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How to Make Pumpkin Puree

[heart_this] · Oct 21, 2019 · 34 Comments

How to Make Pumpkin Puree

Easy homemade roasted pumpkin puree that can be used in any recipe calling for pumpkin puree!

Pumpkin is a fabulous fall ingredient and you can make a lot of different recipes with it! Many recipes that include pumpkin call for pumpkin puree and although canned pumpkin puree is pretty convenient, it’s also super easy to make your own! Pumpkin puree is made by roasting smaller ‘pie’ pumpkins in the oven until the flesh on the inside is tender enough that you can mash it up and puree it. You start by cutting the pumpkins in half and scooping out the seeds (save the seeds to make toasted pumpkin seeds) before roasting it in the oven. By the time the pumpkin has finished roasting the flesh is nice and tender and it easily comes off of the skin so you can scoop it out with a spoon. The only thing to do after roasting is to either mash the pumpkin or puree it in a food processor until it is nice and smooth. Homemade pumpkin puree is so easy to make and it can be used in any recipe that calls for pumpkin puree! Look below the recipe to find a bunch of ideas as to how to enjoy it!

How to Make Pumpkin Puree

How to Make Pumpkin Puree

How to Make Pumpkin Puree
How to Make Pumpkin Puree

How to Make Pumpkin Puree

Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes Servings: 2 cups

Easy homemade roasted pumpkin puree that can be used in any recipe calling for pumpkin puree!

ingredients
  • 1+ pie pumpkin(s)
directions
  1. Place the pumpkin halves face down on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 400F/200C oven until soft, about 30-90 minutes depending on how thick the pumpkin is.
  2. Scoop the flesh from the pumpkin and mash with a fork, masher or in a food processor.
Tip: Use right away or store in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer longer.
Tip: Make toasted pumpkin seeds!
Nutrition Facts: Calories 31, Fat 0 (Saturated 0, Trans 0), Cholesterol 0, Sodium 1mg, Carbs 7g (Fiber 0.6g, Sugars 3g), Protein 1g

Nutrition by: Nutritional facts powered by Edamam
Use in:
Thai Pumpkin Soup
Pumpkin Pie Milkshake
Pumpkin Pie Cinnamon Buns with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
Pumpkin and Shrimp Bisque
Pumpkin White Chocolate and Macadamia Nut Cookies
Pumpkin Gnocchi
Roasted Pumpkin, Pancetta and Sage Soup
Pumpkin Greek Yogurt Banana Bread
Pumpkin Pie Quinoa Parfait with Gingersnap Pecan Streusel
Pumpkin Hummus
Pumpkin Chorizo and Black Bean Soup
Maple Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake
Pumpkin and Black Bean Burritos
Pumpkin and Cream Cheese Ravioli in Sage and Butter Sauce
Penne with Pumpkin and Sage Sauce
Pumpkin Cake Roll
Pumpkin Casserole
Pumpkin Butter
Pumpkin Bread Pudding
Pumpkin Bread with Dried Cranberries, Toasted Pecans and White Chocolate Chips
Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
Squash Chili Mole
Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup
Pumpkin Caramel Cheesecake Turtle Bread
Pumpkin Pie with Gingersnap Crust
Pumpkin Pie French Toast
Pumpkin Pie White Hot Chocolate
Sour Cream Pumpkin Coffee Cake
Butternut Squash and Parmesan Pasta with Sage
Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip
Thai Peanut Pumpkin Turkey Curry
Pumpkin Butter Tarts with Pepitas and Cranberries
Pumpkin and White Bean Turkey Chili with Kale and Pepita Salsa
Pumpkin Goat Cheese Fettuccine Alfredo with Crispy Fried Sage
Pumpkin Spiced Latte
Pumpkin Chai Latte

Food, Gluten-free, Pumpkin, Recipe, Vegetable, Vegetarian

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Pam says

    October 30, 2007 at 11:28 pm

    wow, Kevin, what a great idea. I would have never thought of making my own pumpkin puree. You’ll have to let us know if it does freeze well.

    Reply
  2. Kevin says

    October 22, 2009 at 10:11 pm

    Pam: It does freeze well. I am making some right now to freeze for later.

    Reply
  3. Sarah Bacon says

    October 25, 2009 at 4:12 pm

    Kevin, can you let us know how you freeze it? In plastic tupperware or … ? Perhaps freezer-safe plastic bags.

    Reply
  4. Anonymous says

    October 25, 2009 at 9:59 pm

    Hi there,
    Quick question – what kind of pumpkin do you recommend for cooking? Thanks!

    Reply
  5. Kevin says

    October 25, 2009 at 11:53 pm

    Sarah Bacon: I have been using the reusable ziplock containers with the twist on lids for freezing the pumpkin puree. I would imagine that tupperware would also work well.

