Homemade Pumpkin Puree

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The best pumpkins for making your own pumpkin puree are Sugar pumpkins. You should be able to find them in the produce section of most grocery stores right now and they're pretty inexpensive. They're almost too cute to eat! Almost...

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice pumpkin in half and remove stem. You can cut it in quarters if you want, or just leave it halved. It doesn't really matter.


Step 2: Using a spoon, scrape out all of the stringy stuff and the seeds. If you want to toast the seeds, make sure to save them.


Step 3: Spray a foil-lined baking sheet with non-stick spray. Place your pumpkin cut-side down on the sheet. Also, during this step, I would recommend covering the pumpkin with another piece of foil.

Step 4: Cook pumpkin in your 350 degree oven for 50-60 minutes or until it's tender when pierced with a fork. When done, remove from oven and let cool on the baking sheet.

Step 5: Use a spoon to scrape out the flesh and discard the skin/rind. It should be super soft and easy to scoop right out, kind of like scooping out an avocado.


Step 6: Place pumpkin pulp in a food processor and process until smooth. (Or you can just mash it with a fork or potato masher) You can add a little water at this point to get the consistency you want. My pumpkin was a bit dry and I was aiming for the consistency of canned pumpkin so I slowly drizzled in about 1/4 cup of water until it had the right feel.

At this point you can use it in any recipe that calls for pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin.

FYI: I used a 2-lb. pumpkin and it yielded 1 3/4 C puree