Today I am going to show you how to make something that you will NEED this Fall. If you are wanting to do any baking with pumpkin (and use that Pumpkin Pie Spice you made earlier), you will need some pumpkin puree. Now, I know you can buy this in a can, but really, when you make it from a real pumpkin, it just tastes that much better. Now, I don’t have the ideal pumpkin here, but it works just fine. Ideally, you will want the nice little “Pie Pumpkins” or “Sugar Pumpkins”, which are nice little round pumpkins, perfect for making puree. If you can’t find one of those though, buy the smallest pumpkin you can find. The bigger the pumpkin, the stringier the fibers will be.
You will need to cut your pumpkin in half, from the stem down, and scoop out all the seeds and stringy, icky stuff from the middle of the pumpkin. Just a note; don’t throw those seeds out, I will show you how to make a tasty snack with them next week.
Place your cut, scooped pumpkins, cut side down, on a lined baking sheet, and bake it for about an hour. Once it has cooled a bit, scoop it out of the pumpkin using a large spoon. I spooned mine into a bowl, them let it sit for a bit to cool some more. I bought myself a new kitchen toy a few weeks ago, a new KitchenAid blender. LOVE IT! It has way more power than my previous blender, and it worked the pumpkin into a puree in no time! Leaving me with…
…beautiful, smooth pumpkin puree. The pumpkin you buy in a can will not have this beautiful colour to it, that’s for sure. This pumpkin can either be stored in the fridge if you will use it in the next few weeks, or stored in freezer safe containers and frozen until you’re ready to bake with it.
- 1 pie pumpkin, or small pumpkin
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Cut the pumpkin in half, from top to bottom. Scoop out the seeds & stringy bits from the middle of the pumpkin.
- Place pumpkin, cut side down, on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 60-70 minutes. The pumpkin is done when a knife easily inserts through the skin and pumpkin. If it still feels hard, keep baking for another 10 minutes and check again.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Scoop pumpkin out of the shell, leaving the tough skin behind. Puree pumpkin in blender until smooth.
- Store in the fridge in an air tight container, or freeze in freezer safe containers (or bags) until ready to use.
- Use the puree as you would the canned stuff, to make your favorite muffins, pies, waffles or cakes.
To view a list of the pumpkin recipes, click HERE.
Margaret A. Massey says
No blender? Do you have a food mill? That’s what I use for applesauce too.
Tamara says
Hey, Jeanine, could I bottle and process this? My Ball Blue Book (canning bible) doesn’t have a specific reference, but if you think it might work, I’ll give it a try since I’d love to have some fresh puree I put up myself…I know, it’s work, but it’s sooooo pretty!
Jeanine says
Hi Tamara! I did read that they do not suggest canning pumpkin at home. I’m not sure what the reason was, but I think “they” suggest you freeze it instead of canning it.
debbie says
Yes you are right ,they reccomend freezing it.I would love to pressure can it it would be so much handier,I imagine Libby’s etc must pressure can it commercially. They reccomend canning it in chunks in water,which sort of defeats the purpose
InTolerant Chef says
Such a lovely colour! We can’t get canned/tinned pumpkin here so thanks for the recipe.
Jeanine says
Wow, it’s unreal how different parts of the world do things differently, huh? No canned pumpkin? Can you buy the pumpkins to make your own puree?
debbie says
Where do you live,I thought pumpkin would be available everywere.
Jeanine says
Australia, I believe.
Kristin Overton says
I’ve always cut the raw pumpkin into 1″ cubes then baked it, which makes for a LOT more work. I have no idea why it never occurred to me to bake it like a spaghetti squash… duh!
Betty Reimer says
I’m preparing my own pumpkin puree here too this fall..there are so many good pumpkin recipes that I want to make. I think I will run out of ‘pumpkin season’!
Jeanine says
maybe we should say pumpkin season goes until March??
croak says
I took my pumpkin and just placed it in the oven whole without cutting at all. I let it bake until it turned soft. Then I cut the top off and took the seeds out. Was a breeze to take the meaty pumpkin out. Will do it this way from now on. Very easy and no mess to deal with.
Jeanine Friesen says
Sounds like an easy way to do it, croak! Thanks for sharing!