How To Make Pumpkin Puree

The vast majority of food bloggers are currently posting fall-inspired recipes, many of which feature pumpkin puree. I know it must be torturous for those of you who still cannot track down cans of pumpkin puree where you live, so I thought I’d post a tutorial for how to make your own!

Start with “sugar” or “pie” pumpkins – they are smaller and sweeter than the big pumpkins used for carving into jack-o-lanterns.

Roast halved & seeded pumpkin in the oven at 350 degrees F until it becomes super soft.

Let cool.

Scrape all of the gorgeous brightly-hued flesh into the bowl of a food processor or blender…

… and puree until smooth.

Strain the puree to extract the excess water.

And there you have your own homemade pumpkin puree, which tastes infinitely better than the canned variety!

Homemade Pumpkin Puree

Ingredients:

• 1 “sugar” or “pie” pumpkin, washed and dried

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degress F.
2. Coat a roasting pan or jelly roll sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
3. Cut pumpkin in half. Scoop out and discard seeds and pulp.
4. Place pumpkin halves – cut sides down – into the pan or onto the sheet.
5. Bake for about 60-90 minutes, or until pumpkin is tender and easily pierced with a fork.
6. Let roasted pumpkin rest at room temperature until cool enough to handle.
7. Flip pumpkin halves over and scoop flesh out of the skin and into the bowl of a food processor. Puree until smooth.
8. Line a sieve or colander with two layers of heavy-duty paper towel or cheesecloth and place over a bowl. Spoon puree into lined sieve and let drain for about 30 minutes.
9. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge.