Exploring 20 Types of Pumpkins

Do you prefer your pumpkins as pies or decorations? Different kinds of pumpkins have different uses. For cooking, look for sugar or pie pumpkins; for carving, choose big, smooth-skinned pumpkins. Some are fine for both. Pumpkins come in shades of white, orange, pink, blue, green and yellow, as minis or giants, and in round to squatty shapes.

Botanically speaking, pumpkins are fruits (Cucurbita); horticulturally, they're vegetables and a type of squash. There are five common kinds of pumpkins, or species: Ficifolia, Maxima, Moschata, Argyrosperma and Pepo.

We'll share all you need to know about these autumnal beauties. Learn when to plant, how to plant and how to grow pumpkins. Discover how to find a ripe pumpkin (tap it gently and listen for a hollow sound) and get tips on storing your pumpkins.

Browse our gallery of gourds (pumpkins are also a type of gourd) to find your favorites.

Bright orange 'Cherokee Bush' pumpkins with golden-yellow flesh grow on space-saving, compact bushes. Turn the 5 to 8-pound fruits into tasty pies or breads. These are classic carving pumpkins.

Grow 'Big Max' for a prizewinner at the fair; it can weigh up to 100 pounds and measure 70 inches in diameter. These monsters have bright orange skins and thick, yellow-orange flesh. Whether you buy or grow one, you'll have a big canvas to carve or decorate. Some cooks find them stringy and bland, but you can bake or roast them for eating.

Also called Musquee de Provence, 'Fairytale’ pumpkins are flattened and rounded, with peachy-orange skins that ripen to sienna. These French heirlooms have a sweet, orange flesh that’s good in soups and pies or sliced into wedges and roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper. The smooth skins have prominent ribs but they can be carved.

Spooky ‘Warty Goblin’ has dark green warts that stay green for weeks after harvest and then turn orange, like the hard, dark skins. These 8 to 20-pounders are frightfully fun to display, but their bumps make them tough to carve. Bake or cook the orange flesh for its sweet, nutty, mild flavor or roast the seeds.

Combine ‘Mellow Yellow’ with pumpkins in other colors, like orange, white or gray-blue, for a standout display. The slightly blocky fruits have light ribbing and mature at 10 to 18 pounds. Inside, the golden flesh is sweet and nutty, good for baking or roasting. Carve this 2025 variety for a unique Jack-O’-Lantern.

‘Jack Be Little’ pumpkins are small for carving, at just 3 to 4 inches across, but easy to paint, decorate or hollow out and fill with a small serving of custard or soup. To save space, grow one plant per five-gallon container and train it on a trellis.

Even if this French heirloom's name is hard to pronounce, 'Rouge Vif D'Etampes' deserves a spot in gardens, kitchens and decorations for its Cinderella-carriage shape and gorgeous red-orange color. Chefs use these 10 to 20-pound fruits with a sweet, mild, slightly fruity flavor in stocks. The skins are relatively smooth for carving, but the walls are thick. Try dressing them up with glitter or rhinestones instead.

Ghostly white ‘Super Moon’ pumpkins are slightly elongated, with smooth skins for carving or decorating and a yellow flesh that’s good for cooking. Fruits weigh 25 to 50 pounds each. Try stenciling these pale beauties for a different look.

Pumpkins with goosebumps are perfect for Halloween. Oval 'Zombie' has bumps and burnt orange skin. Puree the orange flesh for pies and other foods, or roast seeds from the guts for snacking (we’d say, ‘innards,’ but this is ‘Zombie,' after all). The pumpkins grow 25 to 30 pounds. Their bumps make them tricky to carve.

Nearly square ‘Porcelain Doll’ pumpkins are peachy-pink. These hybrids grow to 20 pounds; wait until they’re fully pink before harvesting. Use the sweet, deep orange flesh in pies, soups and other dishes. Not a typical carving pumpkin, it's better used in displays with fall leaves, flowers and gourds.

This heirloom pumpkin variety, 'New England Pie,' dates back to 1863. It's beloved for its dry, stringless flesh, which is fine-grained and yellow, and its sweet, nutty flavor makes delicious pies. The 4 to 6-pound fruits have dark orange skins and can serve as small jack-o-lanterns or other decorations.

‘Pepitas' F1, an All-America Selections Award winner, has naked or hulless seeds, also called pepitas. They're good for drying and eating raw, roasting or adding to salads and have a mild, nutty flavor and crunchy texture. You can also carve the 9 to 12-pound fruits, which have smooth, yellow-orange skins and green stripes.

Named for an Australian town, ‘Jarrahdale’ has blue-gray-green skin and sweet, stringless, orange flesh. This chunky pumpkin is heavily ribbed and keeps for months in storage. Cook it for pies, soups, stews and pancakes or display it as a beautiful decoration. It's not ideal for carving.

‘Large Marge’ makes an awesome Jack-O-Lantern, thanks to its blocky shape, strong stem and orange skin. At 30 to 40 pounds, it offers plenty of surface area for carving or decorating. Some sources say ‘Large Marge’ isn't good for eating because its flesh is stringy, watery and bland. Others puree the flesh, season it, and add it to foods to ramp up the nutritional content.

With 'Naked Bear' pumpkins, you can have your pie and a-O-Lantern, too. The dual-use, dark orange fruits mature at 2 to 4 pounds and have sweet, rich flesh and hulless, "bare-naked" seeds for eating. These squatty cuties also have stubby, thick stems.

Blue pumpkins are native to the Americas, but ‘Blue Doll’ is a hybrid that’s less common than its orange-y relatives. Flatter and blockier than traditional pumpkins, this blue-gray pumpkin has deep ribs and a sweet, orange flesh that's good in for soups, muffins and more. It tastes like a traditional pumpkin with a hint of honey. Carving the 20 to 24-pound fruits carving can be tricky, so paint or decorate them instead.

Over time, the dark green stripes on creamy-yellow 'Fireball' pumpkins mature to orange. These flattened, rounded pumpkins are slightly warty and grow to 9 pounds. Opinions are mixed about eating them; some appreciate their mild, slightly nutty flavor, but others say the stringy, yellow flesh can’t compare to pumpkins bred for culinary use. Carve them or use them in creative displays.

Add magic to your fall dishes or decor with 'Sorcerer,' an All-American Selections Award-winner. The round pumpkins weigh 15 to 20 pounds each and boast a rich orange color, heavy ribbing and sturdy stems. The relatively dry, thick flesh is easy to carve. While you can puree, bake or roast it, some cooks describe the flavor as subtle and sweet, while others find it bland.

'Jack Sprat' is considered a pie pumpkin for its flavorful, dark orange flesh, but you can also cut intricate designs in these deep orange, rounded fruits or turn them into small jack-o-lanterns. They have strong, well-embedded handles and light ribbing. This hybrid variety grows on semibush plants, so it's great for small gardens.