Homemade Pumpkin Puree

Recipe from The Pioneer Woman

Details

Prep time: 45 mins

Cook time: 45 mins

Servings: 6 people

Ingredients

• 2 whole small pumpkins

Instructions

1. Select a couple of small sized pumpkins. Cut the pumpkin in half. Using a spoon or a scoop, scrape out the seeds and pulp from the center. You don’t have to be too thorough with this.
2. Reserve all of the seeds in a separate bowl. Repeat until all the pumpkin pieces are largely free of seeds and pulp.
3. Place the pumpkin pieces on a baking sheet (face up or face down; I’ve done both) and roast in a 350°F oven until the pumpkin is fork-tender, 45 minutes. They should be nice and light golden brown when done.
4. Peel off the skin from the pumpkin pieces until you have a big pile of the stuff. If you have a food processor, throw in a few chunks at a time. A blender will work, too, if you add a little water. Or you can simply mash it up with a potato masher, or move it through a potato ricer, or process it through a food mill.
5. Pulse the pumpkin until smooth. If it looks too dry, add in a few tablespoons of water during the pulsing to give it the needed moisture. (Note, if the puree is overly watery, you should strain it over cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer to get rid of some of the liquid.)
6. Dump the pureed goodness into a bowl, and continue pureeing until all the pumpkin is done.
7. You can either use this immediately in whatever pumpkin recipe you’d like or store it in the freezer for later use.
8. To store in the freezer, spoon about 1 cupful of pumpkin into each plastic storage bag. Seal the bag with just a tiny bit of an opening remaining, then use your hands to flatten out the pumpkin inside the bag and push out the air. Store them in the freezer until you need them.

Notes

• You’ll want to use smaller pumpkins for making puree. Large pumpkins, like the ones you’d carve into jack-o’-lanterns, are a little too fibrous for making puree. Pumpkins labeled “pie pumpkins” or “sugar pumpkins” work well.

• Roast your pumpkin seeds! Pepitas make the tastiest crunchy snack. You can eat roasted pumpkin seeds by the handful, or you can use them to top soups, toss into salads, or make granola. 

• Freeze your puree in one-cup portions to use later. Measure out the puree, transfer it to zip-top bags, squeeze out all of the air, and smooth it out so the puree lies flat. This way it won’t take up much room in the freezer! Let it thaw in the fridge overnight or on the countertop for a few hours.