How to Make Pumpkin Puree
Learn How to make Pumpkin Purée with these easy tips! It’s velvety smooth and has a fresh flavor that you’ll never get from canned pumpkin. It can be made up to a few days in advance and it’s freezer-friendly!
I’ve made more pumpkin recipes at this point in the fall season that I have any other year, which definitely isn’t a bad thing. 🙂
The biggest reason is that I’ve been developing this recipe for homemade pumpkin purée, and I’ve been incorporating it into tons of recipes like pumpkin risotto and pumpkin pie from scratch!
Surprisingly, I’ve been roasting pumpkin for roasted pumpkin soup for years, but I’d never gotten around to making my own purée.
This is mostly because canned pumpkin is so convenient, but fresh pumpkin truly does make a difference in all of my recipes.
Taking a bit of extra time to process the pumpkin until it’s silky smooth takes just a few minutes of time, then it can be strained free of moisture up to a few days in advance.
Once you learn how to make pumpkin purée to incorporate in your recipes, I think you’ll agree that it’s worth the extra effort.
You just can’t beat the fresh flavor and velvety texture! 🙂
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- Once you learn how to make pumpkin purée, there’s no going back. It has an amazing velvety texture and a fresh flavor that you just can’t get from canned pumpkin.
- Homemade pumpkin purée will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days and can be frozen for up to 3 months.
- Instructions include various ways to cook pumpkin, including oven roasting it or cooking it whole in the Instant Pot or slow cooker.
Recipe ingredients
All you need for this pumpkin purée recipe is pumpkin, and possibly a bit of olive oil if you decide to oven roast it.
Ingredient notes
- Pumpkin. There are so many delicious varieties to choose from for both sweet and savory pumpkin recipes, so be sure to talk to someone at your market or pumpkin patch to find out which ones are best for cooking. I love using sugar pie pumpkins as they’re readily available and are great for sweet recipes like pumpkin bars as well as savory recipes like pumpkin chili. Kabocha squash is another variety that I love — check out my post on kabocha squash recipes to find out more about it.
- Olive oil. If you decide to roast the pumpkin in the oven, you’ll need a tablespoon or two of olive oil to rub over the halved pumpkin.
How to make homemade pumpkin purée
Making homemade pumpkin purée is incredibly easy. Simply cook the pumpkin until tender, then process it in a blender or food processor until smooth and strain it to remove excess moisture.
Cooking pumpkin
There are a few different ways to approach cooking pumpkin for homemade pumpkin purée. You can prepare roasted pumpkin in the oven, or follow the instructions below to cook a whole pumpkin in the Instant Pot.
Preparing a whole pumpkin in the Instant Pot makes prepping the pumpkin very easy. Cutting it is not required, and the peel and seeds are easily removed after cooking.
If you don’t have an Instant Pot, follow these instructions to cook pumpkin in the slow cooker.
Pro tip: If your pumpkin is larger than 2 lbs., you will need to cook it between 25-30 minutes at high pressure. Check for doneness, and add time if necessary.
- Rinse the pumpkin thoroughly and place on the trivet in the Instant Pot with one cup of water. Select Pressure Cook and cook at high pressure for 20-23 minutes.
- Quick release the pressure and remove the lid. The skin should be peeling off of the pumpkin. Insert a knife into the pumpkin — it should slice through it like softened butter. If the pumpkin doesn’t seem tender enough, cook on high pressure another 3-5 minutes.
- When cool enough to handle, remove from the Instant Pot and place on a cutting board. Peel the pumpkin, cut the pumpkin in half, then scoop out the seeds and stringy insides.
Prepare the pumpkin purée
Once the pumpkin has been cooked, it’s time to prepare the purée. This can be done up to a few days before you plan to use it.
Pro tip: Straining the purée in a sieve lined with cheesecloth is necessary to remove excess moisture if you plan to use it for baking.
- Place the flesh in a food processor or blender and process until smooth.
