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Embrace November: Your Ultimate Guide to Seasonal Cooking, Fresh Produce & Meal Planning

Discover a wealth of inspiration and practical ideas for November seasonal cooking, including comprehensive lists of fresh produce to buy, clever ways to utilize pantry staples, and simple, delicious seasonal eating recipes perfect for your meal planning.

PLUS, download our free printable menu planning pages designed to help you effortlessly focus on cooking through the seasons, saving money, and enjoying food at its peak.

This article is an integral part of our year-long series dedicated to mastering seasonal cooking for each month. Our goal is to provide a valuable resource for smarter meal planning, significant cost savings, and promoting a more sustainable approach to food that benefits both your household and the environment.

Each installment of our seasonal cooking series offers:

A detailed overview of what produce is at its peak and readily available for that specific month.
Guidance on how to effectively use up items you may have stored in your freezer and pantry, especially if you actively preserve food.
Our favorite, tested recipes from An Oregon Cottage, designed to highlight seasonal produce and inspire your seasonal meal planning.
A complimentary printable weekly menu planner for the month, featuring dedicated sections to record your local seasonal ingredients and what you need to utilize from your existing stock!

You can easily access all the months of this comprehensive seasonal eating series here, ensuring you never miss a guide.

November heralds the true beginning of the holiday season, a time when robust seasonal produce truly takes center stage. Ingredients like versatile winter squash, sweet and comforting sweet potatoes, vibrant hearty greens, and tart cranberries become the stars of our kitchens, infusing warmth and flavor into every dish.

For those new to the concept, seasonal cooking means preparing meals using ingredients that are naturally ripe and harvested during a particular time of year in your local region. This approach offers numerous advantages:

Superior Taste and Quality: Produce picked at its peak ripeness, rather than forced to ripen during transport, offers unparalleled flavor and texture.
Enhanced Nutritional Value: Naturally ripened fruits and vegetables often boast higher nutrient content compared to those grown out of season.
Cost Savings: When produce is abundant, its supply is high, leading to lower prices. This makes seasonal eating inherently more budget-friendly.
Environmental Benefits: Buying seasonal, local produce reduces the carbon footprint associated with long-distance transportation and extensive greenhouse farming.
Support for Local Economies: Purchasing from farmers’ markets or stores that source locally helps sustain your community’s agricultural sector.

However, it’s important to approach “seasonal” eating with a mindful perspective. While the ideal is always fresh, local, and in-season, modern agriculture and global supply chains mean many items are available year-round. The key is to prioritize what’s truly thriving in November and supplement with high-quality preserved items, ensuring you get the best of both worlds.

Here are actionable tips to help you embrace more seasonal eating and effectively utilize this resource page alongside your free printable meal planner:

Tailor Your Menu: Use the curated lists of November produce and accompanying recipes to craft a menu that perfectly aligns with what you’re harvesting from your garden, discovering at local markets, or finding at its best in your supermarket. Adapt based on what’s genuinely available and appealing to you.
Prioritize Local Sources: Maximize freshness and support local economies by harvesting directly from your own garden or visiting bustling farmer’s markets. This is where you’ll find the freshest, most flavorful seasonal produce.
Smart Supermarket Shopping: When grocery shopping, consult these lists and pay close attention to sales in the produce aisle. Often, items that are in season will be significantly discounted, offering both quality and savings.
Embrace Culinary Adventure: Don’t be afraid to experiment! Challenge yourself to try new fruits, vegetables, or cooking methods that highlight November’s bounty. You might discover new family favorites.
Build Your Seasonal Repertoire: Keep a dedicated binder or digital folder for any new seasonal recipes you particularly enjoy. This creates a valuable collection that you can easily cycle through in subsequent seasons, streamlining future meal planning.

In today’s supermarkets, it’s remarkably easy to lose track of produce’s true seasonality since most items are stocked all year long. Our comprehensive resource article and the invaluable free printable weekly menu planning page are here to empower you:

Simply download your menu page, print it out, and use it as your essential tool to meticulously record the seasonal foods you need to utilize and purchase. It also provides space for outlining the delicious recipes you’ll prepare each week, making seasonal meal planning a breeze.

Note: If you’re already a valued subscriber, you can effortlessly locate this and many other exclusive resources within our VIP library!

