Who else is totally pumpkin obsessed? With the height of pumpkin season upon us, I’m excited to bring you a roundup of 5 Plant Based Pumpkin Recipes to Try This Fall! Each October here at JustineCelina, my pumpkin recipes begin trending — so I thought it was the perfect time to round them all up in one post for easy browsing reference (complete with a Pinterest friendly graphic!). This year our Country Garden produced a whopping 55 pumpkins of all shapes, sizes and varieties — and you can bet I’ve been cooking, baking and recipe making with the abundance. If you love pumpkin as much as I do and you’re looking for some fresh, delicious, plant based recipe ideas, you’ve come to the right place! Whether you’re making pumpkin purée from scratch (I have a post explaining exactly how I do it!), using a quality canned variety or roasting it up to use in savoury applications — I’ve got you covered!
With Canadian Thanksgiving and Halloween just around the corner, this versatile gourd abounds at every patch, local grocer and farmers market as we eagerly bring them into our homes. If you’ve got some extra pumpkin to use up or are simply in search of healthy, easy and nourishing recipes, this roundup is for you! Inside, you’ll find all sorts of pumpkin-laden goodness in the form of Pumpkin Spice Steel Cut Oat Breakfast Bowls, Plant Based Pumpkin Pie Energy Bites, Gluten Free Pumpkin Turmeric Muffins, Gluten Free Mapled Pumpkin Chai Bread and a Spicy Pumpkin Persimmon Smoothie. Of course, I’m always working on something new (I may or may not have 12 pumpkin recipes currently in development!) — so this post will be updated periodically as new content publishes. As always, each recipe featured is free of dairy, gluten and refined sugar for those of us with allergies and intolerances (along with ingredient substitution suggestions if you don’t have these dietary requirements). I invite you to slip into a cozy sweater, preheat your oven and join me for some quintessentially October pumpkin recipe inspiration!
5 PLANT BASED PUMPKIN RECIPES TO TRY THIS FALL
There’s so much delicious pumpkin goodness to share that I’m going to jump right in! If you’re familiar with my typical recipe roundup format, I’ve organized this post by course or category for easy browsing. I’ve included a photo, summary and link to each recipe — and also indicated which category each recipe falls into: Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free and Freezer Friendly.
You’ll also find a Pinterest friendly graphic at the footer for easy reference if you’d like to bookmark this roundup for later. Here’s to finding fresh ways to enjoy autumn’s bountiful produce this season — I hope you enjoy my 5 Plant Based Pumpkin Recipes to Try This Fall roundup!
PLANT BASED PUMPKIN BREAKFAST RECIPES
PUMPKIN SPICE STEEL CUT OAT BREAKFAST BOWL
Vegan, Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free, Freezer Friendly
One of my absolutely favourite ways to use pumpkin purée is in oatmeal! I love to create seasonal pumpkin based oatmeal recipes and breakfast bowls using whatever fresh fruit we have on hand — and that’s exactly how this recipe was born. My Pumpkin Spice Steel Cut Oat Breakfast Bowl is an easy vegan recipe you can prep on the weekend to enjoy all week long!
This seasonal breakfast bowl combines warming spices with my favourite seasonal superfoods. Homemade pumpkin purée subtly flavours the steel cut oats, while a splash of coconut cream adds richness and decadence. This breakfast bowl is a harmonious medley of textures, colours, flavours and aromas — it’s a true delight to the senses!
SPICY PUMPKIN PERSIMMON SMOOTHIE
Vegan, Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free
My Spicy Pumpkin Persimmon Smoothie is an ancient recipe (circa 2015!) but remains a favourite in the JustineCelina kitchen. Smoothies are another one of my favourite (albeit less common) ways to incorporate the nourishment of pumpkin into my morning. If you’ve never tried pumpkin purée in your morning smoothie, I highly recommend you do — and start with this recipe!
Homemade pumpkin purée (my process for making it is also included in this post) combines with sweet and creamy persimmon and spicy fall flavours of fresh ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. It tastes like an indulgent treat, but it’s brimming with healthy, satiating ingredients!
PLANT BASED PUMPKIN SNACK RECIPES
PLANT BASED PUMPKIN PIE ENERGY BITES
Vegetarian (contains honey), Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free, Freezer Friendly
These Plant Based Pumpkin Pie Energy Bites are by far my most popular pumpkin recipe to date! They offer all the flavours of traditional pumpkin pie, rolled up into a tasty, nutrition packed little bite. I created them for all my fellow plant based eaters who may also have food intolerances and sensitivities — these simple, no bake little balls of goodness are free of dairy, gluten and refined sugar and they seriously taste exactly like pumpkin pie!
