What are the Best Fall Recipes Everyone Loves?

There’s something about fall, or autumn if you are in the UK like me.  I’m a spring-autumn fan – I love the summer and endure the winter, but I enjoy the two seasons between.  And with fall, there are lots of strong associations with colours and smells and food.  There are lots of the best fall recipes from around the world that have that seasonal vibe to them.  Here are some of the best.

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Why eat seasonal food?

Strawberries in summer, pumpkins for Halloween, apples in the fall, we have lots of food associations.  And often, these come from when food is available.  Strawberries ripen in the summer, pumpkins are ready to pick in fall, ready for Halloween and apples are the same.  There are also some benefits to eating seasonal food that you may not have realised.

Seasonal food often tastes better

Seasonal food open taste better – but why?  Simple, it has been recently picked, harvested, collected or whatever.  It is as fresh as it gets and that makes it at it’s peak in terms of taste.  The longer something is stored, frozen or canned, the less it has that original, fresh taste.

It can be cheaper

Because something is in season and plentiful, it can also be less expensive.  Here in the UK, strawberries are available all year round but are imported in winter and this means they are more expensive.  Buying seasonal can therefore save you some money.

Freshness means top nutritional value

The fresher a food is, the more goodness it contains.  Some nutrients break down over time and therefore the quicker you eat something, the more goodness you get from it. This means that eating seasonal food also gets you the most nutrients from every bite possible.

More eco-friendly

Eating seasonally can help do your bit for the environment by eating what’s available and cutting down on waste.  It also supports local businesses who are growing these crops and cuts down on transport costs to send them to other parts of the world.

Best fall recipes

Now we have made the case for eating seasonally, let’s start getting some ideas.  Many of these recipes were kindly contributed by fellow food bloggers from around the world to get a taste of what’s in season.  Give them a bit of love and check them out!

Light meals

Leftover Turkey & Wild Rice Soup

Soup is a popular option in our house during fall and winter as it is filling, we can make a batch to last a few days and being a fussy eater with a soupmaker, I can get some goodness I miss out in other ways.  The other thing that is often around is leftover turkey and that’s why this recipe from Earth Food and Fire is a great one.  You can use either use unbroken wild rice or cooked wild rice in it.

Quinoa Salad with Swiss Chard and Almonds

I’ve not ventured into the world of quinoa yet (and I can never remember how to say it) but I do like couscous.  This is a healthy option from Tasty Galaxy for a light meal with Swiss chard and almonds that has loads of goodness and is also very easy to make.

Dinner recipes

Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

With this recipe, it is important to get pork tenderloin rather than the start loin roast.  Tenderloins are longer and narrower, with a portion being about 1 pound of meat.  Butterfly them lengthwise but don’t cut all the way through then pound and stuff.

Ingredients:

• 2–2½ lbs. pork tenderloin, butterflied
• ½ c. unsweetened apple juice
• ½ c. Riesling, or other sweet white wine
• Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
• 1 T. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 small Gala apples peeled and diced
• 1 small red onion thinly sliced
• 1 c. white mushrooms sliced
• 2 T. fresh rosemary leaves finely chopped
• 1 t. ground cinnamon
• 1 t. ground cloves
• 1/3 c. dates chopped
• 6 oz. Feta cheese crumbled

Will also need:

Kitchen string or toothpicks

Tip: Total cooking time will vary based on a number of factors, including individual oven temperatures, thickness of the roasts, and the starting internal temperature of the meat. Check temperature after 50 minutes and adjust final cooking time accordingly.

Directions

• Let pork tenderloin rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, but not more than 2 hours, before cooking.
• Preheat oven to 425°F. Combine apple juice and white wine in a small bowl and season with salt and black pepper, to taste. Set aside. 
• Place a sheet of plastic wrap on a clean, dry work surface. Add the butterflied tenderloins on top of the plastic and cover with a second sheet of plastic wrap. Pound the meat with a meat mallet or rolling pin until it is approximately 1/3” thick throughout. Season lightly with salt and black pepper.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chopped apples, red onion, and mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are soft, and mushrooms and onion are browned, approximately 8-10 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste.
• Add rosemary, cinnamon, and cloves to the skillet and cook for another minute or two, or until the spices become fragrant. Remove from heat and stir in the chopped dates and crumbled Feta.
• Spread the stuffing mixture onto the prepared pork tenderloins and roll up tightly. Secure the roasts with kitchen string or toothpicks.
• Carefully transfer the tenderloins to a large roasting pan. Using a pastry brush, coat the outside of each roast with the apple cider/wine mixture, then pour half of the remaining liquid into the pan. Sprinkle roasts lightly with salt and black pepper, if desired, before placing the pan into the pre-heated oven. 
• Baste the pork with the remaining apple cider mixture every 10-15 minutes while it cooks. Check for doneness after 50 minutes and continue cooking until an instant read thermometer inserted into the centre of the pork reads just below 145°F. (Temperature will increase while the meat rests).
• Remove from oven and cover pan loosely with aluminium foil. Let rest for 10-15 minutes before removing the kitchen string or toothpicks. Slice and serve immediately with a drizzle of pan juices. Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Chicken & Butternut Squash Curry

Butternut squash is one of the newer seasonal foods but is popular because it is so hugely full of nutrition.  I love the idea from The Improving Cook of making a curry with it and it has that bit of substance from the chicken.  The recipe uses Rogan josh curry paste but I imagine you could change it for others if that was a little stronger for you.

