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This easy Homemade Pumpkin Puree is a staple autumnal ingredient. Use it to make your favourite seasonal pies, muffins, cookies and more! If you’re not sure how to make pumpkin puree, don’t worry, it’s SUPER cheap and easy to make!
Homemade Pumpkin Puree Is SO Easy To Make!
- Why choose this recipe? If you’re in the US it’s relatively easy to find canned pumpkin. But in the UK can sometimes be difficult (and expensive) to find. It is so easy to make, it is way cheaper than buying imported tins of pumpkin puree and it doesn’t have any additives. It’s literally just pumpkin!
- Top Tip: You can make this homemade pumpkin puree at any time of year then freeze it and use it for all your favourite Fall bakes whenever you need it.
- Love Pumpkin? Use this to make my gluten free pumpkin pie, gluten free pumpkin bread, banana and pumpkin muffins or a gluten free pumpkin roll.
Table of Contents
Ingredients and Substitutions
You only need one ingredient to make homemade pumpkin puree – and that’s fresh pumpkin! Avoid using the large, carving pumpkins on sale for Jack O’Lanterns.
These tend to have a high watery content as they are grown for size – not flavour – which means they don’t taste of a lot, and would make a very wet puree.
Instead, I used an Edible British Pumpkin – these are readily available in UK supermarkets and tend to be a lot smaller than the carving pumpkins.
You can also use squash as a substitute for this recipe. Something like roasted butternut squash would make an equally good puree.
In the US, look for pie pumpkins or sugar pumpkins, as these are most suitable for making fresh pumpkin puree with.
How to Make Pumpkin Puree
There’s a printable recipe card below with the method. But here are some step-by-step photos to show you how to make this homemade pumpkin puree recipe.
Storing and Freezing Instructions
TO STORE: Once blended up, the puree can be cooled completely and stored in the fridge for up to a week in an airtight container.
TO FREEZE: You can also portion it up into tubs and freeze it for up to 6 months. Don’t forget to label it so you don’t have to play freeze roulette!
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some FAQs about this easy pumpkin puree recipe. If you can’t find the answer to your question here or in the post above, please comment and I’ll try answer!
Yes, it is! It’s literally just made from pumpkin, which makes it 100% naturally gluten free.
I always roast my pumpkins for pumpkin puree as I find this A) gives a richer flavour and B) removes some of the excess moisture. If you boil or steam the pumpkin you will end up with a much wetter pumpkin puree what may affect the bake. I’d recommend only roasting the pumpkin for this puree recipe.
Yes, you can! To air fry the pumpkin, simply cut in half and scoop out the seeds, then place cut-side-down in the air fryer basket. Air fry at 180c (356F) for 25 minutes. Check you can easily stick a sharp knife into the pumpkin half – if it’s still hard, try another 5-minutes-at-a-time until soft.
Pumpkin Puree Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cooking pumpkin , (edible pumpkin or sugar pumpkin, approx 700-800g)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C / Fan 160C / Gas Mark 4 / 356F. (See notes for air fryer method).
- Using a very sharp knife, cut the pumpkin in half. I usually do this by sitting it upright so the flat bottom is on the chopping board, plunge the knife into the top by the stem and push through to the bottom. Wiggle it down to cut one half of the pumpkin, then repeat on the other side.
- Scoop the seeds and any stringy bits of flesh from the pumpkin. You can roast the seeds for a tasty snack if you like!
- Place the two halves, cut-side-down, on a baking tray. Bake for 45 mins – 1 hour until a sharp knife can easily be pushed through the skin of the pumpkin.
- Remove from the oven, turn over so the flesh is facing out and leave until cool enough to handle. Once you can handle the pumpkin, scoop the soft flesh out with a spoon and blitz in a food processor until smooth.
Notes
- Which Pumpkin Is Best? In the UK use an edible British pumpkin. In the US look for pie pumpkins or sugar pumpkins. Large ones used for Halloween Jack o’Lanterns tend to be too watery for pumpkin puree.
- Air Fryer: To air fry pumpkin, follow steps 2-3 to halve and deseed the pumpkin, then place the pumpkin halves, cut-side-down, in the air fryer basket. Air fry at 180c (356F) for 25 minutes. Check you can easily stick a sharp knife into the pumpkin half – if it’s still hard, try another 5-minutes-at-a-time until soft.
- Storing: This pumpkin puree will keep for a week in the fridge or can be frozen. I like to do this in an ice-cube tray with 1 tbsp per cube – this makes for easy measurements when I’m making a recipe with it!
- Step-by-Step Photos: Check out the blog post above for step-by-step photos to guide you through how this pumpkin puree recipe should look at each stage.
- Like this Recipe? It would mean SO much to me if you could leave a 5* rating and a little review about this Pumpkin Puree recipe! I’d love to hear what you used it for and it really helps support my website. Thank you xx
Nutrition
What To Make with Pumpkin Puree
You can use this homemade pumpkin puree in place of canned pumpkin in any recipe! To start you off, I have a few gluten free pumpkin recipes for you to choose from:
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Gluten Free Pumpkin Recipes
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