Put That Jar of Pumpkin Butter Lurking in Your Pantry to Use in These Sweet and Savory Dishes (2024)

Use fall's best spread in everything from pasta to cookies.

Chandra Ram leads the digital food strategy for Food & Wine. She has 15 years experience writing and editing food content and developing recipes. A former restaurant cook and server, she also writes cookbooks.

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Published on September 20, 2023

Put That Jar of Pumpkin Butter Lurking in Your Pantry to Use in These Sweet and Savory Dishes (2)

We love pumpkin butter on toast, but there’s so much more you can do with fall’s ultimate condiment. Spread pumpkin butter on toast, scones, quickbreads, and scones, or dollop atop French toast. It can also be used as an ingredient in pancakes and even as a savory pasta sauce.

What is pumpkin butter?

Pumpkin butter is actually a fruit spread, similar to apple butter. It has a smooth, creamy texture but does not contain butter.

How to make pumpkin butter

You can make pumpkin butter with fresh pumpkin or canned pumpkin puree. If you start with a fresh pumpkin, puree the flesh and then cook it with spices slowly over low heat until the mixture has thickened and is a slightly darker color. Here are some of our favorite ways to use it.

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Pumpkin butter

In the fall, when squash and pumpkins are in their prime, make this pumpkin butter your go-to add-in. This silky preserve toes the line between sweet and savory: Try it on toast with cream cheese, in whipped cream or melted into a mixture of sage and brown butter for an autumnal pasta sauce.

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Pasta with Pumpkin Brown Butter Sauce

Put That Jar of Pumpkin Butter Lurking in Your Pantry to Use in These Sweet and Savory Dishes (4)

A classic browned butter and sage sauce gets a boost of fall flavor from pumpkin butter. Be generous with the Parmigiano-Reggiano, its salty, savory bite adds the perfect hit of umami flavor to this decadent pasta dish.

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Pumpkin Bread

Put That Jar of Pumpkin Butter Lurking in Your Pantry to Use in These Sweet and Savory Dishes (5)

Spiced with cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg, this classic pumpkin bread smells and tastes like fall. A dollop of pumpkin butter with cream cheese on each slice takes it over the top.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Put That Jar of Pumpkin Butter Lurking in Your Pantry to Use in These Sweet and Savory Dishes (6)

Pumpkin butter adds a sweet and spicy flavor to these classic buttermilk pancakes, and a boost of moisture. Cooking them over moderately low heat ensures each pancake cooks through and gets a perfect golden color with a lightly crispy bite. Serve these with extra pumpkin butter, or melted butter and drizzles of maple syrup.

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Pumpkin-Banana Bread French Toast

Put That Jar of Pumpkin Butter Lurking in Your Pantry to Use in These Sweet and Savory Dishes (7)

This rich Pumpkin-Banana Bread French Toast is autumn on a plate. The pumpkin and banana in the bread are balanced by warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, which highlight the sweetness of the bread. After being dipped in the custard and cooked in butter, the bread slices get a crispy, toasty, and almost caramelized exterior that yields to a deliciously soft interior. Maple syrup, butter, and pepitas are the perfect finishing touch — the pepitas add some crunch and salt to balance the sweetness. We love these with a smear of pumpkin butter, to double-up on the fall flavors.

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Pumpkin Cookies

Put That Jar of Pumpkin Butter Lurking in Your Pantry to Use in These Sweet and Savory Dishes (8)

These soft, lightly spiced cake-like cookies are studded with minced candied ginger and topped with a buttery sugar glaze. Add a dollop of pumpkin butter on top to make these extra pumpkin-y.

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