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What to Do with Pumpkins After Halloween

Pumpkins are one of my favorite parts of celebrating Fall, Halloween, and Samhain and with six kiddos and a huge, yearly Samhain party, our family loads up on A LOT of pumpkins! I feel awful throwing them away and looked for sustainable ways to recycle our yearly pumpkin load. Let’s go over what to do with pumpkins after Halloween and Samhain!

It wasn’t until a few years ago that I found out that all pumpkins are edible and that you can use your leftover pumpkin. It seems a little silly when you think of it honestly. Of course they are edible, they are squash! Instead of throwing out your pumpkins or letting them rot into an icky mess on your front porch, here are some of the ways we use pumpkins after halloween and Samhain.

The Origins of Pumpkins in Samhain and Halloween Traditions

Pumpkins are used for Samhain and Halloween as symbols of protection and guidance, drawing on ancient Celtic traditions. During Samhain, which marks the end of the harvest and the start of winter, people believed that the boundary between the world of the living and the spirit world was thin. To ward off malevolent spirits, people would carve faces into root vegetables like turnips, creating lanterns they placed outside their homes.

When European settlers arrived in North America, they found pumpkins—larger and easier to carve—and adapted the tradition, eventually transforming them into the Halloween jack-o’-lanterns we recognize today. Today, pumpkins continue to represent both the harvest and a connection to the supernatural, embodying Halloween’s themes of light, mystery, and protection.

what to do with pumpkins after halloween

What to do with Pumpkins after Halloween and Samhain

There are so many ways to repurpose pumpkins after Halloween that are both sustainable and fun! From delicious recipes and DIY crafts to composting and feeding farm animals, these ideas make the most of your pumpkins while reducing waste. Whether you’re creating tasty treats, nourishing your garden, or sharing with local farms, repurposing pumpkins is a simple way to enjoy the season a little longer and support eco-friendly practices.

1. Delicious Recipes to Use Leftover Pumpkin

As a reminder, don’t use carved pumpkins after halloween that you have treated with bleach or other chemicals to help them keep longer for recipes. We use uncarved pumpkins for our recipes, but you could use carved leftover pumpkins as long as they don’t have any harmful chemicals and are rinsed well.

Process Your Jack O Lantern into Pumpkin Puree for Baking

Craving a tasty snack like a pumpkin pie or pumpkin loaf? One of the most popular ways to use up whole pumpkins after halloween after the holidays is processing them into fresh pumpkin puree for pumpkin pies, pumpkin soups, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, and other pumpkin baked goods.

remove pumpkin seeds

baking pumpkin

baked pumpkin

baked pumpkin

I have processed dozens of pumpkins after halloween into purees and soups now! It is a super easy process. you can keep the puree for a week in the fridge to use in pumpkin donuts, pumpkin bread, and more. You can also freeze or can your pumpkin puree for future use.

Turn your fresh pumpkins into pumpkin puree using our Dragon’s Hearth Homestead recipe for processing pumpkins (coming soon).

Roast Pumpkin Seeds

roasted pumpkin seeds

Who hasn’t snacked on roasted pumpkin seeds?! A family favorite is baking pumpkin seeds and flavoring them with sweet, spicy, or savory spices. You can roast pumpkin seeds after creating a carved jack o lantern.

Read our blog on baking pumpkin seeds and how to flavor them here (coming soon).

Pumpkin Soup

What is cozier than a warm, pumpkin soup to warm you up on a chilly autumn day?

Try turning your halloween pumpkin into this Roasted Pumpkin Soup Recipe from Martha Stewart that our family likes!

Pumpkin Dog Treats

Do you have fur babies that would love love a seasonal autumn snack? Not only are pumpkin treats delicious for doggos, they also have nutritional benefits like high levels of fiber, beta-carotene, vitamins A & C, and potassium that can give your dogs coat a shiny boost, support their immune and digestive system, and their eye health.

Check out this recipe for pumpkin peanut butter dog treats.

2. Composting Pumpkins for Garden Benefits

Is your pumpkin too far gone to use in a recipe? Old pumpkins can be thrown in the compost bin rather than a trash can to reduce food waste in land fills and boost compost!