Sheet Pan Cranberry Chicken Sausage

The person that hates the dishes in my loves the idea of sheet pan meals because there’s less washing up.  One big sheet pan and that’s that!  This recipe from The Schmidty Wife is full of goodness and some seasonal favourites including cranberries, apples and sweet potatoes.

Sweet treats

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

If there’s one thing that has become integral with the best fall recipes, it is the pumpkin spice.  But it isn’t just for those lattes from coffee shops, it can be used in pumpkin pie (obviously) and lots of other recipes including these tasty muffins.

Make sure you go for 100% pure pumpkin for the recipe without any spices or other flavours as you are adding them in separately.  Too much of anything can be a bad thing!

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 c. canola oil
• 2/3 c. water
• 4 eggs
• 15 oz. can pure pumpkin
• 3½ c. all-purpose flour
• 2 t. baking soda
• 1 t. salt
• 1½ t. cinnamon
• 1 t. nutmeg
• ½ t. cloves
• ½ t. ginger
• ½ c. course decorating sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line muffin pan with 12 regular-sized cupcake liners.

Combine sugar, oil, water, eggs, and pumpkin in a large mixing bowl and beat on low for 1 minute. Do not over mix.

Add flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger to a small bowl and stir to combine. Add dry mixture to pumpkin batter and beat on low just until all ingredients are moist.

Fill cupcake liners with batter until they are ¾ full. Bake for 12-15 minutes, then remove from oven and sprinkle each muffin with coarse decorating sugar and return to oven to finish baking another 13-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. (Total cooking time should be 25-30 minutes).

Remove from oven and cool 5-10 minutes before moving muffins to wire baking rack to cool completely.

Apple Spice Cupcakes with Praline Filling

Whatever pumpkin spice can do, so can apple spice!  And these delicious cupcakes from Burrata and Bubbles are definitely on my list to try as soon as possible.  What makes them even more interesting is that you can fill them with praline sauce for an extra surprise when you bite in!

Quick Apple Donuts

Ask me about donuts and I would say they need icing on (that could just be a British thing?) but these quick apple versions from My Pure Plants may change my mind.  The recipe uses a three ingredient batter, or you could use your own favourite batter mix.

Drinks

Pumpkin Spice Irish Coffee

This is a grown up coffee recipe with the pumpkin spice thing taken to a whole new level with the use of maple syrup and Irish Crème (Bailey’s is one example of this).

Ingredients:

Pumpkin Pie Spice:

• 3 T. cinnamon
• 1 T. ground ginger
• 1 T. ground nutmeg
• 2 t. ground allspice
• 2 t. ground cloves

Homemade Whipped Cream ingredients:*

• 1 pint heavy whipping cream
• 2 T. real maple syrup
• 1 T. pumpkin pie spice
• 16 oz. freshly brewed hot coffee
• 8 oz. Irish Crème
• additional pumpkin pie spice, for garnish

* substitute pre-made whipped cream, if preferred.

Directions

In a large glass bowl, blend 1 pint of heavy whipping cream with a hand or immersion blender until it doubles in size and changes texture. Then, drizzle maple syrup into the bowl and continue blending until the mixture is light and fluffy. Set aside.

Before brewing, sprinkle fresh coffee grounds with pumpkin pie spice and gently shake to evenly combine the mixture. Brew spiced coffee grounds as usual.

Pour 2 oz. Irish Cream into each cup and top with 4 oz. of freshly brewed coffee. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with additional pumpkin pie spice before serving.

Amaretto Apple Cider Cocktail

This is great idea for best fall recipes from Who Needs a Cape as you can have it cold or you can warm it up on those chilly fall nights.  It is a simple blend of apple cider, amaretto and caramel sauce that will have my hubby drooling when I show him the recipe!

Apple Cider Moscow Mule

I love a good twist on a classic cocktail and this one has the right fall flavours to do the job.  The recipe from Umami Girl uses cinnamon apple vodka but if you can’t get that, you can use apple vodka and add some cinnamon for the extra element. 

White Wine Sangria with Pears & Apples

Sangria is firmly in the summer party category for me, or it was until I saw this recipe from Sip and Feast.  It comes with a bit of a kick as there’s semi-sweet white wine, Grand Marnier and apple flavoured vodka in there but would make a great Christmas party cocktail or to celebrate New Year.

Anti-inflammatory Golden Milk

Lastly, fall can have a slight negative – all those bugs and viruses seem to come out so anything that can boost your immune system is a good idea.  This golden milk recipe from Sue Bee Homemaker is a blend of turmeric, black pepper, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon and honey with milk to create an immunity boosting, nutrient rich drink that is still sweet and tasty due to the honey.

Tasty and best fall recipes

There’s one thing these best fall recipes have in common – you can try them at any time of the year!  But if you want to get some of that seasonal food into action or just love the flavours of fall, they will be perfect for the next few weeks.

What’s your favourite fall recipe?  What do you always have in the autumn?  Pop in the comments below!!