Homemade Pumpkin Puree

Seeing how its practically October, I really am feeling the need to start sharing some fall-ish recipes with you. But I'm having a hard time doing it considering its been hotter here these past couple days than it has been for most of the summer! Go figure. But, I'll start with something simple that you need to have made in order to make some great seasonal tasting and smelling baked goods. If you have some of this stocked up in your freezer you have lots of quick things you can throw together!

I'll start by saying, I bought a whole, large pumpkin about a month ago for less than $1 (Y5.80). My end result was about 5 1/2 15oz bags of pumpkin puree in my freezer--I say 15 oz because that's how much a can in the States usually is and what a typical recipe will call for--I measured it in weight but each bag has about 2 cups puree. Just one can of Libby pumpkin puree would cost you around $4 probably if you bought it at an import store here.

Homemade Pumpkin Puree


The only ingredient is pumpkin! The pumpkin available to me looks a little bit more like a butternut squash. I actually researched a bit to see what kind of pumpkin it is, but didn't really come up with a good answer.

Start by slicing up the pumpkin. Two to three inch wide slices are what I cut.

Cut slices in half and scrape out seeds and ribs with a spoon.

Cut the halves in half again and place skin side down on a large baking sheet.

Cover with foil and bake at 350F (180C) until flesh of pumpkin is really soft. I think I baked mine well over an hour.

Allow pumpkin to cool enough to handle. Then use a spoon and start scraping the flesh off the skin and into a blender or food processor. You'll probably have to add water to get it to blend smoothly.

I chose to freeze mine in ziplock bags so they could freeze flat and take up less room. I used my handy little kitchen scale to weigh out 15 oz portions, but that is equal to about 2 cups for those of you that don't have a scale.

You can also boil the pumpkin rather than baking it. It probably goes a little quicker and I used to do that some when making baby food just so I could get it done quickly. However, most baby food sites will tell you that baking things will retain more of the nutrients than boiling it. If you boil it, cut the skin off first. But if you're going for maximum nutrition, bake it! I hope this post is helpful for you!