Homemade Pumpkin Puree & Pumpkin Pie
Sure you can buy pumpkin puree in a can, but what fun would that be? Why not be a little adventurous and try making it from scratch? I gave it a try and the process was really quite simple. You just need to spend a little time cleaning the pumpkin, followed by about an hour of cooking time.
The most confusing thing turned out to be wondering if I had the right kind of pumpkin. I kept coming across recipes that called for a “baking pumpkin” or a “sweet pumpkin”. But in all my trips to the grocery store and the farmer’s market, I did not see any pumpkins that were labeled like that. So I just decided to buy a $3.00 small pumpkin from my favorite farmer’s market and see how things turned out.
To make your own homemade pumpkin puree (or mashed pumpkin, or canned pumpkin, or whatever else you may want to call it), you’ll first need to cut and clean your pumpkin. You’ll need to cut off the top, cut it in half, and then clean and scrape out all the seeds and stringy parts.
Once that’s done, you’ll need to line a couple of baking sheets with foil and place the pumpkin halves with the cut side facing down.
Then the pumpkin needs to bake in a 350 degree oven for an hour, or until the pumpkin is soft enough to easily stick a fork in it. Once the pumpkin is removed from the oven, it needs to cool down for a few minutes so it will be easier to handle.
Then you’ll scrape the cooked flesh from the pumpkin skin and place it in a food processor or blender and process until the puree is smooth.
My pumpkin that was categorized as “small” at the farmer’s market yielded about 4 cups of puree.
Update: I also used this method at a later date with a pumpkin that was actually labeled as a “pie pumpkin”. Using this same process gave me a puree that was just a little bit thicker.
Using your DIY Pumpkin Puree to make Pumpkin Pie
The first thing I tried with my homemade pumpkin puree was a pumpkin pie. It passed my family’s taste test with flying colors so I would say my pumpkin from the farmer’s market worked just fine.
To make the homemade pumpkin pie I used 2 cups of my homemade pumpkin puree. I mixed that with the familiar additions of evaporated milk, eggs, brown sugar, and all those lovely spices that go so well with pumpkin (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves). The mixture gets poured into a uncooked pie crust and baked for about 40 minutes. As far as pies go, this is one of the simplest to make.
So if you’re picking up pumpkins from the farmer’s market for jack-o-lanterns, maybe pick up an extra one and make your own pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie too!
DIY Pumpkin Puree & Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients:
- 1 small to medium size pumpkin
To make a pumpkin pie:
- 2 cups pumpkin puree
- 12 oz can of evaporated milk
- 2 eggs – beaten
- ¾ cup brown sugar – lightly packed
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- unbaked 9" pie crust
Instructions:
To make the homemade puree:
- Cut the top off the pumpkin and then cut the pumpkin in half.
- Clean out all the pumpkin seeds and the stringy parts.
- Line a couple of baking sheets with foil. Put the pumpkin halves face down on the baking sheets and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for an hour or until the pumpkin is soft enough to easily stick a fork in it. Then remove from the oven and let the pumpkin cool down for a few minutes so it's easier to handle for the next step.
- Scrape the cooked flesh from the pumpkin skin and place in a food processor or blender. Process until the puree is smooth.
To use the puree to make pumpkin pie:
- Combine the pie filling ingredients (the puree, milk, sugar, eggs, and spices).
- Pour the filling into the pie pan containing the unbaked pie crust.
- Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the pie comes out clean. (You may need to put strips of foil around the edge of your pie to keep the edges from burning).
I've been baking, pureeing and freezing pumpkin this way for years. It works so well and I love having it in the freezer, measured out into 1 pie portions. It's so very nutritious and I use it in muffins ans cookies too.
I've been baking, pureeing and freezing pumpkin this way for years. It works so well and I love having it in the freezer, measured out into 1 pie portions. It's so very nutritious and I use it in muffins ans cookies too.
It's true that you can probably find a good sale on canned pumpkin at a lower cost than homemade puree. But I found it fun to try it from scratch and the taste is very good too.
It's true that you can probably find a good sale on canned pumpkin at a lower cost than homemade puree. But I found it fun to try it from scratch and the taste is very good too.
Thanks for sharing but I can get a 26 oz of Pure Pumpkin at Dollar Days for only a buck. There's 3 cups inside making it cheaper than the cost of a pumpkin plus the energy costs to cook it…
Thanks for sharing but I can get a 26 oz of Pure Pumpkin at Dollar Days for only a buck. There's 3 cups inside making it cheaper than the cost of a pumpkin plus the energy costs to cook it…
My daughter (11) just commented that she wanted to make pumpkin pie from scratch. She wanted to make it from pumpkin puree.
“Not on your life” I told her. Now I feel guilty.
Might have to try this.
Kim
http://www.confabulicious.com