How to Roast a Pumpkin

Roasted pumpkin is a delicious, healthy autumn dish that can either be served as a side-dish to your main course, or added to a salad. Read this article to learn a few different ways to roast a pumpkin.

Ingredients

Basic Roast Pumpkin

• One small pumpkin or 1/4 large pumpkin
• Olive oil, to drizzle
• Dash salt and pepper

Total Time: 30 minutes|Servings: 4

Spicy Roasted Pumpkin

• Two pounds fresh pumpkin, peeled and seeded
• Two tablespoons olive oil
• Half teaspoon salt
• One teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• One teaspoon ground cumin or cumin seed

Total Time: 1 hour|Servings: 4-6

Cinnamon Roasted Pumpkin

• Three pounds pumpkin, peeled and seeded
• Quarter cup brown sugar
• One teaspoon cinnamon
• Half teaspoon salt
• Two tablespoons peanut or olive oil

Total Time: 1 hour|Servings: 8-10

Steps

Basic Roast Pumpkin

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius).
   
2. Prepare the pumpkin. Cut the pumpkin in half with a large knife. Scoop out the stringy innards of the pumpkin along with the seeds. Set the seeds aside and prepare toasted pumpkin seeds later.
   
3. 
   Cut the pumpkin into 1-inch thick slices. Puncture the outer skin of the pumpkin with the tip of a large chef's knife. Set the knife into the groove created by the puncture and slowly sink the knife into the pumpkin using a rocking motion.
   • The thicker your slices, the longer your pumpkin will take to roast. Therefore, it's recommended to cut about 1-inch thick slices, leaving enough time to develop good caramelization on the outer surface of the pumpkin.
4. 
   Prepare pumpkin wedges for roasting. Place pumpkin wedges on a large roasting tray and drizzle generously with olive oil.
5. 
   Season your pumpkin wedges. Salt and pepper make a fine combo, but why not experiment a little bit for some out-of-the-ordinary combos? Try:
   • Garam Masala
   • Cumin and curry powder
   • Clove, cinnamon, and brown sugar
   • Maple syrup
   • Red pepper
6. Roast. Roast your pumpkin wedges for about 20 minutes. If your pumpkin wedges are slightly larger than 1-inch thick, roast for 25 minutes and check every 5 minutes thereafter. If your pumpkin wedges are slightly smaller than 1-inch thick, roast for 15 minutes and check every 5 minutes thereafter.
   

Spicy Roasted Pumpkin

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius). This will save you time while preparing the food.
   
2. Cut. Cut the pumpkin into two inch cubes using a sharp chef's knife. In a small bowl, mix together olive oil, salt, pepper, and cumin.
   
3. 
   Coat the baking sheet. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray or olive oil. Alternatively, cover the baking sheet with aluminum foil.
   • Place the pieces of pumpkin onto the baking sheet. Try to arrange them so that they are not touching one another. Use a spoon to drizzle the olive oil mixture onto the pumpkin, or use a basting brush to coat each piece.
4. Bake for 30-35 minutes. The pumpkin should be soft and lightly browned at the edges when it is done.
   
5. Remove from the oven and have cool. Pumpkin can be served warm as a side-dish, or can be stored in the refrigerator and served cold with a salad. Enjoy!
   

Cinnamon Roasted Pumpkin

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (162 degrees Celsius). In a small bowl, add the sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Mix together.
   
2. Slice. Use a chef's knife to cut the pumpkin into pieces. You can either cut them into cubes or slices that are about thick.
   
3. Coat the baking dish. Coat baking dish with cooking spray, olive oil, or butter to prevent the pumpkin from sticking. Place the pumpkin into the baking sheet.
   
4. Add oil. Use a basting brush to cover the pieces with peanut oil, olive oil or butter. If you do not have a basting brush, then use a spoon to drizzle the oil onto the pumpkin, being sure to coat each piece.
   
5. Sprinkle seasonings. Sprinkle the pumpkin with the cinnamon and sugar. Cover the baking dish.
   
6. Bake. Have the pumpkin bake in the oven for 40 minutes. Remove the baking dish and stir the pumpkin, then bake again, uncovered, for an additional 15 minutes. Pumpkin should be soft when finished.
   
7. Allow to cool and then serve. Pumpkin can be served as a side dish or as a dessert. Consider serving with whipped cream or vanilla bean ice cream. Dust with a little bit of spice for a nice presentation.
   

Video

Tips

• Try adding your favorite seasonings to the pumpkin before roasting, like thyme, rosemary, cayenne pepper, etc.
• Pumpkins are in season beginning in fall, and usually last through the winter. Pumpkins can be stored at room temperature for up to a month.
• Be sure that the pumpkin you use is intended for cooking purposes, not purely for decoration.
• Roast pumpkin can also be easily converted to a pumpkin puree, which can be used for many things: baby food, pumpkin pie, even in meatballs, pumpkin soup, pumpkin pasta sauce, and many more!
• Roast the pumpkin seeds for an additional treat.

Things You'll Need

• Baking sheet/dish
• Aluminum foil or non-stick cooking spray
• Basting brush (optional)
• Small bowl for mixing

Related wikiHows

• How to Make a Pumpkin Smoothie
• How to Make Pumpkin Pie Straight from the Pumpkin
• How to Make Pumpkin Bread
• How to Roast Pumpkin Seeds
• How to Make Pumpkin Candles
• How to Roast Cumin Seeds

Sources and Citations

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