Homemade Pumpkin Puree

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Homemade Pumpkin Puree- If you don’t want to cook with canned pumpkin, or you are looking to cook more from scratch and avoid canned items, here I am with just the pumpkin puree recipe you’re looking for that meets all of your Fall cooking, baking, and holiday needs. In this post, I will show you how to cook fresh pumpkin for recipes that can be used in sweet or savory dishes! Making fresh pumpkin puree is so easy, you’ll never want to buy the canned stuff again!

Homemade pumpkin puree with a whisk.

As a culinary professional and busy Mom, I’m very passionate about real homemade food, and whenever possible I try to avoid the pre prepared version of anything, and I want to help you do it also. 

Along with recipes that use fresh produce, this site is focused on avoiding processed ingredients as much as possible and approachable home cooking. In fact, I have a whole category on the site devoted to scratch made food you should check out!

Every year, I head to the pumpkin patch to stock up so I can make this puree to get ready for all those yummy sweet and savory dishes you can make with pumpkin puree!

Amy’s Secrets For Making Pumpkin Puree From Fresh Pumpkin

How do you cook a pumpkin? Roasting a pumpkin to puree yourself is so easy!

Remove the stem from the pumpkins using a knife to pop it off..


Cut the pumpkins in half and scoop out the seeds and save if you like to roast them, or discard them.

Bake until a fork poked in the pumpkin halves goes in easily.

That’s it! Super simple, and you have fresh homemade pumpkin puree when you need it! More detailed instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

Tips For Using Homemade Pumpkin Puree In Recipes

  • If you are using puree in a cheesecake, be sure it is at room temperature before adding to your recipe, just like cream cheese and eggs.
  • To smooth out the puree, pulse it in the bowl of a food processor with the blade attachment to remove any lumps before using it in a recipe.
  • Your homemade pumpkin puree is going to be more watery compared to the canned version, so you should not add it straight to a recipe without draining it first.
  • If its too watery after draining, you can put the puree in a large piece of cheesecloth and squeeze out more water.
  • When using homemade puree, I always put it into a colander to drain while I gather the rest of my ingredients and do the prep work for a recipe.
  • If your colander has larger holes and you are worried about the puree slipping through the cracks, place some cheesecloth in the colander before you add the puree.

How Much Pumpkin Puree Can I Get From One Pumpkin?

This depends on the size of your pumpkin, but  typically one pumpkin will get you about 2 cups of puree. Most of the time, I roast two pumpkins to ensure I have enough for whatever I might be making.

Delicious Recipes Using Homemade Pumpkin Puree

If you are looking for a few pumpkin puree recipe ideas, I have a few that are great to try! 

This puree can be used in both sweet and savory dishes, so it is really versatile! Here are a few recipes that use pumpkin puree:

If you are reading this, thank you for stopping by! I hope you love this Homemade Pumpkin Puree, and that you find many ways to use it that you love! 

If you tried this recipe, I’d love to hear how it turned out! All you need to do is leave a rating or comment. 

If you have not signed up for my newsletter, you can do that below. I have lots of exclusive content just for newsletter subscribers, and I’d love for you to join. Happy Cooking!

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Pumpkin puree made from scratch in a large bowl.

Pumpkin Puree From Scratch

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5 from 124 reviews

Why buy canned pumpkin when you can make your own? This Homemade Pumpkin Puree is a great way to use all those fresh Fall pumpkins you can’t resist buying at your local market. This recipe is so easy, and ready for all your baking and cooking needs!

  • Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
  • Yield: 2 Cups 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 Pie Pumpkins
  • 4 Tbsp Avocado Oil

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Prepare a rimmed baking sheet by lining it with aluminum foil, dull side facing up. You can also go without the aluminum foil if you prefer.
  3. Remove the pumpkin stems by sticking the tip of a knife under the edge of the stem and pushing up. It should pop right off.
  4. Cut the pumpkins in half, and place each half cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet.
  5. Brush the skin of each pumpkin with 2 Tbsp of avocado oil.
  6. Bake for 45 minutes to one hour, until a fork easily pierces the skin.
  7. Allow the pumpkin halves to cool for a few minutes until you can comfortably touch them and the skin will come right off. Or you can scoop the flesh out if you are able to pick up the pumpkin halves in your hands.
  8. After cooling, place the pumpkin in the bowl of a food processor with the blade attachment and blend until smooth.
  9. Place the cooked pumpkin in a large freezer bag and refrigerate, or freeze until ready to use.

Notes

When using this puree in recipes, be sure to place the pumpkin flesh in a colander and drain the excess moisture out before using. Its also a great idea to drain moisture out before freezing, and then drain again after defrosting.

Don’t skip the step of brushing the skin with oil before roasting. It helps keep the skin from burning while the pumpkins roast.

I recommend using a rimmed baking sheet for roasting to help catch any juices to prevent them from spilling into the oven.

You may find that the skin becomes so soft that you really can’t scoop the pumpkin out, it is more like peeling the skin off. That’s ok! Sometimes that happens and its perfectly normal.

You can use cheesecloth to drain your pumpkin if you don’t have a colander with small drainage holes.

Your Pumpkin Puree will keep for up to one week refrigerated, or up to three months frozen.

If you are using the puree in a cheesecake, be sure to let the puree come to room temperature before adding to your cheesecake batter if the puree has been refrigerated or frozen.

  • Author: Amy at The Copper Table
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Additional Time: 0 hours
  • Cook Time: 1 hours
  • Category: Cooking From Scratch
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1
  • Calories: 152
  • Sugar: 7
  • Sodium: 63
  • Fat: 10
  • Saturated Fat: 2
  • Unsaturated Fat: 8
  • Trans Fat: 0
  • Carbohydrates: 15
  • Fiber: 1
  • Protein: 1
  • Cholesterol: 0

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23 Comments

  1. Huh… I didn’t know there are different types of pumpkins. I’m not a baker, but I’m saving this for my friend who is.
    Thanks bunches for sharing this with Sweet Tea & Friends this month dear friend.

  2. Homemade anything is always the better way to go! And since it’s so easy to freeze and store it’s great to make ahead for the colder months. Thanks for sharing all your tips and advice 😀

  3. There are so many uses for this! I actually put it in my cat’s food to help with hairballs and general digestion. Pumpkin is good stuff~ Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner party. Hope your weekend is amazing!

  4. I have never seen the second variety of pumpkin you showed but I have definitely seen the sugar pumpkins around; I’ll have to try this!

  5. We always scoop our pumpkins out for jack-o-lanterns and bake the seeds. The rest goes into the trash, but I would love to try this out and see if any of us likes pumpkin anything. It certainly looks good! Thanks for sharing on Crafty Creators!

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