This is a simple method for preparing pureed pumpkin. The pumpkin may be stored in the freezer for later usage in pies, muffins, etc.
Simple, easy instructions for the first time pumpkin pureer, a trick to this is too not let the pumpkin get cold before scooping out the pumpkin meat..once its cold it gets hard to do.
Read MoreGood recipe but you MUST drain the pumpkin overnight in a cheesecloth or paper towel lined strainer. You will drain a lot of water out of the pumpkin puree and you will left with a nice, dense puree.
Read MoreSimple, easy instructions for the first time pumpkin pureer, a trick to this is too not let the pumpkin get cold before scooping out the pumpkin meat..once its cold it gets hard to do.
I found the best way to make pumpkin puree is to cut the pumpkin into small chunks, cover them with water, and simmer them for about 30 minutes until tender.
I just used some of the pumpkin from my jack o lantern, and zapped it in the microwave for 9 minutes. Worked well.
There are lots of ways to do this. Personally I line a pan with foil, cut my pumpkin in half horizontally (whatever kind, I've used sugar pumpkins, pie pumpkins, and even some sort of fat mystery pumpkin), remove the insides, spray PAM on the foil, put the pumpkin cut-side down, and roast that baby for an hour or so. After an hour I lift the edge of the side with the stem and poke the pumpkin flesh gently with a fork. If it feels like a baked potato, I take it out, if not, I keep baking it until it DOES feel like a baked potato. I let the hot pumpkin rest about 15 minutes before I take a spoon and scoop out the flesh. I mash it while it's hot, but pureeing is probably even better - I just have never needed to. Your baking time will vary quite a bit based on the temperature of your pumpkin going in - if you were storing it on the porch then it's going to take longer because the pumpkin is colder :=) Thanks for the recipe! (Note: sometimes the emptied out pumpkin shell will dry hard and crisp, and the empty shell can be put back out on the porch as long as it stays cold outside in your environment! This varies based on species of pumpkin, whether or not you cooked it long enough to harden but not blister the skin, and how well you scraped it.)
el perfecto! This is absolutely simple and easy to make. I purchased two (of what I believe to be) sugar pumpkins from the local farmers market. The are grey. This worked perfect. Two pumpkins, apprx 12 in in diameter made roughly a gallon of pumpkin puree. I had four halves and roasted them in the oven for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. the two in the very back where like baked sweet potatoes, flaky and fluffy. The two in the front where not as done , chunky, and worked just as well. Scoop out the pulp and put it in a blender. I attempted to strain the puree only to find out that I didn't need to. It was perfect. Thanks gidget for the helpful tip on pumpkin puree. For $2 at the farmers market I have enough pumpkin puree to make 16 pumpkin pies using two cups of puree per pie! Beautiful Job!
I started baking the pumpkin in the oven this year as arthritis restricts me from cutting chunks and boiling. (Which is much quicker) The one thing the original poster has not mentioned is draining the puree, pumpkin has lots of water and needs draining. I have never had probs with stringy bits as it is pureed in blender. I let it sit in a seive for a few hours to get out as much water as possible, if you do not do this step when you thaw out your pumpkin you will lose some to fluid and your recipes will have too much liquid. DRAIN...drain ....and drain....
Good recipe but you MUST drain the pumpkin overnight in a cheesecloth or paper towel lined strainer. You will drain a lot of water out of the pumpkin puree and you will left with a nice, dense puree.
I tried the baking method but I guess my pumpkin was too big; it took at least 4 hours for the pumpkin to get soft on the inside. So for extra pumpkin puree this Halloween, I used fresh, peeled Jack-o-lantern pumpkin and boiled it (small saucepan, over low heat, 2-3 hours for the water to boil down to the bottom, or around 30-40 minutes for the pumpkin to turn soft) with a bit of sugar mixed into the water. Then I blended it and there were no stringy bits, it worked great! I don't suppose I'd add the sugar if I was making soup or bread, but it was good for muffins.
This was very good to get me started, as I had never pureed pumpkin before. But, my small-sized sugar pumpkin was still rock hard after baking for 1 hour and that was cut into little chunks. Instead I boiled the chucks until soft, then used a hand held blender to puree the pumpkin. I imagine if I had more patience baking the pumpkin would work too. Thank for you getting me headed in the right direction!
