil can help your body absorb carotenoids found in pumpkin, including beta-carotene, which the body can convert to vitamin A.

Texture matters in hummus regardless of what you add to it. Check out Chowhound's hack for making the fluffiest homemade hummus. Combine that technique with a little canned pumpkin for an especially silky dip.

Pumpkin is one canned good you should be using in your smoothies because of its ability to provide a velvety texture without turning every sip into a taste of pumpkin pie. You can, of course, add pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, or nutmeg if you'd like to savor a bit of autumn.

Spooning canned pumpkin into a smoothie is one clever way that Johannah Katz, MA, RD at Nourish, likes to use the ingredient. "It adds thickness and creaminess without needing a lot of extra ingredients," she said. "I like it with Greek yogurt or protein powder, banana, cinnamon, vanilla, and milk for an easy higher-protein smoothie."

Katz noted that unlike baked goods that need to be a bit more measured, there's no "right" amount of canned pumpkin for your smoothie. The goal is to find a consistency you like. Katz also mentioned to be sure to use 100% pure pumpkin, not pie filling. "Pumpkin pie filling already contains added sweeteners and seasonings, which makes it much less versatile," she said. Once you have your pumpkin ready to go, learn why the order of the smoothie ingredients matters.

Baked goods seem like the most obvious choice when deciding how to use canned pumpkin, but probably not in the way you expect. Johannah Katz likes adding it to muffins to give them more texture and body.

Katz explained that canned pumpkin contains a lot of moisture, so you should start with a smaller amount and adjust the other liquids rather than doing a one-for-one replacement. For sweeter recipes, she likes pairing canned pumpkin with banana, vanilla, cinnamon, and chocolate, to name a few. "Chocolate is especially fun in protein muffins because you get the moisture from the pumpkin without the finished product necessarily tasting like pumpkin," she said.

There's evidence behind the substitution's usefulness, too. "There is food science research showing that pumpkin puree can function successfully as a partial fat replacer in muffins, which helps explain why it works so well in baked goods," Katz said. It also gives your desserts an easy fiber boost.

Macaroni and cheese is already silky, but canned pumpkin can make the dish even smoother, according to Shawna Clark, founder, chef, and recipe developer at Healthy Foodie Girl. And your dish doesn't even need to taste overwhelmingly like pumpkin to be delicious.

Clark explained that you need to account for the fact that pumpkin has a lot of moisture when adding it to your recipe. "In something like mac and cheese or pasta sauce, I like to blend it well into the sauce so it becomes part of the creamy base," she said. As a general rule of thumb, Clark noted: "I always recommend following a tested recipe rather than simply adding pumpkin to a recipe without adjusting the other ingredients."

While Clark uses canned pumpkin in lots of ways, macaroni and cheese was one that really surprised her. "I wasn't sure how well pumpkin would work with a creamy cheese sauce, but it ended up being such a good combination," she said. "The pumpkin adds body and creaminess, and its subtle sweetness works really well with the salty, savory cheese." Clark then mentioned that pumpkin is a great supporting ingredient, adding texture and nutritional value without dominating other flavors.

A pumpkin spice latte doesn't have to rely only on syrups and spices to satisfy your taste buds. Shawna Clark told us that adding canned pumpkin is a unique way to make the popular fall-themed treat.

"I use it in homemade pumpkin spice lattes for a richer texture and more authentic pumpkin flavor," Clark said. She also favors canned pumpkin for its versatility and nutritional value. If you want to try your hand at home, take a look at Chowhound's easy pumpkin spice latte recipe. All you need are pumpkin puree, milk, sugar, pumpkin spice, vanilla, and espresso. If you'd like to experiment with additional flavors, Clark mentioned that nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger also work well.

And if you want to try to outshine Starbucks with a homemade PSL right in your kitchen, consider adding some marshmallow fluff with crushed graham crackers around your coffee cup's rim. The cracker's crunch adds a nice texture contrast to the smooth and creamy latte.

Pumpkin sounds like an unusual ingredient in curry, but it could be the pantry shortcut you didn't know you needed. Reed Dunn loves using canned pumpkin in curry for its thickness and ability to work well with lots of flavor combinations.

In his pumpkin shrimp curry, canned pumpkin builds the body of the sauce and coconut milk adds creaminess. "It's one of my favorite ways to bulk up a sauce without watering down the flavor," he said. In fact, curry is one of the foods where using canned pumpkin really surprised him: "The first time I added it to a shrimp curry, I expected to taste pumpkin front and center. Instead it just made the sauce silkier and richer, almost like it was doing the job of a roux, without anyone tasting it as pumpkin specifically." Dunn also brought up a unique pairing tip — in a shrimp curry specifically, coconut milk and lime really bring out canned pumpkin's savory side.