November Seasonal Eating: Embracing the Harvest and Holiday Flavors

As November progresses, we observe a distinct shift in available produce. While you might still find some lingering summer-like delights at decent prices – such as vibrant colored peppers, ripe tomatoes, and sweet grapes – for the most part, these summer vegetables and fruits are gracefully winding down their season. In many northern gardens, they are non-existent, and stored summer produce is increasingly being used up.

This month presents a fantastic opportunity to finish off any tomatoes you might have ripening indoors, alongside any robust fall lettuces, crisp carrots, hardy kale, or flavorful cabbage that you started cultivating earlier in the summer. It’s a time to savor these last fresh tastes of the garden.

The colder weather of November naturally calls for warm, comforting dishes. Soups, stews, and convenient sheet pan dinners become culinary heroes, offering wonderful ways to use up those last odds and ends from the garden. These hearty meals provide the much-needed warmth and nourishment that are always so welcome as temperatures drop.

So, with summer behind us and winter on the horizon, what else do we embrace in our November cooking? Between the offerings at markets, the provisions in our pantries, and the treasures in our freezers, the answer is abundantly clear: A Lot!

Seasonal Produce for November: A Bounty of Freshness

November’s harvest is characterized by a wonderful array of robust fruits and grounding vegetables, perfect for preparing comforting meals that nourish the body and soul. This month truly showcases the bounty of the late fall and early winter, providing a diverse palette of flavors and textures for your culinary adventures.

Fruits That Are In Season: These fruits are typically at their sweetest and most flavorful in November, ideal for baking, snacking, and holiday preparations.

Apples: Crisp and versatile, perfect for pies, sauces, or simply eating fresh.
Cranberries: Tart and vibrant, a quintessential holiday fruit for sauces, baked goods, and festive drinks.
Figs: Sweet and tender, often enjoyed fresh or in desserts.
Grapes: Though winding down, some late-season varieties offer juicy sweetness.
Pears: Soft, fragrant, and excellent for baking or pairing with cheeses.
Plums: Late-season varieties can still be found, offering rich, deep flavors.
Pomegranates: Jewel-like seeds add a burst of flavor and color to salads and dishes.

Vegetables That Are In Season: Hearty and nutritious, these vegetables form the backbone of warming November meals, from roasting to stews and salads.

Beets: Earthy and sweet, wonderful roasted, pickled, or in salads.
Broccoli: Versatile and nutrient-rich, great steamed, roasted, or in stir-fries.
Cabbage: Crisp and robust, perfect for slaws, sautés, or hearty braises.
Carrots: Sweet and crunchy, excellent in soups, roasts, or as a side dish.
Cauliflower: Adaptable and mild, can be roasted, mashed, or added to curries.
Celery: Aromatic and crunchy, essential for stocks, soups, and salads.
Chard: Leafy and nutritious, a great addition to sautés and frittatas.
Kale: Hardy and healthy, ideal for massaged salads, sautés, or smoothies.
Lettuce & greens: Many cool-weather varieties are still thriving, offering fresh crunch.
Mushrooms: Earthy and savory, excellent in stews, sautés, or as a topping.
Onions & Leeks: Fundamental aromatics for countless dishes, providing depth of flavor.
Peas (fall): Some regions may have a late fall harvest of sweet peas.
Parsnips: Sweet and subtly spicy, fantastic roasted with other root vegetables.
Potatoes: A staple, perfect for mashing, roasting, baking, or frying.
Radish: Offers a peppery bite, good in salads or as a garnish.
Spinach: Quick-cooking and nutrient-packed, wonderful in sautés, eggs, or pasta.
Sweet Potatoes: Naturally sweet and vibrant, excellent roasted, mashed, or in casseroles.
Turnips/Rutabagas: Root vegetables offering a slightly peppery, earthy flavor, great for roasting or mashing.
Winter Squash & Pumpkins: Butternut, acorn, spaghetti squash, and pumpkins are iconic for November, perfect for roasting, soups, or baking.

Preserved Seasonal Food From The Freezer and Pantry: November is also an opportune time to tap into your pantry and freezer, utilizing the preserved bounty from earlier in the year. These items complement fresh produce beautifully and help reduce waste.