Really very easy to make, fitting a large pumpkin into a tiny oven was the greater part of the hassle!! Come the fall time, I add butter and a couple spoonfuls of brown sugar and we spread it on toast.
I grew about 70 organic pumpkins this year and after giving many away to friends, family, our FFA program, I still had a LOT of pumpkins left over! I had never made pumpkin puree before, and was worried it would taste different than what my family is used to - Libby's. NO!! I used Howden and Cinderella pumpkins. Definitely bake them until soft and mushy which takes a long time, but worth it. The pumpkins get a wonderful carmelized taste. After peeling the skin off, I put the chunks in a colandar to drain off any additional liquid before putting them in the blender for a velvety smooth consistency. I've already made several recipes using pumpkin from this site! A lot cheaper (and actually taste better) than the canned stuff. Never going back!!
I have used this recipe over and over again for further use in soups, cakes and sides.
I like to cut the pumpkin in half, clean out the guts, put some water on the baking sheet and place the pumpkins open side down. This way they steam in their own skin and only the outside dries out, instead of all the flesh. Works every time.
Really simple and easy!!!
Thanks for this basic recipie. In Germany cooking and baking with pumpkin is not very common, so I was thankful to find this. Now I can try out recipies calling for pumpkin puree.
I've used only fresh pumpkin for pies for over 25 years and have tried numerous methods. I prefer to use regular Jack O'lantern pumpkins, the larger the better, and the easiest way by far is to cut them into several large sections, place in your electric roaster with a small amount of water and roast for about 1 hour. Remove lid and let cool so they can be handled and the peel will come off with your fingers, not even needing a knife. Puree in a food processor or blender, squeezing out as much water as possible before blending. Put in freezer bags and have pumpkin pies all year long, which are of a lighter more custardy consistency than canned. If you purchase the pumpkins immediately after Halloween they can be purchased for next to nothing.
I followed the recipe and found I needed to alter it a bit. It was a big pumpkin so I doubled the cooking time. Also I found the puree to be very smooth after I used a blender. It was a very bright yellow and to thin so I reduced it for a few hours on low, stirring frequently. the end result was a nice orange, thick pumpkin puree.
This was my first attempt at making pumpkin puree. I couldn't find 'sugar pumpkins' at my local grocery store, so I just bought a plain ol' Jack-o-Lantern. It was good sized, but not massive. (And truth be told, I let it sit out on the front porch for a few days first before I cooked it up!) There seems to be a number of ways to cook pumpkins--water, no water, oil, no oil... I opted to slice it into big chunks, then put it in a cake pan with a little bit of water (1/2-1") at the bottom. Then I covered the whole thing with tin foil. I didn't use any oil because I wanted the puree in it's purest form. And I was afraid it would dry out if I didn't add some moisture, but boiling seemed too processed. I had 3 large pans of pumpkin I cooked it for about 1 1/2 hours @ 350 (I just kept checking it until it was soft enough to put a fork in the meat). Then I put the meat in my cuisinart and pureed away. I froze it in 1 and 2 cup increments in freezer bags. This morning I made the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies III from this site and... drum roll... they were sooo good! So the Jack o' Lantern worked fine--no funky flavors. UPDATE: The pumpkin puree is great for cookies and muffins, but hasn't worked so well in pumpkin bread... I've made it twice now and it has sunk in the middle a little. So maybe there was too much moisture or something (?)
Although this seems simple enough, unfortunately, simplicity is not always the solution. After scraping out the flesh, you have to process the pulp in a food processer or a very good blender in order to achieve a smooth puree result. To make it right, it will take TIME. Cookie
I have used this recipe for a while. I recently learned that Libby's uses Dickerson pumpkins to make their puree. As you see in my photo there is a major color difference - the Sugar pumpkin is on the left and the Dickerson is on the right. The Dickerson is vibrant orange, has a sweet aroma and is quite flavorful. I'll never use Sugar pumpkin again.
