My Favorite October Recipes

Published: Sep 30, 2022 by Genevieve Morrison · This post may contain affiliate links

These are my favorite harvest-fresh, pumpkin-spiced, cozy, sweet, savory and spooky recipes for the entire month of October! Seasonal vegetable sides, haunting cocktails, elegant appetizers and sweet treats for your Halloween parties and more!

6 pumpkin scones surrounded by sundlowers and small pumpkins with a title that says "My Favorite October Recipes."

October is my very favorite month for food! After months of light, cold recipes, I can finally think more cozy, filling and colorful! You’ll find lots of seasonal veggies and spices, plenty of pumpkin and cute ideas for Halloween fun. Enjoy all of my favorite October recipes!

1. Stuffed Acorn Squash with Farro and Mushrooms

1 stuffed acorn squash on a plate in front of 3 others in front of dry flowers on a table.

Stuffed Acorn Squash with Farro and Mushrooms

This stuffed acorn squash with farro, mushrooms, kale and red onion is an exquisite fall side dish that looks beautiful and tastes so exciting!

4 stuffed acorn squash garnished with a flower and thyme on a wooden plate.

2. Pumpkin Rice with Fall Vegetables

A bowl of pumpkin rice with fall vegetables on a table with dry flowers.

Pumpkin Rice with Fall Vegetables

This creamy pumpkin rice recipe includes roasted cauliflower, sautéed zucchini and red onion. Made with wild rice, canned pumpkin puree and a little parmesan to make it creamy, this exquisite Fall side dish will impress every guest at Thanksgiving or the Halloween dinner party!

A centered bowl of pumpkin rice with fall vegetables on a table with dry flowers.

3. Maple Butternut Squash Crostini with Mushrooms

5 maple butternut squash crostini on a board in front of a pumpkin and greenery.

Maple Butternut Squash Crostini with Mushrooms

These maple butternut squash crostini include perfectly sautéd mushrooms and shallots, fresh herbs and whipped goat cheese! They also include a divine blackberry balsamic glaze that’s so easy to make and so fun to drizzle!

1 maple butternut squash crostini on a wooden board.

4. Pumpkin Spice Carrot Cupcakes

6 carrot cupcakes on a plate in front of white pumpkins.

Pumpkin Spice Carrot Cupcakes

These pumpkin spiced carrot cupcakes are full of plump, rum-soaked raisins and are topped with a dreamy salted caramel cream cheese frosting!

A closeup of a cupcake on a plate.

5. Spooky Deviled Eyeballs

8 upside-down deviled eggs that look like eyeballs on a slate in front of candles and white pumpkins.

Spooky Deviled Eyeballs

These spooky-ooky deviled eyeballs are such fun Halloween party appetizers! They won’t just make your party guests giggle, they taste delicious too! They’re also perfect for your KETO, low-carb boys and gooouuls.

2 deviled eggs that look like eyeballs on a marble plate with a candle in the background.

6. Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles with French Vanilla Chai Glaze

7 glazed cookies on lace, beside a pumpkin gourd.

Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles with French Vanilla Chai Glaze

These pumpkin spice snickerdoodles have a French vanilla chai glaze that makes these already delicious cookies even more delicious! They’re chewy and fluffy, delicate, shiny, and absolutely, perfectly spiced.

Glazed cookies on lace.

7. Pumpkin Flan with Chai Whipped Cream

2 pumpkin flans on plates on a table, topped with chai whipped cream, with a small cup of coffee.

Pumpkin Flan with Chai Whipped Cream

This pumpkin flan with chai whipped cream recipe is the silkiest, creamiest, most elegantly spiced flan you could serve at your fanciest Autumn dinner parties or decadent Thanksgiving dinners!

2 pumpkin flans on plates on a table, topped with chai whipped cream, with a small cup of coffee.

8. How to Create a Gorgeous Autumn Crudités

A crudités platter with vegetables, dips, olives, grapes and a bowl of bread on a tray.

How to Create a Gorgeous Autumn Crudités

This autumn crudités includes colorful veggies, concord grapes, olives, herbed brie and some very special surprises!

A crudités platter with vegetables, dips, olives, grapes and a bowl of bread on a tray.

9. The Constant Comment Hot Toddy

A mug of hot toddy, garnished with an orange slice, topped with a small lead, with a few dry roses and leaves at its base.