    Anonymous: I am not sure where you come from and as I understand it in some parts or the world all squash are called pumpkins whereas here in North America only the classic 'Halloween' squash is called a pumpkin. The Halloween style orange pumpkin comes in two types, the smaller 'pie' type and the larger 'carving' type. I am referring the the small orange 'pie' type of Halloween pumpkin.

    That being said I have also had success with other squash/pumpkins including kabocha and buttercups.

    Reply
  6. MaryNeedsSleep says

    November 1, 2009 at 12:40 am

    Kevin, thanks for the instructions! I bet "Anonymous" is a gardener. There are many varieties of pie pumpkins, and all have slightly different characteristics – for example, I often buy garden seeds from Johnny's (here), and they carry several types of pie pumpkin, and about 30 types of pumpkins overall, in addition to several types of kabocha-type squash. There are plenty of other seed vendors also you could also try.
    Cheers!

    Reply
  7. Debbie says

    November 1, 2009 at 5:48 am

    Hi Kevin,

    I saw your advice to that person with the question of the type of pumpkins to use. But I just want to know if the larger carving type of pumpkins are edible? I want to try and purée them but not if I'm not suppose to. 🙂

    thanks for this post 🙂

    Reply
  8. Lynn says

    November 2, 2009 at 1:33 am

    Thanks for all the great pumpkin ideas, Kevin. We grew pumpkins this year and I'm excited to see all the nifty things I can do with them. I made roasted pumpkin kabobs the other day and they were outstanding. Can't wait to try your pumpkin puree and your pumpkin/black bean soup 🙂

    Reply
  9. Kevin says

    November 3, 2009 at 11:14 pm

    MaryNeedsSleep: Thanks for the info! I will certainly have to keep an eye out for some of those different varieties of pie pumpkins!

    Debbie: Yes the larger carving pumpkins are edible, though they do not taste quite as good as the ones that are bread specifically for eating.

    Reply
  10. Anonymous says

    November 10, 2009 at 6:29 pm

    my experience with the carving pumpkins is that they have too much water in the flesh to work well for pie puree. as someone else said, they don't have as much flavor as pie pumpkins and that is partly due to the quantity of water.

    Reply
  11. Susan says

    December 16, 2009 at 5:20 am

    Would you make Kabocha puree the same way? Would the skin crumble?

    Reply
  12. Kevin says

    December 16, 2009 at 11:25 pm

    Susan: Yes I have made kabocha puree in the same way and it works beautifully.

    Reply
  13. Rookie Bebe says

    December 26, 2009 at 2:41 pm

    I'm am making this on Monday as I found some pie pumpkins at a large farmers market in ATL. When you say face down, do you mean the inside of the pumpkin faces down?

    Thanks. Can't wait to try this. I got so excited at finding the pumpkins.

    Reply
  14. Kevin says

    December 27, 2009 at 10:23 pm

    Rookie Bebe: Yes with the inside facing down and the skin on top. Enjoy!

    Reply
  15. Rookie Bebe says

    December 30, 2009 at 12:04 am

    Pumpkin cooked beautifully. Peeled easily. I'll let you know how the pie comes out.

    Reply
  16. Lynn says

    February 25, 2010 at 12:43 am

    Hope you don't mind, Kevin. I posted today about some soup I made with some of your (frozen) pumpkin puree and linked to you. The soup was outstanding! Can't wait to grow more pumpkins next year and freeze the excess. Thanks for your wonderful, informative blog.

    Reply
  17. Sophie says

    October 26, 2010 at 12:01 pm

    What a great idea!!Thanks for this too because we can't buy canned pumpkin in Belgium!!

    Looks so tasty too!

    Reply
  18. Valshaena says

    October 10, 2011 at 5:40 pm

    As far as the larger pumpkins with a large water content causing problems I have found that draining the puree overnight in a colander lined with cheesecloth in the fridge helps with this. The pumpkin pie I made from the large pumpkin didn't last more than 30 min.

    Reply
  19. Anonymous says

    March 12, 2012 at 10:07 am

    I'll have to try baking the pumpkins. I always boil them but it's hard to peel the skin off a boiling hot piece of pumpkin.

    Reply
  20. Sandi says

    October 15, 2012 at 8:48 pm

    Hi Kevin,

    I have 2 small-med sized pumpkins…would that yield enough puree to make your pumpkin and chorizo soup?

    Reply
  21. Sandi says

    October 16, 2012 at 4:36 pm

    Kevin have you ever just tried roasting the pumpkin without cutting it first and just poking a couple holes in and then roasting?

    Reply
  22. Kevin says

    October 18, 2012 at 2:43 pm

    Sandi: You will probably only need one of them for the pumpkin and chorizo soup. I have not tried roasting a pumpkin whole. It might be more difficult to get the seeds out after.

