Day: November 7, 2025

• We asked chefs for of the best ways to use canned pumpkin and recipes where fresh is best.
• Canned pumpkin can work well in smoothies, mac and cheese, cocktails, or curry.
• One culinary pro said it’s often better to use fresh pumpkin in pies, muffins, and cakes. 

Though you may only associate it with holiday pies or spiced lattes, pumpkin is actually a versatile fruit that shines in a variety of sweet and savory dishes. 

When using pumpkin in the kitchen, many opt for the canned stuff. Fortunately, canned pumpkin can be an accessible ingredient that elevates all sorts of dishes, drinks, and desserts.

However, some recipes benefit from using fresh pumpkin — even if a little more chopping and prep is required.

For a little help on deciding which route to take, Business Insider asked chefs to share their favorite and least favorite ways to use canned pumpkin.

Use canned pumpkin to elevate mac and cheese.

Chef and culinary consultant Clare Langan told BI that she likes to put canned pumpkin in mac and cheese.

“Just stir canned pumpkin into the cheese sauce with freshly chopped fresh rosemary, thyme, or sage,” Langan said. “Add some freshly grated nutmeg and voilà.”

Langan said she suggests using more robust cheeses, such as Gruyère or sharp cheddar, when making pumpkin mac and cheese.

Making pumpkin butter may be easier than you think.

Pumpkin butter is an indulgent spread that’s fairly easy to make at home.

“Make pumpkin butter by simmering canned pumpkin with maple syrup or brown sugar, and then add a few tablespoons of butter and a dash of pumpkin-pie spice,” said Langan.

Cool the mixture and store it in the fridge. You can also dip apples in it or swirl it into oatmeal

Canned pumpkin can make a curry creamier.

If you’re looking to add sweetness and color to your next curry, try stirring in a bit of canned pumpkin purée.

“Canned pumpkin is great in red or yellow curries,” Langan said. “The flavor of pumpkin can be rather neutral, so go heavier on the curry paste and fish sauce.”

Finish the curry with several squeezes of fresh lime to add a touch of brightness to the dish.

Use it to make a filling smoothie with an autumnal twist.

For a sweet drink that feels like fall, Langan said to try adding canned pumpkin and pecans to a smoothie.

“All you have to do is blend a spoonful of pumpkin with milk, a frozen banana, vanilla protein powder, a handful of toasted pecans, and ice,” said Langan.

For extra autumnal flavor, add a sprinkle of cinnamon or pumpkin-pie spice.

Try adding canned pumpkin and maple syrup to your mashed potatoes.

Robert Carr, executive chef at La Cantera Resort and Spa, told BI that he likes to use pumpkin and maple syrup to give mashed potatoes a unique twist.

“Pumpkin adds such depth of flavor to buttery whipped potatoes,” he said. “Just take your favorite mashed-potato recipe and add pumpkin purée and maple syrup to taste.”

If necessary, reduce the amount of cream or butter in your mashed-potato recipe to keep the dish from becoming too watery after the addition of the pumpkin purée.

Canned pumpkin can be used as a substitute for eggs in bread.

Chef Tracy Wilk said that canned pumpkin can be used as a vegan-friendly egg substitute in many quick bread recipes.

“You can use a quarter cup of canned pumpkin for each egg your bread recipe calls for,” Wilk said. “It adds delicious nutrients and a slight pumpkin flavor.”

Wilk especially recommends trying pumpkin as an egg replacer in zucchini bread.

Try a fall-flavored margarita with canned pumpkin and cider.

Don Baiocchi, recipe developer at Paleo Gluten-Free Guy, told BI that canned pumpkin is an unexpected but delicious addition to a classic margarita.

“Just combine spiced apple cider, tequila, and canned pumpkin in a cocktail shaker. Strain into a glass rimmed with smoky sea salt and you’re done,” he said.

You can adjust the amount of pumpkin purée in this cocktail to your taste, or substitute the tequila with vodka.

You can make a creamy, dairy-free pasta sauce with pumpkin.

Canned pumpkin can add flavor, creaminess, and richness to pasta dishes.

“Make a creamy sauce for pasta by using pumpkin as the ‘cream’ element in a tomato sauce,” Wilk said. “I especially love serving this sauce with squash ravioli.”

If you’re not ready to totally cut cream from your sauce, try replacing half of the amount called for with pumpkin purée.

Use canned pumpkin to easily whip up a vegan ice cream.

For an easy fall dessert, Baiocchi said, try making your own vegan ice cream with bananas and canned pumpkin.

“In a food processor, add two frozen and chopped bananas, a quarter can of canned pumpkin, and maple syrup to taste,” he said. “Mix in spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.”

If you prefer a harder ice-cream consistency, simply pop the blended ice cream in the freezer for a few hours.

Pumpkin is a sweet addition to a classic French toast.

You can make French toast more exciting by adding a helping of canned pumpkin to the batter.

“Just take your standard French toast mix and add pumpkin purée,” Carr said. “I like to use sweet Hawaiian bread to make the dish extra indulgent.”

You can even top your pumpkin French toast with whipped cream, crunchy granola, a drizzle of maple syrup, and a dusting of cinnamon.

On the other hand, canned pumpkin isn’t always the best for soups.

Chef Clay Debattista of Chapa Catering told BI that pumpkin soup benefits from the use of fresh fruit rather than canned.