Why Compost Pumpkins?

Composting particular leftover foods is a great way to cut down on food waste in landfills. Composting enriches soil by adding essential nutrients, improving soil structure, and enhancing water retention. Organic matter from pumpkins in a compost bin provides nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, which are crucial for plant growth.

Compost also increases soil’s ability to retain moisture, reducing the need for frequent watering, and improves aeration, making it easier for roots to grow. Additionally, compost supports beneficial microorganisms that break down nutrients, making them more accessible to plants and promoting a healthier, more resilient garden ecosystem.

How to Compost a Pumpkin

You can just throw your pumpkin into the compost pile and let it do its thing! Although, if you want to speed up the compost process and prevent possible volunteer pumpkin plants, you can remove all of the pumpkin seeds before throwing it in the compost and slice it into chunks. Depending on the size of your pumpkin, it may take anywhere from 8-12 weeks for it to decompose.

Pumpkin as a Natural Fertilizer

Pumpkins are packed with nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, making them a fantastic natural fertilizer for garden beds. Instead of tossing them after Halloween, you can chop pumpkins into small pieces and mix them directly into the soil. This process allows the nutrients to break down and enrich the earth, feeding beneficial microorganisms and promoting healthy soil structure.

As they decompose, pumpkins contribute organic matter, helping improve moisture retention and aeration. By adding chopped pumpkins directly to garden beds, you’re giving plants a nutrient boost in a simple, sustainable way.

3. Feeding Pumpkins to Farm Animals

Please don’t feed a carved pumpkin to your animals or local wildlife if it has been treated with bleach or other chemicals to help it keep after being carved.

Homestead Animals Love Pumpkins

Our chickens LOVE eating pumpkins after halloween! Once you are finished with your pumpkins, you can throw them to your livestock to snack on. List common farm animals that can eat pumpkins, such as chickens, pigs, goats, and cows.

Nutritional Benefits for Animals

Fresh Pumpkin is a healthy snack for animals because it has high levels of fiber, beta-carotene, vitamins A & C, and potassium that are fantastic for your animals health and can support their immune system, digestive system, and their eye health.

4. Community Donations

Donating leftover pumpkins is a fantastic way to give back to the community and ensure they’re put to good use.

Donate to Local Farms, Animal Shelters, and Animal Sanctuaries

Pumpkins are safe for animals like chickens, pigs, goats, and cows, and they make a nutritious, seasonal treat. Reach out to nearby farms or animal shelters to see if they’d welcome the donation.

Composting Programs

If your area has community composting programs or community gardens, they may accept pumpkin donations to help enrich their soil. Composting programs often welcome organic waste like pumpkins, which break down into valuable compost for gardens and green spaces.

Donate to Your Local Food Pantries (if Edible)

If your pumpkins are unpainted and not carved, some food pantries accept fresh produce like pumpkins after halloween for families in need. Reach out to local food pantries to see if they’re accepting produce donations this season.

By donating pumpkins to local farms, composting programs, or food pantries, you’re supporting sustainable practices and helping others in your community!

what to do with pumpkins after halloween

Conclusion

There are so many creative and sustainable ways to use pumpkins after halloween instead of tossing them in the trash. From cooking up tasty recipes and nourishing your garden with compost, to feeding farm animals and making seasonal crafts, these ideas offer easy ways to extend the life of your pumpkins while keeping them out of landfills.

Repurposing pumpkins is a simple yet impactful way to give back to nature and make the most of the fall season.

So, as you wrap up your family’s fall, Samhain, and Halloween festivities, consider giving those pumpkins a second life that benefits both you and the environment!

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Jenni Sekine

Mother of Dragons

Hey there! I'm Jenni, a homeschooling, home birthing, and home growing mama of four little dragons, and I run Dragon's Hearth Homestead with my husband, Bryan Sekine. We are all about teaching others about the things we are passionate about. Come learn with us!

🌿 home grown 🌿 🍁 homeschool 🍁 🐓 home raised 🐇 🚗 travel ✈️

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