Homemade Pumpkin Puree
Making your own pure pumpkin puree is easy and a great fun fall activity to do with kids. You can make it ahead of time and even freeze it for longer-term storage.
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
  2. Cut the pumpkins in half with a large knife. I use a butcher knife and stick just the tip in, then work it around the pumpkin until it’s cut around, then pry it open and pop off the stem.
  3. With a spoon or scoop, scrape out the seeds and the pumpkin guts into a small bowl (so you can roast the seeds later). Don’t obsess about getting all all the stringy stuff out because it’s not going to matter.
  4. Place pumpkin pieces on a baking tray (either facing up or down, both ways work) and roast for about 45 minutes, or until a fork easily goes into the pumpkin meat. They should look nice and golden.
  5. Let the pumpkin cool for a 5 minutes or so if you like, then peel each piece. I use my thumbs to work the big chunks off of the peel, then do a bit of scraping to get the majority of the pumpkin off. But this is also not something you need to get crazy about. Discard the hard peel and collect the pumpkin meat in a bowl or your food processor/blender. Break up the pieces into 1- to 2-inch chunks as you go along.
  6. Puree the pumpkin chunks until smooth. Add a bit of water (2-3 teaspoons at a time) if you have trouble getting it to break down. You can do this with a food processor, blender, potato masher, food mill or whatever you like, as long as you can get a smooth consistency from the pumpkin flesh.
  7. Collect your pumpkin puree in a bowl and keep pureeing the remaining pieces until you’ve gotten it all.
  8. Use immediately (or refrigerate for a couple of days to use soon) or freeze. To freeze, place about 1 cup of puree into a ziplock bag. Close up almost the entire bag, leaving a small exit slit. Press the puree out in the bag until it lays flat.