Everyone’s favorite fall flavor is pumpkin, but the very best comes from fresh pumpkin puree. Just one pie pumpkin will give you about 2 cups of fresh puree, plus a batch of yummy pumpkin seeds to munch, too. The process only takes about 30 minutes, and it’s easier to do than you might think. Best of all, there are no preservatives or other add-in ingredients. Just fresh, delicious pumpkin!
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Is It Hard to Make Puree From a Pumpkin?
No!
It’s ridiculously easy to make your own pumpkin puree from scratch. You just need a pie pumpkin and some water. From start to finish, the whole process takes less than 30 minutes. The taste of sweet, fresh, pumpkin in your fall goodies just can’t be beat…as long as you use the right kind of pumpkin!
The right kind? But a pumpkin is just a pumpkin, right?
Wrong!
Some pumpkins have been cultivated especially for carving, while others have been produced for being used in cooking.
What’s the Difference Between a Carving Pumpkin and a Pie Pumpkin?
A carving pumpkin (shown below) is what you’ll find growing at pumpkin farms that open their gates to the public in the fall. They specialize in growing pumpkins that have thinner shells and a less fleshy inside. These characteristics make these pumpkins easier to carve. Carving pumpkins range in size from small to very large, and their colors vary from almost yellow to dark orange.
A pie pumpkin (shown below) is what you’ll find at the produce department in the grocery store. They are small pumpkins that are dark orange in color. Pie pumpkins have much more flesh than carving pumpkins, and their shells are thicker. All of that flesh makes them sweeter than their carving counterparts, so it is any wonder that people enjoy using them to make autumn treats?
One average-sized pie pumpkin yields about 2 cups (16 oz) of puree. Your fresh pumpkin puree will last about a week in the refrigerator, or up to three months in the freezer.
How Do I Make Pumpkin Puree?
Fresh, sweet pumpkin puree starts with a pie pumpkin. Pie pumpkins are also called sugar pumpkins because of the high sugar content, which makes for truly delicious pumpkin dishes, from pumpkin sheet cake to pumpkin soup!
Cut the pumpkin in half. Then use a large spoon or a scooping tool from your pumpkin carving kit to remove the seeds. Some people dry them and try to grow their own pumpkins the next year. Other people throw them away. But we love to make roasted pumpkin seeds every time we make a batch of pumpkin puree. If you’ve never had them, you’re missing a yummy snack!
Place both halves upside down in a 9 x 13″ pan in about two inches of water. Microwave the pumpkin halves in ten minute increments until the shell is easily pricked with a fork. The time it takes depends upon the size and thickness of your pumpkin, but it averages about twenty minutes.
Drain the water and flip pumpkins over with a long handled spoon or other utensil to cool off.
When they are cool enough to handle, use a spoon or the scoop from your pumpkin carving kit to remove the flesh from the shell. You should be able to easily remove the flesh all the way to the outer shell. If you find that the flesh is hard and difficult to remove, you may want to put it upside down in water and microwave it again.
The pumpkin flesh is very soft, but it needs to be pureed so you can use it in the same way you’d use canned pumpkin. Place the flesh in a blender, add about 1/2 cup water, and puree. You may need more or less water, depending upon the water content of your pumpkin. The finished consistency is similar to pudding.
How Do I Use Fresh Pumpkin Puree?
You can use your fresh pumpkin puree the same way you’d use canned pumpkin. Try these favorites from our kitchen!
- Serve up a delicious dessert with Pumpkin Sheet Cake
- Warm up from the inside when you enjoy Creamy Pumpkin Soup
- Save those seeds! Use them to make Savory or Sweet Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
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I’ve been wanting to make my own pumpkin puree. My friends do it and talk about how yummy it is!
You definitely should! It’s so easy and you really can’t mess it up.
My dog loves pumpkin puree. He’s sometimes picky with the brand, I wonder if he’d prefer a homemade version like this. Thanks for the info.
My dog is picky about the strangest things. She refuses dropped chips but has no qualms eating who knows what in the yard. Hopefully your dog will approve of homemade pumpkin puree!