Happy Friday: Homemade Pumpkin Puree

By Collin | Owner

Nov 08, 2013 @ 4:42 PM MST

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Sent from reader, Janelle:

My Happy Friday tip is a super simple one! We have at least 12 pumpkins. I had never used a pumpkin for actual baking but a friend told me to just whip it in the oven whole and pull it out when it got soft. I popped 2 on a cookie sheet in the second to lowest rack of my oven at 275 degrees for around 4-5 hours and then when they were soft pulled them out, cut them in half, scooped out the seeds (which I saved to roast), and then the outer skin just peeled right off. I quick ran it through the food processor (any blender, etc. would work) and voila, the 2 free pumpkins yielded 7 pint jars of pure pumpkin puree. I froze most of the jars but kept one in the fridge to add to “pumpkin pie oatmeal” for my children’s breakfasts and baked a pie with another. I have to say, I have never tasted such yummy pumpkin! You can freeze it in quantities needed for any of your favorite pumpkin recipes.

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Join The Discussion

onlinements 48

Kristin Gaffney November 8, 2013 at 4:44 pm MST

I do this every year and it’s great! I usually put the puréed pumpkin in freezer ziplock bags and freeze them in the freezer.

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Susan November 8, 2013 at 7:02 pm MST

Me too:) Fresh pumpkin makes the best pies.

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Tanya W. November 8, 2013 at 4:47 pm MST

We do this when we can. But we cook it down in a slow cooker because it can be too runny for most recipes otherwise.

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Erin November 8, 2013 at 4:47 pm MST

Do you need to stab it or poke holes in it or anything?

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Janelle November 8, 2013 at 4:55 pm MST

I did stab them but my girlfriend who initially told me about it did not. I think its pretty foolproof.

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Janelle November 8, 2013 at 5:00 pm MST

Pumpkin pie oatmeal: I just do about 1/2 cup oatmeal, a little quiona (Maybe a tsp), 1/2 cup milk, a teaspoon of brown sugar, splash of vanilla, shake or two of cinnamon and a heaping teaspoon or more of pumpkin puree. I just microwave it two min. Yummy!

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Pharmchick November 9, 2013 at 8:48 am MST

Yum, thanks! I’ll try this soon!

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Pharmchick November 8, 2013 at 4:49 pm MST

Pumpkin pie oatmeal recipe please!!

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Stacy November 8, 2013 at 4:56 pm MST

Does this need to be a special ‘pumpkin’ that they sell specifically for pies or the regular larges ones you put on your porch? I only ask because I see the ‘special’ ones in the produce section and I always wonder what makes them so ‘special’ ? LOL

Thanks!

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Amanda November 8, 2013 at 5:09 pm MST

The special pumpkin they sell for pies is called a Dickenson pumpkin. It is a greyish color outside, but bright beautiful orange on the inside. It has a different sugar content than regular pumpkins and is the kind that the Libby’s onlinepany uses to make their canned pumpkin/pumpkin pie mix. I imagine you could use any pumpkin you’d like- just beware that some pumpkins release a lot of water when they are cooked, so you may have to strain the pumpkin to get the water out.

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Erin November 8, 2013 at 7:46 pm MST

You really want pie or sugar pumpkins for puree. The large jack o’lantern pumpkins are stringy and flavorless.

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Carolyn November 8, 2013 at 8:34 pm MST

I’ve seen that you need “pie pumpkins” for puree, but my question is how do I tell if it’s a pie pumpkin? We have a few pumpkins that were given out as we left fall festivals this year, and they’re small but not mini – would those be good?

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llc November 8, 2013 at 9:28 pm MST

Pie pumpkins are darker in color – burnt orange with very small band. And when you cut into them they are super hard onlinepared to a carving pumpkin. I tried to carve a pie pumpkin once and it was awful because it was so tough (less water content). They are usually about 4-6″ in diameter.

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Robin November 8, 2013 at 8:41 pm MST

I was wondering this as well. I bake with the long neck pumpkins. They are much better than the porch pumpkins and the nasty paste-y canned pumpkin (yuck!). This would make pie prep soooo much easier.

