How to Make Your Own Pumpkin Puree

It’s that time of year – pumpkin is officially appropriate in every recipe! Savor this time, as it is fleeting and precious.

Okay, maybe that was a bit melodramatic, but, the pumpkin window is relatively small, so enjoy it!

Instead of making your pumpkin-based recipes from a can, how about making them from a pumpkin? It’s easy as pie!  *wink*

I don’t know that making your own puree is necessarily cheaper than buying it, but it’s fun and you get the added side-effect of being able to toast the seeds.

How to Make Pumpkin Puree

• Obtain a least two sugar pie pumpkins. These are the cute little pumpkins, not the big pumpkins you buy to make jack-o-lanterns. Trader Joe’s has them for $1.99 each right now.
• Preheat the oven to 350 F
• Cut the pumpkins in half down the middle, scooping out all the seeds and stringy insides. Get them pumpkins nice and clean – no gunk left inside. Keep the seeds to roast – they’re full of protein and lots of other nutrients, like manganese, magnesium, and even iron.
• Place the halved pumpkins face down on a cookie sheet or in a roasting pan and roast 45 minutes – 1 hour. The time required will depend on the size of your pumpkin and your oven. You want the pumpkin to be soft and mushy – you should be able to pierce it easily with a fork

• Let cool, and scoop out the insides, placing into a  food processor  or high speed blender (I used the Ninja blender) as you do; Don’t put in any burned bits – only pretty orange pumpkin. (The skin should basically just fall off, so you could also “peel” them). You will probably have to do this in batches if you went with two pumpkins – I had two batches.
• Puree the pumpkin until it’s smooth. You may may have to add a little water to get everything all blended together nicely – don’t worry, ‘cause we’re going to drain it next.
• Pour the puree into a sieve or a colander lined with paper towels, and let drain for at least an hour or up to a day. You will be surprised how much liquid will drain out. You can put the puree mix into the fridge to chill out and drain.

• Store in airtight containers in the fridge for up to a week, or, freeze for later use.

In the end, I got about seven cups of puree total out of two pumpkins, or, roughly three-and-a-half cans. I had two very full 3-cup containers plus one extra cup that I used right away.

One can of Libby’s pumpkin puree at Amazon Fresh (our local delivery service) is $2.33. I spent $3.98 on pumpkins, so it is cheaper to make your own, but any savings are really washed away in time spent. Personally, I think it is time well spent, though!

Happy Fall from me and Pipa!

(Can you tell she really didn’t want to stand still for this photo?)