How To Make Pumpkin Puree
Take that decorative pumpkin and turn it into something edible and versatile. Making your own pumpkin puree at home is both cheap and easy.
One of my favorite fall activities involves buying a large carving pumpkin and transforming it from decoration to pumpkin puree.
After the puree is made, I spend the day making various dishes out of it.
When the pumpkin is roasted and pureed, you can use it just like you would use a can of pumpkin. Then you can make all sorts of tasty things out of it:
- Pumpkin pie
- Pumpkin bars
- Pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting (super moist!)
- Frosted pumpkin chocolate chip cookies
- 3-ingredient pumpkin oat clusters
- Pumpkin spice mug cake
- Pumpkin pancakes
- Pumpkin soup
- Pumpkin pasta sauce
- Doce de abobora (Brazilian pumpkin compote)
This year, I’m making my usual pumpkin pie and experimenting with pumpkin hummus.
An added bonus to my pumpkin purchase? Spicy roasted pumpkin seeds.
The Cost: 35 Cents Per Cup
I paid $3.49 for this large pumpkin. Once cooked and pureed, it yielded 11 cups of pumpkin, enough for several recipes.
One can of pumpkin in a grocery store can cost up to $2.00. Making your own puree only costs about $.35 a cup. The pumpkin puree can even be frozen for future use.
Pumpkins are in season and super cheap right now. If you’re going to buy pumpkins for carving, consider buying an extra one to cook with!

How To Make Pumpkin Puree From A Whole Pumpkin
This pumpkin puree is more moist than canned pumpkin puree. To remove excess water, scoop the pumpkin into a paper towel or cheesecloth-lined colander to drain.
Ingredients
- 1 large carving pumpkin
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. Cut pumpkin in half and remove seeds. Cut pumpkin halves into smaller chunks and place cut-side down on large roasting pans or cookie sheets with raised edges. For a pumpkin this size, I used two large pans. Pour about one cup of water into the roasting pan. Bake for about one hour, or until pumpkin is soft.
- Remove pans from the oven and allow pumpkin to cool. Scrape the pumpkin flesh off of the skin and transfer to a blender. Puree until smooth.
- To drain excess water, place pumpkin puree in a colander lined with cheesecloth or a paper towel, and allow it to drain for an hour or more.
Very good recipe. I love it.