How to Make Pumpkin Purée
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Pumpkin purée is one of those lovely ubiquitous autumnal ingredients that those of us who live in pumpkin country take for granted and yet gorge ourselves on from September to November (in the northern hemisphere, of course).
From pumpkin spice lattes to pumpkin pie, from pumpkin whipped cream and pumpkin pie pancakes, to sneaking it into chili, pasta sauce, soup, and muffins, you can do anything with pumpkin.
The easiest way to use it in all those applications is to make pumpkin purée – essentially, homemade canned pumpkin.
It's very easy – in fact, I hesitate to call this a recipe. You cut a pumpkin in half, remove the seeds, roast it, and scoop out the resulting soft pumpkin, which can then be used right away or frozen for up to six months.
Happy pumpkin eating!
How to Make Pumpkin Purée
Ingredients
- 1 pumpkin, 3-4 pounds
- water, for cooking
Instructions
- Prepare the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Have a large baking dish at the ready.
- Cut the pumpkin. Rinse the pumpkin under warm water, removing any dirt or debris, then cut the pumpkin in half. If you are working with a larger pumpkin or would like the pumpkin to cook faster, you may cut it into a few smaller pieces.
- Remove the seeds. Scoop the seeds out with a spoon and set aside. Don't discard the seeds, as you can make a lovely, nourishing snack by roasting them with sea salt or savory spices.
- Bake the pumpkin. Lay the pumpkin face-down in the baking dish and cover the bottom of the dish with ¼-inch of water. Bake for 45-60 minutes (depending on size) or until tender.
- Let cool and scrape out the insides. Remove from the oven, let cool enough to handle, and scoop out the insides, discarding the skin.
- Make the purée. Place the insides in a food processor and process until smooth.
- Drain the purée. Place a sieve or colander in the sink or over a large bowl and line with cheesecloth. Scrape the purée into the cheesecloth and let drain for at least 20 minutes or up to overnight, if desired. This step is optional if you're going to be using the pumpkin purée in a soup or other recipe where liquid content isn't important, but for a pie, this step is essential.
- Use and store the pumpkin purée. The pumpkin purée is now ready to be used. It can be stored in the refrigerator, preferably in a glass mason jar or other container that won't absorb or leach odors, for up to 5 days or can be stored in a deep freeze for up to six months.
Notes
How to Make Pumpkin Purée in a Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 pumpkin, 3-4 pounds
- water, for cooking
Instructions
- Wash your pumpkin very well, then poke it with a fork all over.
- Place ½"-1" of water in the bottom of a slow cooker that's large enough to hold your pumpkin (without cutting!) and place the pumpkin in the slow cooker. (If your pumpkin is too large, you may cut it into 2-3 pieces to make it fit.)
- Cook on low for 7-9 hours, then turn off the slow cooker and let the pumpkin cool enough to handle. Scoop out the insides, discarding the skin.
- The roasted pumpkin is now ready to use, but if you'd like a smoother texture, purée it with an immersible blender or food processor. For an ultra-smooth texture, pass the mixture through a sieve or tamis.
- The pumpkin can be stored in the refrigerator, preferably in a glass mason jar or other container that won't absorb or leach odors, for up to 5 days or can be stored in a deep freeze for up to six months.
Thanks for this – I’m about to attempt pumpkin puree for the first time. It sounds so easy. 🙂
Don’t you have to use a canning method (pressure canning) to process this for long term storage?
No, and in fact according to both the USDA and the National Center for Home Food Preservation, canning pumpkin should not be done at home, either with a water bath or a pressure canner. 🙁 This is for two reasons: one, pumpkin puree is very dense and thus even with prolonged exposure it is difficult to ensure that the center of the food actually reached a sufficiently high temperature to kill any botulism spores, and two, it is a very low-acid food, which makes it a homey breeding ground for those botulism spores. So, freezing is definitely the way to go – in a deep freeze, the pumpkin should stay safe for up to six months. 🙂
Thank you! – great information to know!!
and you use any pumpkin? Ones from the supermarket? What is the approx. yield from a 3-4 lb pumpkin?
Yes, you can certainly use any pumpkin – from the pumpkin patch, from the supermarket, wherever you find squash. It’s up to you whether you choose organic or conventional, or the variety. Any pumpkin (or any squash, for that matter) will work.
The yield is approximately 1 cup of puree per pound of pumpkin.
I hope that helps! 🙂
Thank you so much Kresha. Yes it does help.
I have found baking them whole to be even easier! I just poke them a few times with a knife, place in a baking dish and bake until soft. It’s MUCH easier to slice and scoop out the middle.
Great idea! I’ll have to try that next time. Do you find it takes much longer or is it about the same?