Homemade Pumpkin Purée Recipe
The time has come when we start stocking up on cans of puréed pumpkin. And why not? Pumpkin purée is perfect for pies, soups, pastas, cakes… the list seems to be endless! But why trust someone else to make pumpkin purée when it’s so easy to make it yourself using organic pumpkin and your very own oven?
A Homemade Pumpkin Purée Recipe
1 organic pumpkin
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Halve the pumpkin and remove the stem. Scoop out the seeds, which you can reserve for roasted pumpkin seeds if you like. Place face-up on a baking sheet and place in the preheated oven. Bake for between 45 minutes and 1 hour (depending on the size of your pumpkin), until a fork inserted into the flesh goes in easily.
Scrape the flesh from the skin and discard the skin. Place all of the flesh into a blender and blend until you achieve a smooth texture.
Depending on the variety of pumpkin you use, there may be a bit of excess water, which you can strain out using cheesecloth or a coffee filter.
Can the pumpkin or freeze it in freezer-safe bags.
Variations
The good news about this recipe is that the variations are endless. With the recipe as written, you will achieve a purely flavored pumpkin purée. But if you’re sure to be using it with sweet recipes, you can mix in your pumpkin pie spice right away. If you know it will be used for savory recipes, season with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper.
To top it all off, the technique works well for any kind of winter squash: butternut, red kuri squash or acorn squash purée can all be made using the exact same method.
How To Use It
As for what to do with your homemade pumpkin purée, the sky’s the limit! Here are some of our favorites, to help you get started:
Related on Organic Authority
Organic Butternut Squash Pancakes
Beyond Butternut: 3 Heirloom Winter Squash Varieties
It’s Organic Pumpkin Time!
Image: Danielle Scott
