10 Healthy Fall Foods — and the Best Ways to Eat Them

There may be no fruit more popular during the fall season than apples — and they’re hard to miss, with so many colorful varieties to choose from. Luckily, you can enjoy this seasonal favorite knowing they come with a bushel of nutrition.

A medium apple has almost 4.8 grams (g) of fiber, which gives you around 17 percent of your DV in 104 calories, according to the USDA. Pro tip: “It’s recommended to leave the skin on, as it contains a lot of the fiber found in apples as well as polyphenols,” says Al Bochi. In addition to fiber, the University of Illinois notes that the skin delivers a lot of the fruit's vitamin C (per medium apple, you get 9.2 milligrams (mg), or about 10 percent of the DV). Research published in June 2020 in Separation and Purification Technology confirms that the skin contains polyphenols, which are beneficial compounds found in plant-based foods.

Among those benefits are a lower risk for heart disease and type 2 diabetes, per the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, along with repaired lung damage from smoking, according to research published in the European Respiratory Journal in 2017. Further, a study published in August 2020 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that polyphenols called flavonoids, which are found in apples as well as berries and green tea, may lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Each time you visit the store, pick up a different variety to discover new flavors and textures. Some farmers grow apples that are designed to keep for several months, which makes them easier to store in your home and enjoy into the winter, says Cooley. You may also want to consider buying organic — one study, published in July 2019 in Frontiers in Microbiology, found that organic apples may contain more good-for-you gut bacteria than conventionally grown apples.

As for how to eat them, take your pick. “They are tasty on their own and crunchy,” Al Bochi says. “An apple dipped in almond butter is delicious.” They also can be added to salads or oatmeal, or made into applesauce for a delicious snack.

People overlook pears, but they deserve more love. These juicy fruits are similar to apples in nutrition but have even more filling fiber. A medium pear has an impressive 5.5 g of fiber (which is about 20 percent of your DV, making it an excellent source), according to the USDA, and it’s just 101 calories.

You’ll also score almost 8 mg of vitamin C (about 9 percent of your DV) and 206 mg of potassium (which is about 4 percent of your DV), in a medium pear, according to the USDA. Potassium is crucial for helping your cells function at their best, notes Harvard Health Publishing: Potassium regulates the heart and keeps your muscles and nerves working as they should.

A small study published in February 2019 in Food & Function found that when study participants with metabolic syndrome — a cluster of conditions including diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity — ate two pears daily, they experienced improved heart health and other important health markers. Pears’ fiber likely played a role: The Mayo Clinic notes that high-fiber diets are tied to better heart health and a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.

When you’re out shopping for pears, you can buy them when they’re pretty hard and let them soften up over a few days, Cooley advises. Add a dash of sweetness to salads by tossing in some pear slices or bring a touch of fall flavor to the breakfast table by adding pears to your muffin or scone recipes. “When ripe, their juicy nature makes them a great addition to salads and sparkling water refreshers,” adds Retelny. They also make a lovely and healthy dessert when poached.

With their eye-catching red hue, cranberries are a quintessential holiday fruit you can showcase in a variety of dishes. “There are many ways to use cranberries aside from a Thanksgiving cranberry sauce,” Al Bochi says.

And furthermore, fresh cranberries are a nutritious choice. According to the USDA, a half cup of chopped cranberries contains about 2 g of fiber, which is about 7 percent of your DV. You also score some vitamin C — about 7.5 mg per half cup, which is 8.5 percent of your DV. These numbers make cranberries a heart-healthy food, one that may improve blood pressure and cholesterol, per the American Heart Association.

The anthocyanins that give these little red fruits their signature color may reduce oxidative stress, according to the University of Massachusetts in Dartmouth. When your body is exposed to harmful chemicals (like smoke and sunlight), it produces free radicals, and too many free radicals in your body can cause oxidative stress, which is tied to a number of diseases, like Alzheimer’s and diabetes, according to the Mayo Clinic. One study, published in May 2022 in the journal Frontiers, found that participants who took a daily cranberry supplement (which is equal to about 1 cup of cranberries) for 12 weeks improved study participants’ memory and also lowered their LDL cholesterol.

Ready to get cooking with cranberries? They’re a great ingredient for amping up desserts, pancakes, and oatmeal, and an easy way to liven up grain-based dishes like quinoa and brown rice with a fall twist.

If they're available, opt for fresh over dried cranberries. Sweetened dried cranberries have more calories — you get 25 calories for each half cup of raw cranberries compared with 246 per half cup of dried, according to the USDA. You also get less vitamin C — just 0.1 mg in the same portion. And the sugar is significantly higher when you go dried — 58 g of sugar per half cup, compared with 2.4 g per the same measure of raw cranberries. You can cut back on some sugar by buying unsweetened dried cranberries.

