10.18.2009 4:15 PM

Pumpkin Recipes: Way Beyond Pumpkin Pie

If your post-jack-o'-lantern Thanksgiving pumpkin dishes have become a little stale, try one of these unique pumpkin recipes for a new twist on America's favorite winter squash.

This vegan pâté that's perfect to serve as a holiday appetizer.

Crudités with Pumpkin Sage Pâté recipe.

Photo: Istock

By Dan Shapley

Halloween is all about pumpkins (and costumes). But pumpkins aren't just for jack-o'-lanterns and pumpkin pie. In fact, if you're leaving the pulp, the seeds and even the rind on the kitchen floor, you're missing out.

Pumpkins are a superfood: The meat is a top source of both Vitamin A and Beta Carotene, and its seeds are a top source of iron.

Here you'll find recipes for a variety of delicious pumpkin dishes, from breakfast muffins to lunch soups, appetizers to vegetarian dinners ... and, of course, pumpkin desserts.

And don't stop with traditional orange pumpkins. While sweet and delicious, pumpkins and winter squash come in a variety of forms, from the familiar -- butternut and acorn squash, for instance -- to the decidedly strange heirloom varieties.

Many of these pumpkin recipes start with pumpkin puree. There's no reason you have to buy canned puree -- especially if you've just carved pumpkins for jack-o'-lanterns. (Three pounds of pumpkin will produce about three cups of puree.) Here are three ways to make pumpkin puree.

Whether or not you're ready to puree, get your creative (and salivary) juices flowing by checking out these recipes:

Pumpkin Dessert Recipes - Beyond Pumpkin Pie

Ginger Pumpkin Flan Recipe
Peter Berley's 'Flexitarian Table' Pumpkin Tart with Pecan Crust Recipe
Mocha Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe
Pumpkin Seed Brittle Recipe

Photo: Istock

Pumpkin Main Dish, Appetizer and Soup Recipes for Lunch and Dinner

Cream of Pumpkin Soup Topped with Curried Pecans Recipe
Crudités with Pumpkin Sage Pâté Recipe
Baked Acorn Squash with Red Quinoa and Pumpkin Seed Stuffing Recipe
Pumpkin Ravioli with Kale Pumpkin Seed Pesto Recipe (Video)

Photo: Bochkarev Photography / Istock

Pumpkin Muffin Recipes for Breakfast

Pumpkin Spice Muffin Recipe
Pumpkin Quinoa Muffin Recipe

Photo: Istock

Winter Squash Recipes

Don't see what you like? Get creative and try substituting your pumpkin or winter squash into one of these recipes originally designed for a different winter squash. Or, mix and max with a few different squashes for unique new flavor combinations. You may have to adjust the spicing to match the new squash, but that's part of the fun -- and you won't sacrifice any of the nutrition; winter squashes are also among the top sources of both Vitamin A and Beta Carotene, and the seeds are a top source of iron.