The beginning of autumn heralds the start of the squash and pumpkin season. Both are such versatile vegetables which can be used in both savoury and sweet dishes. If you need ideas for what to do with the flesh of your carved Halloween pumpkin or just want some new squash inspiration, check out our recipe collection for soups, pasta, risotto, salads, desserts and more.

Here's a chowder with a difference, bursting with Caribbean flavours. Instead of using rich cream, coconut milk provides the silky texture. With warm, punchy spices to contrast with the sweetness of the corn and squash, it's filling enough for a main course. The preparation takes just 10 minutes.

Get the recipe for spiced corn, lentil and butternut squash chowder here

Comté, a hard, nutty, creamy cheese from eastern France, melts beautifully so is perfect in this risotto. If you can't find it, substitute with Gruyère or a similar cheese. The squash is roasted before being added to the risotto, which gives it a sweet, slightly caramelised flavour.

Get the recipe for squash, sage and Comté risotto here

Laksa is a Malaysian coconut noodle soup which is fragrant, sweet and sour. It's a thick soup, more of a main course, where half the squash is puréed with coconut, fresh herbs and a laksa paste to make it rich and hearty. This is a great dish for using up leftover turkey, or just use a pack of stir-fry turkey strips. You could substitute for chicken too. 

Get the recipe for turkey and squash laksa here

This simple, Italian soup is a good use for any leftover pumpkin flesh. Parmesan really makes the dish – the rind is used to flavour to soup so don't throw it away. The savoury richness of the cheese contrasts beautifully with the sweetness of the squash. 

Get the recipe for butternut squash soup with Parmesan here

Here's a colourful, healthy recipe which takes just 10 minutes to prepare. The squash is roasted with spices and served with ginger and honey-drizzled salmon fillets. When asparagus is out of season, substitute with green beans or Tenderstem broccoli. Any leftovers would be great for lunch the next day.

Get the recipe for asparagus, salmon and squash rice bowl here

This is an ideal starter or side dish for chilly evenings. Labneh is yogurt which is strained overnight to lose the whey, or liquid, which gives a thick, almost cheesy result. If you're pushed for time, use thick Greek yogurt instead. A small squash or pumpkin is used here, roasted whole – you can even eat the skin. With a hint of chilli and a herby lemon dressing, it just needs some crusty bread to serve.

Get the recipe for squash salad with labneh and chilli here

A touch of chilli with pumpkin or squash brings out the sweetness. It's not usually there to make the dish hot and fiery. In this recipe, the squash is roasted until lightly charred, then whizzed with coconut milk, sautéed onions and stock. It freezes well so make a double batch.

Get the recipe for squash, coconut and chilli soup here

We just love a one-pot dish – it saves on time and washing up. This recipe makes a perfect vegetarian main course or a filling side to go with grilled meat or fish. Squash, onions, nuts, aubergine and butter beans are baked in a store-bought tomato and chilli sauce for 30 minutes. It couldn't be any easier.

Get the recipe for spicy squash, nuts and beans here

A healthy, colourful salad and a filling dish, perfect for cooler days. Roasted squash and cooked lentils are mixed with leaves, fresh herbs, spring onions and pomegranate seeds, then drizzled with a simple olive oil and lemon dressing.

Get the recipe for roasted butternut squash and lentil salad here

Roasted pumpkin or squash works perfectly in a tart filling. Our mix of roasted pumpkin, eggs, ricotta, spinach and Parmesan is combined with sweet caramelised onions. You could use shortcrust pastry, filo pastry or try this recipe which uses pizza dough as the base.

Get the recipe for roasted pumpkin, ricotta and caramelised onion tart here

A slow-cooked chilli made with chunks of beef, rather than minced beef, with plenty of spices, kidney beans and pumpkin. Dark chocolate won't make it taste sweet but adds richness. This is a great cold weather dish to serve with rice or top with sour cream, grated cheese and tortilla chips to dip in. It also freezes well.

Get the recipe for chilli with beef, chocolate and pumpkin here

Couscous is quite a bland grain, so it needs lots of exciting ingredients and seasoning to make it a perfect side for a roast chicken. Our recipe contains roasted butternut squash, red onions, courgettes, peppers and garlic. The couscous is cooked in stock for added flavour, with cumin and turmeric. The dish is tossed with a lemon and olive oil dressing, then scattered with toasted pine nuts.

Get the recipe for roasted vegetable couscous here

Italians love to use pumpkin with pasta and it works perfectly here, stuffed in cannelloni. Roasted cubes of pumpkin are mashed then mixed with ricotta. The mixture is rolled up in lasagne sheets, before being covered in a creamy cheese sauce and baked, scattered with more grated cheese, until golden and bubbling. This is a really good make-ahead dish – just assemble then bake when you're ready to serve.

Get the recipe for pumpkin cannelloni here

The sweetness of pumpkin lends itself to working so well with spice. This Indian-inspired side dish is very simple – chunks of pumpkin are coated in a spiced onion mixture with cumin, coriander seeds, chilli and turmeric. Fragrant fresh coriander is added at the end. This would be a good accompaniment for any grilled meat, especially fish or chicken.

