This delicious roasted pumpkin is seasoned with olive oil, garlic, and chili powder. It's better than potatoes - the perfect fall side dish!
When you think about pumpkin, do you only think about pumpkin pie? If so, you're missing out! Pumpkin can take on sweet or savory flavors, and it makes a wonderful, hearty, and satisfying side dish, perfect for fall and winter. There are two ways to roast a pumpkin. You can cube it, season the cubes, and bake them. Or you can halve the pumpkin and bake the halves. I discuss both methods below.
Ingredients
See the recipe card for exact measurements. Here are my comments on the ingredients.
- Sugar pumpkin: Small pumpkins are more flavorful. They vary in size, from 2 to 5 pounds, but whatever their size, as long as they are marked as "sugar pumpkin" or "sugar pie pumpkin," that's what you need.
- Olive oil: I use extra-virgin olive oil, but a light and fruity olive oil will also work. Melted butter or ghee are also very good.
- Seasonings: Kosher salt, chili powder, and garlic powder. I prefer garlic powder to minced fresh garlic because it more evenly coats the pumpkin. Sometimes, I substitute smoked paprika for the chili powder.
Instructions
The detailed instructions and step-by-step photos are included in the recipe card. Here's a quick overview.
Slightly soften the pumpkin in the microwave, then carefully cut it in half. Remove the pulp and seeds.
Cut each pumpkin half into four 1-inch-thick moon-shaped slices. Use a vegetable peeler to peel the skin off. Cut the peeled pumpkin slices into cubes. Place the pumpkin cubes in a large bowl and toss them with olive oil and spices.
Transfer the seasoned pumpkin pieces to a parchment-paper-lined rimmed baking sheet. Roast them until fork-tender, about 30 minutes at 425°F, tossing them halfway through. Serve immediately.
So delicious! I used melted butter and smoked paprika. Absolutely my favorite side dish right now.
Diana Reed
Read more comments
So delicious! I used melted butter and smoked paprika. Absolutely my favorite side dish right now.An Alternative Method
Another option, shown in the video below, is to skip the peeling, slicing, and cubing. In this method, you cut the pumpkin in half, remove the pulp and seeds, and place it cut-side-down on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Bake the pumpkin until fork-tender, about 30 minutes at 425°F.
Once baked, you can remove its flesh, mash it, and use it in recipes that call for pumpkin puree, such as mashed pumpkin, pumpkin chili, and pumpkin muffins.
Recipe Tip
It's best to use a small sugar pumpkin when making this recipe. The bigger the pumpkin, the less flavor it has. You want a small pumpkin with firm, deep orange flesh. It's best to use the big pumpkins for Jack-o-lanterns, not for cooking. There's a reason the big pumpkins are often called "carving pumpkins" while the small ones are called "pie pumpkins!"
As mentioned above, sugar pumpkins come in various sizes. I wrote this recipe for a 2-pound pumpkin, which is quite small. But in the video below, I used a 5-pound pumpkin. It needed two minutes on each side in the microwave to soften enough to cut. I used half of it for baking pumpkin chunks, and roasted the second half whole, as shown in the photo below.
Using the Seeds
Whatever way you bake the pumpkin, don’t forget to keep the seeds! Wash them and roast them. Roasted pumpkin seeds are a wonderful treat. Cleaning them is a bit tedious, but it’s well worth the effort.
Recipe FAQs
To prevent sogginess, you'll want to cook the pumpkin at high heat. That's why I use a 425°F oven. It also helps to cube the pumpkin before baking it. This helps achieve crispy edges on the pumpkin pieces.
I'm a big fan of roasting. Cooking the pumpkin in a hot oven creates the best texture, and it also caramelizes the pumpkin and brings out its mildly sweet flavor.
It depends. The first method I outlined here is to peel the pumpkin, cube it, and bake the cubes. The second method, of halving the pumpkin and then roasting the halves, leaves the peel on. You only remove it after cooking.
You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat them gently in the microwave at 50% power. You can also freeze the cooled leftovers in freezer-safe containers or bags for up to three months.
Serving Suggestions
Anything goes with roasted pumpkin. It's as versatile as potatoes. But since I bake the pumpkin in a 425°F oven, I like to serve it with a main dish I can cook in the same oven. So, I often serve it with one of the following:
Recipe Card
Easy Roasted Pumpkin Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1 sugar pumpkin - 2 pounds whole, 1.5 pounds cleaned
- 2 tablespoons olive oil - or melted butter
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt - or ½ teaspoon of any other salt, including Morton kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder - or smoked paprika
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Set an oven rack to the lowest position. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with high-heat-resistant parchment paper.
- Wash and dry the pumpkin. Microwave it for one minute on high to soften.
- Carefully, using a very sharp chef’s knife and back-and-forth sawing motions, cut the pumpkin in half. Slice a sliver from the stem side first if you don’t want to cut through the stem, which is difficult to do.
- Use a large metal spoon to remove the pulp and seeds. If some stubborn pulp remains, cut it with kitchen scissors. If desired, save the seeds to make roasted pumpkin seeds.
- Back to using the sharp knife and the sawing motions, cut each pumpkin half into four one-inch-thick moon-shaped slices, discarding the ends.
- Using a vegetable peeler, peel the skin off, then cut each pumpkin slice into 1-inch cubes.
- Place the pumpkin cubes in a large bowl. Add the olive oil, kosher salt, garlic powder, and chili powder. Use a large spoon or your hands to coat the pumpkin chunks evenly.
- Arrange the pumpkin cubes in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake them until tender, about 30 minutes, tossing them halfway through. Serve immediately.
Notes
- It's best to use a small sugar pumpkin. The bigger the pumpkin, the less flavor it has. You want a small pumpkin with firm, deep orange flesh.
- If your sugar pumpkin is larger than 2 pounds, you'll need to microwave it for longer. In the video above, I used a 5-pound pumpkin and microwaved it for two minutes on each side.
- Another option, shown in the video, is to skip the peeling, slicing, and cubing. Cut the pumpkin in half, remove the pulp and seeds, and place it cut-side-down on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Roast the pumpkin until fork-tender, about 30 minutes at 425°F. The result is not so much a side dish as a cooked pumpkin that you can mash and use in other recipes.
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat them gently in the microwave at 50% power. You can also freeze the cooled leftovers in freezer-safe containers or bags for up to three months.
Nutrition per Serving
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Most recipes are low-carb and gluten-free, but some are not. Recommended and linked products are not guaranteed to be gluten-free. Nutrition info is approximate. Please verify it independently. The carb count excludes non-nutritive sweeteners. Please read these Terms of Use before using any of my recipes.
Yolanda Johnstone says
Definitely a keeper! Thank you
Vered DeLeeuw says
You're very welcome, Yolanda! Glad you liked it.
Mae says
I wouldn't encourage people not to cook the flesh from their jack o lantern pumpkins as it encourages waste! I've used this recipe with a big pumpkin that I used as a Halloween decoration and it worked great. It's an injustice to your recipe to say it won't work for bigger pumpkins 🙂
Vered DeLeeuw says
Very interesting, Mae! Thank you for this feedback.