Don’t let the name confuse you — the term "winter squash" encompasses any squash harvested in the fall, such as spaghetti squash, acorn squash, and butternut squash, according to Michigan State University. And it’s hard to go wrong when you’re buying any of these types, because winter squash keeps well and is pretty consistent in flavor, Cooley says.

Nutritionally speaking, this seasonal staple has a lot going for it. “Butternut, spaghetti, and acorn squashes are best in the fall, and they are loaded with beta-carotene, vitamin A, magnesium, potassium, and fiber,” says Retelny.

Squash is downright packed with beta-carotene: There are 5,920 micrograms (mcg) of beta-carotene in 1 cup of butternut squash per the USDA. This plant pigment, which gives squash its orange hue, according to the Cleveland Clinic, is converted by the body into vitamin A, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Vitamin A is beneficial for immunity and eye health, and is important to maintain the heart, lungs, and kidneys, notes the NIH. With 1 cup of butternut squash, you get 745 mcg, which is almost 83 percent of your DV, making it an excellent source.

A cup of cubed butternut squash is also a good source of several nutrients, including fiber, with 2.8 g, as well as magnesium and potassium, according to the USDA.

Cut butternut or acorn squash into chunks and roast them for a hearty side dish. “I love roasting, grilling, steaming, and mashing squash,” says Retelny.

The Halloween staple is good for more than just carving and seasonal decor. Like other squash, pumpkin contains beta-carotene, which is converted into vitamin A, in which form it provides your body with lots of health perks. A cup of cubed raw pumpkin gives you 3,600 mcg of beta-carotene, according to the USDA. You’ll also get 494 mcg of vitamin A in total per cup, making it an excellent source.

Pumpkin also delivers vitamin C, providing 10.4 mg per cup, which is almost 12 percent of your DV, making it a good source. Canned pureed pumpkin can be nutritious too, as long as it doesn’t contain added sugar. One cup gives you 7.1 g of fiber, according to the USDA, racking up 26 percent of your DV and making it an excellent source.

When shopping for pumpkin, know that the bigger ones are stringy and have less flavor, so choose small pumpkins for cooking, Cooley says. She slices pumpkins in half, removes the seeds, roasts them face down on a baking sheet until they’re soft, and scoops out the flesh to puree. She stores the puree in the freezer for later use. It’s great for making pancakes, burgers, and even pizza! (Cooley's homemade puree is a little runnier than what you get in a can, so if you’re making bread, she recommends adding more flour until the dough is the right consistency.)

“Pumpkin puree can be used in muffins, in oatmeal, in dips — like a pumpkin bean dip — and the pumpkin seeds are a great snack,” says Al Bochi. (Try this Mediterranean diet–inspired pumpkin and white bean hummus from Minimalist Baker!)

Just beware of packaged pumpkin treats and goodies that tout pumpkin flavor — they could just be desserts with flavoring (and not whole, nutritious pumpkin), notes Baylor University.

Leeks are a flavorful but milder alternative to onions and can be used interchangeably in everything from breakfast casseroles to lasagna. “Leeks can be sautéed and added to stir-fries, soups, or stuffing, and they have a mild onion flavor,” says Al Bochi.

Also like onions, leeks have plenty of nutrients in each bite. “Leeks are a nutritious, healthy fall food. They are high in flavonoids, specifically kaempferol, which offers a protective effect against heart disease,” says Al Bochi, and research supports this. A review published in August 2019 in Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine touts kaempferol’s anti-inflammatory properties and ability to stave off certain diseases.

In addition, according to the USDA, 1 cup of leeks gives you about 1.6 g of fiber and only 54 calories. You’ll also get about 1,690 mcg of lutein and zeaxanthin, making leeks a good source of these antioxidants, which may help prevent eye disease, including cataracts and age-related macular degeneration, according to the American Optometric Association.

There’s other promising research on leeks, too. One study published in October 2019 in the Asia-Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology found that allium vegetables, which include leeks and onions, may lower the risk of colorectal cancer. You will see piles of leeks in your local grocery store and farmers market during the fall. Look for crisp stalks and make sure to clean them well before cooking, because they usually have some soil on the inside, Cooley advises.

According to the USDA, 1 cup of cooked Brussels sprouts contains 4 g of fiber, which is 14 percent of your DV, making it a good source. Brussels sprouts are a member of the cruciferous family: “There’s tons of evidence to back up the cancer-fighting properties of cruciferous vegetables like Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and cauliflower,” says Retelny. “They contain metabolites called glucosinolates, which have been shown to have cancer-preventive properties,” she adds. One review of research, published in November 2018 in the journal Molecules, notes that the compounds in cruciferous vegetables may prevent the growth of cancer cells.

