The Best Homemade Pumpkin Puree (Easy + Made from Scratch!)
Looking for the perfect pumpkin puree recipe? Look no further. This homemade version is tasty, healthy, and ideal for all your favorite fall pumpkin recipes!
Course Tips
Cuisine American
Keyword homemade pumpkin puree
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 1 hourhour15 minutesminutes
Total Time 1 hourhour30 minutesminutes
Servings 3quarts
Author Valya's Taste of Home
Ingredients
Pumpkin Puree Ingredients
1medium – ripe pumpkin
Instructions
How to Prep and Bake the Pumpkin
Start by preheating your oven to a temperature of 350°F.
While your oven is warming, go ahead and rinse your fresh pumpkin. For this recipe, I recommend using a sugar pumpkin which you can easily find at your local farmer's market. These pumpkins are the perfect size and have a sweet and mild flavor that works beautifully in purees.
Once your pumpkin is clean, cut it in half to create two pumpkin halves. Be sure to save the seeds for roasting - they make a delightful snack!
Next, you need to clean out the inside of the pumpkin. Using a spoon, scrape off all the fibrous strands and seeds from the pumpkin's interior.
Cut your cleaned pumpkin into small, manageable pieces and arrange them on a large baking sheet that's been lined with parchment paper.
Bake your pumpkin pieces in the preheated oven for about an hour and fifteen minutes. You'll know they're done when they are fork-tender, meaning a knife can be easily inserted into the pumpkin flesh.
How to Blend and Make Pumpkin Puree
Once your pumpkin pieces are cooked, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool completely on the baking sheet. This is crucial as it prevents the pumpkin from becoming too mushy and helps it retain its flavor.
When the pumpkin is cooled, separate the skin from the flesh using a spoon or a knife.
Now it is time for the fun part - blending! Place your cooked pumpkin flesh into a blender or food processor and blend for about a minute. You might need to stop the blender every twenty seconds or so to push down any large pieces of pumpkin that might be stuck at the top.
Continue blending for another two minutes or until all the pumpkin is well blended and has a smooth consistency.