Easy Homemade Pumpkin Puree
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Don’t be intimidated by making your own pumpkin puree. It’s fun and you’ll feel incredibly domestic and happy every time you open the freezer and see the fruit of your labor fun. It keeps really well in the freezer (I’ve used it up to a year later; let’s keep that our little secret). Sugar pumpkins are best for pumpkin puree because they are, well, sweeter (what’s in a name?), although you may use the smaller regular pumpkins. Ideally, your pumpkin should be 7-9 inches wide. I was pushing the envelope with these; a whopping 10 inches, but they were still perfect. P.S. This recipe calls for 1 pumpkin which produces 10-13 cups of puree (plenty for most normal people, I just happened to pluck 5 pumpkins from my Mama’s yard and will probably need a deep freezer after this). Save the seeds and roast them!
You’ll know a sugar pumpkin when you see one up close. It has freckles. Can you spot the sugar pumpkin.
Here’s a closer look:
Pumpkins are gorgeous aren’t they? And so sturdy! It feels like they are taking over our house this week. We don’t celebrate Halloween, but I love Fall and Harvest and Thanksgiving. Pumpkin puree is an awesome ingredient to work with!
How To Make Homemade Pumpkin Puree:
Preheat your oven to 350°F
1. Using a sharp knife, remove the top of the pumpkin and cut it in half. With a large spoon, scrape out the seeds and the pulp. (P.S. keep the seeds and toast them!). Of course my son was eager to help me scrape out the pumpkin guts.
2. Cut each half in 4 chunks and place them skin-side-down on baking sheets. Bake at 350°F for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until you can pierce them smoothly with a fork.
3. Remove baked pumpkin from the oven and let them cool until they are a safe temperature to handle. With a small knife, remove and discard the skin. Cut each chunk into 1 inch pieces. Using a food processor, puree the baked pumpkin in batches until apple sauce consistency.
4. Processed pumpkin puree can be used right away or can be frozen for future pumpkin cravings. To keep the bag clean, fold out the zipper border and fill with 1 cup of puree. Flatten the bags to push out excess air and seal.
One 10-inch pumpkin made 13 cups of puree.
Thank you Mr. Pumpkin. Oh dear, no one was supposed to see this.
Easy Homemade Pumpkin Puree
Ingredients
- 2 small pie pumpkins, or one larger sugar pumpkin 8-10 inches*
Instructions
To Make the Pumpkin Puree
- Preheat your oven to 350°F Wash, dry and trim off the stem of the pumpkin. Stand the pumpkin on the flat side and cut it in half, or cut a larger pumpkin into quarters. Using a spoon, scrape out the seeds and pulp. Keep the seeds to make Roasted Pumpkin Seeds.
- Place pumpkin halves on a baking sheet cut-side down and Bake at 350F in the center of your oven for 50 min to 1 hour, or until easily pierced with a knife without resistance.
- Peel the skin off all the chunks and cut the pumpkin into 1-inch pieces. Process in batches in a food processor until smooth, scraping down the bowl as needed for even blending. You should end up with a smooth applesauce consistency.
To Thicken Pumpkin Puree:
- For a thicker puree needed for pumpkin pie or most recipes that call for canned pumpkin puree, set a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and line with a double layer of cheesecloth. Put the puree into the cheesecloth, wrap and gently squeeze to help release excess liquid. For a consistency similar to canned puree, I was able to strain off almost 1 cup of liquid from 2 small pie pumpkins.
Storing Pumpkin Puree:
- Use it immediately, cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week. To freeze, place 1 cup of puree into a freezer-safe zip bag, push out all the air, seal ,and freeze for up to 3 months or longer in a deep freezer.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
What weight pumpkin would be handy to know as too hard to try and measure at the supermarket ha ha
Can’t buy pumpkin purée in the supermarket here in south Australia
Hi Jane, I didn’t weigh the pumpkins, but you can use just about any weight as long as it is a baking pumpkin, or pie pumpkin or sugar pumpkin.
The best cake I ever bake for my family. All was gone in one day and its pretty mush for 4 people.
Thank you , Natasha.
You’re welcome, Vita! I’m so glad you enjoyed that!
what is the difference between the canned pumpkin and pumpkin puree>
Hi Jane, they should be the same as long as they are both blended/pureed. Pumpkin pie mix will have seasonings added to it.
I bought a pumpkin, but inside it’s really like a spaghetti squash. I baked it anyway. I had to add water to get my blender to puree it. Now I’m wondering how the taste of this is different. I think there is no such a thing like not edible pumpkin, but how different this taste would be if I use it for cake or pancakes.. I’m puzzled with this pumpkin…
Hi Maria, spaghetti squash is pretty different from pumpkin in texture and flavor. I’ve seen recipes online for spaghetti squash but I don’t think the spaghetti squash was pureed in the recipes I’ve seen, just left in it’s stringy form so I’m not sure about pureed. People also use spaghetti squash as a healthier way to serve pasta (using it instead of pasta). There are many uses for it! I would suggest googling some recipes for it since I don’t have any currently posted on my blog.
The point is I bought a PUMPKIN. Looks like pumpkin. Sold as pumpkin. Round and orange from outside. When I cut it and peeled – it was like spaghetti inside.. But I still made it into puree, adding some water. Today morning I made pancakes with it (my own mix with buckwheat, banana, sour cream.. and pumpkin) it turned out tasty. Now going to make your easy pumpkin cake… 😉
Oh wow that is so strange!! 🙂 I’m glad to hear it turned out for pancakes!
I think this pumpkin cross pollinated with help from a Bee or some other pollinater squash . No harm just a different flavor and texture. I have had this happen to me on my small lot.
Can’t we use without baking
Hi, I’m not sure I understand your question. There are many uses for pumpkin puree – or are you asking about eating raw pumpkin before baking the pieces?
