How to Make Pumpkin Puree
How to make pumpkin puree, straight from a pumpkin instead of a can! It's simpler than you probably imagine and can be frozen.
Ingredients
- Sugar pumpkins (aka baking pumpkins, or Hokaiddo pumpkins or butternut squash)
Instructions
- Wash sugar pumpkins before cutting in half. Cut off the stem.
- Remove all the seeds and place pumpkin halves cut side down on a baking sheet. Fill the baking sheet with water, about halfway up the edge of the baking sheet.
- Place in the oven and bake at 350 °F (175 °C) for about an hour or until the flesh of the pumpkins is very soft. How long exactly will depend on the size of your pumpkins.
- When cooked, remove from the oven and let cool enough until it's at a temperature safe to blend.
- Scoop the flesh into a food processor or blender. If you have an immersion blender, you can place the cooked pumpkin in a bowl. Blend until completely smooth.
- If the pumpkin is thinner than the canned variety, line a large sieve with cheesecloth or a clean tea towel and place over a large bowl. Pour the pumpkin in and let drain as long as needed, draining pumpkin in several batches, if needed.
- Once the pumpkin has drained, place in a bowl and stir together. Place the totally cooled pumpkin puree in containers or Ziploc bags. It can be refrigerated for 4-6 days in an airtight container.
- If freezing, I think it's best to freeze in the amounts you usually use, like 1/2 cup, 1 cup or 15 ounces / 425 grams (like a can of pumpkin). It's best used within 3-6 months but starts to lose quality over time. It can actually be frozen for much longer periods.
Notes
This is going to vary wildly from pumpkin to pumpkin but with an initial pumpkin weight of 2 pounds (907 grams), your yield will be about 1.5 pounds (680 grams) of pumpkin puree. 1 cup of pumpkin puree = 240 grams. So that'd be about 2 3/4 cups of pumpkin puree. That's if not using the skin. If you use the skin, you'll have more like 3 1/3 cups. This is per pumpkin!