Peak fall harvest means hyper-flavorful, dirt-cheap produce. If you want to bypass winter grocery inflation and eat like royalty without spending a fortune, now is the time to freeze, can, or stash these essentials.
1. Applesauce
Don’t sleep on autumn apples. Load up while they’re overflowing at the market and whip up a batch of homemade applesauce on the stove or in your slow cooker. Pro tip: If you can get your hands on cheap pears, pear sauce is elite and just as easy. Can or freeze your stash for shelf-stable or frost-locked storage.
2. Fruit Butter
Transform apples, pears, or pumpkins into next-level homemade fruit butter with minimal hands-on effort using your slow cooker. Can or freeze the finished product to enjoy down the road, but definitely taste-test some right now—warm fruit butter on fresh biscuits is unmatched.
3. Jams & Jellies
Turn seasonal grapes, apples, and pears into custom, small-batch jams and jellies. Can an extra batch now, and you’ve basically automated your holiday gift-giving with zero last-minute panic.
4. Pumpkin Puree
Skip the canned stuff and roast a batch of pumpkins or butternut squash for fresh puree. It freezes like a dream and powers everything from cozy soups to fall baking. Note: Home canning pumpkin or butternut squash puree isn’t safe (even with pressure canning), so freezing is your only move here.
5. Nuts
Fill your freezer with seasonal nuts before retail prices skyrocket for the holidays. Check out local trees, ask friends and neighbors, or go foraging for chestnuts, pecans, and walnuts. Warning: Never leave raw nuts in your pantry—they go rancid or buggy fast. Stashing them in the freezer locks in freshness, and you can grab a handful whenever you need them with zero thawing required.
6. Mushrooms
Whether you forage them or grab them on sale, mushrooms prep for the freezer in under 10 minutes of quick chopping and cooking. Future-you will thank you when risotto season hits.
7. Fresh Fruits
Store-bought canned fruit is loaded with sketchy sugars and zero flavor. DIY your own jars of canned apple and pear slices so you never have to settle for mid-tier snacks. Use water-bath canning for shelf-stable jars or just toss them in the freezer. More Fall Fruits to Stock Up On: Raspberries, grapes, blackberries (region dependent).
8. Fresh Vegetables
Potatoes, leafy greens, and carrots are having a major moment in the fall. Load up on your go-tos, then can, freeze, or root-cellar them to keep your kitchen stocked year-round. Quick Guides: How to cure onions, potatoes, or garlic, and choosing the best storage potatoes.
9. Fresh Herbs
Raid your garden for the final herb harvest before the first frost. They freeze and dry brilliantly for long-term storage. Put up enough to get you through the winter so you never have to endure dropping $4 on a tiny bottle of dried herbs at the store. Quick Guide: How to store fresh herbs.
10. Broth
Stop throwing away veggie scraps. Save your onion peels, carrot tops, and potato skins in a freezer bag, then turn them into a rich vegetable broth. Or, hoard your scraps until Thanksgiving and make an epic turkey stock.
11. Meat
If you hunt (or have a hookup), fall is prime time to score free turkey, venison, and duck for the freezer. If not, capitalize on massive post-Thanksgiving sales to stock up on deeply discounted turkey and ham. Toss them in the freezer and swap them in for expensive lunchmeats all season long.
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