Pumpkin Puree

Made from scratch Pumpkin Puree is a cinch to make with just two ingredients and a food processor or blender. Skip the canned pumpkin and enjoy the fresh taste of roasted pumpkin puree.

Course other/puree

Cuisine American

Keyword bake pumpkin, how to cook pumpkin, how to cook pumpkin for pie, how to make pumpkin puree

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1

Servings -5 cups

Calories 118kcal

Author Beth Pierce Recipe

Ingredients

1 small pumpkins about 4 lbs.
1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Carefully cut the pumpkin in half using a sharp knife. Remove the pumpkin seeds, strings, and loose pulp.
Brush the edges and inside of the pumpkin with a little olive oil or vegetable oil. Place it flesh side down on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.
Roast for 55-60 minutes or until very fork tender. Remove it from the oven and let it cool enough to handle it easily.
Scoop the cooked flesh off the skin and into the bowl of a food processor. Puree on high until smooth. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Notes

For the best flavor and consistency, use the smaller pumpkin pie pumpkins or sugar pumpkins for puree. I like to pick mine up from the farmer's market. The larger pumpkins have too much moisture and are really just grown and harvested for decoration and carving jack-o-lanterns.
You don't have to use parchment paper for this recipe, but it sure helps make cleanup a breeze.
The pumpkin is done when you can easily pierce through the skin with a fork.
Let the pumpkin cool after cooking. It is so much easier to get all the flesh off when it is not burning hot. For even easier scraping, cut the sections in half, and you can almost flatten the quarters, getting every ounce of pumpkin guts off of there.
If the puree is too watery, strain it through a fine mesh strainer or in cheesecloth.
This same recipe works for other squash. like acorn or butternut squash. The roasting time may vary depending on the size of the squash.
Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Freeze in a sturdy, airtight freezer container for up to 6 months.

Nutrition