Now that pumpkin spice season is officially here, you might be feeling great despair, thinking you won’t be able to partake of any delicious goodies. Fear not, because when you try these amazing vegan, gluten-free muffins, you’ll wonder why you put up with the conventional kind for as long as you did.

Beware, however – once you bake a pan of them, your family won’t stop begging you for more. If you don’t mind opening that Pandora’s box, here’s the recipe:

10 oz pumpkin puree (that’s about ¾ of a small can)
½ cup olive oil
½ cup unsweetened almond milk
¾ cup real maple syrup (NOT pancake syrup!)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups gluten-free flour (there are many varieties, but Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 flour is our favorite)
2 teaspoons baking powder (make sure it’s aluminum-free)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger (for a treat, try fresh ginger, and use a fine grater)
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon sea salt

Optional ingredients:
1 cup walnuts and/or pecans
1 cup vegan chocolate chips
½ cup poppy seeds

Mix together the wet ingredients in one large bowl and the dry ingredients in another. Beat wet ingredients to a thick froth and combine with dry ingredients. Grease muffin tin with olive oil or natural, organic vegan margarine. Pour batter directly into compartments, filling almost to the top. Place the entire concoction into a 395 degree, pre-heated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. If you can stand additional bliss, brush the tops of the muffins with maple syrup about five minutes prior to removing them from the oven. Your house will smell so divine that you won’t want to leave for hours!

Makes one dozen muffins. You can eat them as is or slice them open and put a bit of natural margarine (like Earth Balance) in the center. Or try it with some vegan cream cheese (Kite Hill is the absolute bomb). The possibilities are endless, really. We don’t recommend that you devour all twelve of these muffins at once, but we won’t try to stop you, either. They’re great for breakfast, snacks, or even for dessert. You’d better invite all your friends over, if the aroma emanating from the windows isn’t enough to lure them to your door. Be aware: this is not a diet food. Bon Appetit, and happy autumn!

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This is a variation on our favourite fast and easy dehydrator crackers. It is just as fast and easy, but different enough to deserve its own recipe page.

This recipe calls for maple sugar, but you could just as easily use date sugar or coconut sugar, or even regular vegan sugar. It only calls for a tablespoon of the sugar, so these are not sweet.

Easy Raw Pumpkin Flax Crackers

1 cup flaxseed
1 cup flax meal
1 T. hemp seed
1 T. sesame seed
1 T. black sesame seed
2 T. pumpkin flour (you can get this on Amazon here)
1 tablespoon maple sugar
1/2 teaspoon Himalayan or sea salt
2 cups water

Put all of the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix with a whisk until well blended.

Next, stir in the water, and mix it well. The mixture will seem very soupy, but wait until you see what it does in the next five minutes.

Let set for five minutes.

Ladle mixture onto dehydrator trays covered with Teflex sheets or parchment paper (do not use wax paper or aluminum foil).

Quickly spread the mixture as thin as you want it. This recipe makes exactly two full dehydrator trays for an Excalibur dehydrator.

After spreading the mixture on your dehydrator trays, let it stand 5 more minutes. This is important, so that it firms up just a bit more, making it easier to score the crackers, so that they will break apart nicely when they are done.

Score the crackers.

Put in dehydrator at 115 degrees, and dehydrate until the crackers are completely dry. You really can’t over-dehydrate them, and we dehydrate them for at least 24 hours.

When they are done, break the crackers apart, and store in an air-tight container.

These are truly among the best raw crackers we’ve had. They have a fantastic texture, are incredible for you, and are so easy to make!

Pumpkin Flax Crackers and Original 3-Seed Flax Crackers

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While risotto purists may decry our calling this a risotto recipe, it’s certainly close enough, and it’s vegan, gluten-free, easy, and delicious! What more could you ask from a vegan brown rice pumpkin mushroom risotto?

Vegan Brown Rice Pumpkin Mushroom Risotto

1 small onion or 1/2 medium or large onion, chopped
1 cup uncooked brown rice
1 cup pumpkin purée (we like Farmers Market organic brand)
3 cups vegan ‘chicken’ stock or vegetable stock
1 4-ounce can organic mushrooms (we like Giorgio brand organic mushrooms, which are available at Costco)
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste (optional)
1 large bay leaf

Stir the stock and the pumpkin together until well mixed, and set aside.

Drain the mushrooms.

In a medium to large heavy-bottomed pot (we use our 3 quart enameled dutch oven for this, in fact we use our enameled dutch ovens for almost everything!) heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent.

Add the brown rice to the pot, and stir, coating the rice with oil. Toast the rice, stirring frequently, for another three or four minutes.

Stir the pumpkin and stock mixture into the pot, and stir well. Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper to taste, and the bay leaf, and bring to a boil.

Reduce to low heat – just high enough to maintain a gentle simmer – and cover. Cook for 45 to 55 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom, and replacing the cover immediately after stirring.

When nearly all of the liquid is absorbed, remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes.

Serve.

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We clearly can’t get enough of pumpkin recipes! This recipe is so easy and delicious, that it makes it a prime candidate for a holiday party or potluck.

Delicious Vegan and Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spread

1 cup organic canned pumpkin
16 oz of your favorite cream cheese
1/3 cup cup vegan sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp allspice
2 tsp vanilla

In a mixer, or with a hand mixer, mix the cream cheese until it is light and fluffy. Beat in the sugar and mix thoroughly, until it is fluffy again, and the grains of sugar have disintegrated. Add the rest of the ingredients, mixing well until the spread is creamy and smooth. Serve immediately, or refrigerate until time to serve.

It’s that easy! This dip tastes delicious on apple slices, your favorite gluten-free and vegan muffins, or our favorite, Pamela’s vegan, gluten-free ginger almond cookies.

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It’s fall, which means pumpkin EVERYTHING is upon us. Pumpkin lattes, pumpkin pies and pumpkin bread will be filling bellies everywhere. We love all things pumpkin, but wanted to bring you a bit of a twist: a savory pumpkin dish.

We love pumpkin enchiladas because they are very filling, and so warming on cool autumn days. The spice of the chilies imparts a delicious contrast to the rich pumpkin. The black beans pack a mean protein punch, making this a perfect, well-rounded meal.

Vegan and Gluten-Free Pumpkin Black Bean Chipotle Enchiladas

Enchilada Filling:

1 can of organic pumpkin, we like Farmer’s Market Organic Canned Pumpkin, with BPA-free lining.
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 can organic black beans, drained and rinsed
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder
2 tbsp sunflower oil

1 package of corn or preferred gluten-free tortillas

Enchilada Sauce:

2 cans fire-roasted tomatoes
3 chipotles from can, plus 1 teaspoon of the adobo sauce from the chipotle chili can
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp chili powder
4 cloves of garlic
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Preheat ove to 350 degrees.

For the enchilada filling: Saute onions over medium heat in 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil until transluscent, approximately 3 minutes. Add another tablespoon of sunflower oil, then add the the rest of the enchilada filling ingredients, stirring frequently until warmed through.

For the enchilada sauce: Pour all of the ingredients into a food processor, and process until smooth and thoroughly blended.

Pour a little of the enchilada sauce into a 9×13 baking dish, so that a thin layer covers the entire dish.

Roll 1/4 cup of the filling into a tortilla and place each one into the baking dish. Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the enchiladas. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until heated through and bubbly.

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