Yellow pumpkins are select cultivars of round Curcubita with yellow rinds. Yellow pumpkins range from bright and cheery modern hybrids like Mellow Yellow pumpkin and Sunlight pumpkin to dusky tan heirlooms like Seminole pumpkins and Long Island Cheese pumpkins. There are mini types and huge varieties to choose from!
1. Mellow Yellow pumpkin
Mellow Yellow Pumpkin is a medium-large carving pumpkin with a bright yellow peel. Ripe pumpkins weigh 18-22 pounds, with slightly ribbed sides and a classic rounded shape. Mellow Yellow pumpkin vines are very resistant to powdery mildew and are reliable in the garden.
2. Yellow of Paris pumpkin
Yellow Of Paris Pumpkin (Jaune Gros De Paris) is a large, yellow heirloom pumpkin variety from France. These big yellow pumpkins typically weigh 40-50 pounds but can grow to reach over 100 pounds in good conditions. While this heirloom is beautiful, it is known mainly for its tender, sweet, cooked flesh. Use this pumpkin variety in pies, soups, or baked goods like pumpkin bread.
3. Sunlight pumpkin
Sunlight Pumpkin is a small bright and cheery yellow pumpkin. These 4-6 pound pumpkins are gorgeous ornamentals. The hybrid plants are disease and pest-resistant, making them a great choice if you’re looking for a dependable producer.
4. Seminole pumpkin
Seminole Pumpkin is a small tan heirloom pumpkin from the Everglades (Florida, USA). These pumpkins vary in shape, from little round 2-pound pumpkins to 8-pound butternut-shaped fruits. Originally cultivated by the Seminole people, these pumpkins grow well hanging from trellises, fences, or even trees. Seminole pumpkins are well known for both their resistance to heat and humidity and for their delicious, smooth taste when cooked.
5. Long Island Cheese pumpkin
Long Island Cheese Pumpkin is a medium-sized, tan heirloom pumpkin cultivar from Long Island (NY, USA). These pumpkins have a pale pastel creamy-yellow rind, rather like a big wheel of cheese. Each pumpkin weighs in the range of 6-10 pounds. This variety is popular for pies and is also a great long-term storage pumpkin.
6. Fairytale pumpkin
Musquée de Provence Pumpkin (Fairytale Pumpkin) is a medium-large, dusky-tan heirloom pumpkin variety from France. Pumpkins of this variety have deep, chunky ribs and a matte rind. Ripe pumpkins weigh 15-20 pounds. Due to their large size, this variety is generally sold in pre-cut wedges in markets in its home region of southern France. Like many other heirloom pumpkins, the Fairytale/Musquée de Provence makes a fantastic cooking pumpkin (along with being pretty to look at).
7. Blaze pumpkin
Blaze Pumpkins are bright yellow mini pumpkins with bright orange vertical stripes. The compact plants are disease-resistant and very productive. Ripe Blaze pumpkins weigh about 3 pounds each.
8. Cherokee Tan pumpkin
Cherokee Tan Pumpkin is a tan, dusky-yellow colored heirloom pumpkin originally cultivated in the Appalachians by the Cherokee People. Plants are extremely resistant to disease and to harsh, hot summer conditions. Ripe Cherokee Tan Pumpkins weigh 3-4 pounds, with each plant producing 10-15 pumpkins.
9. Pepitas pumpkin
Pepitas Pumpkins are medium-sized round yellow pumpkins with mottled green stripes down the sides. This hybrid variety is known for its delicious pumpkin seeds, which don’t have tough hulls around them. Ripe Pepitas pumpkins weigh 9-12 pounds and are great for both ornamental purposes and for cooking. Plants are resistant to powdery mildew. The Pepitas Pumpkin was named an All-America Selections winner in 2016.
10. Hooligan pumpkin
Hooligan Pumpkin is a mini hybrid pumpkin with a yellow rind and yellow mottled striping down the ribs. Hooligan mini pumpkins are highly ornamental but are also edible. Each ripe pumpkin weighs only a quarter pound, with a width of 3″-4″ across.
11. American Tondo pumpkin
American Tondo Pumpkin is a medium-sized round pumpkin with a yellow rind and mottled green stripes. Ripe pumpkins weigh about 8-12 pounds and are excellent for cooking. The fruits are nicely ribbed and highly ornamental.
12. Bad Jelly pumpkin
Bad Jelly Pumpkin is a medium-sized pale yellow hybrid pumpkin with a warted rind. Ripe fruits weigh 12-16 pounds. These pumpkins take about three months to mature on the vine.
13. Yuxi Jiang Bing Gua squash
Yuxi Jiang Bing Gua Squash is a small-medium rounded, deeply ribbed squash with a dusky yellow color when ripe. This versatile fruit can be enjoyed when tender and green or can be left to mature on the vine into yellow-rind winter squash. Ripe Yuxi Jiang Bing Gua Squash weighs in the range of 3-8 pounds.
14. Moranga pumpkin
Moranga pumpkin is a small-medium peach-colored Brazilian heirloom pumpkin cultivar. Young fruits are bright yellow, maturing to a ripe tan-peach color. These 4-8 pound pumpkins have deep ribs and are prized as ornamentals. They also make wonderful cooking pumpkins and are great in soups and stews.
15. Spark pumpkin
Spark Pumpkin is a hybrid ornamental mini pumpkin with yellow skin and orange stripes. Each pumpkin weighs about a 1/2 pound. Spark pumpkins are similar to Hooligan pumpkins but tend to be a bit smaller, and the plants are somewhat more productive.
16. Autumn Colors Cushaw pumpkin
Autumn Colors Cushaw Pumpkins are uniquely shaped hybrid pumpkins with an elongated “neck” and a yellow and green rind with white stripes. Ripe squash weighs 4-10 pounds each. The plants are long vining and vigorous.
17. Lil Pump-Ke-Mon pumpkin
Lil Pump-Ke-Mon Pumpkin is an adorable hybrid mini pumpkin with white rinds streaked with a cheery yellow-orange. Ripe pumpkins weigh 1-2 pounds each. The plants are vigorous and resistant to disease.
18. Winter Luxury pumpkin
Winter Luxury Pumpkin is a medium-sized, tan heirloom North American pumpkin cultivar. These pumpkins grow to reach 6-8 pounds when ripe and are known for both their pale, rough rind and incredibly sweet, smooth flesh. Winter Luxury remains a sought-after pie pumpkin for bakers.
19. Autumn Crown pumpkin
Autumn Crown Pumpkin is a small hybrid version of the heirloom Long Island Cheese Pumpkin. The pumpkins have a tan-buff color and weigh 2-4 pounds each when ripe. They have a flattened shape and high-quality culinary flesh.
20. Millionaire squash
Millionaire Squash is a round, yellow, pumpkin-like fruit that is actually a spaghetti squash. These cheery yellow and orange fruits make wonderful yellow pumpkins in fall displays, but can also be used as culinary spaghetti squash.