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lj November 9, 2013 at 8:42 am MST

The pie pumpkins would probably be a little better, but, honestly, everything I use puree in gets a lot of sugar and spices so I can’t even tell the difference. I like to go to my grocery store the morning after halloween and get all the pumpkins they have marked down. I’ve missed it the last 2 years though. My ingles marked them down to .99. One year I got the fancy pumpkins, spotted ones, white one, etc. They are supposed to be fine to eat, but these were awful. They have a very strong pumpkin taste/smell and the pies etc tasted yuck. So now I just stick with the jack o lantern pumpkins.

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amy November 8, 2013 at 4:56 pm MST

I do this too.. but i cut it into chunks first (i quarter a small pumpkin) and take out the guts and seeds for roasting beforehand. Then it only takes at the most an hour to cook the pumpkin. Sometimes you need to add a few tablespoons of water when you puree the pumpkin. The Pioneer Woman has a good post on it that you can google the exact receipe w/ step by step directions. I’ve done a few pumpkins already and need to finish off the rest. I put the pumpkin into baggies and lay them flat in the freezer so it takes up less space and will last a few months. I use it in chili.. nobody knows it’s my “secret” ingrediant!

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mkw November 8, 2013 at 5:46 pm MST

I also add it to spaghetti sauce. . . kids and hubby have do idea!

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Catie November 8, 2013 at 5:01 pm MST

I do this too– just did it last weekend! I also cut the pumpkin first so it cooks a little more quickly and I add water to the pan I put the pumpkin in to aid in cooking. I love it in smoothies! I made a pumpkin pie smoothie the other day–super yummy!

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Alysa November 8, 2013 at 5:26 pm MST

Would love to see your recipe for a pumpkin pie smoothie if you’re willing to share. Sounds delicious!

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Catie November 8, 2013 at 6:43 pm MST

🙂 Sure! I put a cup of pumpkin, about a half cup of milk, scoop of protein powder, couple shakes of pumpkin pie spice, a tsp. of vanilla and blend it up. I just approximate the measurements to taste. I sometimes will add a little brown sugar to sweeten it up as well. So yummy and filling with the protein powder.

I got the idea from a recipe for a sweet potato smoothie from food.online. It’s really yummy too!

1 small sweet potato
1 1/2 cups skim milk or 1 1/2 cups unflavored light soymilk
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
1 dash pumpkin pie spice

Hope you enjoy!

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Tablesaving November 8, 2013 at 5:06 pm MST

This is a great idea. Just to add my two cents, make sure you follow her directions and freeze the puree. You can not safely can pumpkin without a pressure canner.

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Christine November 8, 2013 at 8:50 pm MST

And use freezer safe glass canning jars:)

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Cole November 9, 2013 at 10:25 am MST

True, and you cannot safely can puree pumpkin, it has to be in chunks.

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Tina Matteson November 8, 2013 at 5:08 pm MST

Wow, I had no idea we could do this with our pumpkins! And to think I was probably going to throw them away! I’m gonna bake them and make some yummy goodies out of them. Thanks for the tips.

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M. November 8, 2013 at 5:37 pm MST

Aren’t the ones like you use to decorate with too old to use at this point? I’m not sure but I assumed that my pumpkins could be a few weeks old before I even bought them and then they have been sitting out for the past 3 weeks. I have done this before but with a pumpkin that a neighbor grew and I knew it was fresh.

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Erin November 8, 2013 at 7:55 pm MST

No. Pumpkins, squash, and the like are winter vegetables that are meant to last for long periods. However, you don’t want to make puree from large carving pumpkins; they are stringy, watery, and flavorless. Use smaller pie pumpkins for puree and other recipes.

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Melody November 8, 2013 at 6:07 pm MST

Wait…. I didn’t think you could freeze in glass jars???? I thought they would most likely break from the expansion or something else would cause them to break??

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Carrie November 8, 2013 at 7:24 pm MST

I found that if you lay the jars on their side while freezing, the don’t break. I’ve only tried quarts so far though.

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Christine November 8, 2013 at 8:52 pm MST

I buy freezer safe glass canning jars. They have a fill line on them.

