So, you bought a pumpkin for Halloween. You carved it, set it out on your window sill, put a candle in it for the 31st, and now what?
While your first instinct may be to throw your pumpkin away along with the rest of your trash, it’s actually very harmful to the environment and contributes to the U.S. waste crisis. Though pumpkins do decompose, when trapped under piles of trash in landfills without any oxygen they release methane, a greenhouse gas that 20 times more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide. To make things worse, the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that 1.3 billion pounds of pumpkins are throw out after Halloween every year—that’s a lot of methane gas being produced.
So, instead of throwing out your Halloween pumpkin, here are five easy (and delicious) ways you can repurpose your leftover pumpkin that are beneficial for the environment and help reduce waste.
- Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
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If you haven’t yet gutted your pumpkin, make sure to keep the seeds when you do because they
make for the perfect healthy seasonal snack. Like nuts, pumpkin seeds are a great source of
protein and omega-3 fatty acids. Plus, they are chalk-full of essential nutrients like iron, B2, and
calcium.After cleaning them off, they can be roasted with salt or a cinnamon sugar mixture to be eaten
alone. But you can also use them to make other things like granola, pesto, a topping on salads,
and so much more. - Pumpkin Puree
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As we all know, pumpkin is a fall staple. Many festive treats like pumpkin bread, pumpkin
cookies, and pumpkin pie call for canned pumpkin or pumpkin puree. You can easily make this
with your leftover Halloween pumpkin even if you carved it, and it can be stored in the freezer
for up to 6 months.For specific instructions, Hey Nutrition Lady has a great easy-to-follow recipe. But all you’ll
need to do is cut your pumpkin in half and place it on a baking tray to roast in the oven until soft.
Then, scoop the flesh of the pumpkin into a blender, puree it, and voila!Within a short amount of time you’ll have homemade pumpkin puree and you’ll be able to make
endless festive fall treats that’ll leave your house smelling delicious. And if you don’t have much
of a sweet tooth, the puree can also be used to make pumpkin soup or even hummus! - Calabaza en Tacha
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A specific festive sweet treat is Calabaza en Tacha. It is a delicious Mexican dessert with pumpkin
cooked in a thick spiced syrup—and if that doesn’t scream fall, I don’t know what does.It’s traditionally made in celebration of the Day of the Dead—a.k.a. right after Halloween, so it’s
the perfect sweet treat to make with your leftover pumpkin. Mely Martinez of Mexico In My
Kitchen has an entire post dedicated to the history of Calabaza en Tacha along with a recipe if
you’re interested in making it.All you’ll need in addition to your pumpkin are some piloncillo cones, cinnamon sticks, and an
orange for a zesty flare. It can be served just with the sauce or, for some extra creaminess, in a
bowl of milk. - Pumpkin Planter
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Of course, not all pumpkins are going to be in the best shape to cook after Halloween. Maybe
you bought your pumpkin a while ago, or you carved it and left it outside for a long time. Either
way, it’s too rotten to turn it into something edible but fret not!A beautiful and easy way to repurpose your pumpkin is to turn it into a seasonal flower planter.
Just get some soil, a bundle of flowers, and put it all together—it’s that simple! You can put it
outside on your doorsteps, on a window sill, or in the center of your dining room table.Then, after a few weeks, when it begins to decompose, you can either burying it to allow the
flower to keep growing, or… - Compost it!
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Composting is the best alternative to throwing your pumpkin away to be sent to the landfill.
Through the process of composting, organic material like food waste is able to decompose
naturally and give nutrients back to environment. It significantly improves soil quality and
structure, reducing the need for chemical fertilizer by providing the essential nutrients to help
plants grow and suppresses the diseases that would normally kill them.Because pumpkins are full of nutrients, composting them is a great way to give back to the planet
and also reduce your waste. All you have to do is find a local garden and drop it off there. Or you
could even use your Halloween pumpkin to start your own compost at home. Just make sure to
do your research!