Few scents are more inviting than the warm aroma of a pumpkin pie baking in the oven. While that smell is amazing, pumpkin pie may be scary if you suffer from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) — a term for two conditions, ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, that feature chronic inflammation of the digestive tract.
Don’t fret. We’ve got you covered with plenty of mouthwatering pumpkin dishes you can enjoy.
“Pumpkins are wonderful if you have IBD,” says Barbara Olendzki, RD, MPH, director of the Center for Applied Nutrition at the UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester, Massachusetts. “They’re loaded with fiber so they feed your beneficial gut bacteria. Pumpkins can help with both constipation and diarrhea. And they have a soft texture, they’re easy to absorb, and to digest, which are three key things you need when you’re undergoing an IBD flare.”
The fiber content is nothing to scoff at. Just one cup of canned pumpkin packs 7.1 grams of fiber, according to the dietary guidelines published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Plus, the orange color means pumpkin is full of beta-carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A. Vitamin A is important to vision, immunity, and reproductive health, according to the USDA.
And, eating canned pumpkin is just as nutritious as eating a whole one, just a lot less work.
“I advise my patients to use canned pumpkin all the time,” says Laura Manning, RD, a clinical nutritionist and an IBD specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. “A lot of patients are exhausted when they have a flare, so they don’t have the energy to prepare fresh pumpkin. Canned pumpkin has nearly complete nutrition retention and is an amazing way to get in all the nutritional benefits easily.”
The warm aroma of pumpkin spices — cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice — also has anti-inflammatory benefits, says Olendzki. So, if you’re craving a pumpkin spice latte but need to avoid dairy and sugar, then adding those spices to warm almond, soy, or oat milk may satisfy your craving. For an extra boost, Suzie Finkel, RD, a dietitian and nutritionist at New York Gastroenterology Associates, suggests adding turmeric, which contains curcumin — a powerful anti-inflammatory. Research shows that curcumin reduces oxidative stress in the cells that leads to inflammation, and it stops the expression of genes that lead to some diseases.
Olendzki also cautions to watch out for pumpkin dishes thay may contain trigger foods. Take a pumpkin pie, for example, which has a wheat crust, dairy in the filling, and a lot of sugar. “Those can be difficult to digest, and the texture of wheat can aggravate inflammation while the sugar promotes inflammation and feeds adverse bacteria that crave it,” she says.
The nice thing about pumpkin is that it is extremely versatile, says Manning. It can go in soups, smoothies, muffins, porridges, and puddings. Here are a few sweet and savory IBD-friendly recipes for you get your pumpkin fix.
Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
Serves 1
Ingredients
- ½ cup pureed pumpkin (canned or fresh)
- 1 small banana
- 1 cup ice
- 1 cup low-fat (1 percent) Greek yogurt (substitute 1 cup almond or soy milk yogurt if avoiding dairy)
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- Fresh ginger (approx. ½-inch piece, to taste)
- 2 tsp flax oil
- Maple syrup or honey, to taste
Directions
Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.
Nutrition per serving: 410 calories, 14.1g total fat (4g saturated fat), 27g protein, 48g carbohydrates, 7.3g fiber, 29.2g sugar (4g added sugar), 90mg sodium
Roasted Pumpkin
Serves 2
Ingredients
- 1 small pumpkin (such as sugar)
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- ¾ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Cut pumpkin in half; scrape out seeds.
- Drizzle pumpkin with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper (omit pepper if using in sweet dishes).
- Place cut side down on a baking sheet. Roast until very soft, about 35 to 45 minutes. Scoop out of skin and serve with your meal as a side dish.
Nutrition per serving: 265 calories, 14g total fat (2.2g saturated fat), 6g protein, 36g carbohydrates, 2.9g fiber, 15.3g sugar (0g added sugar), 426mg sodium
Fluffy Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
Servings: 12 muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups whole-wheat pastry flour (can sub with all-purpose flour)
- ¾ cup organic cane sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground allspice
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 1-15 oz can pumpkin puree
- ½ cup unsweetened nondairy milk
- ¼ cup avocado oil
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease muffin tin for 12 muffins.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, spices, baking soda, and salt.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin, milk, and oil. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula just until combined, being careful not to overmix. The batter will be thick.