- Place in a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth placed over a bowl. Cover the purée loosely with plastic wrap and store in the fridge overnight. This will remove excess moisture, which is essential for baking.
Recipe FAQs
Canned pumpkin and pumpkin purée are the same as they’re both pure pumpkin processed until smooth with no additives.
Pumpkin purée is not to be confused with pumpkin pie filling, however, as pumpkin pie filling contains sweeteners and spices.
Sugar pumpkins, or baking pumpkins, are typically used for pumpkin pie because they contain a good amount of pumpkin flesh and have a sweeter flavor.
Most carving pumpkins, or very large pumpkins, have a watery, stringy flesh and don’t have the sweet flavor that smaller pumpkins have, so they’re not a great choice for cooking.
See my post on pumpkin recipes for more information on using fresh pumpkin!
Rinse the outside of the pumpkin under running water before roasting it or cooking it.
See my post on how to cut a pumpkin for instructions on cutting pumpkin and removing the seeds. Be sure to reserve the seeds to prepare roasted pumpkin seeds!
Recipe notes
- Pro tip: A 2 lb. sugar pie pumpkin will yield roughly 4 cups of purée. The size of your pumpkin will affect the cooking time and the amount of purée.
- Sugar pumpkins are small orange pumpkins typically used for pumpkin pie. Other great varieties for homemade pumpkin puree are red kuri and kabocha squash.
- No Instant Pot? You can also cook a pumpkin in the slow cooker or prepare roasted pumpkin.
- Store homemade pumpkin puree in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It may also be frozen for up to 3 months.
More pumpkin recipes you’ll love:
Did you try this recipe? If so, be sure to leave a review below and tag me @flavorthemoments on Facebook and Instagram
How to Make Pumpkin Puree
Ingredients
- 2 lb. sugar pumpkin or your favorite variety; see notes
Instructions
- Prepare roasted pumpkin or follow the instructions to cook the pumpkin whole in the Instant Pot. See notes to access instructions to cook the pumpkin in the slow cooker.2 lb. sugar pumpkin
- Place the trivet in the Instant Pot and add 1 cup of water. Rinse the pumpkin under running water and place on the trivet. Seal the lid and close the venting valve, then select Pressure Cook on High pressure for 23 minutes. The Instant pot will take 10-15 minutes to come to pressure.
- Quick release the pressure when the cooking time is over, and remove the lid. The skin on the pumpkin should be peeling off in some places which is normal. You can also insert a sharp knife into the pumpkin to test for doneness…the knife should slide in like it’s cutting butter. If it doesn’t, cook the pumpkin for another 2-3 minutes at high pressure.
- When the pumpkin is cool enough to handle, carefully remove the trivet and pumpkin from the Instant Pot and place on a cutting board. Cut the pumpkin in half, and allow it to cool before removing the peel and the seeds and stringy insides.
- Place the pumpkin flesh into a food processor or blender and process it until smooth.
- Transfer the purée to a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth placed over a bowl. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let stand in the refrigerator overnight to allow liquid to drain from the puree. Don't skip this step or the purée will have excess moisture, which will affect baked goods.
- Cool the pumpkin purée, then store in an air tight container and store in the refrigerator until you're ready to use it.
Notes
- Pro tip: A 2 lb. sugar pumpkin will yield roughly 4 cups of purée. The size of your pumpkin will affect the cooking time and the amount of purée.
- Sugar pumpkins are small orange pumpkins typically used for pumpkin pie. Other great varieties for homemade pumpkin puree are red kuri and kabocha squash.
- No Instant Pot? You can also cook a pumpkin in the slow cooker or prepare roasted pumpkin.
- Store homemade pumpkin puree in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It may also be frozen for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
**This post was originally published in October 2019. The photos have been updated and the text has been modified to include more recipe information.
One Comment on “How to Make Pumpkin Puree”
Marcie, I absolutely need to try this! I go through so much canned pumpkin this time of year, it can get a little pricey. You’ve made this look so easy. I can’t wait to give it a go in my Instant Pot! Pinned!