Did you buy tons of beautiful pumpkins for Halloween decor only to wonder what to do with them now that Halloween is over?

How many pumpkins are wasted on Halloween?

In the UK each year, more than 8 million pumpkins are wasted after Halloween. About 40% of people buy pumpkins to carve as Halloween decor, and 60% of these people throw their pumpkins away when Halloween is over.

It’s easy to think of pumpkins purely as Halloween or fall decor but they’re food first. And unfortunately contribute to the huge amount of food waste each year through no fault of their own.

What do you do with pumpkins after Halloween?

The uses for pumpkins are truly endless and delicious, especially when you start to think of pumpkins as food and not just decor.

You can stop feeling guilty about buying too many gorgeous pumpkins for Halloween now that you’ll know to how use them to their full potential.

Here are the ultimate zero waste ways to use pumpkins after Halloween.

Local farms

Many local farms will accept donations of pumpkins as a treat for their animals after Halloween. Call a local farm ahead of time to make sure they will welcome the gift and drop it off. You can even ask the farmer if you can watch the animals eat the pumpkins with your kids. It never hurts to ask!

Compost

If you have a backyard compost pile, chop up your pumpkin, turn it in, and let the worms get to work. If you don’t have a compost pile, find a neighbor or friend who does and give it to them. Local farms and community gardens also have compost piles and might accept your pumpkins. Contact them ahead of time to make sure. 

Eat Them

My favorite way to use pumpkins after Halloween is to eat them! You can eat both the meat and seeds for a seasonal feast. The first step to eating pumpkins is to make a puree from the flesh.

Homemade Pumpkin Puree

• 1 pumpkin
• 1 cookie sheet

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Cut pumpkin in half

Scoop out guts and seeds and set aside

Place pumpkin halves face down on cookie sheet

Roast for about 40 minutes or until pumpkin is completely soft (soft enough for a knife to go right in)

After the pumpkin is soft, scoop the flesh into a food processor and process until smooth. 

Once you have a smooth pumpkin puree you can freeze it until you’re ready to make pumpkin lasagna, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin bread. Or use it right away for whatever delicious pumpkin recipe you’ve selected.

Don’t throw away the pumpkin seeds! Remember the guts and seeds you put to the side?

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

• pumpkin seeds
• salt
• pepper
• olive oil
• cookie sheet

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Separate the guts from the seeds and rinse seeds well. 

Once the seeds are clean, dry well and spread on a cookie sheet

Drizzle olive oil, salt, and pepper on seeds and mix well

Roast the seeds for about 10-15 minutes or until light brown

Enjoy as a simple side dish or addicting snack

Now that you know the ultimate zero waste ways to use pumpkins after Halloween I’m sure you’ll stock up next year just for the end results.

What happens to your pumpkins after Halloween?

Share your tips down below!