Get the recipe for spiced pumpkin here

Roasted pumpkin or squash makes an easy and tasty dip for corn chips or vegetables. You could even stir it into your favourite hummus. In our recipe, the squash is mixed with fiery harissa, lemon and olive oil. If you can't find harissa (a North African chilli paste), use any hot chilli sauce you have to hand. The dip is topped with toasted pumpkin seeds and to temper the heat, it's served with a herby yogurt.

Get the recipe for squash and herby harissa dip here

There's no end to the combination of vegetables you can use in this easy one-tray dish, but we love the mix of squash, potatoes, red onion and beetroot, served with a roasted garlic cream. It's a great side dish but you can make it into a veggie main course by crumbling feta or soft goats' cheese over the vegetables once they are cooked.

Get the recipe for honey-roasted vegetables here

Here's a vegan recipe which is packed full of flavour. Roasted pumpkin is mashed then mixed with flour and nutmeg to make the gnocchi, which are then poached in water. They are served with a nutty pesto, made with almonds, sage, garlic and olive oil, and chopped sun-dried tomatoes.

Get the recipe for pumpkin gnocchi with almond pesto here

Roasted squash with a creamy, blue cheese sauce is the perfect accompaniment to thick ribbons of pasta. Our recipe uses cashel blue, a creamy Irish cheese, but just substitute with any similar blue cheese, such as Gorgonzola or Roquefort. The addition of saffron gives it an amazing colour and a slightly smoky flavour.

Get the recipe for butternut squash and saffron pappardelle here

This tasty Sri Lankan curry is vegan, with diced pumpkin cooked in coconut milk and coconut cream. It's not too hot, with just a hint of heat and spice. If you can't find fresh curry leaves, just use dried, although it's worth trying to dig out fresh ones if you can.

Get the recipe for Sri Lankan pumpkin curry here

Squash roasted in oil, chilli and fennel seeds makes this easy salad more filling. It's served with shavings of Parmesan and slices of Parma ham which add a welcome salty, savoury note to the sweetness of the squash. The salad is dressed with extra-virgin olive oil and cider vinegar, and topped with peppery watercress.

Get the recipe for roast squash salad here

If you love sweet and salty flavours, this simple soup is for you. It has a base of bacon, shallots, carrots and garlic, before chunks of squash are added, then simmered in stock. It's topped with crisp fried sage leaves, roasted pumpkin seeds and bacon. The recipe serves four but you can easily double it and freeze half for another day.

Get the recipe for bacon and butternut squash soup here

This Burmese pumpkin curry makes a perfect warming dinner for two. It's loaded with spices, with so many layers of flavour from the fish sauce and shrimp paste. It's easy to make and served with boiled rice. 

Get the recipe for golden squash curry here

This recipe is a real winner, where squash, aubergine and peppers are roasted with a little cumin, in tomato passata with fresh spinach. Topped with pieces of melted mozzarella and grated Parmesan, it's a perfect midweek meal.

Get the recipe for roasted vegetable bake here

Roasted pumpkin makes a very good risotto. In our recipe, half the pumpkin is puréed to add to the rice, the other half is pan-fried so it caramelises. To serve, the risotto is topped with shredded red chicory (though you could use radicchio instead), Parmesan and toasted walnuts for added crunch.

Get the recipe for pumpkin risotto here

Tasty on toast, pancakes, waffles or crumpets, spiced pumpkin butter is easy to make and it keeps for a week in the fridge. Our recipe uses canned pumpkin purée, but you can just roast fresh pumpkin then blitz it in the food processor. It's simmered with apple juice, maple syrup and spices until it has thickened and darkened, then decanted into sterilised jars.

Get the recipe for spiced pumpkin butter here

Your kitchen will be filled with the scent of autumn spices when you make this cake. Cinnamon, cloves, allspice and ginger make this easy cake quite special. It's topped with a thick glacé icing with orange and lemon, then decorated with chopped pistachios. Together with the pumpkin purée, the olive oil helps keep it deliciously moist.

Get the recipe for spiced pumpkin, olive oil and orange cake here

Pumpkin is a perfect ingredient in marmalade, as it absorbs the sugar so easily. You need to coarsely grate it before adding it to the sugar, water, oranges, lemon and ginger, so allow a little time. Once set and cooled, it's perfect on toast or as a glaze for roast pork.

Get the recipe for pumpkin marmalade here

Pumpkin and ginger are a match made in heaven, perfectly illustrated in this simple cake recipe with stem ginger. The golden syrup keeps it moist and dense. It's decorated with a cinnamon drizzle, but you could equally cover it with melted chocolate or a simple glacé icing. Serve it warm or cold.

Get the recipe for pumpkin gingerbread cake here

Just in time for Halloween, these cute cupcakes flavoured with allspice are a winner. You can freeze the undecorated cupcakes ahead of time and once decorated, they'll keep overnight in the fridge. They are topped with a honey and cinnamon buttercream.

Get the recipe for spiced pumpkin cupcakes here

This is your classic pumpkin pie, ready to bake for Thanksgiving. Although we have given you the pastry recipe, you can buy shortcrust pastry if you're not that confident or short on time. The filling is fragrant with cloves, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg mixed into the pumpkin purée with eggs and cream. Allow it to cool completely before slicing, so it's perfectly set.

Get the recipe for pumpkin pie here