What's The Best Way To Cook Pumpkin? - Exclusive Survey

Pumpkin and spice and everything nice — who's ready for pumpkin's resurgence? Autumn is when the beloved squash takes the form of foods and drinks galore. Pumpkin spice lattes fill September to December to-go cups, keeping hands warm on even the chilliest of leave-crunching walks. Meanwhile, pumpkin scones make for cozy mornings, best spent gazing outside the window while curled up in a fuzzy blanket. Yes, pumpkin plays into stereotypical and fantastical visions for fall — a phenomenon CNBC associates with the seasonality of pumpkin products and flavors.

All those pumpkin spice lattes and pies reinforce the best feelings of fall and spur anticipation for all of the season's offerings. This explains the cozy and temporary pumpkin-related marketing. But put the economics of pumpkin goodies aside, and embrace any excuse to savor your preferred form of pumpkin. It's practically a fall rite of passage to eat as much pumpkin as possible, so get as creative as you'd like, adding the squash to all kinds of dishes.

Tasting Table recently surveyed 588 people about their go-to form of pumpkin and found that the squash prevailed in one particular cooking method. The majority of those surveyed opted to keep things sweet, using pumpkin as their primary dessert.

Classic pumpkin pie has become synonymous with Thanksgiving dessert and is a surefire way of getting some pumpkin into your diet. Of the 588 people who responded to Tasting Table's pumpkin-cooking survey, 398 — or 67.69% — prefer to cook their pumpkin in a pie. If you're looking for a similar, but not quite an identical treat, channel the flavors of pumpkin pie into a gooey pumpkin butter cake. 

With so many sweet treats to choose from, it appears that eating pumpkin plain wasn't as popular among our voters. Only 18.2% of those surveyed said they liked roasting their pumpkin in the oven. The next three forms of pumpkin fared similarly low in the rankings. Steaming pumpkin received only 36 votes — 6.12% of the favor — while incorporating pumpkin in a stew received just 32 votes or 5.44% of preferences. Finally, the air fryer rounded off the list. A little over 2% of people opt for this technique, with only 15 pumpkin enthusiasts admitting to breaking out the trendy appliance.

Although pumpkin is clearly versatile, most people prefer it in its trademark pie. 'Tis the season for pumpkin desserts, though if you're craving something savory, why not try it as the main course?