October 24, 2024
Customers crave fresh ingredients and innovative dishes. Incorporating seasonal fall tastes into your menu can entice guests to your door. Want to learn more about trending seasonal foods and how to punch up your menu? Read on for more.
5 Top Autumn Trending Ingredients
As fall approaches, it’s time to embrace the season’s harvest and add some warm, rich flavors to your menu. From earthy root vegetables to squashes, leafy greens, and cozy spices, celebrate fall’s bounty with these four ingredients.
1. Winter Squash
People think of squash, especially pumpkin when they think of fall. Pumpkin spice flavors can be found everywhere, so bringing hearty squash to your menu can help capitalize on consumer trends. While pumpkin might reign supreme when the air turns chilly, there are other exciting winter squash to entice guests:
- Butternut
- Acorn
- Spaghetti Squash
What makes winter squash varieties so appealing is their versatility. They can be roasted, steamed, diced, or puréed, allowing them to be used for a variety of applications. Their nutty, buttery, and sweet taste makes them ideal for savory and sweet dishes.
Get Inspired:
2. Root Vegetables
Packed with earthy flavors and hearty texture, root vegetables scream fall. Nutrient-rich, fiber-laden, and vibrantly colored root veggies provide warming, filling seasonal freshness to any menu. Their robust character also complements autumn spices and slow-cooked dishes. Stock up on these ingredients to embrace fall flavors:
- Potatoes, Yams, and Sweet Potatoes
- Carrots
- Beets
- Celeriac (Celery Root)
These versatile ingredients can be used in a variety of dishes, from roasted sides to soups, gratins to salads, and mashes.
Get Inspired:
3. Brassica Vegetables
Kale, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, mustard greens, and other brassica-family vegetables are prolific in cooler autumn weather. So, incorporating these nutrient-dense ingredients into your seasonal menu is sure to deliver fall vibes.
Get Inspired:
4. Warming Spices
Give your fall ingredients an extra infusion of autumn taste with seasonal spices. Autumn spices enhance both sweet and savory dishes, giving cozy and aromatic flavors, no matter the preparation. Build your fall spice repertoire with these classic seasonings:
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Cloves
- Allspice
- Ginger
- Sage
- Rosemary
Fall spices elevate restaurant dishes by adding complexity to soups, marinades, desserts, and more.
5. Fresh Meats
Autumn is the perfect time to make warm, comforting dishes. For many, a meal isn’t complete without a start meat. During the fall, there are a variety of meats that pair perfectly with many of the ingredients above, including:
- Beef sirloin
- Chuck roll
- Pork loin
- Chicken breast
- Whole duck
Tips to Revamp Your Menu for Fall Ingredients
Implementing autumn harvest flavors into your existing menu is easy.
- Work with a restaurant supplier that stocks fresh ingredients at competitive prices to ensure high quality and high profit margins.
- Consider seasonal flavor customizations, like maple-glazed chicken to a salad or sweet potato fries instead of standard fries.
- Add harvest-inspired beverages to the mix. Pumpkin spice coffee, mulled wine, hot buttered rum, and chai lattes can add value to your menu.
Stock Up on Fall Ingredients at US Foods CHEF’STORE
CHEF’STORE has aisles of seasonal autumn ingredients at bulk-store prices, from fresh produce to beverages, spices, grains, and more.
Visit one of our many locations today and see the fall products we have in store for you. Need food delivered to your door? Then check out our third-party delivery.
DOWNLOAD OUR INFOGRAPHIC: TRENDY FALL RESTAURANT INGREDIENTS