Sugar pumpkins aren't that large and Jack-O-Lantern pumpkins aren't sugar pumpkins. The best flavour is from the smaller sugar pumpkins. Boiling pumpkin just makes it soggy. Baking (or microwaving) is much better
Excellent recommendation. I suggest running it through the blender instead of losing the good fiber. I have grown pumpkins and many different types of squash for 40+ years. One year my pumpkins were devastated by hail but the squash survived. I used the squash for making 'pumpkin' pie and have used squash ever since. It is much more flavorful and brighter color. Guests do notice the added richness of flavor. Also, fill the oven with as many as will fit at a time - it is efficient use of the oven - also, do it when fall starts to get colder and take advantage of the warmth - eliminating the furnace being turned on until later in the season.
I instead of wrapping the tops of the halve spray some pam on the cookie sheet and place the halves face down and tent the whole sheet, and bake for an hour, the pumpkin meat just slides right out on its own once cooled (just dont forget to cool them with the cut side up) ^_^
YEAH!!! I did it... before this recipie it had never really occured to me that you could get pumpkin from anywhere but the cans... I know pathetic, but it turned out great!
This was so simple, I can't believe we haven't used our pumpkins in years past! I used 4 lb pumpkin, it took 1 hour and 15 minutes to be tender. It yielded about 4 cups of puree that tastes delicious on its own. Now we'll see if I can bake with it!
I just cooked and puree'd about 12 pumpkins using your recipe and they turned out great! One tip though- The cooler the pumpkins are, the harder they are to blend without a lot of opening the lid and pushing it down, then starting again over and over. Thanks for the recipe!
works great, no need to strain. I store mine in 2 cups, 4 cups and 3 !/2 cups freezer bags for future use.
Lovely method. Much better pre-cutting into smaller pieces and boiling or steaming. Will use this method often. Thanks!
This was my first time trying this and it was very easy. The hardest part was cutting the rock hard pumpkin in half. My husband had a time of it because the pumpkin was as hard as a bowling ball. I wasn't sure it would be any good. I was out of foil so put the cut side down. It worked fine. I even forgot to spray the pan but it didn't stick. It was perfectly done in a little over an hour. I scooped it out right away and into the blender. Mine is very high powered so the puree came out smooth and looks just like canned pumpkin. From 1 small pumpkin, I ended up with 4 cups of puree. Yea now I can make pumpkin pie or bars or something yummy!
I use pie pumpkins and roast whole in oven. Break off the stem (handle) and place in roasting pan. 350 degrees for about 2 - 2/1/2 hours or until soft. Very easy and does not require constant attention!!
Worked great. I had to double the time. The sugar pumpkin should have a weight on it on the recipe so that you will have an idea how much time it would take to bake.
I followed this method exactly, except that I cut my pumpkin into four parts. I ended up baking them for about an hour and 15 min. This was my first time making pumpkin puree and I am very pleased with the results.
Worked fine for me, not sure about the quality of sugar pumpkin I got, but that has nothing to do with the recipe. I'm not sure why people have difficulty with this, it was the easiest method I've ever used. Much easier than chopping and peeling raw pumpkin.
Wow - how easy to make your own fresh pumpkin puree. I had a 5 1/2# pumpkin and I got 6 cups of puree. I froze two 2-cup packages and two 1-cup packages. I had a little problem getting it to puree in the blender (no liquid) so after blending, I dumped in a bowl and also used a potato masher. I was pleased with the finished product. Most definitely will be doing with again with a couple more pumpkins. Thanks SYMKA for sharing these instructions.
Works with other squashes as well, such as butternut or even acorn squash. A DO PREFER TO USE A CROCKPOT SO I DON'T HAVE TO WATCH THE TIME SO CLOSELY, but this is basically what we do too.
Easy and simple; thank you! I used butternut squash instead of an actual pumpkin and it came out great for pumpkin bread.
Thanks for posting this. It is very easy and simple to make. Just make sure you completely cover each pumpkin piece with foil, which will allow it to cook much faster.
This recipe was very easy. The pumpkin fell right out of the skins. Thanks for posting it!
Excellent!! I've always used canned pumpkin before, but this was so easy. I bought two pie pumpkins today and they were about 3-4 pounds each, needed to cook about 2 hours.
Very simple, very easy, and makes a wonderful puree that can be a healthy substitue to canned.
Sugar pumpkins are rock hard -- unlike a carving pumpkin. No kitchen knife would work so my husband took them outside and used a hatchet to chop them in half. Proceed with the instructions. I found a food processor works real well for pureeing the pulp. Easy and inexpensive.
