The tomatoes and sweet corn of summer are making way for the Brussels sprouts, winter squash, apples, and cranberries of fall. It’s that time of year when you start to crave something a little warmer, a bit cozier, and a smidge heavier than you do during the dog days of the summer. Casseroles, roasted veggies, soups, stews, chilis, tray bakes, braises, and the like all take center stage with fall recipes as the weather gets cooler and the days get shorter.
Between work, household chores, and soaking up the crisp fall days while we still have them, there’s precious little time to spend at your stove. You want recipes that will really work for you. Luckily, these 45 fall recipes give you that taste of the fall season that you’re after, but are easy to prep or make ahead—so you can spend more time watching football, peeping fall foliage, drinking cider and toddies, and eating all-things pumpkin.
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What fruits and vegetables are in season in fall?
While seasonal produce varies given the area you live in, it can be helpful to have a general guide to go by while browsing at the grocery store. After all, incorporating fresh fruits and vegetables into your family’s meals can make cooking after a long day feel exciting again—it may even encourage your kiddos try some new foods, too!
Seasonal fruits in the fall include:
- Apples
- Bananas
- Carrots
- Cranberries
- Mangos
- Citrus fruits like lemons and limes are also great in fall, as well as raspberries and pomegranates.
Seasonal vegetables in the fall include:
- Beets
- Brussels Sprouts
- Green beans
- Pumpkin
- Spinach
- Nutrient-dense vegetables like cauliflower and Swiss chard are also available!
Fall Breakfast Recipes
1. Cinnamon Roll Waffles
We approve if you have these cinnamon roll waffles for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. They only take 20 minutes to make and can be kept in the freezer. We’re sensing a fall staple for this season.
2. Slow Cooker Pumpkin Pie Steel Cut Oatmeal
If you’re looking for an exciting reason to jump out of bed in the morning, prep this pumpkin pie steel cut oatmeal the night before. Put the ingredients in the slow cooker before bed and wake up to pumpkin goodness.
3. Sweet Potato, Black Bean & Avocado Breakfast Burritos
This recipe offers all the protein you could want without all of the meat. Who said your protein intake needed to come from meat, anyway?
4. Dairy-Free Cruffins
A croissant made into the shape of a muffin? We introduce you to a cruffin. This recipe has us daydreaming of sitting at a Parisian cafe this fall.
5. Apple Pie Baked Oatmeal
Because we all deserve delicious and healthy options, this apple pie baked oatmeal is just what we need to start our day off right.
6. Pumpkin French Toast
This easy breakfast recipe is made with real pumpkin puree, and is soaked with creamy pumpkin custard that makes the texture irresistible. Make it even fancier by using challah or brioche bread!
7. Breakfast Bowl with Sweet Potatoes and Beans
For something on the savior (and healthier) side, consider this breakfast bowl recipe with plenty of fall flavors to choose from. With avocado, egg, and beans, it’s packed full of fiber and protein and will help your family get on the right foot for the day ahead.
Fall Soups, Salads & Sides
8. Vegetable Soup
Not only is it autumn, it also happens to be the beginning of flu season. One great way to keep yourself healthy is to add more veggies to your diet. Do this by making you and your family a pot of hearty vegetable soup.
9. Apple Kale Quinoa Salad with Pumpkin Turmeric Dressing
If a seasonal salad full of flavor and fun textures is appealing to you, you’re not going to want to miss out on this recipe.
10. Healthy Pasta Fagioli
This soup would pair great with a binge watch of Gilmore Girls. We think Sookie St. James would approve and your family would too. Substitute Ditalini pasta for macaroni.
11. Maple Glazed Carrots
The glaze on these carrots make it more like a sweet treat. Serve as a snack or as a side with your favorite fall meal.
12. Chicken Chili Verde
Chilly temps means it’s time for chili. This chicken chili verde recipe is a fun way to mix things up this season.
13. Creamy Butternut Squash Soup
Butternut squash soup is creamy and flavorful, and it would go well with a warm panini sandwich. It’s healthy and the coconut cream can be substituted for Greek yogurt.
14. Fall Panzanella Salad
I wholeheartedly believe there’s no better season for a delicious salad than fall. This recipe will have everyone in the office asking you how to make it.
15. Thai Chicken Zucchini Noodle Soup
We’re all familiar with the classic chicken noodle soup. But, kick it up a notch with this recipe that incorporates Thai flavoring, chicken, and zucchini noodles, and you’ve got a new favorite fall recipe.
16. Instant Pot Turkey Pumpkin Chili
You know chili recipes had to grace this list more than once. This fall-centric recipe takes a classic and incorporates one of the best foods of the season: pumpkin.
17. Sweet Potato Lentil Soup
Using seasonal potatoes and protein-packed lentils, this healthy and filling recipe is rich, nourishing, and absolutely delicious. For those with dietary restrictions, it is also gluten free and vegan!
18. Fruit Salad with Fresh Fall Fruit
A mix of seasonal fruit tossed in a light citrus honey dressing, this is the perfect sweet and healthy addition to your family dinner or holiday table. It can also be ready in under 10 minutes!
19. Crispy Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
Brussels sprouts are the MVP in my kitchen, not only because they’re so healthy and delicious, but because preparation couldn’t be easier. These can be made in one pan and are cooked with bits of bacon that will be a hit in your household.
Fall Main Dish Recipes
20. Squash and Kale Bowls with Miso-Ginger Dressing
This recipe has all the flavor combinations you can dream of and will leave you satisfied after each meal.
21. Maple Dijon Chicken Thighs
There are few flavors I appreciate more than a sweet dijon, and this recipe delivers. Eating chicken is one of the best ways to incorporate more protein into your diet, and these thighs are sure to be juicy and delicious all week long.