Best right after the first frost, Brussels sprouts are one of the fall's most underrated delights. How you cook them, though, is key. “I used to think Brussels sprouts were gross, but it turns out, I just hadn't had them prepared properly,” says Anne Mauney, MPH, RD, a blogger at FannetasticFood.com based in Alexandria, Virginia, who recommends her Miso & Honey Roasted Brussels Sprouts recipe.

“If you think Brussels sprouts are bland and mushy, you've probably only had them boiled or steamed,” says Mauney. “I highly recommend roasting Brussels sprouts to make them as delicious as possible — they will come out crisp and caramelized but will still be a healthy vegetable side full of fiber and antioxidants.” An article published in December 2017 in Preventive Nutrition and Food Science backs up this suggestion, noting that while any type of cooking may diminish the antioxidant properties of cruciferous veggies like Brussels sprouts, it won’t eliminate them and can make these foods more palatable.

To prep the sprouts, trim the bottom end, cut them in half, and toss with olive oil and sliced onions. Then spread them on a baking sheet and roast them at 400 degrees for 40 minutes. They are great as a side dish, or you can get creative and use them as an unexpected pizza topping.

“Sweet potatoes are a really nutritious and delicious choice any time of the year, but they are especially perfect in the fall when they are in season,” says Mauney.

This starchy comfort food comes with many health perks. “Sweet potatoes contain a lot of nutrients — fiber, vitamin A, and vitamin C just to name a few,” says Mauney. In fact, a medium sweet potato packs 3.6 g of fiber (so 13 percent of your DV, making it a good source), according to the USDA. The same portion has 1,150 mcg of vitamin A (which is over 100 percent of your DV, so easily an excellent source) and 18.2 mg of vitamin C (which is 20 percent of your DV, making it an excellent source as well), according to the USDA.

Serve up a colorful side dish by slicing a variety of potatoes into cubes (we like a mixture of red, white, and sweet potatoes), tossing them with olive oil and garlic, and roasting them in the oven.

And you can’t go wrong with baked sweet potato fries — Mauney's go-to is this Mexican-style baked version.

This root vegetable, similar to a carrot in texture, becomes sweeter as it’s exposed to cold weather, so fall is a great time to experiment with it in the kitchen.

According to the USDA, 1 cup of sliced parsnips provides 6.5 g of fiber, for 24 percent your DV; 30 mcg of vitamin K (which helps your blood to clot and keeps your bones healthy, the NIH notes), for 25 percent of your DV; and 22.6 mg of vitamin C, for 25 percent of your DV — making parsnips an excellent source of all these nutrients.

Parsnips also contain 89 mcg of folate per cup, according to the USDA, which is about 22 percent of your DV — thus an excellent source for this B vitamin as well. Folate is needed for your cells to divide and for your body to make DNA, according to the NIH.

It’s important for women to get enough folate if they are looking to become pregnant or are pregnant, to prevent neural tube defects in babies, the NIH notes (pregnant women have a higher recommended daily allowance recommendation, at 600 mcg, compared with 400 mcg for other adults).

Raw, the veggie adds a sweet crunch to salads; cooked parsnips are a tasty addition to soups, stews, and stir-fries or can be enjoyed simply roasted with olive oil. Or mix things up and use parsnips in place of potatoes for an unexpected take on french fries.

Broccoli, along with cauliflower, is abundant in the fall and perfect for steaming, roasting, or adding to stir-fries. Broccoli can be used as a base for soup as a great way to mix up the typical side of veggies, especially if certain members of the family aren’t crazy about the vegetable’s texture.

A cup of chopped broccoli gives you 2.3 g of fiber (for 8 percent of your DV), 78.5 mg of vitamin C (a whopping 90 percent of your DV, making it an excellent source), and 92.8 mcg of vitamin K (for about 77 percent of your DV, making it another excellent source), according to the USDA.

“Plus, they contain a cancer-fighting compound called sulforaphane,” says Retelny. MD Anderson Cancer Center confirms that this nutrient found in broccoli may protect against certain cancers. Researchers are even looking into whether sulforaphane may be used as a cancer therapy, per a study published in March 2018 in the Journal of Cell Communication and Signaling.

As for how to bring out the best flavors of broccoli? “I love to steam or roast broccoli and cauliflower because it brings out the nutritional value, and they taste great drizzled with olive oil, a hint of salt and pepper, and a sprinkle of garlic or curry powder,” Retelny adds.

Additional reporting by Brianna Steinhilber.