Hello. So we can eat this pumpkin. lol that’s funny because today I were at the store and asked if I can eat this pumpkin and the cashier she said that actually you better buy different kind. Because this kind is only for decorations. And wow I got your recipes with pumpkin that she said I can’t eat. lol I never try pumpkin before or a dish with pumpkin. I should try one of the dishes. I think I would like. And I have a question. So usually in the recipes when it says to put caned pumpkin this pumpkin is the same as I would buy canned one. Right?
There are some pumpkins that are best just as decorative pumpkins. For pumpkin puree you want to make sure to use a sugar pumpkin if you can find them. You can use homemade instead of canned, but make sure it is really well drained for most recipes.
Thanks so much for this recipe, it was very informative and have about 8 pumpkins from our garden that I will do this with. Lot’s to save and use..
You are welcome Faith and don’t throw away those pumpkin seeds :). Here is a great way to save them for a snack.
Do you think a blender will work just as we’ll to purée it instead of using a food processor?
A strong blender like Vitamix or blendtec would work well. It might take longer and have to be done in smaller batches in a regular blender, but I do think it’s do-able. 🙂
With 16oz cans of pumpkin at $1.99, now I will be making my own puree….my question is this…..how much fresh puree do I use when the recipe calls for a 160z can? Is it the same measure for both?
I weighed mine but yes it is the same amount. My husband used fresh puree today for our pumpkin cheesecake and it worked just as well as the canned version. I agree; canned pumpkin is over-priced.
Adorable and useful post. Who needs to buy those silly little cans of pumpkin when it is so easy to make your own? I’m just certain doing it this way is a gazillion times healthier too. Thanks for sharing
Definitely healthier and tastier and less expensive too! 🙂
Do you have a recipe for pumpkin “kasha”?
I don’t yet, but oh goodness I want some now!
I never did know how to make pumpkin puree. It looks pretty easy too, just takes time. Thanks for posting. I guess I should kiss the canned stuff goodbye!
You are welcome Suzie 🙂
I’m coming from Europe but we never got to eat those orange pumpkins. My mom baked lots of pies but used butternut squash . Once I got here I’ve noticed that everybody eats pumpkin: soups, pies…. I still bake with butternut squash only, I like the smell, color and taste. It’s a bit more expensive but the difference is huge, taste wise.
Oh I’d love to start working with butternut squash. Do you have any great recipes you could recommend?
In fact, I just replace the pumpking with butternut squash in every recipe calling for pumpkin. There is no pumpkin in my household :-), my mom and everybody in my home country feed the animals with pumpkin. Until I came to America I didn’t know that this vegetable it’s even….. comestible . Actually I tasted once and I didn’t like it. So, I pile up my pantry with butternut squash. They last longer in the pantry and every dish (pie, soup or just rosted in the oven) it’s a delicacy.
As far as I remember it is hot cereal where you add some pumpkin while cooking. I don’t make it myself but my mom used to make it for us when we were little. It was long time ago and it totally slipped my mind that such dish even exists! Wow, good to remember now. It looks like this: http://forum.say7.info/topic24285.html
Thanks for sharing. It sounds like such a cozy Fall dish 🙂
I make pumpkin puree every year for pumpkin kasha. Really good stuff!
What is pumpkin kasha?
Natasha, every grandma(one that lives in a villiage) in Ukraine makes kasha 🙂
Haha, loved the last picture! Before I knew anything about anything, I roasted a ginormous pumpkin that was so big it filled up my whole oven. I cooked it whole and it leaked water all over the oven, then of course I had not so appealing stringy puree b/c I used the wrong type of pumpkin. Lesson learned! Yours looks much better. 🙂
I didn’t realize the big pumpkins were stringy! That’s really good to know. I guess I won’t ever try anything bigger than the one I used. Thanks for the tip!
This is very cool point. That is totally true, the bigger the pumpkin the more watery they would be. Verinoca, thanks for the tip.
Love the pictures! 😉 I made pumpkin puree last year and then when I defrosted it, it became super watery so I didn’t make my pumpkin pie. How’s the texture of this puree?
I love anything pumpkin so I would love to stock up the freezer for my random pumpkin cravings;)
It’s not as thick as the canned stuff, but don’t let that stop you from making pumpkin pie. It will work! Sometimes a little bit of liquid rises to the top which you can drain off, but it should be minimal (it also depends on your pumpkin).
Most of the time pumpkin pure will be more watery if you cook it in water. If you bake pumpkins it will maintain the texture.
Thanks Natalya, that makes sense! I’ve never had a problem with using homemade pumpkin puree.
Thanks ladies! I will definatley have to give it a whirl.
I baked my pumpkins and just now learned from what you said on here that we should drain it well…..ok stupid question but how do I drain puree??
I would recommend using a sieve or fine mesh strainer.
I recently made pumpkin and raisin pancakes. We ate them with sour cream and honey. Very yummy. My husband loves the toasted seeds. He bought pumpkins mainly for that:)
We used to grow pumpkins only for the seeds and toss the pumpkin!! Do you have a recipe for those you could share?
Natasha, I emailed you the recipe that I used. if you are interested, just click on it and go directly to the site because it has pictures that you can follow. I used canadian flour so I ended up using less flour than what the recipe calles for.
Thank you Alena!! I’m looking forward to trying it!
You are so adorable in this apron!
Thank you Anna 🙂 its by Knotty Daughters.
i love your sense of humor. makes your blog more fun to read =]
Thank you Olga :D.
Looks wonderful. And makes sense to make it on our own rather than spending the money on canned pumpkin puree for the upcoming holidays. Thanks so much for the recipe!
I think it tastes better than the canned stuff too. 😉