These delicious seasonal energy bites that combine pumpkin purée with a powerhouse medley of nuts and seeds, oats, shredded coconut, medjool dates and local honey (or maple syrup, if you’re vegan!) with cozy, autumnal spices for a portable dose of pumpkin pie whenever and wherever you need it (they also freeze well). If you have 15 minutes and a well stocked pantry, I bet you can whip these tasty little bites up right now. I always have a batch of these in the fridge during October!
PLANT BASED PUMPKIN BAKING RECIPES
GLUTEN FREE PUMPKIN TURMERIC MUFFINS
Vegetarian (contains eggs), Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free, Freezer Friendly
My Gluten Free Pumpkin Turmeric Muffins are free of dairy, gluten, refined sugar and oil — and a fantastic way to sneak in tons of nutrition, even when you’re on the go! Pumpkin purée, pure Canadian maple syrup, decadent coconut milk, freshly grated ginger and a kiss of pure vanilla combine with warming fall spices of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice to create a light and fluffy, plant based muffin to help you power through your day.
Enjoy them at breakfast, as a mid-day snack, or as a lighter alternative to more calorie-laden pumpkin-based desserts. This deceptively ‘free from’ recipe can be enjoyed by plant-baser eaters, people with food allergies and sensitivities and anyone that loves delicious seasonal baking!
GLUTEN FREE MAPLED PUMPKIN CHAI BREAD
Vegetarian (contains eggs), Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free, Freezer Friendly
And last but certainly not least, my Gluten Free Mapled Pumpkin Chai Bread combines two of my favourite seasonal flavour profiles in one deceptively decadent, easy-to-bake loaf that’s free of dairy, gluten, refined sugar and oil. Exceptionally moist and perfectly spiced, this simple, seasonal pumpkin bread tastes like an indulgent fall cake, but is loaded with nourishing ingredients and warm, healing spices!
Pumpkin purée, creamy coconut milk, pure Canadian maple syrup and a splash of Mexican vanilla extract are beautifully complimented by a rich melange of quintessential chai spices — including cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, cardamon and anise. The result is an incredibly delicious ‘free from’ pumpkin loaf to be enjoyed by plant based eaters, those with food allergies and sensitivities and anyone that loves delicious seasonal baking!
PIN MY MY FAVOURITE PLANT BASED PUMPKIN RECIPES
Thanks for stopping by for my favourite Plant Based Pumpkin Recipes, foodie friends! I’m planning to keep this post updated to ensure you can reference all my best pumpkin recipes in one convenient location — and I can’t wait to update it with autumn 2022’s creations! We enjoyed the last of our bountiful Country Garden harvest earlier this October and its inspired many new pumpkin recipes ideas, as well as ample produce for continued testing for those currently in development. All I have to say is… I hope you like pumpkin!
I hope this post inspired you to use October’s quintessential gourd in new and exciting ways. As always, if you try one of my recipes, please let me know how you liked it — I absolutely love your feedback! Leave me a comment, or tag me on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. I’d love you to hashtag #justinecelinarecipes in your recreations so I can find them — browsing my feed and stumbling on your beautiful recreations is one of my favourite feelings! I also have a Pinterest board for my fall recipes if you’re looking for more healthy, plant based recipes. I have so many more seasonal recipes coming your way this autumn and I can’t wait to share them with you. Wishing you all a beautiful fall season!
Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored, and contains my genuine thoughts, ideas and recommendations. JustineCelina uses affiliate and referral links, which allow me to receive a small commission when you make a purchase through one of my links. Thank you for supporting the brands and businesses that support JustineCelina.com!
10 Comments
This is a great little round up of the season’s hottest and most versatile vegetable. That pumpkin bread is calling my name!
Thanks, Bernice! I hope you give it a try. I know you also love chai just as much as I do!
Hi Justine! What a delicious collection of pumpkin recipes! I pinned to try them out. especially that pumpkin chai bread. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for pinning, Colleen! My Pumpkin Chai Bread is definitely a hit — I’d love your feedback if you try the recipe.
Lovely collection of recipes Justine! I’m defo going to try the little round bites and pumpkin chai bread! Love your pictures also, so classy and elegant! Great job!
Thank you so much for the lovely comment, Marie-Pierre — you made my day! Please report back if you give one of these recipes a try.
55 pumpkins?! Wow, and I thought I had a lot of pumpkin kicking around! Haha. Great collection of recipes, and (as always) wonderful photography to go along with them. Cheers!
We may have *slightly* overplanted, haha! Thanks so much for the lovely comment, Sean.
Such a great list of recipes to try, I cannot wait. The maple pumpkin chai bread is first on my list.
Thanks Kristen — it’s a reader favourite! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!