Making homemade pumpkin puree couldn’t be easier! Skip the cans and add this to all your favorite pumpkin recipes!
Pumpkin puree is incredibly easy and fast to make at home! Though some waiting is involved, actual hands-on work is so miniscule! Put in about 15-20 minutes of work and let the oven do the rest!
What exactly is pumpkin puree?
Pumpkin puree is just the inside flesh of a pumpkin blended up in a blender or food processor. The result is a paste-like consistency like you would see in a baby food jar.
What can I make with it?
You can make SO MANY things with pumpkin puree! Use it in your favorite pumpkin recipes. Sneakily add it in to normal recipes (your spouse and kids won’t even be able to tell!). Feed it to your baby as you’re starting him/her on solids. Heck, you can even feed it to your dogs and cats! Add some of this healthy pumpkin to their kibble or homemade food.
Is it worth it to make homemade pumpkin puree?
I would say that if you have a little extra time, then absolutely! If you are getting a good price for your pumpkins, then you’ll definitely be saving money. It’s also always nice to know that the end product is truly 100% pumpkin!
How do you make pumpkin puree?
Well, first you need to purchase a pumpkin! There are many different types of pumpkins; be adventurous and try out different ones! (Just make sure you get edible pumpkins, not ornamental ones!) A very popular variety of pumpkin people buy is the pie pumpkin. Pie pumpkins tend to be much sweeter and smoother. So, obviously they’re great for making pumpkin pies! But what if you want more out of your homemade pumpkin puree? What if you want to feed it to your pets? Or put it in savory dishes? In these cases, you may not want it to be really sweet! Pie pumpkins also tend to be costly, so if you’re hoping to save some moola, you may want to go for other varieties of pumpkins that aren’t as sweet. Check out these articles on the best edible pumpkins for baking and different types of pumpkins.
Next, grab your best knife and make sure it’s super sharp! This is KEY to cutting your pumpkin fast! If your knife is dull, it will take you a little while to get your pumpkin open.
Once you get your knife ready, you’ll want to wash your pumpkin and then cut it in half. You don’t want to cut through the stem, so it will be two imperfect halves. I always start my cut just to the right of the stem, and I always put the tip of the knife in first and then roll the pumpkin around as i make a cut around the pumpkin. (There is a way to make perfect halves, but we’re making pumpkin puree, so we don’t need to worry about that!) If your knife gets a little stuck, carefully wiggle it back out of the pumpkin (keeping the knife’s tip inside the pumpkin) and then keep cutting around it. But remember, having a really sharp knife helps to not get it stuck in the pumpkin!
The next step is a bit messy, but not too bad! You’ll want to get a spoon and scrape the seeds out of the inside of the pumpkin halves. I like to get a really big spoon, because I feel like this makes the job even faster! When you’re scooping it out, grab the head of the spoon, not the handle. This also makes the process faster. You’ll want to scrape hard and get all the seeds and stringy, mushy gushy stuff out. You can put that in a bowl to save for later or simply discard it.
After all of your pumpkin’s innards have been removed, you’ll want to prepare it for your oven! Grab a cookie sheet and line it with a piece of parchment paper (to save on the washing job later). Next, if you have a large pumpkin, you may want to cut your pieces in half again so that they will easily fit on your pan. Then, take some oil (like grapeseed, avocado, or sunflower), rub it all over each piece, place your pumpkin slices face down on your pan, and place your pan in the oven on 400 degrees F.
The oven time will depend heavily on how big and thick your pumpkin is. Start with 45 minutes and then keep adding time until your pumpkin gets soft and squooshy. To check on this, take the back of a fork and press on the pieces. If the pieces can be pressed down easily, then they’re ready to come out of the oven!
When your pumpkin pieces are ready, you now need to separate the flesh from the skin. You can do one of two things: 1) Let them cool down and use your hand to hold the piece while you use a fork to scrape the flesh away from the pumpkin’s skin. 2) Get two forks out, using one fork to hold the piece while you use the other fork to remove the flesh. If the edges of your pieces get a little brown/black in color, you can either scrape that off and discard it or just add it in with the rest of the flesh.
You are now just seconds away from making your own homemade pumpkin puree! The final step is to place your pumpkin flesh into a high powered blender or food processor and blend it until it becomes smooth. If your machine struggles in blending it, you can pause the machine, use a spoon or spatula to move it off of the blades, and try again. If you still have issues, you may want to add a teeny tiny bit of water to get it moving.
Congratulations! You now have your very own pumpkin puree! Making sure your new kitchen staple has properly cooled down, you can now put your pumpkin puree in a closed container and store it in your refrigerator. It will stay fresh in your refrigerator for about a week. You can also store it in the freezer for later use! Just make sure to place it in freezer safe bags or containers.
Homemade Pumpkin Puree
Making homemade pumpkin puree couldn't be easier! Skip the cans and add this to all your favorite pumpkin recipes!
Ingredients
- 1 whole pumpkin
- neutral oil (such as avocado, grapeseed, or sunflower oil)
Instructions
- Grab your best, heavy duty knife and make sure it's super sharp! (This is KEY to quickly and easily cutting into your pumpkin!)
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and give your pumpkin a quick wash.
- Cut your pumpkin in half. Don't try to cut through the stem. Start cutting just to the right of the stem and start cutting downward, rotating the pumpkin in a circle. It helps to first dig the pointy tip of your knife into the skin, and you can carefully wiggle the knife a bit if it gets stuck.
- With a large spoon, scrape the seeds and guts out of the inside of your pumpkin halves and place them in a bowl. Hold the spoon by its head, not by its handle. You'll have more control, which means you'll finish faster! You can save and roast your seeds or simply discard them.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (to make washing easier later) and place your pumpkin halves on the pan. If you have a large pumpkin, you may want to cut your halves in half again.
- Take a small amount of oil and rub it all over your pumpkin pieces, laying them face down on your baking pan.
- Place your pan in the oven and set a timer for 45 minutes. After the timer goes off, take the back of a fork and press the pumpkin skin. If it pushes in easily, your pumpkin is finished roasting. If the fork meets resistance, keep baking it in 15-minute increments until your pieces are soft.
- Remove your pan from the oven and let the pieces cool down. (If you're in a hurry, see the note in the step below.)
- Turn the pumpkin pieces over and, using your hand to hold each piece, take a fork and scrape the flesh away from the skin. If you don't have time to cool your pieces down, you can use two forks. Use one fork to hold the piece and the second fork to scrape out the flesh.
- Place the flesh in a high-powered blender or food processor and blend it until smooth. (If you chose to use two forks while your pumpkin pieces were still hot, you need to make sure your blending machine can handle hot food. Some, especially smaller ones, will burst open from the steam and send hot food all over you and your kitchen! So be cautious!)
- Your pumpkin puree is ready! If it is cooled down, you can put it in an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for up to a week. You can also freeze it for later use! Just make sure it's in a freezer safe container!
Check out these pumpkin recipes:
Healthy, Homemade Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino (Dairy-Free)
Creamy Pumpkin Pie Popsicles (Dairy-Free)