Well, it’s that time of year when pumpkins abound! I just love them. They’re so pretty…..and tasty! Barry loves pumpkin pie (gag attack!) and I like putting pumpkin puree in breads, cookies, and stews.
It can get pretty expensive if you use a lot of pumpkin puree – unless you make it yourself. Then it becomes pretty cheap. Y’all know I like to keep things cheap! And I also like to teach y’all how to do things for yourself.
Which is why today, I’m sharing all about how to make your own pumpkin puree!
You’ll be able to use this pumpkins puree in any recipe that calls for canned pumpkin. Please do not confuse this with canned pumpkin pie filling. They are very different. The filling already includes the spices and a few other things, while canned pumpkin is pure pumpkin. Trying to substitute the two won’t work.
I always like to make a good-size batch of pumpkin puree so I have plenty in my freezer for the fall and winter months. I used with 6 small “pie pumpkins”, in the 3-4 pound range. These are NOT the larger jack-o-lantern pumpkins. Those tend to be too stringy and not as flavorful. And I would give you a video tutorial on how to cut pumpkins…
Except I had to have Barry cut mine with his reciprocating saw!
But you can check this out to see how a normal person cuts a pumpkin. Cutting the pumpkins is by far the hardest part of this whole process pumpkin puree making process. Once all the pumpkins are halved, scoop out the “pumpkin innards”. This is as gross as it sounds, but I promise it just takes a few minutes!
One tip: I’ve found that the best way to get innards out is by using a spoon. I take the spoon and scrape around the outer edges and everything comes out pretty well. Scrape, scrape, scrape! Don’t leave any stringiness behind if you can help it.
And y’all – whatever you do, don’t throw away the seeds!
I know it’s tempting to just toss all the gross pumpkin stringiness, but never get rid of the seeds. Always keep them for roasting! And if you’ve never tried that before, it’s so easy – and tasty! Check out my post for how to roast pumpkin seeds for the step-by-step instructions.
After I’ve prepared the pumpkin per the directions below, I portion it out into 1 cup measurements and store in the freezer. This way I always have pumpkin puree on hand. I love adding pumpkin puree to everything from muffins and oatmeal to soup and ice cream and everything in between!
What’s your favorite way to use pumpkin recipe?
Homemade Pumpkin Puree
2-4 small pumpkins
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Remove the stems. Cut each pumpkin in half. Then using a spoon, scrape out the seeds and pulp. Then set aside the seeds to roast later!
- With a large spoon, scrape out the seeds and pulp, then place pumpkin halves on a baking sheet (I prefer face down) and cover with foil.
- Roast in a 350-degree oven for 75-90 minutes, or until the pumpkin is tender when poked with a fork.
- Scoop all the pumpkin out of the skins and throw it in a food processor (or blender) and pulse until it’s nice and smooth. If you don’t have either of these appliances, you can also just mash it by hand with potato masher.
- Divide the pumpkin up into freezer safe bags or containers or use immediately in the pumpkin recipe of your choice!
If you drain your pumpkin after putting it in your food processor, it is almost the same as canned pumpkin – nice and dry for pumpkin pies and such – too much water in it otherwise. They use squash more than pumpkin in their cans for a side note. I just put mine in either the flour sacks that are washable and reusable (I used them for making cheese) or if a smaller amount a strainer – the kind the have the handle over a large measuring cup. I also dehydrate a lot of it for what my daughter calls MRE pumpkin pies, but that’s another story – lol.
Since discovering your blog, I feel like I am always accessing it for some reason or another…THANK YOU! It’s been a year since you posted this so maybe you’ve already figured this out, but you can easily roast a 4-6 pound pumpkin in about 45 minutes. That way you don’t need to use up your tin foil as the pumpkins shouldn’t burn. I’m not sure what it does, but I also put about 1/4″ of water in the roasting pan as well. And how funny that my husband brought up the reciprocal saw even before we referenced your site. Although after he saw your pictures he agreed we should have cut them outside. I was fine cleaning up the minimal mess inside as it is only 39 degrees out right now…brrr! As far as storing, I thought I would try weighing each portion out to the size of a can (15 oz.) and freeze that way since most recipes call for a can. Hmmm…I wonder, does 15 oz = 1 cup? I will have to measure, weigh, and find out!! Love my kitchen scale!!
No, 15 ounces is more than 1 cup…..I usually use 1 1/2 cups when it calls for a can. But a lot of the recipes I have call for “1 cup of pumpkin.” 🙂 It’s great to have husbands with power tools!
You can also cook your pumpkin in a crock pot, but I haven’t tried that yet….I’m usually in a hurry. 🙂
I wait and buy my pumpkins the day after Halloween. They are sooo cheap. LAst year Walmart had them for one cent each!!!
I’m with Barry. I love a good pumpkin pie (which is hard to find sometimes).