“Roasted fresh pumpkin gets a caramelized flavor that really improves pumpkin soup,” he said. “You don’t get that flavor with canned pumpkin.”

If you make soup with canned pumpkin, consider adding caramelized vegetables and onions, or roasted garlic, to add more depth to its flavor.

Canned pumpkin isn’t actually ideal for pie.

Though the canned stuff is convenient, it’s really not the most flavorful way to make pumpkin pie, Debattista said.

“Making pumpkin pie with fresh pumpkin rather than canned means you get this beautiful nutty flavor that develops when the pie is in the oven,” he added.

Fresh pumpkin could improve the texture of your cake and muffins better than canned stuff.

If you’re making a pumpkin-flavored cake, opt for the fresh fruit instead.

“Fresh pumpkin becomes very creamy when blended,” Debattista said. ‘This unique texture makes it ideal for baking into a cake.”

This tip can also be applied to other cake-like pumpkin treats, such as muffins or sweet breads.

This story was originally published on TK and most recently updated on TK.

• Trump said Thursday that TrumpRx would offer discounts on GLP-1 drugs for weight loss.
• A few hours later, Omada Health said it will prescribe the drugs starting in 2026.
• The diabetes company previously stayed out of GLP-1 prescribing amid the Ozempic frenzy.

A billion-dollar diabetes company that’s previously refused to write Ozempic prescriptions is now changing its tune — right as the drugs are about to get a lot cheaper.

Omada Health, the chronic care startup that went public in June, said Thursday it would start prescribing GLP-1 medications for obesity. Until now, Omada has stayed out of the GLP-1 prescribing game, leaving those decisions up to patients’ primary care providers.

The company’s timing was fortuitous. A few hours earlier, President Donald Trump announced a deal to significantly lower the out-of-pocket cost of GLP-1 drugs, in the range of $50 to $350 a month. Currently, a monthly dose can cost over $1,000.

CEO Sean Duffy said during Omada’s third-quarter earnings call on Thursday that the company will start offering GLP-1 prescriptions in the first half of 2026. Duffy previously told Business Insider at the time of Omada’s June IPO that he wasn’t seeing consistent demand from patients to obtain their GLP-1 prescriptions from Omada and that the company was open to prescribing GLP-1s if it saw more member demand.

“We’ll let the members speak, so if all of a sudden 10 out of 10 members next year are like, please, Omada, help me here, we may, but that’s not our strategy right now,” he said at the time.

Omada’s ultimate decision to prescribe GLP-1s wasn’t made according to member demand, however, Duffy told Business Insider on Friday. Instead, Omada received feedback from primary care providers, as well as from its employer customers, that the rapidly changing GLP-1 landscape was becoming too complex a burden for the providers to bear on their own.

“Different types of meds at different price points were the key reason in deciding it’s time to describe,” Duffy said. He added that many employers expect their overall costs to rise following the potential FDA approval of oral versions of GLP-1 drugs. The pills are expected to be much cheaper, but employers assume many more patients will want to take the drugs in that form, raising their total spend, Duffy said.

The Trump administration’s Thursday announcement, Duffy said, “underscores exactly why we’re offering prescribing.”

Omada’s “year of the Gs”

The Trump administration said Thursday it had notched deals with drugmakers Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to get discounts on their GLP-1 drugs for weight loss.

It’s the administration’s latest effort to offer discounted drugs to Americans on behalf of the federal government, via its TrumpRx program, unveiled in late September.

Through TrumpRx, Wegovy and Zepbound will start around $350 per month for patients not using insurance, officials said. The administration aims to drop the price to $250 within two years. For the first time, Medicare will cover GLP-1 drugs for weight loss, with some qualifying Medicare patients paying just a $50 monthly co-pay for the medications.

Oral versions of the drugs, which are still under development and haven’t been approved by the FDA, will be available via TrumpRx at no more than $149 a month after they hit the market.

Omada Health, founded in 2011, has been supporting members on GLP-1s for years. The company will pair its new GLP-1 prescribing program with human and AI coaching to support members before, during, and after taking GLP-1 medications, including to help patients safely taper off their prescriptions.

The company is aiming to keep employers’ drug costs in check while helping patients avoid the rebound weight gain that’s common after stopping GLP-1s. Employers can choose to opt out of offering GLP-1 prescriptions, Duffy said.

Duffy said Omada will use a third-party telehealth solution to source clinicians to prescribe the GLP-1s. He declined to name the partner Omada plans to work with.

Omada Health had previously been cautious about its AI strategy, too, holding off on releasing consumer-facing AI tools until a few months ago. But Duffy said during the earnings call that Omada plans to double down on GLP-1s and generative AI next year as it enters “the year of the Gs.”

Omada’s third-quarter earnings and revenue beat investor expectations, but the stock had dropped over 7% by midday Friday. Analysts have previously expressed concerns that Omada isn’t yet profitable (though the company narrowed its losses to about $3.2 million in the third quarter) and faces an increasingly competitive digital health market as it looks to compete with dozens of online GLP-1 prescribers.

Duffy emphasized that Omada posted a strong quarter and said he’s learning to ignore the stock jumps and tumbles.

“Investors who are long say they’re not worried about the volatility. I’ve stopped trying to guess. It’s what we signed up for,” he said.