Never had pumpkin as a dessert on its own? Forget about your classic pumpkin pie and make this 3-Ingredient Turkish Pumpkin Dessert with a drizzle of tahini this fall. It will be a hit in your family following a comforting meal during the holidays. Vegan, gluten-free and so easy to make!

This easy pumpkin recipe is identified with pumpkin in Turkish cuisine. When you see somebody buys pumpkin from the market in Turkey, it is 99% certain that they will be making this dessert. It is so typical that sellers at local bazaars sell pumpkins sliced and peeled in packages to make it even easier to make this amazing treat.
Is it only us who think slicing a pumpkin is not that easy? We get really excited whenever we see peeled and sliced pumpkin sold in bags in our local market. We immediately start planning to make this super easy baked pumpkin recipe or crispy candied pumpkin recipe.
How To Make Baked Pumpkin Dessert Turkish Style
Cut a pumpkin in half. Scoop out the seeds and all the strings. Cut it in thick slices. Put them in a large pot and pour sugar over each. Put the lid and wait overnight or for at least 6 hours. During this time, pumpkin pieces release their juice, so we don’t need to add extra water while cooking or baking. When it's ready, you will see pumpkin slices have released a lot of juice. You have two options to make the pumpkin dessert.
1-Stove Method
Put the pot on the medium heat and give it a boil. Let it simmer uncovered until the pumkin slices get tender but not mushy. In this way, the syrup in the pot has a good consistency. Then let it cool in the same pot.
2-Oven Method
Preheat oven at 180C/350F. Put the pumpkin slices in a baking pan. Pour all the juice in the pan too. Bake for 30 minutes or until tender. Remove from the oven, drizzle syrup over each and let them cool compltely.
Do not take them on a service plate while they are still hot as they can lose shape. After they are cold enough, chill in the refrigerator for a while.

Serving Turkish Pumpkin Dessert
You can serve them with the following options:
- clotted cream
- tahini
- Turkish ice cream
- Nuts
More Turkish Desserts You Might Like
- Turkish Pistachio Baklava
- Stuffed Turkish Delight Recipe
- Turkish Rice Pudding In Oven
- Cheesy Kadaif Kunefe
- Simple Halva with Flour
- Turkish Tulumba Dessert
Turkish Pumpkin Dessert

A super simple pumpkin dessert in Turkish style.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients
- 1 pound/450g pumpkin(after cleaned)
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoon tahini
- Pistachios or walnuts for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Slice the pumpkin in the size you like. Wash them well and clean their seeds and chop them big. Put them in a large pot by adding sugar between each line.
- Put its lid on and wait it overnight, at least 6 hours. During this time, pumpkin pieces release their juice, so we don’t need to add extra water while boiling it.
- Method 1: Put the pot on the medium heat. Bring it to boil, let it simmer uncovered until soft but not mushy. Then let it cool in the same pot.
- Method 2: Preheat oven at 180C/375F. Put the pumpkin slices in a baking pan. Pour the juice all over them. Bake for 20-30 minutes until tender. Let them cool completely.
- After they are cold enough, transfer on another pan or a plate. Wait it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Serve it cold with a drizzle of tahini.
- You can optionally garnish it with crumbled pistachio or walnut.
Keywords: pumpkin dessert, pumpkin recipe, Turkish pumpkin dessert with tahini
Other Pumpkin Recipes You Might Like
- Pumpkin Flavored Pancakes With Caramel Sauce
- Fresh Pumpkin Puree
- Pumpkin Oat Muffins
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread Recipe
- Apple Pumpkin Muffin Recipe
Kabak tatlısı; Türkiye'de en çok sevilen tatlılardan birisi ve sizin tarifiniz gerçekten muhteşem olmuş. Özellikle tahin ile bu tatlının harika bir uyumu var.
★★★★★
Do you cook it with skin on and remove after?
Hi Marcia, we remove the skin before baking.
Just like mother-in-law makes it! I first ate this deliciousness after I got married and got addicted 🙂 Thank you for sharing!!!
What a beautiful piece of pumpkin. So simple yet so elegant.
This is so simple to make but it looks fantastic. I hardly ever get pumpkin but I will try to get some to make this.
I love how simple this is! And, for a dessert, pretty healthy. Looks delicious!
I love pumpkin and knew it was good for you, but I am all for not rusting.
Great, elegant, yet so simple in preparation!
Bon appetit!
CCR
=:~)
looks great!
oh boy this looks delish!
I love this kind of desserts very much. In Thailand we do similar things to many root vegetables and fruits like banana. Thank you for this recipe, I would love to try it!
I love pumpkin! This looks delicious!
Great looking pumpkins and an intriguing dessert, so wonderfully simple!
It can't be any more simple than 2 ingredients! I had never thought to let it rest overnight so that the natural moisture of the pumpkin formed a sauce of sorts. I'm not a huge pumpkin fan but perhaps it's because I've had it mixed with all sorts of pie spices. This is worth trying!
I love using puumpkin in so many dishes! This looks so easy and delicious!
I love pumpkin! This looks good, I think I would like it with some walnuts, yummy!!
I am intrigued by this dessert. Simple and sure tasty.
Go right ahead;)
This looks delicious!! So maybe I should say, go right ahead as long as I can do the same to this ; )
So simple and yummy!