When my three-year-old, great-nephew decided he wanted to eat his pumpkin, I first had to find out whether you could actually eat raw pumpkin. It turns out, you can!
So, of course, we had to taste it. You can read all about our original raw pumpkin taste-test experiment in How to Eat a Pumpkin: A Lesson From a 3 Year Old.
We tried raw pumpkin plain and with several different seasonings. But once our little taste-testing experiment was over, I started wondering: What else could I do with raw pumpkin?
I started looking for recipes that used it that way. I searched and searched, but I couldn’t find what I was looking for. Almost everything I found called for cooked or pureed pumpkin.
That got me thinking. If pumpkin can be eaten raw, why not come up with a recipe that actually uses it raw?
Eating fruits and vegetables raw can preserve some nutrients that are sensitive to heat, although cooking has nutritional benefits too and can make some nutrients easier for our bodies to use. I just wanted another way to enjoy pumpkin in its fresh, uncooked form.
So I started looking around at the flavors of fall. Apples. Pears. Grapes. Brown sugar. Pumpkin pie spice. And Fall Harvest Fruit Salad was born.
Now, I have to admit something. When I originally created this fruit salad, I didn’t measure anything! I chopped up the fruit, sprinkled in some brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice, tossed it together and called it good. I’ve added measurements here so you can recreate it at home.
Fall Harvest Fruit Salad with Raw Pumpkin
Ingredients
1 cup raw pumpkin flesh, peeled and cut into small bite-size cubes
1 medium golden delicious apple, chopped
1 medium red apple, chopped
1 medium pear, chopped
1½ cups seedless red or purple grapes, halved or quartered
2 tablespoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 lemon wedge
Optional: ½ cup chopped pecans
Directions
Combine the pumpkin, apples, pear, and grapes in a large bowl.
Mama Carmody Tip: Cut the raw pumpkin into smaller pieces than the apples and pear. Raw pumpkin is quite firm, so smaller pieces blend better with the softer fruit.
Squeeze the juice of the lemon wedge over the fruit.
Sprinkle with the brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice and toss until the fruit is evenly coated.
Let sit for at least 10–15 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to blend. For even more flavor, let it sit longer. The fruit will release a little juice, which should combine with the brown sugar and spice and give everything a light, sweet fall-flavored coating.
Optional: Mix in pecans for a little extra crunch. Leave them out for a nut-free version.
Taste it. If you’d like it sweeter or spicier, add a little more brown sugar (or a lot 😂) or another small sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice.
Makes about 5–6 cups, or roughly 6 servings.
Let the Kids Help
Fruit salad has been something my grandkids have helped me make for holiday meals for years. When they were younger, we used kid-safe knives so they could help cut up the fruit right along with me.
This is an easy recipe to get kids involved with, too. Depending on their age and abilities, they can help wash the fruit, measure ingredients, cut softer fruit with a kid-safe knife, add everything to the bowl, and stir it together.
And after all, this particular fruit salad exists because a curious three-year-old wanted to know if he could eat his raw pumpkin! Sometimes letting kids get involved in the kitchen leads us in directions we never expected.
A Little Curiosity Can Lead to Something Delicious
This fruit salad started with a three-year-old asking a question I never would have thought to ask: Can you eat a pumpkin?
Years later, I’m still experimenting with that answer! This Fall Harvest Fruit Salad has changed a little each time I’ve made it, and I think I’ve finally landed on the combination I like best.
So the next time you’re cutting into a pumpkin, don’t be afraid to taste a little piece before you cook it. You might just discover a new way to enjoy one of fall’s favorite foods.
And if you make the fruit salad, I’d love to hear what you think – especially if you make any changes of your own!
