Pumpkin and Squash Recipes for Runners: 5 Easy Autumn Dishes

The best pumpkin and squash recipes for runners pair the orange flesh with a proper carb or protein base, because pumpkin on its own is mostly water, with only around 7g of carbs and 1g of protein per 100g. These five easy recipes, a red lentil soup, smoky wedges, a creamy pasta, pumpkin spice porridge and a chicken and chickpea traybake, turn autumn squash and Halloween leftovers into real training fuel.

With Halloween on Saturday 31 October, here is how to use up the flesh rather than binning it, and when each dish fits around your training.

Is pumpkin good for runners?

Pumpkin and squash are cheap, filling and easy to batch cook, and their orange colour comes from beta-carotene, which your body can convert into vitamin A. But they are not a big source of fuel. Database figures put raw pumpkin at around 6.5g of carbs and 1g of protein per 100g, and UK supermarket labels show butternut squash at about 7 to 8g of carbs. Porridge oats have around 60g of carbs per 100g, and dried pasta about 70g.

So the trick is pairing. Our list of the best carbs for runners covers the everyday staples, and each recipe below teams pumpkin with at least one of them, plus some protein.

Can you eat a carving pumpkin?

Yes. Carving pumpkins are edible, but they are grown for size, so the flesh tends to be watery, stringy and bland. Blend it into a well-seasoned soup, curry or porridge rather than roasting it on its own. For roasting, butternut, onion squash or crown prince are usually sweeter and denser.

• Cook or chill the flesh on carving day, then use it within a couple of days or freeze it.
• Peel carving pumpkins, as the skin is tough. Butternut skin softens in the oven.
• Do not eat a pumpkin that has been carved and left on display, especially with a candle inside. Compost it instead.
• If any pumpkin or squash tastes unusually bitter, do not eat it. Throw it away.

Which pumpkin recipe should you make first?

All figures are our estimates per portion, based on typical UK pack labels and food database values. Pumpkins, brands and portions vary, so check labels if you track closely.

Recipe 1: How do you make pumpkin and red lentil soup?

The best home for watery carving pumpkin, with red lentils for body and protein. For more, see our high-protein soups for runners.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 onion and 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tbsp mild curry powder
• 1kg peeled, deseeded pumpkin or squash, in chunks
• 200g dried red lentils, rinsed, and 1.5 litres low-salt vegetable stock
• To serve: Greek yoghurt, pumpkin seeds and wholemeal bread

Method

1. Soften the onion in the oil for about 8 minutes, then add the garlic and curry powder for a minute.
2. Add the pumpkin, lentils and stock and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, until everything is soft.
3. Blend, loosen with a little water if needed, and season.

Estimated per bowl: about 45g carbs and 15g protein, or roughly 60g carbs and 25g protein with yoghurt, seeds and a slice of wholemeal bread.

Recipe 2: How do you make smoky roasted squash wedges?

A quick side for a recovery dinner or an easy-day snack.

Ingredients (serves 4 as a side)

• 1 butternut squash (about 1kg), deseeded and cut into wedges, skin on
• 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp smoked paprika and 1/2 tsp garlic granules
• For the dip: 200g 0% fat Greek yoghurt, a little grated garlic and a squeeze of lemon
• 30g pumpkin seeds

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan), gas 6. Toss the wedges with the oil, spices and a pinch of salt, and spread them out on a large tray.
2. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, turning halfway, until tender and browned. Add the seeds for the last 5 minutes.
3. Stir the dip together and serve it on the side.

Estimated per portion: about 18g carbs and 10g protein. On a long run day, add a jacket potato or rice.

Recipe 3: How do you make creamy pumpkin pasta?

The carb-heaviest dish here, and a good dinner before a long run.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 600g peeled pumpkin or squash, in chunks, 1 red onion, quartered, and 3 unpeeled garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp olive oil and 320g dried pasta, such as penne or rigatoni
• 250g ricotta and 30g Parmesan or a vegetarian Italian-style hard cheese, grated
• 100g spinach and black pepper

Method

1. Roast the pumpkin, onion and garlic in the oil at 200°C (180°C fan), gas 6, for 30 to 35 minutes, until soft.
2. Cook the pasta following the pack, saving a mug of the cooking water before you drain it.
3. Squeeze the garlic from its skins and blend it with the roasted veg, ricotta, half the cheese and a splash of pasta water.
4. Toss the sauce with the pasta and spinach until the spinach wilts, then top with the rest of the cheese.

