Hands down the best way to get ready for your holiday baking. The pumpkin puree is really easy to make and packs a ton of flavor. Once you make it for yourself it is hard to go back to any other way.Â
Whenever I tell someone I am making my own pumpkin puree they think I am crazy since you can pick it up in the store already done for you. Then once they have a pie, cookies, or cake I have made then they only want it that way. In the time it takes you to go to the store and buy all of the ingredients for whatever you are going to bake you could have made this puree. It takes very little effort to make and the results are well worth it. Well at least in my opinion.Â
In this recipe
There is only one thing in this recipe, you guessed it, pumpkin. I don’t like to add anything to the pumpkin like oil or sugar while cooking. This allows me to make whatever I want to make afterwards and I am not adding anything else to my recipes. By adding sugar you will speed up how quickly the pumpkin will go bad in the refrigerator and can throw off your other recipes making them too sweet.Â
Face up or down
It does not matter which way the pumpkin in cooked however there will be small differences in the end result but nothing major. If you cook the pumpkin facing up then you will get a drier puree but you will also have little charred bits of pumpkin that taste really good. If you cook the pumpkin with the cut side down then the pumpkins will steam and contain more water than the face up versions. In both cases however the skin should come right off with very littler work.Â
Making pumpkin puree
One of the things to be aware of is that if you cook the pumpkin face up it will look really dry. This is just the pumpkin tricking you. At this stage do not add any water to the pumpkin until after you make the puree. If your food processor is big enough to handle all of the pumpkin at once then go ahead and use it. If not you will want to puree in batches. Once you puree the pumpkin then see if still needs additional water and then if it does add it 1 tablespoon at a time. The photo below the puree without additional water.Â
Puree too runny?
One of the things you can do to remove water is to use a fine mesh sieve that is lined with cheesecloth. Then use a spoon to stir and drain the liquid. I encourage you to place a bowl under the sieve. That way if you get rid of too much liquid you can add some back and it will not be water so it won’t lose any flavor. You don’t want to get rid of so much water that it starts to dry off as most pumpkin recipes take the moisture in the puree into account. This might lead to dry baked goods.Â
Looking for other fall recipes?
Roasted Pumpkin Puree
Equipment
- Food processor
- Sheet pan
Ingredients
- 2 sugar or pie pumpkins do not use a regular pumpkin
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F, 190°C, or gas mark 5.
- Using a sharp knife cut the stems off of the pumpkins and then slice them in half. Scoop out the seeds and connective fibers. For roasting upside down put the halves of the pumpkin facing cut side down on the sheet pan. For face up roasting cut the halves in half and place on the sheet pan.
- Roast for 35-45 minutes or until the pumpkin starts to collapse.
- The skin should peel off. If you are having a little trouble use a spoon or knife to separate the pumpkin from the skin.
- Place the pumpkin in the food processor and blend until smooth.
Notes
Nutrition
