Have you ever wanted to learn how to make pumpkin from scratch but thought it was too hard? This homemade pumpkin puree recipe is so easy to make that you’ll kick yourself for not trying it earlier.
Homemade Pumpkin Puree
Who else is super excited about all the fall baking going on right now? I’m so in love with all the flavors of fall… apples, cinnamon, caramel, and most especially pumpkin! I started making my own homemade pumpkin puree a few years ago, and I’m excited to share this super simple method with you. The effort required is so minimal, and the payout is awesome!
Let’s get started, shall we? You’ll need some pie pumpkins. I’ve found them in a variety of places, for a variety of prices. My grocery store sells them for $3-4/each (which I find incredibly expensive) but I’ve found them at Trader Joe’s for $1.99/each or at local pumpkin patches for $0.50 – $1. You want to make sure you’re buying pie pumpkins (instead of the big carving pumpkins) because they’re sweeter and easier to manage.
How To Make Pumpkin Puree
- Start by lopping the tops off your pumpkins. It helps to have a sharp knife.
2) Cut the pumpkins in half, top to bottom.
3) Scoop out the insides (and save your seeds to make roasted pumpkin seeds!). I used a cookie scoop for most of the insides and some kitchen shears for the tough stringy bits.
4) When they’re all clean, put them face down on a baking sheet, and add about 1/4 inch of water around them (it doesn’t need to be too precise). Bake at 350 for 60-90 minutes, checking periodically after 60 minutes.
5) They are finished when a fork slides in easily. Mine were perfect after 70 minutes.
6) Let the pumpkin cool (this is important, as my burned fingers can attest!) and then scoop the meat out into a blender.
7) Blend until well-pureed, pulsing to break up any stubborn bits. If it’s too thick and hard to puree, add a little water to get things moving.
8) Depending on how watery your pumpkins were, you may have a lot or a little water to drain off. If you’re happy with the consistency of your puree, by all means leave it as is! If you want it to be more like what you get out of the can, you can drain it in a colander set over a pot. I found that paper towels worked great for lining the colander. I let it drain for about 30 minutes and got about 1 1/2 cups of water out.
Can I Freeze My Homemade Pumpkin Puree?
My three small pie pumpkins yielded about 7 cups of puree. My favorite way to store it is to add about 1 cup of pumpkin puree to a freezer bag, squeeze out all the air, flatten, and then freeze. They stack neatly in the freezer after they’re frozen, and they’re easy to pull out whenever I need pumpkin for a recipe. I either thaw them in the fridge overnight or in a bowl of cold water.
I usually let mine cool in the fridge overnight and then freeze it. Just like any other type of food, if you let it sit out, it will allow bacteria to grow. It keeps in the fridge for about a week, so if you’re planning to use it right away, the fridge would be fine.
More Delicious Pumpkin Recipes
- Best Pumpkin Pancakes Recipe
- Easy Pumpkin Crepes Recipe
- Pumpkin Honey Butter
- 3 Ingredient Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Pumpkin Spice Brownie Brittle
So now that you have your pumpkin puree, what are you going to make with it? Leave us a comment below and let us know what you made. Or snap a picture of it and tag us on social media.
Easy Homemade Pumpkin Puree
Ingredients
- 4-6 pound pie pumpkins
Instructions
- Cut the tops off your pumpkins
- Cut the pumpkins in half, from top to bottom
- Scoop out the insides of the pumpkins
- Place the pumpkins face down on a baking sheet
- Add about 1/4 inch of water around them
- Bake at 350 for 60-90 minutes, checking periodically after 60 minutes
- They are finished when a fork slides in easily
- Let the pumpkin cool and then scoop the meat out into a blender
Notes
Nutrition
Other Notes
Love the idea of going 100% from scratch!
Thanks Cathy! I love making things from scratch too!
Thank you so much for this recipe! Very easy to follow!
Thanks Sandra!
This was absolutely delicious! Yummy! What a fabulous idea!
I’m so glad to hear you loved it!
Thank you for this tutorial. I’ve always wanted to try doing a pumpkin puree homemade and it was so easy!
You bet!
This is such a great method and you make it look so easy! I always love to make my own pumpkin puree.
It’s so easy and delicious!
What a great recipe for fall! Love this! Looking forward to making this all season long!
Thanks!
This is so much better than the store bought canned version not to mention much more budget friendly. I’ll be using this all fall long!
Thanks! I’m so glad you liked it!
I was wondering if this can be canned or does it have to be frozen?
I haven’t tried canning it. I’m still sort of a novice canner (mostly fruits and jams) and I don’t know all the ins and outs of canning vegetables. I’ve found that pickyourown.org has a lot of good information about canning, so they might be able to tell you. Good luck!
You cannot can pureed pumpkin for density reasons but you can can ot in chunks. Follow this link for directions. http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_04/pumpkin_winter_squash.html
Hey there! I grew my own pie pumpkins this year! At about $1 for the package of seeds, and I only used 3-4 seeds I am seriously impressed at the size of my plant! I’ve got at least 50 pie pumpkins growing away! My question is, how long does the frozen puree stay good for? I’d like to make a bunch of puree for the freezer when the pumpkins are ready to go, but I’m just not sure about the lifespan of frozen pumpkin. Thanks for your help!
I am about to try this but I want to make pumpkin pies with it. Is there anything that I have to do that is different? I usually just use the pumpkin puree from the can. What should I do differently? do you know of a good recipe?
Hi Kate! It should work the same as canned pumpkin for a pie. I’ve noticed that my purée tends to be a little more watery than the canned stuff, so I usually drain it like I mentioned above. Once drained though it should work exactly the same!
I’ve been doing this for years but I DO use the big carving pumpkins, there’s not that big of a difference in flavor and the price is much better then buying the pie pumpkins which I can never find for less the 2 bucks a pop when the carving pumpkins are 3.50! There not that much harder to deal with but to me it’s worth the savings.
That’s really good to know! I’ve never tried it with the regular pumpkins but you’ve inspired me to try it next time! Have you found that they take longer to cook than the smaller ones?
70 minutes sound about right, I always just cook it till it’s super tender, then I slice the pumpkin in to large chunks and peel the skin off then do the rest of the stuff (puree, drain, store)