22. Butternut Squash Pasta with Chili Oil, Feta & Mint
Now that it’s fall, it’s only right that we take advantage of the abundance of squash that’s readily available. Mix that with a chili oil kick, the creaminess of feta, and the freshness of mint, and you’re in for a treat each and every day.
23. Vegan Jambalaya
Spice up the fall season with some jambalaya. It’s packed with veggies and an easy option when you have family and friends over during a warm, crisp night.
24. Roasted Vegetable Bowls with Green Tahini
We’ve all been there—being told for the millionth time either by our doctors, health experts, or Google that we need to incorporate more vegetables into our diet. This vegetable bowl does just that in the most exciting way.
25. Cherry Lentil Turkey Sausage Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Some iconic flavors mesh together in this one-of-a-kind stuffed sweet potato recipe. We know after you try this dish it will be one you’ll want to make again and again.
26. Vegetarian Enchiladas with Butternut Squash and Black Beans
Whoever said meal prepping has to be boring and unoriginal clearly didn’t know how to make enchiladas. This hearty recipe will be the highlight of your day all week.
27. Healthy Sheet Pan Sausage and Veggies
For a well-rounded and completely exciting option, try this sheet pan sausage and veggie dish.
28. Apple Sage Turkey Meatballs
Apples are the fruit of fall and can be incorporated in unique ways in so many dishes. These turkey meatballs are a fun way to add apples to a savory recipe and enjoy them like never before.
29. Roasted Harvest Bowls with Apple Cider Dressing
What better way to take advantage of autumn than to incorporate all of the best produce of the season into one dish? These harvest bowls will leave you feeling full and energized to take on your day—a win, win in the fall recipes department.
30. Chicken and Phyllo Dough Pot Pies
Make your traditional pot pies more personalized with these chicken and phyllo dough pot pies. This recipe includes butternut squash, mushrooms, sage, and thyme.
31. Homemade Sweetgreen Harvest Bowl
If, like us, you’re also obsessed with the Sweetgreen harvest bowls but don’t always feel like forking over the money for one, we’ve got good news for you. You can now make one at home that we know will be even better than the one they make in store. Fall recipes that double as a take out favorite? Sign us up!
32. Butternut Squash Lasagna
It’s the perfect time to incorporate fall vegetables into your everyday recipes. This rendition of lasagna screams it’s time for fall.
33. Harvest Wild Rice Bowl
This colorful dish is packed with vegetables, and the homemade dressing makes it so flavorful you’ll want to have it again the next day.
34. Deconstructed Cajun Turkey Pot Pie
Of all of our fall recipes, this might be the most creative—AKA, perfect for when you’re sick of the same ol’ same old.
35. Chili Stuffed Acorn Squash
Squash won’t be around all year, so now’s a great time to try it in as many recipes as you can! This stuffed squash recipe is a fun way to try something new this year.
36. Vegan Pumpkin Mac and Cheese
This is a comforting and familiar option for any picky kiddos, but still uses an entire can of pumpkin puree and has all the fall feelings! It is dairy free and can also be gluten free, but feel free to substitute with whatever cheese you want.
37. Sweet Potato Casserole
This simple casserole recipe is topped with brown sugar pecans and steals the show at any family dinner. It is also an ideal option for meal prepping because it can be made a day or two in advance and saved.
38. Apple Chicken Sausage Skillet
This is one of the easiest recipes on this list to throw together last minute. All you have to do is brown juicy chicken sausage, toss it with sweet-tart apples, caramelized onions, wilty kale, and fresh herbs, and then you’ll have a cozy, flavorful meal that tastes like fall in a pan.
39. Smokey Sweet Potato & Beef Chocolate Chili
Of all the dishes on this list—and all the chilis—this is the one guaranteed to warm you up on a chilly day. And adding chocolate to the dish? That’s the trick you may not have tried yet, but will change everything for you (and your kiddos).
Fall Dessert Recipes
40. Pumpkin Donut Holes
There are few times of the day that are more hectic than mornings. Make them just a little bit simpler by baking these pumpkin donut holes on Sunday afternoon for you and your kids to grab on your way out the door—or at every snack time—all week.
41. Apple Crumb Bars
We can’t get enough of all the apple recipes. Take your apple pie recipe up a notch with these apple crumb bars for on-the-go fall activities.
42. Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Protein Cookies
Not only will these help you hit your protein goals, but they’re also delicious and able to be baked and served within 25 minutes! Oats are very convenient to bake with because they’re super binding and a great source of fiber.
43. Dutch Caramel Apple Pie
If you’ve never had a Dutch Apple Pie, it’s basically a normal apple pie with a crumb style topping. In this case, we’ll be drizzling a sweet caramel sauce on top to give it that delicious caramel apple taste—a slightly more involved recipe, but it’s so worth it!
44. Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
This seasonal cookie recipe combines everything wonderful about snickerdoodles and pumpkin in one. The cookie dough comes together without using an egg and the white chocolate chips are able to be substituted for anything you’d like—though they do have a deliciously sweet texture!
45. Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls
These sweet potato enriched cinnamon rolls double as both a fall dessert and breakfast. Topped with a cream cheese glaze, brown butter, and toasted pecans, they are absolutely delicious and sure to be a fan favorite in your household!
Brett Nicole Hayden, Former Assistant Editor
As the former Assistant Editor, Brett worked with the editors of The Everymom on the content creation process by updating stories, sourcing images and graphics, and pitching and contributing her own stories. Her favorite topics to write about are baby names, culture, relationships, and living.
Rebecca Smith, Editorial Assistant
As an Editorial Assistant, Rebecca works with The Everymom team on updating existing content, photo sourcing, pitching original articles, and more. She’s passionate about creating authentic and diverse online content and is thrilled to help women of all ages feel represented.