- Spoon batter into muffin tin, filling almost to the top. Bake for about 23 minutes, or until a toothpick or knife comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack.
Nutrition per serving: 167 calories, 5g total fat (0.6g saturated fat), 2g protein, 29g carbohydrates, 3.8g fiber, 13.2g sugar (12g added sugar), 208mg sodium
Easy Pumpkin Soup
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil or butter
- 2 large yellow onions sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- 2 15-oz cans pumpkin puree
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup low-fat (1 percent) Greek yogurt (½ cup almond or soy milk yogurt if avoiding dairy)
Directions
- Melt butter or heat oil in a large pot over medium heat.
- Add sliced onions to the pan and cook stirring occasionally until caramelized, about 15 minutes.
- Add garlic, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger to the onions and stir constantly for one minute.
- Add ¼ cup of the chicken stock and use a wooden spoon to scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add the remaining chicken broth, water, and pumpkin puree and stir to combine.
- Turn heat to low and simmer the soup for 20 minutes.
- Turn the stove off and use a handheld immersion blender to puree the soup. Alternatively, use a regular blender and puree the soup in 2 to 3 batches.
- Add in Greek yogurt.
Nutrition per serving: 194 calories, 8g total fat (1.4g saturated fat), 7g protein, 27g carbohydrates, 8.5g fiber, 11.7g sugar (0.5g added sugar), 572mg sodium
Adapted from The Salty Marshmallow's Easy Pumpkin Soup.
Pumpkin Overnight Oats
Serves 2
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup plain low-fat (1 percent) Greek yogurt
- ½ cup (heaping) rolled oats
- ⅔ cup unsweetened milk of choice
- 1 tbsp chia seeds or ground flax meal (omit with active disease)
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
Directions
- Whisk together all ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Spoon into a jar with a tight-fitting lid.
- Close and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight before eating.
Nutrition per serving: 267 calories, 5.5g total fat (0.8g saturated fat), 13g protein, 42g carbohydrates, 7.7g fiber, 13.7g sugar (6.2g added sugar), 126mg sodium
Adapted from Wholefully's Healthy Pumpkin Spice Overnight Oats.
Spiced Oatmeal Pumpkin Pudding
2 servings
Ingredients:
- ¾ cup unsweetened soy milk
- ¼ cup pumpkin puree
- 1 egg white, or 1 whole egg
- 3 tbsp honey (optional)
- ¼ tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp canola oil
- ¾ cup rolled oats
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- dash ground cloves
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease a 2-cup casserole dish with canola oil.
- In a small bowl, combine soy milk, pumpkin, egg white, honey, vanilla extract, and canola oil.
- In a medium bowl, combine oats, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and stir well.
- Pour into the casserole dish. Bake about 35 minutes, or until the center of the pudding is firm.
Nutrition per serving: 266 calories, 7g total fat (0.4g saturated fat), 12g protein, 39g carbohydrates, 6.9g fiber, 1.6g sugar (0.1g added sugar), 352mg sodium
Modified from Chocolate Covered Katie's Crock Pot Oatmeal.
Kelly Kennedy, RDN, LDN
Medical Reviewer
Kelly Kennedy is a licensed dietitian-nutritionist with over 14 years of experience in digital media. She previously managed and oversaw nutrition content, recipe development, meal planning, and diet and nutrition coaching at Everyday Health. She developed and reviewed various meal plans, books, slideshows, and online tools, and oversaw the creation of more than 500 unique recipes. She received her bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a master's degree from the State University of New York College at Oneonta.
Kennedy enjoys anything that takes her outside, from gardening and playing in the yard with her kids to hiking and even feeding her pet chickens.
Jordan M. Davidson
Author
Jordan Davidson is a freelance health and science writer interested in everything from nutrition and fitness to hobby farming and medical breakthroughs. His work has appeared in many publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Psychology Today, Men’s Health, Prevention, Science Friday, The Scientist, and General Surgery News. He is senior copywriter at FCB Health in New York.
Davidson spent years as an ESL teacher in New York City public schools before transitioning to journalism. He holds a bachelor's degree from Brown University and master’s degrees in education and journalism from The City College of New York and the School of Journalism at CUNY. Davidson is now based in upstate New York after living in Bali, Indonesia, and volunteering on farms in Australia and New Zealand. He’s always on the hunt for good pub trivia.