This was absolutely what I needed. I followed the recipe exact and had no issues. Excellent way for me to get non-processed pumpkin puree for recipes. Thanks for sharing this recipe. And yes, scraping out the pumpkin while it's still hot, good tip.
This was simple and worked great. I used smaller (softball-size) pumpkins and put them in the fridge overnight. This made the flesh easier to scrape out and allowed the shells to harden again. Had I thought about this ahead of time, I could have used the shells for presentation (like small bowls or poured wax into them to make candles).
A little time consuming to use the blender, but the puree came out perfect!! Easy and wonderful. Thanks
I just did this for the first time and I'm so glad it turned out so well! I used a large jack-o-lantern pumpkin. Mine took closer to 2 hours in the oven, but it pureed beautifully in the food processor. I ended up with a gallon container of pumpkin puree!!!
Thanks for the recipe. We had a GIANT pumpkin on hand from Halloween that never was carved. So my roommate and I went to chopping it up. We used some of the meat for juicing, then baked the rest as listed here. Scraped it out and have a ton of puree. Glad to be able to have fresh puree for months to come. We even bought another pumpkin to use before the season is over!
This absolute worked for me. I used the puree in a pumpkin cookie recipe. The cookies were to die for! A+++
I followed rookiechef's tips. Instead of cutting the pumpkin in half, I cut it into smaller chunks (I think 6 chunks) and put it in a pan with a little water and covered it with foil. I ended up baking it for 1 1/2 hrs til it was soft. I scooped out the pumpkin while it was still warm. It seperated from the skin really easily. I'm going to use the puree tonight to make the Maine pumpkin bread. I hope it's good!
Worked great except the time was more around 2 hours. I also used my food processor.
Used a 12-15 lb medium sized jacko-lantern pumpkin and just boiled it. Scooped out flesh and put in colander to drain and pressed down until most liquid was gone. Put into food processor and made very nice pumpkin butter and empanada filling. Put well drained pulp into freezer bags. I will not stop buying canned pumpkin but will never toss out another carving pumpkin ever again. Saves $$.
I made this last night after I carved our pumpkin for the seeds. I roasted the seeds but didn't want to toss the rest so I decided to make something out of it. This recipe came in handy. It made a wonderful pumpkin bread! thanks
I baked it an extra 30 mins becuase it was still to hard to spoon out without getting the peel Eventually i said screw it and since i have a pretty sucky blender i just smashed it with my tenderizer and picked the skin off it was alot easyer
Easiest recipe/instructions ever! I've never cooked a pumpkin pie from scratch before and pureeing the pulp was so easy! I scraped the pulp out very carefully, so didn't have any leftover strings in the puree. The small sugar pumpkin (or sweet pumpkin as my grocery store called it) made about 1-3/4 cups of puree.
I used these directions as a starting point, but was unable to cut my pumpkin in half in order to bake it. So, I parboiled it, whole, for about an hour. That softened the shell enough that I could cut it in half after it cooled. Then I seeded it. The pulp was somewhat softened so, after seeding it, I scooped the pulp into a bowl and pureed it with an immersion blender. My counter top blender is older and it was not up to the task of pureeing pumpkin.
Thank you for sharing this super easy recipe!! My pumpkin took about 1 hour & 15 mins until it was tender enough & I let it cool completely before scraping the flesh from the shell. I had no problem getting out & just pureed it with an immersion blender for a couple minutes until it was smooth. Could not be easier!!
Worked great - I put a little water in the bottom of the cut halves and it helped but may make for a liquidy puree. I'll freeze them in 1 cup amounts and use as needed. Thanks for the very easy no peeling or chopping pumpkin puree!!
awesome, easy, i followed other users advice and scooped the "meat" out while it was warm. i pureed it in a food processor and didn't find it necessary to strain it afterwards.
I started out using this method and then tried using the microwave oven. Use a sharp knife to poke several holes through the wall of the pumpkinby pushing the knife all the way to the center of the pumpkin as if you were going to care the pumpkin and this will assure that your pumpkin does not burst while cooking because this allows the steam to escape. Place on a micorwae dish and use the baked potato setting or cook and test like you would for a baked potato. (pinch test). The pumkin will be soft to the touch just like a baked potato When cool enough to handle cut the pumpin in half and it will be very easy to scoop the seeds out and then scoop the flesh out using a sturdy metal serving spoon.
