Vegetables · Squash & gourds
Pumpkin
Hard-skinned winter squash with sweet orange flesh, used in curries, soups, roasts, pies and breads.
Also called: kaddu, balkabağı, calabaza
Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans, via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-3.0)
What it is
Pumpkins are winter squashes with thick rinds and dense, orange or yellow flesh around a seedy cavity. Cooking types are smaller and sweeter than carving pumpkins. Kabocha, Indian kaddu and many tropical calabazas fall in this family; butternut is a related, smoother-skinned squash.
Cucurbita species
How it’s used
- Cooked into curries (kaddu ki sabzi) and stews
- Roasted in wedges
- Puréed into soups
- Baked into pies and breads
- Seeds roasted as a snack
Characteristics
- Taste
- Sweet, earthy and nutty.
- Texture
- Firm raw; soft and creamy cooked.
- When cooked
- Breaks down into a thick purée when simmered; caramelises when roasted.
- Sold as
- fresh, canned, frozen
- Cooking uses
- Commonly cooked, Suitable for baking, Suitable for boiling, Suitable for grilling
- Common in
- Indian, American, Caribbean, Japanese, Moroccan, Turkish, Australian, South African
Kinds in our pantry
Storage
Cool, dry and dark. Whole pumpkins keep for a long time in a cool, dry place. Wrap cut pieces, remove seeds and refrigerate for a few days.
Diet, allergens and safety
No major allergens in typical versions.
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
- Egg-free
- Gluten-free
- Nut-free
- Soy-free
- Caffeine-free
Nutrition per 100 g
- Energy
- 26 kcal
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbohydrate
- 6.5 g
- Fat
- 0.1 g
- Fibre
- 0.5 g
- Sugars
- 2.76 g
USDA FoodData Central: Pumpkin, raw.
Substitutes
Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.
- Butternut squash — A near match in any recipe.
- Sweet potato — Denser and sweeter; cook a little longer.
Related ingredients
Recipes with pumpkin
See all 29
Avial
South Indian · 45 min · 284 kcal · VegetarianBai
Indian · 40 min · 48 kcal · VeganBatar daan
Timorese · 1 h 15 min · 318 kcal · VeganBogobe jwa lerotse
Botswanan · 50 min · 257 kcal · Vegan
Cachupa
Cape Verdean · 2 h 15 min · 580 kcal
Cazuela de vacuno
Chilean · 2 h 5 min · 404 kcal
Couscous with seven vegetables
Moroccan · 2 h 10 min · 761 kcal
Dalma
Indian · 55 min · 271 kcal · Vegetarian
Domoda
Gambian · 1 h 45 min · 432 kcalErissery
South Indian · 55 min · 289 kcal · Vegan
Ghapama
Armenian · 2 h 30 min · 314 kcal · VegetarianIbihaza
Rwandan · 45 min · 198 kcal · Vegan
17 more
- Kafteji · Tunisian
- Kosksi bil hout · Tunisian
- La bandera dominicana · Dominican
- Locro · Argentine
- Margoog · Qatari
- Muamba de galinha · Angolan
- Oven hāngī · New Zealand
- Pinakbet · Filipino
- Porotos granados · Chilean
- Potjiekos · Namibian
- Roasted Pumpkin Soup · International
- Sambar · South Indian
- Sancocho de siete carnes · Dominican
- Sopaipillas · Chilean
- Soup joumou · Haitian
- Thareed · Emirati
- Warm roasted vegetable and chickpea salad · International
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