    Reply
  23. Annika says

    November 7, 2012 at 12:15 pm

    I just wanted to say how incredible grateful I am for discovering this simple method on here! I really like pumpkins but in the past the preparation always put me off (and I don't live in the US or Canada, so canned pumpkin puree isn't really an alternative for me). I tried this yesterday and made your pumpkin cheesecake with it. Both turned out wonderfully, I'll definitely try many more pumpkin recipes this season!

    Reply
  24. Azirkah says

    December 13, 2012 at 4:24 pm

    Rather than mashing with a fork, try giving the cooked pumpkin a whirl with an electric mixer. That makes puree out of it QUICK.

    Like Valshaena said, draining in a sieve lined with cheesecloth helps a lot. After 30 – 60 minutes or so of draining, then I gather up the corners of the cheesecloth and twist until it's tight enough to give the pumpkin a gentle squeeze (kinda like you'd do with thawed spinach, except you don't have to WRING cooked pumpkin the way you do thawed spinach).

    Reply
  25. Kevin says

    December 17, 2012 at 1:45 am

    Azirkah: Using a mixer or a food processor will definitely give you a smoother finish and removing the excess liquid with give the pumpkin puree a consistency much more similar to the canned pumpkin puree.

    Reply
  26. Stephanie says

    September 30, 2013 at 3:17 pm

    This is SO SO SO helpful. I had always thought pumpkin puree was super hard to make or time consuming. LOL I feel silly now. Super excited for fall and will be doing this. I hate that the store only sells canned pumpkin puree 3 months a year. I always had bought extra but I run out and have to wait such a long time. I love the idea of throwing it in the freezer to make pumpkin-y stuff in the spring or summer. Very healthy 🙂

    Reply
  27. Anonymous says

    September 30, 2013 at 10:44 pm

    I started making my own puree several years ago and a quick tip to make the process easier is that if you have a food processor that works great and faster than hand mashing. jw

    Reply
  28. Nala says

    October 14, 2013 at 8:35 pm

    I'm so glad I found this recipe. I've been eager to try pumpkin recipes but not so keen on using storebought puree. Now I know I can easily make my own and I look forward to baking. Thanks Kevin!

    Reply
  29. Jacqueline Frances says

    October 26, 2014 at 11:36 pm

    Hey there Kevin!
    I have been making puree out of large 'carver' pumpkins for years and years. When I bake them, I pour a bit of water into the baking pan. Once removed from the skin, I drain the unmashed flesh in a simple plastic sieve(to drain) and have never had a problem! While mashing with a potato masher, I add a bit of pumpkin pie seasoning. I freeze my mashed pumpkin in heavy duty freezer bags(have to go down to the US to get the good quality ones).
    Thanks for all your great recipes!
    Jacqueline in Pitt Meadows

    Reply
  30. Jaweb says

    October 21, 2019 at 4:32 pm

    I’ve been making my own pumpkin purée/pies for over forty years now-a loving task I inherited when my mother passed away at a young age. We used/use cheese pumpkins (those ugly pale orange flattened ones) Wonderful texture, fragrant aroma, fabulous taste!!! Holds up to the added spices!!
    Jaweb

    Reply
  31. Arvilla Trag says

    October 11, 2020 at 4:36 pm

    Most pie pumpkins have a very high water content, so using the pulp without removing some of the water makes for less flavor and/or a watery pie. There are multiple ways to remove excess water from pumpkin puree.

    Line a china cap with damp cheesecloth put the pumpkin in with bowl under the china cap and let sit overnight. Two pumpkins ago I got 2 cups of liquid using this method.

    Another method is to spread the puree in a 9 x13 pan and put it in a slow oven (180F – 200F) for 4 to 6 hours, stirring about once per hour.
    To get the puree as smooth as the canned version, I use a stick blender.

    Reply
  32. Beverly says

    October 9, 2022 at 6:05 pm

    Not to diss your method but I have discovered the best way to make pumpkin puree. If the pumpkin will fit in your slow cooker, rinse it the put it in the cooker. Turn it on to low and leave it for about 4 hrs. You do not need to poke it with a knife or anything. Check after 4 hrs and if a knife will easily slide in, it’s done. Let it cool, cut in half, scoop out the seeds/stringy bit (note: Blue Jays – not the ball players but the birds! – love the parts that are scooped out!) then scrape out the cooked pulp. What I do is puree it in the food processor, let it drain through a sieve lined with a coffee filter then freeze it – or use it right away. Perfect and honestly, not a lot of effort. Delish.

    Reply
    • kevin says

      October 11, 2022 at 9:33 am

      The slow cooker version also works well!

      Reply
  33. jan says

    October 18, 2022 at 4:34 pm

    Butternut squash is perfect roasted and used for pie or whatever. Very tasty!

    Reply

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