Tomato products: From homemade Roasted Tomato Sauce to savory Addictive Chutney, canned plain tomatoes, seasoned sauces, pizza sauce, and vibrant salsa – these add summer brightness to fall dishes.
Frozen corn and green beans: Convenient additions to casseroles, soups, and side dishes.
Frozen berries: A delightful burst of summer for smoothies, muffins, or desserts (hello, smoothies!).
Pickled canned foods: Tangy cucumbers, crisp beans, and delicate asparagus can add a bright, acidic counterpoint to rich dishes.
Sauces and condiments: Flavorful Plum sauce, zesty Tomato Chutney, aromatic Rhubarb Chutney, and homemade jams elevate many meals.
Oil-packed dried tomatoes: Concentrated flavor bombs perfect for pasta, salads, or appetizers.
Zucchini Freezer Muffins and No-Fail Zucchini Bread, along with Zucchini Meatballs: Excellent for quick breakfasts, snacks, or light meals.
Chopped, frozen hot peppers and sweet peppers: A convenient way to add spice and color to almost any dish.
Stored garden potatoes: Perfect for hearty sides or as a base for many main courses.
Dried plums: A sweet and chewy addition to snacks, baking, or savory dishes.

PRO TIP: Maximize your efficiency and minimize food waste! Use the provided planning page to meticulously record how many preserved foods you currently have stored. Prioritize using these items up as soon as possible, creating valuable space and readiness for the abundance of the new season’s produce.

Seasonal Eating Recipes for November: Hearty & Flavorful Meals

As the days grow shorter and the air turns crisp, November calls for dishes that offer warmth, comfort, and deep, satisfying flavors. These recipes are designed to highlight the best of the season’s produce while offering ease and deliciousness for your family meals.

Sheet Pan Lemon-Garlic Roasted Chicken & Vegetables

The return of consistently cooler weather means we can happily turn our ovens on again without overheating the house – and that brings back the joy of easy, one-pan sheet pan meals! This recipe is a true weeknight hero. While simple chicken and veggies might sound basic, tossing them in a vibrant lemon-garlic mixture transforms this dish into anything but simple in flavor. It’s incredibly adaptable; feel free to swap in any of November’s root vegetables like carrots, potatoes, parsnips, or even Brussels sprouts for a truly seasonal feast.

Bacon Caesar Slaw

This inspired twist on a classic Caesar salad might just be one of my better culinary ideas! Replacing traditional romaine with crisp, hearty cabbage and adding smoky bacon creates a side dish that’s incredibly satisfying and packed with flavor. When my family spots this Bacon Caesar Slaw on the menu, they know it’s going to be a very good day indeed. It’s the perfect accompaniment to richer November main courses.

Cheesy Baked Pasta

Nothing says comfort quite like a warm, cheesy baked pasta dish, and this recipe delivers in spades. What makes this version stand out is how the delicious cheese is layered throughout, ensuring every single bite is gooey and satisfying. So, you never have to worry about missing out on that perfect cheesy pull in your serving (we know how important that is, right?). It’s an easy, family-friendly meal that’s ideal for a chilly November evening.

The BEST French Beef Stew

I confidently include “best” in the title of this stew because, honestly, once you experience its rich, deep flavors, you might never reach for another beef stew recipe again. This is the epitome of cold-weather comfort food, slow-cooked to perfection. The secret lies in the harmonious blend of smoky bacon and a generous splash of red wine, which together create an unparalleled depth of flavor that is truly irresistible. Serve it over creamy mashed potatoes for an utterly soul-warming meal.

Quick Sausage & Kale (or Chard) Frittata

This versatile frittata is equally delightful whether served for a hearty breakfast, a satisfying lunch, or a light dinner. It’s a genuine 20-30 minute meal that expertly features readily available seasonal produce like kale or chard, combined with easy-to-find pantry staples. Its quick preparation makes it perfect for busy weeknights. Need it to be plant-based? Simply omit the sausage or substitute it with your favorite plant-based protein like crumbled tofu for an equally delicious result!

Big Crumb Topped Apple Pie (Freeze and Bake!)

As November brings us closer to the heart of the holiday season, this Big Crumb Topped Apple Pie stands out as a quintessential dessert. It’s a truly perfect make-ahead option for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any special event where you want to showcase the season’s magnificent apples. The crumb topping adds a delightful texture, complementing the sweet-tart apple filling beautifully. The ability to freeze and bake later makes holiday meal prep significantly less stressful.

What are your go-to dishes and favorite ingredients to cook with during the wonderful month of November? Share your seasonal culinary traditions and ideas with us!

Originally published in November of 2011, this article has been completely updated to be more relevant and useful for today’s seasonal cook – we hope you enjoy the refreshed content and enhanced tips!