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!
As a couple from Turkey, we love all Turkish desserts and celebrate the pumpkin season with this amazing dessert. That's not the only pumpkin recipe we make during the season of course. We love pumpkin pancakes too.
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
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.
How To Serve
You can serve them with the following options:
- clotted cream
- tahini
- Turkish ice cream
- Nuts
More Turkish Desserts
More Pumpkin Recipes
As always: If you make this recipe, let us know what you think by rating it and leaving a comment below. And post a pic on Instagram too—tag @give_recipe so we can see!
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PrintTurkish 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
- Diet: Vegan
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.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 portion
- Calories: 125
- Sugar: 20.3 g
- Sodium: 5.1 mg
- Fat: 3.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 23.2 g
- Protein: 1.2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: pumpkin dessert, pumpkin recipe, Turkish pumpkin dessert with tahini
Gurme says
Kabak tatlısı; Türkiye'de en çok sevilen tatlılardan birisi ve sizin tarifiniz gerçekten muhteşem olmuş. Özellikle tahin ile bu tatlının harika bir uyumu var.
★★★★★
Marcia miller says
Do you cook it with skin on and remove after?
Zerrin says
Hi Marcia, we remove the skin before baking.
Mateja says
Just like mother-in-law makes it! I first ate this deliciousness after I got married and got addicted 🙂 Thank you for sharing!!!
Megan says
What a beautiful piece of pumpkin. So simple yet so elegant.