Cooking with the season in autumn means moving from the raw, cold food of summer towards warm, slower dishes built on what's being harvested now: pumpkins and squash, root vegetables, mushrooms, cabbages, apples, pears, chestnuts and nuts. In practice that means more soups and braises, more roasting, cooked grains and porridges for breakfast, and a little batch cooking at the weekend. Seasonal produce tastes better and is usually cheaper, and cooking this way is simple once you have a handful of dishes to rotate.
Here's what to buy, how to cook it, a simple weekly plan, and how one of the world's oldest seasonal traditions thinks about autumn food.
What's in season in autumn
Exact timing depends on where you live. In much of Europe and North America, autumn runs from September to November. In the southern hemisphere it falls between March and May. Broadly, you can expect:
| Group | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Vegetables | Pumpkin and squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, beetroot, celeriac, leeks, cabbage, kale, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts |
| Fungi | Wild and cultivated mushrooms; dried shiitake come into their own for broths |
| Fruit | Apples, pears, quinces, plums, figs, grapes, persimmons, pomegranates |
| Nuts and seeds | Chestnuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds |
| Store cupboard | Lentils, beans, barley, millet, rice, oats |
How autumn cooking changes
Roast more
A hot oven is autumn's best friend. Cut squash, carrots, beetroot and onions into similar-sized pieces, toss them with oil and salt, and roast at around 200°C (180°C fan) until caramelised at the edges. Roast a full tray and you have the base of several meals.
Braise and simmer
This is the season for dishes that look after themselves: bean stews, mushroom braises and pots of soup. A heavy pot or a clay pot on a low flame, left alone for an hour, does most of the work.
Make soup a habit
Autumn vegetables were made for soup, whether it's a smooth pumpkin soup, a chunky minestrone, a clear mushroom broth or a lentil soup that's almost a stew. For inspiration from other kitchens, try our tour of soups of the world in 15 bowls.
Warm breakfasts
When mornings turn cold, porridge comes back, from oats to millet to rice. A pot of congee with a few slices of ginger, or a bowl of oats with poached pear and walnuts, is a good way to start an autumn day.
Keep some freshness
Autumn food can easily turn heavy and brown. Balance it with something crisp on the side: a shredded cabbage and apple slaw, a quick pickle, a handful of fresh herbs, or a squeeze of lemon over a braise. Raw pear with bitter leaves and toasted walnuts makes a very good autumn salad. The Chinese kitchen does the same thing, pairing a rich braise with a clean stir-fried green or a light clear soup, so that every meal has some contrast.
How the Chinese tradition sees autumn
Seasonal eating is central to the Chinese tradition of yang sheng, or "nourishing life". In Traditional Chinese Medicine, autumn is associated with dryness and with the lungs. So the tradition favours foods it regards as "moistening" for this time of year: pears, white fungus (tremella), lily bulb, lotus root, sesame, honey and persimmons. These are simmered into sweet soups, stirred into porridges and cooked gently with vegetables. It's worth being clear that this is cultural tradition and philosophy, not proven medical effect, and it isn't medical advice. As a way to cook, though, it produces some of the most delicate dishes of the year.
Autumn is also a season of festivals. The Mid-Autumn Festival, on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, is celebrated with mooncakes eaten under the full moon. Harvest festivals around the world mark the same moment: the turn from growing food to storing it.
Our book Yang Sheng has a chapter devoted to eating with the seasons, and its autumn dishes, all plant-based, show the idea at its best:
- Autumn Mushroom Clay Pot: shiitake, enoki and oyster mushrooms with cabbage and tofu in a gentle broth.
- Snow Pear and Tremella Dessert Soup: the classic autumn sweet soup, light and fragrant.
- Stir-Fried Lily Bulb with Celery and Pear: crisp, clean and very quick.
- Persimmon and Rice Porridge: a sweet, seasonal breakfast.
A simple autumn week
You don't need a rigid meal plan. This is a flexible pattern that uses a little weekend preparation to make weekday cooking easy.
At the weekend (about 90 minutes)
- Roast two trays of mixed autumn vegetables.
- Cook a large pot of grains, such as barley, brown rice or millet.
- Make a big pot of soup or vegetable stock.
- Poach a few pears or bake apples for easy desserts.
During the week
| Day | Dinner |
|---|---|
| Monday | Soup from the weekend pot, with good bread |
| Tuesday | Roasted vegetables and grains with a tahini or soy-sesame dressing |
| Wednesday | A mushroom and tofu clay pot or braise with rice |
| Thursday | Lentil or bean stew with greens |
| Friday | Stir-fried cabbage or kale with garlic and ginger, noodles and a fried egg or tofu |
| Saturday | Roast squash stuffed with grains, nuts and herbs |
| Sunday | A slow braise for the table, with leftovers for Monday |
Buy one "project" ingredient a week. A whole pumpkin, a bag of chestnuts, a box of quinces. Plan two or three dishes around it. It stops seasonal shopping from becoming overwhelming and makes sure nothing goes to waste.
An autumn shopping list
- A whole squash or pumpkin. It keeps for weeks in a cool place.
- Onions, garlic, fresh ginger, the base of almost everything.
- Mushrooms, fresh, plus a bag of dried shiitake for broths.
- A cabbage, the most economical vegetable of the season.
- Pears and apples for breakfast, desserts and even stir-fries.
- Chestnuts, vacuum-packed ready-cooked ones for convenience.
- Walnuts and pumpkin seeds for texture.
- Lentils, beans and a whole grain for stews and bowls.
To find recipes by ingredient, try the recipe finder with "pumpkin", "chestnut" or "pear".
Questions people ask
Why eat seasonally?
Seasonal produce is usually at its best in flavour and price, and eating with the seasons naturally brings variety to your cooking through the year. Many food traditions, including the Chinese practice of yang sheng, are built around it.
What vegetables are best in autumn?
Pumpkins and squash, sweet potatoes, root vegetables such as carrots, parsnips and beetroot, leeks, cabbages, kale and mushrooms are all at their best in autumn in most temperate climates.
What does Traditional Chinese Medicine say about autumn food?
The tradition links autumn with dryness and favours foods it considers moistening, such as pears, white fungus, lily bulb, lotus root and sesame, often cooked into soups and porridges. These are cultural beliefs rather than proven medical effects.
How can I make autumn cooking quicker on weeknights?
Spend an hour or so at the weekend roasting vegetables, cooking a pot of grains and making soup. Most weeknight dinners then take 15 to 20 minutes to assemble.