Okay, that headline might have been just a little wee dramatic. I am totally on side with using canned pumpkin as it is just so handy but now that I know how easy it is to make your own homemade pumpkin puree I may be a little less likely to reach for the can. Plus, these cute little pie or "sugar" pumpkins were basically calling my name from across the aisle at the grocery store.
The best part? I've got seeds for roasting later. Maybe if they gave you the seeds with the can of pumpkin puree I'd be less excited but I can almost taste the roasted, seasoned seeds that I'm going to be eating later today.
How easy is it to make homemade pumpkin puree? Let's just say that if I can do it then it must be easy peasy. Just lop the tops off, cut in quarters and get your hands dirty removing the seeds and strings. Using a spoon helps but you will get messy! This can be fun to do with the kids.
Now it is time for roasting. The roasting will make the pumpkin flesh nice and soft and allow you to simply pull the skin off in one piece. It also helps to bring out the real flavour from the pumpkin. Some people like to coat the pumpkin in oil or dust it with a bit of kosher salt but it really isn't required so it is up to you.
You want the pumpkin to look like the picture above. Let it cool until it is easy to work with and you can peal off the skin. Then just throw it in the blender (or food processor if you prefer). In my Vitamix Pro 750 I like to use the puree preset which makes this step simple.
Now all you have to figure out is what amazing things you are going to make with your newly made puree. The list is almost endless. You could make maple pumpkin puree which is a great ice cream topper or maple ice cream...or you could try a Pumpkin Iced Latte that is so much better than anything you can get from a coffee shop. I'm about to try to make some pumpkin apple cider. Fingers crossed - worst case scenario is that my house is about to smell A-maz-ing!
[clickToTweet tweet="You may never open another can of pumpkin puree again." quote="You may never open another can of pumpkin puree again."]
Store your puree in the fridge or you can freeze it and enjoy it for months to come.
Homemade Pumpkin Puree
You may never open another can of pumpkin puree again.
Ingredients
- 2 pie or "sugar" pumpkins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
- Cut the top off each pumpkin and discard.
- Cut the pumpkins in quarters and scoop out the seeds and string. (Keep the seeds for roasting, yum)
- Arrange the pumpkin quarters on baking sheet. It doesn’t matter if cut side is up or down.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes until the pumpkin flesh is tender.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool.
- Once cool enough to easily handle, remove the skin from the pumpkin flesh and discard the skin.
- Add pumpkin flesh to blender and puree until smooth.
- Store in air tight container in the fridge or freeze puree for future use.
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