How to Make Pumpkin Puree
Homemade Pumpkin Puree How-to Video
The first thing you gotta to do is getcha the right kinda pumpkin. You want what’s called a “pie pumpkin” or a “sugar pumpkin”, not the giant jack-o’lantern pumpkins that are floating around the stores this time of year. Pie pumpkins are smallish, less than 10″ across, dark orange, and very round. Their flesh is much denser and more pumpkiny-tasting than the jack-o’lantern pumpkins. For any recipe that uses fresh pumpkin, in fact, assume it means a pie pumpkin.
It might seem like a lot of trouble to roast and puree your own pumpkin for pies and cakes and things, but it’s mostly hands-off and kind of a fun project for a lazy holiday weekend. Roasting the pumpkin (rather than boiling) dries the meat out a little and yields a rich puree with a concentrated pumpkin-ness that no one can deny. Plus, you can roast the pumpkin seeds!
Pumpkin puree can be frozen so if there’s a sweet deal on some pumpkins you can stock up.
How to make pumpkin puree from fresh pumpkin
PrintHow to Make Pumpkin Puree
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 or more pie pumpkins
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Use the biggest, sharpest knife you have and cut the stem off the pumpkin then cut it in quarters lengthwise.
- Scrape the seeds out and cut each quarter in half again.
- Put the pumpkin pieces, skin down, on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 45 minutes or so, until the flesh feels soft when you poke it with a fork.
- Remove and let cool. Once cool, you should be able to peel the skin off easily with your fingers.
- Run through a food processor, mash with a potato masher or with the paddle attachment on a heavy duty mixer.