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lj November 9, 2013 at 8:49 am MST

I just use any regular canning jars. I’ve never had any to break. This is the ONLY way to preserve berries, so they don’t taste like cardboard when you thaw them out. I do berries, corn, pumpkin, soup, etc. And I’ll take a jar out of the freezer, and pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 min to speed up the thawing process. This is how we did it when I was growing up and I’ve been doing this for 9 years now. And speaking of berries, blueberries are awesome frozen. Do not wash them, put them in a jar and freeze. Wash them just before you use them. If you wash them before, they get tough.

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Char November 8, 2013 at 6:55 pm MST

I just did my pumpkins a few days ago! I peeled mine with a veggie peeler and cut in cubes like I do potatoes and boiled on the stove. I did not keep track of how long it took, just occasionally poked with a fork until soft. Then I put in a blender to puree. It was pretty thick, may need to add a little liquid. You can put in jars and freeze, just make sure you leave enough head space for expansion. I haven’t had any jars break.

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debbie November 8, 2013 at 7:02 pm MST

has any one done this to a green pumpkin or a peanut pink pumpkin

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Jac November 9, 2013 at 5:10 am MST

Yep, we always get unusual pumpkins for roasting, as they make the best purée. Here are examples of some (note that there are many squash varieties that look very much like pumpkins & work just the same way): https://intervalefarm.online/edible.htm.

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Tiffany November 8, 2013 at 7:07 pm MST

I had always been told that there was a specific type of pumpkin used for baking… that you didn’t just use the kind we put out on our porches for halloween or use for decorating.

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Erin November 8, 2013 at 7:49 pm MST

You want small sugar or pie pumpkins.

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Momof3divas November 8, 2013 at 8:27 pm MST

I always use our big pumpkins, I have never bought ‘special’ pumpkins to puree. The fresh puree makes the absolute best pumpkin bars and pies…so good! You, of course, don’t want to use pumpkins that you have carved bur you can certainly use painted or decorated ones (just scrub as much paint as you can off)

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catherine November 8, 2013 at 7:21 pm MST

I do this every year, makes for great pumkin pie and bread, i freeze in ziplock bags, yummy

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SB November 8, 2013 at 7:22 pm MST

I made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies today. Wish I had had fresh pumpkin! Enjoy!

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Catie November 8, 2013 at 7:33 pm MST

I like to mix the pumpkin puree with a box of spice cake mix and make easy pumpkin muffins. So amazing!

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Stefanie November 8, 2013 at 7:45 pm MST

Yes – me too! I like to add chocolate chips, pecans, and cranberries to this too (altogether or separately).

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tilla ham November 8, 2013 at 8:33 pm MST

does anyone use normal pumpkins to do this? and not special pie pumpkins? I have 3 pumpkins uncarved ( we were lazy) on porch, they are just the large jackolantern type…don’t want to waste my time if they won’t taste good

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Momof3divas November 8, 2013 at 8:45 pm MST

Yes! That’s the ones I use every year. I cut them into chunks and scrap the guts out. Put them in a roasting pan,cut side down, with about an inch or so of water and bake them until they get soft. I freeze mine flat in ziploc bags.

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Betty November 9, 2013 at 6:46 am MST

i’m so jelous you got 12 pumpkins! I got one from my garden with about 900million vines growing only one silly sugar pumpkin. Oh wells guess i’ll have to muuch

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Diana November 9, 2013 at 7:37 am MST

I also cook my own pumpkin sometimes, but I follow the directions from pickyourown.org. It’s cooked in the microwave and is so much quicker. It turns out great! https://www.pickyourown.org/pumpkincooking.php

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DJ November 9, 2013 at 11:33 am MST

Thank you – Baking whole is a great idea. Cutting those tough pumpkins in two before baking is very difficult for me – both from my physical limitations and plain old clumsiness. Sharp knives + me = not a good idea.

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nicole hendrickson November 10, 2013 at 4:15 pm MST

I have a regular orange pumpkins can I cook them?

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Ashley November 10, 2013 at 5:39 pm MST

I also use all different kinds of squash in my pumpkin recipes. They work great. No one would ever be able to tell and they taste great! Just made a pumpkin roll today with butternut squash.

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pamhoward96409071 November 11, 2013 at 9:38 am MST

I do this every year too – and then I roast the pumpkin seeds – here is my method – easy and delicious! https://behealthybehappywellness.online/2012/09/no-more-cans-4-easy-steps-to-making-your-own-pumpkin-puree/

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