When the weather cools and the leaves start to turn red, brown and gold, there’s nothing better than getting outdoors with your kids for some fall-friendly activities. As your routine turns from hitting the beach to planning fall picnics, soccer games and Halloween parties, you’ll want recipes for crowd-pleasing snacks and goodies to serve.
But what should you make? First, consider your activity and the type of meal or snack that goes best with that activity. If you’re hitting the mountains for a leaf-peeping hike, you’ll want salty, potassium-packed snacks to keep you walking. If you’re having friends over for a convenient dinner or movie night, a stew packed with harvest veggies does the trick. And if you’re serving up quick, grabbable snacks to a hungry football team, doughnut holes are a crowd-pleaser.
Then, consider portability and the type of container you’ll use if you’re going out, from a big Tupperware container to individual snack bags. If you’re staying in and hosting, it’s much easier to make your dishes themed or elaborate, with napkins and flatware to match.
Lastly, fall is all about ingredients. Certain ingredients easily signify fall: cinnamon, pumpkins, squash and carrots, among others. If you have time and you can meal-prep ahead, shopping your local farmers’ market is the best way to find gorgeous produce for these dishes: purple and gold carrots, dark green acorn squash and fresh apple cider.
When you roll up your sleeves and put on your apron, encourage your kids to join you – if not because of the dietary benefits of cooking together (kids tend to eat more food generally, and eat more vegetables specifically, when they cook them), then at least because they’re more likely to feel positive and in control from taking part in the cooking. These simple fall recipes are easy enough for kids to pitch in on, from cutting out doughnut holes to chopping up and sautéing root veggies in the Instant Pot.
Below are three recipes and the types of occasions you might serve them at, along with tips and tricks to modify them for your event.
Pass Out Crowd-Pleasing Treats to the Whole Team
Fall means a big beautiful harvest moon, trips to the apple orchard, hayrides and corn mazes, and of course, candied apples and boxes of scrumptious cider doughnuts to take home. If you need a popular, portable snack that’s tasty but a little healthier than the typical box you pick up at your favorite orchard or grocery, opt for these lighter, air-fried cider doughnuts that still pack a flavor punch.
To make this at home just for your family, use the recipe below. Multiply as needed to serve a team or provide sweets for a party.
Air-Fryer Cider Doughnuts
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Ready in: 35 minutes
Number of servings: Eight (one doughnut and one doughnut hole per child)
- 1 can buttermilk biscuits (like Pillsbury Grands)
- ¼ to ½ cup apple cider concentrate or mulling spices syrup (start with ¼)
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- If you are using apple cider, slowly reduce it over low heat on the stove until it is syrupy, about 20 minutes.
- Preheat your air fryer to 360 degrees.
- Mix together the cinnamon and sugar.
- Carefully cut a 1-inch circle out of the center of each unbaked biscuit, roll it into a sphere and set aside the doughnut holes.
- Spray the air fryer basket with a neutral oil spray.
- Air-fry the doughnuts (not the doughnut holes) for seven to eight minutes.
- Allow the doughnuts to cool for three to five minutes.
- Dip each doughnut individually in the apple cider concentrate or mulling spices syrup, completely coating each doughnut. Allow extra concentrate or syrup to drip off.
- Coat each doughnut in cinnamon sugar by rolling it in the bowl of cinnamon sugar or using a spoon to sprinkle all sides. Shake extra cinnamon sugar off.
- Air-fry the doughnut holes for three to four minutes at 350 degrees.
- Brush the doughnut holes in apple cider concentrate or mulling spices syrup and roll them in cinnamon and sugar.
- Cool by allowing to sit for a few minutes, if you can stand the wait, and eat!
Serve Up a Rich, Hearty Pumpkin Stew at Halloween Movie Night
It happens so many times that your kids invite their friends over for dinner, and you have no idea what to serve. With this stew in your freezer in portions of four, you’re ready for those hungry friends, minus the Domino’s bill. This relatively fast recipe can be served to hungry kids with almost any carb: rice, quinoa, pita, toast, crackers or even cornbread or biscuits. If you’re too busy watching Scream or Scary Movie, they can even dip corn chips (we like Fritos or Tostitos) into the stew and snack on it like it’s a thick chili (add less water, if you’d like it thicker).
I’ve been making variations of this stew for almost 20 years, but when I got an Instant Pot, I knew I had to figure out the right proportions to make it with my skillful new appliance. If you don’t have an Instant Pot, just do the same sautéing over the stovetop in a pot or dutch oven. Then, simmer gently on low heat, until all veggies and chickpeas are soft enough to your taste and flavors are melded, usually 20 to 30 minutes.
