Fall is here, and many people, including me, find themselves with at least a few pumpkins either inside or outside their home. You may use them intact for decor or have fun carving them with your kids. But in addition to these uses, there are many other ways to use pumpkins so you don’t waste them! Some of these ideas are for when you’re all done with your pumpkin, but others can be used as you’re cleaning out the inside of the pumpkin before you carve it.
Don’t Waste It! 8 Ways to Use Pumpkins
Compost it
Whether you’ve carved some pumpkins or have pumpkin components left from one of these other ideas, composting is such a great way to use a pumpkin! It is a free way to keep feeding your garden. Here are my tips for composting.
Make pumpkin puree
If you find yourself with several intact pumpkins, once you take them down from decorating, you can make pumpkin puree just like you buy in a can at the store. Here are instructions from the Pioneer Woman. Once you have the puree, you can make pumpkin snickerdoodles, pumpkin muffins, and pumpkin energy bites!
Use it as a makeshift planter
You can make your outdoor decorations even more fall-themed by cutting a hole in a pumpkin, removing the insides, and adding potting soil! Then you can plant annuals or perennials in them. These planters will last about a month, so you’ll need to transplant any perennials afterward!
Roast the seeds
If you’re carving your pumpkin or using it for a planter, you can make use of just the seeds! Here is a step by step guide to roasting pumpkin seeds.
Make it into a bird feeder
I never would have thought to make a pumpkin into a bird feeder. This is such a fun way to use a pumpkin and also feed the birds in your area! If you hang it in a visible place, it also serves as some outdoor fall decor.
Make pumpkin skin crisps
You can truly use all the parts of a pumpkin, even the skin! These pumpkin chips look delicious and will allow you to use every single bit of a pumpkin.
Feed it to your animals (or a friend’s)
Both domesticated and wild animals love pumpkins. So if you or anyone you know has chickens or rabbits, offer it to them! We have a donkey that lives around the corner from us, and with the owner’s permission, we may offer some pumpkin to him this year.
Use stringy pumpkin guts to make broth
This doesn’t sound very appetizing, but did you know you can make vegetable broth from the stringy, slimy parts from inside pumpkins? You’ll strain all that out at the end and be left with a rich pumpkin stock. Then you can use it for all your fall soups!
Here are my ideas for decorating with pumpkins!