I combined the recipes with another I read and it turned out perfectly. I heated the oven to 325. I cut the pumpkin in half (just a regular jack-o-lantern). I removed the insides. I put the pumpkin in a dish with a little water in the bottom of the pan to keep it moist and then covered with foil. I baked for right around an hour. When I pulled it out I immediately scooped out the pumpkin as others suggested it was easier while still hot. I used a hand mixer. It worked out nicely. Using what I consider a medium size pumpkin, I got 3 bags of 2 cups each puree. That will make 3 pies going by a recipe I found on here for fresh pumpkin pies.
I've never baked a pumpkin before and was hesitant to try until I saw a recipe of how to do it. My puree turned out quite nice and I will be turning it into a pie today! Thanks for giving me the courage to try something new!
I decided to try two separate recipes that both bake at 325° to see which one worked best. I split one sugar pumpkin to use in both recipes. The baking time for this recipe was substantially more despite the same baking temperature. It was an easy preparation and easy to scoop out when baked. This recipe had more moisture which would be perfect for soups, but a little too watery for baking unless drained. Also, I found it to be easier to use a food processor instead of the blender.
needs to be cooked longer and I would recommend leaving the aluminum foil loose or poking holes in it to let more water evaporate. Aluminum still necessary to help keep the pumpkin from burning though
Did this as per the directions on the first time. I found the removal of the outer skin a little difficult to work with, but managed. On the second occasion I used a vegetable peeler and cut it into chucks. Using a roaster made this extremely easy and the cooking was a little more even.
This is the easiest way I know to make my own pumpkin. I have been doing it this way for years. It also works very well with any kind of squash - acorn, butternut, spagetthi - I make almost all of my "pumpkin" pies with acorn squash and they turn out fantastic! I find though that I prefer to pack my pumpkin/squash just as it after it is baked and puree it when it has thawed from the freezer otherwise it gets to watery, but that is my own personal experience.
fun and easy to do! thanks Gidget.
this is a very good recipe but to speed things up I just cut the pumpkin in smaller pieces and steamed it. Its much easier to scrape out and pure'e in the blender.
Wow, I was excited to find this. I have never cooked my own pumpkin puree before. This was very helpful. Turned out great.
I needed pumpkin but they don't have it canned where I've moved. This took my worry out of trying to make it from scratch. I let my pumpkin cool for a good while before trying to puree it. I used a hand blender, as well.
Very easy and straightforward recipe! No problems at all, and the inside of the pumpkin did not dry out.
My family is amazed that I made a pumpkin pie from scratch, but if they only knew how easy it was. This recipe has convinced me that I will never used canned pumpkin again!
OHMYGEEZ! This recipie worked awesomely! It was so easy to scoop out the pumpkin stuff. THANKS!
I used my carving pumpkins which works fine though they don’t have as much “meat”. They also took much longer in the oven- 2 hours. One pumpkin had said many be a half cup of water in the middle by accident and this one cooked much better, so I would advise putting some water in the cavity to help steam cook it!
I love this recipe! I just used my pumpkins I bought to decorating for fall and my Vita Mix and it was so quick and fun. My pumpkins cooked just right in only one hour. I did slice the larger one in smaller than half pieces so it would cook evenly. Now I have fresh pumpkin for all my soups and baking. I never thought it would be so easy.
this is an easy method. i cut the pumpkins into about 8-10 pieces and then place in a steamer basket. i really don't know how long they steam - i just keep checking them until they are done. remove from the steamer and they are quite easy to peel at that point. then just place in a food processor, or whatever method you prefer.
Great method, though I just put mine cut-side down on a foil-lined sheet. A food processor makes it even faster and easier than a blender, eliminating the need to pass through a strainer.
Easy would not be my choice of words to describe this method. I followed the "recipe" to a "t" and had a hard time scraping the meat out. I am not sure I will use this one again.
Used this for processing New England Pancake Pumpkin for use in pumpkin rolls.
Easiest, best way to puree a pumpkin. So much tastier than storebought/canned!
Great recipe! I never thought it would be so easy to make pumpkin puree. I will never buy the store bought again - well, pumpkin puree is hard to find here in Germany. Will definitely make again. Thanks for sharing!