Thanksgiving Hot Toddy

This Thanksgiving hot toddy is made with orange-spiced Constant Comment tea and flavored with just a few cinnamon sticks and cloves.

A mug of hot toddy, garnished with an orange slice, topped with a small lead, with a few dry roses and leaves at its base.

10. Pumpkin Scones with Rum Raisins

Pumpkin scones beside a small pumpkin and sunflower on a wooden board.

Pumpkin Scones with Rum Raisins

These pumpkin scones with cinnamon sugar and rum-soaked raisins are the most perfect, crispy Autumn morning pastry!

Pumpkin scones beside a small pumpkin and sunflower on a wooden board.

11. Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse

5 small glasses full of pumpkin mousse topped with whipped cream, sitting on a silver tray.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse

With its creamy texture, gingersnap crumble crust and layer of salted caramel, your guests will swoon over this heavenly pumpkin cheesecake mousse!

A glass of pumpkin cheesecake mouse, topped with whipped cream on a metal tray beside 4 others and a spoon.

12. Pesto Zucchini Rosettes

6 pesto zucchini rosettes on a wooden board.

Pesto Zucchini Rosettes

These baked pesto zucchini appetizers are made with puff pastry, Boursin cheese and 2 pretty colors of zucchini. They take less than an hour to make, you can make them a whole day ahead of time and they can easily be made vegan!

1 zucchini rosette on a wooden board.

13. Adorable Halloween Deviled Eggs

3 deviled eggs garnished with horns and wings made of red pepper on a marble board.

Adorable Halloween Deviled Eggs

Don't just add horns to your Halloween deviled eggs, add little red bell pepper wings to really give these precious appetizers some devilish character!

A deviled egg with bell pepper horns and wings on a marble plate with 2 others in the background.

14. Instant Pot Pumpkin Risotto with Caramelized Onions

2 bowls of pumpkin risotto, garnished with sage leaves, on a lace table cloth with 3 small pumpkins in the background.

Instant Pot Pumpkin Risotto with Caramelized Onions

This pumpkin risotto with balsamic caramelized onions is a creamy, delicately autumn-spiced masterpiece! The easiest, and tastiest autumn side dish for Thanksgiving or any decadent autumn dinner party!

A bowl of pumpkin risotto, garnished with 2 sage leaves, on a lace table cloth beside another bowl and small pumpkin.

15. The Blackberry Raven Cocktail

A black cocktail in a glass rimmed glass, garnished with eucalyptus.

The Blackberry Raven Cocktail

This Blackberry Raven lambrusco cocktail is a little sparkly, a little sweet and perfect for a spooky Halloween signature! A devilishly dark cocktail that looks so elegant in a punch bowl!

A cocktail on a table, garnished with a stem of eucalyptus.

16. Skirt Steak Crostini

7 steak appetizers on a marble slate, garnished with tiny grapes, arugula and dripping cheese.

Skirt Steak Crostini

These fancy skirt steak crostini include a concord grape reduction and a creamy Florette cheese! It's a perfectly exquisite appetizer for an elegant affair, date night, or any event where you really want to impress your guests! They also take just 30 minutes to make!

A steak appetizer, garnished with tiny grapes and a single leaf, on a marble slate, with cheese dripping over the sides.

17. The White Pumpkin Cocktail

The White Pumpkin Cocktail

Want to keep Halloween classy? Try this elegant little vanilla, pumpkin-spiced White Pumpkin Cocktail at your next cocktail party.

A White Pumpkin cocktail on a table, garnished with a few flowers beside a small white pumpkin on a table.

18. The Morticia Addams Cocktail

A cocktail in a martini glass, garnished with 2 sprigs of greenery on a dark table.

The Morticia Addams Cocktail

This crimson, creepily-classy Morticia Addams cocktail is made with sake, hard cider and a devilishly delightful spiced hibiscus cocktail syrup that’s so easy to make! Absolutely perfect for a Halloween party or fiendishly romantic evening for 2.

A red cocktail in a martini glass on a black table, garnished with 2 dry sprigs of a dry, seeded grass.

For more inspiration, subscribe to my newsletter, and follow me on Instagram, on Pinterest, tiktok, and Facebook! And if you ever make any of my tasty drinks or treats, take a picture and tag me. I want to see!

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