Estimated per portion: about 70g carbs and 20g protein. Stir in leftover chicken or a tin of white beans for more protein.

Recipe 4: How do you make pumpkin spice porridge?

A warm way to use up leftover roasted pumpkin. A normal bowl usually sits best about 2 to 3 hours before a run, as our guide to whether porridge is good before a run explains.

Ingredients (serves 1)

• 50g porridge oats and 250ml semi-skimmed milk, or a fortified plant milk
• 80g mashed roasted pumpkin or squash, or tinned pumpkin purée
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, a pinch of mixed spice and 1 tsp maple syrup or honey
• To top: 100g 0% fat Greek yoghurt and 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds

Method

1. Simmer the oats and milk for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring, until thick and creamy.
2. Stir in the pumpkin, spice and syrup, heat through, then add the toppings.
3. For overnight oats, mix everything except the toppings in a jar and leave it in the fridge overnight.

Estimated per bowl: about 55g carbs and 25 to 30g protein with the toppings, or about 50g carbs and 15g protein without.

Recipe 5: How do you make a squash, chickpea and chicken traybake?

One tin, very little washing up, and the most protein of the five.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 800g peeled pumpkin or squash, in chunks
• 2 red onions and 2 red peppers, cut into chunks
• 1 tin (400g) chickpeas, drained, and 500g boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp ground cumin and 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 100g feta, plus couscous or rice to serve

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan), gas 6. Toss everything except the feta with the oil and spices in a large roasting tin, using two if it is crowded.
2. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, turning once, until the squash is tender and the chicken is cooked through: steaming hot, with no pink meat and clear juices.
3. Crumble over the feta for the last 5 minutes and serve with couscous.

Estimated per portion: about 35g carbs and 35g protein on its own, or roughly 75g carbs and 40g protein with 60g (dry weight) of couscous. For a vegetarian version, swap the chicken for a second tin of chickpeas, for about 45g carbs and 16g protein before the couscous.

What can you do with the pumpkin seeds?

Pick off the stringy pulp, rinse the seeds and pat them very dry. Toss with a little oil and salt, then roast at around 180°C fan for 10 to 20 minutes, shaking halfway and watching closely, as they burn quickly.

Home-roasted seeds keep their shells, so they are chewier than the green hulled seeds sold in shops, which have around 30 to 35g of protein per 100g on typical UK pack labels.

When should runners eat these around training?

• The night before a long run: the creamy pumpkin pasta. Try it before a training run first, not for the first time before a race.
• 2 to 3 hours before a long run: the pumpkin spice porridge, with light toppings.
• After a run, HIIT or strength session: the soup with bread, or the traybake with couscous, for carbs plus protein. A common sports nutrition rule of thumb is roughly 20 to 40g of protein per meal.
• Easy days and rest days: the wedges as a side, or the soup for lunch.

Pumpkin, lentils, chickpeas and seeds all bring fibre, which many runners prefer to keep away from the couple of hours before a hard session.

Meals are easier to plan when you know your long run and hard session days. Edge Pro builds running, strength, HIIT and mobility into one fully personalised plan, ready within 24 hours, and you can message a real coach anytime.

How do you store and freeze pumpkin leftovers?

• Food Standards Agency guidance is to cool cooked food and put it in the fridge within one to two hours, then eat leftovers within 48 hours or freeze them. Your fridge should be set between 0 and 5°C.
• The soup and the pasta sauce freeze well in portions. Reheat until steaming hot all the way through.
• Raw or roasted pumpkin chunks can be frozen too. They go softer once thawed, so they suit soup and porridge more than roasting.

This article is general guidance, not medical advice. If you are new to exercise, returning from injury, or managing a health condition, speak to your GP before starting, and see a physio for any niggle that does not settle.