Eric Brannon, culinary director at Matt & Tony's and chef-owner at Little Birdie, told us that pumpkin goes wonderfully with bold spices in particular. "A pumpkin and udon curry makes for a comforting, flavorful noodle dish, while Thai yellow curry paste, canned pumpkin, and coconut milk can be used to slowly braise chicken," he said. "Served over rice, it's incredible."

When you think of pasta sauce, a classic red sauce or a heavy cream-based sauce might come to mind. Dennis Littley, chef at Ask Chef Dennis, gave us some expert advice on a different approach and explained that using canned pumpkin in pasta sauce can transform a basic dish without the need for much dairy. Unlike macaroni and cheese, where pumpkin supports a sauce that's already creamy, here, canned pumpkin can do more of the heavy lifting.

"Pumpkin is far more versatile than many people think," he said. "I find that the best flavor combinations include the use of some sort of savory ingredient to pair with pumpkin's natural sweetness, such as sage, thyme, garlic, parmesan cheese, or browning butter [...] in order to achieve balance." He also mentioned that adding a touch of lemon juice or vinegar to pumpkin sauce helps prevent the flavors from becoming too sweet.

Littley likes canned pumpkin for the way it adds substance to pasta sauce while maintaining a pretty neutral flavor. "If you add enough cheese (such as Parmesan), garlic, black pepper and some acidity, the pumpkin will become one component of the sauce and not dominate the flavors," he said. "Home cooks can learn an important lesson from this: canned pumpkin does not always have to be the main focus."

Pumpkin risotto may sound predictable for fall, but Carmine Mottola, corporate executive chef at Heritage Restaurant Group, took us in a different direction with his expert tips. "I like to treat canned pumpkin as a silky base, rather than just a pie ingredient," he said.

One dish Mottola loves is pumpkin risotto with Parmigiano, a little butter, extra-virgin olive oil, and a dusting of black lime. "Black lime has an incredible roasted citrus character, almost like coffee and licorice, and it gives pumpkin a deep, elegant bitterness," he said. "You can also add shrimp, whose natural sweetness creates a beautiful contrast with the creaminess of the pumpkin and the toasted acidity of the black lime."

Though colder temperatures are approaching, Mottola thinks of canned pumpkin as an ingredient for any time of year. "Used with the right balance of fat, acidity, salt and spice, [canned pumpkin] becomes a beautiful bridge between comfort food and modern Mediterranean fusion cooking," he said. Adding canned pumpkin is definitely a clever way to take your risotto to the next level.

A spoonful of canned pumpkin seems unusual in an airy soufflé, but Ashutosh Gairola, executive pastry chef at La Quinta Resort & Club, taught us that the right technique can make just about anything work. "[Canned pumpkin] is a secret weapon for creating a velvety texture, acting as a natural emulsifier and fat replacer," he said.

Before folding pumpkin into something as delicate as a soufflé, Gairola recommended reducing the purée first since pumpkin has a high water content. He said sautéing or pan-roasting it over medium-low heat for three to five minutes cooks off excess water, concentrates the natural sugars, and creates a denser paste.

Gairola also shared how the combination works: "Folding the dense, reduced puree into a light Italian meringue with cardamom produced a delicate rise with a surprisingly silky texture." Chowhound's light and fluffy carrot soufflé recipe suggests canned pumpkin as a nice alternative if you'd like to give it a try yourself.

If you're willing to rethink traditional gnocchi dough, canned pumpkin can give your recipe a clever twist. Ashutosh Gairola talked to us about a different way to make pillowy gnocchi while giving it a nutritional boost.

Gairola swapped a portion of the potato in gnocchi for reduced canned pumpkin. "It created pillowy, melt-in-your-mouth dumplings with a vibrant golden hue that crisped up beautifully when pan-seared in sage butter," he said. For another layer of flavor, Gairola said pumpkin also pairs well with brown butter, orange zest, goat cheese, and saffron, giving cooks at home plenty of options for where to take the finished gnocchi.

Gairola also explained that canned pumpkin works as a binder that can partially replace oil and eggs while retaining moisture. But that's not all: "Functionally, it also delivers a boost of fiber, vitamin A, and potassium without overpowering the core flavor of the dish," he said. Canned pumpkin is one seriously underrated canned ingredient that we can't wait to use more of this fall.