Have you ever cooked a pumpkin? Get these easy tips on how to cook pumpkin and make your own pumpkin puree. You’ll never go back to canned pumpkin again!
How to Cook Pumpkin
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One of the reasons I love fall so much is because it’s pumpkin season! John loves to grow pumpkins in our garden, and he’s pretty good at it. That works out great for me, because I love to decorate with pumpkins, and I definitely love to eat anything that is made with pumpkin!
One year, a friend gave us a couple of large baking pumpkins. So I learned how to cook pumpkin, and made my own pumpkin puree. Then I used that puree to make the Thanksgiving pumpkin pies.
Oh. My. Pumpkin. When you use pie pumpkins, the flavor is richer than canned pumpkin. It’s amazing!
I will never go back to using canned pumpkin again! Now we grow extra pumpkins in our garden every year so I have plenty to cook and freeze. We eat pumpkin-flavored stuff all year round.
Cooking Pumpkin Step-by-Step
Believe it or not, it’s actually pretty easy to cook pumpkin to make your own pumpkin puree. (Scroll down for printable step-by-step directions.)
Use baking pumpkins or pie pumpkins. You can usually find pie pumpkins in the grocery store in the fall. (They are small, deep orange, and round.) Pie pumpkins tend to have thicker, softer flesh than carving pumpkins. They also have a richer, sweeter flavor. You can use any kind of pumpkin you want, but you won’t get quite as much bang for your buck with a carving pumpkin.
Bonus Pumpkin Cooking Tips
- Line your baking sheets with aluminum foil, and spray the foil with cooking spray. It makes for much easier clean up. One year, my pumpkins all stuck to the baking sheets and peeled up some of the non-stick finish. (There’s a pretty good chance that I was using old, poor quality baking sheets.) I was able to salvage the pumpkin, but not the baking sheets. Now I line with aluminum foil every time.
- If your pumpkin is too dry, it will break your blender (don’t ask, just trust me), and it won’t mix as well in your recipes later. Pumpkin is so dense that it’s not recommended to use a blender to puree it, anyway. Use a food processor instead.
- If your pumpkin is too wet, it will water down your recipes later. If you end up with too much moisture in your pumpkin, you can strain it through cheesecloth before you use it or freeze it.
- A pumpkin that weighs between 2.5-3 pounds should make approximately 15 ounces of pumpkin puree.
When you’re done, you should end up with pumpkin puree that looks something like this:
You can bake with it right away, or freeze it for later.
To freeze pumpkin, simply spoon it into quart-size Ziploc freezer bags in the quantity you want. I use a food scale and freeze it in 15-ounce or 30-ounce portions. (That’s the size of small and large cans of pumpkins.)
Are you ready to try to cook pumpkin and make your own pumpkin puree? Let the fall pumpkin baking begin!!
Enjoy!
Essential Tools for Cooking Pumpkin
- A good, sharp knife
- An ice cream scoop (or a heavy-duty spoon)
- Lipped baking sheets
- Heavy-duty aluminum foil
- Oven mitts
- A food processor
- Cheesecloth
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How to Cook Pumpkin
Ingredients
- Pie pumpkin
Instructions
- Slice off the top of the pumpkin (stem).
- Slice the pumpkin in half from top to bottom.
- Line a lipped baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.
- Place the pumpkin halves cut side down on baking sheets.
- Bake at 350 degrees for one hour, or until tender.
- Remove pumpkin from baking sheet, turn cut side up, and cool completely.
- Scrape the flesh away from the skin.
- Use a food processor or a blender to make a smooth puree.
- If the pumpkin puree has too much moisture, strain it through cheesecloth before using.
- Use immediately, or freeze in Ziploc freezer bags in single-use size portions. (Cans of pumpkin are 15-ounces or 28-ounces. I freeze in either of these weights, measured with a food scale.)
- A pumpkin that weighs between 2.5-3 pounds should make approximately 15 ounces of pumpkin puree.
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