If you don’t have fresh pumpkin or you don’t feel like carving up that orange beast on your porch (it’s how I use my uncarved decorative porch pumpkins every year), swap in chunks of pre-cut, frozen or fresh squash of any kind, or even pureed, canned pumpkin – the consistency will be smoother and more soup-like with the latter, but still tasty. But since this freezes well, why not shop from the farmers’ markets? Purple and gold carrots and fresh squash or pumpkin are delightful in this stew.
Coconut Chickpea Pumpkin Stew
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Ready in: 45 minutes
Number of servings: Four
- Neutral oil, such as avocado, for sautéing
- 2 small pumpkins or 1 large squash, peeled, seeded and chopped into one-inch squares (or 2 15-oz. cans pumpkin puree)
- 2 15-oz. cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 13.5-oz. can of coconut milk, full-fat, unsweetened
- 1 5-oz. can of coconut cream, unsweetened (omit if unavailable)
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 2 large gold potatoes, scrubbed well and chopped (you don’t need to peel them if you don’t mind the skins)
- 2 large or 3 medium carrots, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 bay leaf, whole (do not chop, as you will remove)
- 2 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp cayenne
- 1 tsp flaky sea salt or 1/2 tsp of kosher salt, to taste
- 3 grinds black pepper or 2 dashes white pepper
- Water or broth/stock, as needed
- Rice, toast or crackers, for serving
- Olive oil, for serving
- Dice the onions and mince the garlic.
- Set the Instant Pot to sauté mode and add a neutral oil with a high smoke point, like avocado oil.
- Add the yellow onion and sauté for three to five minutes, until softened.
- Add the potatoes and sauté in the pot for five minutes, adding more oil if needed.
- Add the carrots and stir-fry in the pot for three minutes, adding more oil if needed.
- While the potatoes and carrots are softening a bit, peel your squash or pumpkin and slice it into 1-inch-square chunks. Chop your carrots into rough 1-inch pieces.
- Add the garlic and sauté for one minute until golden. Do not burn.
- Turn off the sauté function.
- Add the chunks of pumpkin or squash (or the pumpkin puree), the chickpeas, bay leaf, curry powder, turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and pepper, and mix.
- Add the coconut milk and a cup of water, broth or stock (I often use Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base but reduce our additional salt to zero when I do, as I prefer lower-sodium stews and soups), and stir until smooth, with no traces of white. Tip: Don’t add too much water, as Instant Pots collect moisture instead of letting it simmer off like a Dutch oven does.
- Set the Instant Pot to the manual setting on low for 15 minutes.
- Release the pressure and wait for the venting to finish.
- Remove the bay leaf. Stir and taste, adding more salt as needed.
- Serve in bowls over rice or quinoa, or with chips, toast points or crackers, drizzled with fine olive oil and garnished with your favorite fall herbs.
Power Up on a Fall Hike with Crispy Zero-Waste Squash Chips
If your kids like plantain chips and kale chips, have them roast these crispy squash chips. Most people consider winter squash peels as waste (or compost fodder), but crisping them up in the oven, which is already preheated to roast your squash flesh, just makes good eco-sense.
Crispy squash chips are a potassium-stacked snack for a fall hike with the sun on your back and the breeze in the air. Grab a reusable Stasher bag and plunk a couple handfuls of these chips in them, then pop them in your fanny pack or backpack for when hunger strikes during a hike.
Modifications to this zero-waste recipe are easy. If you prefer a spicy flavor profile, omit the Parmesan and sprinkle a pinch of cinnamon, a pinch of cumin and a pinch of cayenne on before roasting. You can even try this recipe with other fall produce, like carrot peels or potato skins – just keep a good eye on the crispiness level in the oven and check them frequently so they don’t burn.
Crispy Squash Chips
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Ready in: 25 minutes
Number of servings: One to two
- 2 medium acorn or kabocha squash
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp Parmesan or nutritional yeast, or more to taste
- 1/2 tsp flaky sea salt or 1/4 tsp of kosher salt
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Wash and dry your squash well.
- Peel the skin of your squashes and slice the peels to 1-inch-long pieces.
- Add the olive oil and sea salt to the bowl and mix.
- Add the squash peels to the bowl and stir until evenly coated.
- Spread the peels onto two baking sheets and roast for 12 to 15 minutes. Watch the chips closely as thinner chips can burn more quickly.
- Remove when crispy and golden brown.
- Sprinkle salt and Parmesan as needed on the roasted chips and toss. Dry in open air instead of packaging immediately, as the moisture and heat will cause them to soften.
Dakota Kim is a food, parenting, travel and lifestyle writer. In a past life, she owned a diner and made delicious patty melts. She considers herself an expert in cranky old cats, distracting a frustrated baby during tummy time, Gilmore Girls one-liners and cleaning various substances off her microfiber sofa.
