How To Make Pumpkin Puree (3 Ways!) (2024)

Learn how easy it is to make pumpkin puree at home using a fresh pumpkin squash. Bonus, this tutorial gives you 3 options to make the best smooth pumpkin puree with steaming, boiling, and roasting methods.

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How To Make Pumpkin Puree

It’s super easy to make your own pumpkin puree at home. All you need is the right kind of pumpkin. That’s it, just one ingredient.

Choosing The Pumpkin

Some pumpkins are sweet, others are watery, and some are starchy. Let me share the best pumpkin varieties to make a creamy, smooth pumpkin puree every time.

The ideal type of pumpkin for pumpkin puree are:

• Sweet
• Starchy

The following pumpkin varieties tick these boxes:

• Jack-o Lantern – the ones often used as ornamental gourds for Halloween.
• Buttercup
• Kabocha
• Porcelain Doll Pink Pumpkin
• Acorn Squash
• Jarrah dale – that’s what we are using in this recipe. It’s an Australian squash variety with blue-green skin.

Method 1: Roasting

This is the best method to make pumpkin puree as a side dish. In fact, roasting the pumpkin gives it a delicious flavor, and it keeps the puree smooth, thick, and not watery.

To use this method, first cut the whole pumpkin and scrape down the side if dirty and scoop out the seeds with a spoon.

You can keep the pumpkin seeds for a later recipe, discard them, or use them in your garden – we accidentally grew a beautiful pumpkin from fresh pumpkin seeds left on the side of our compost bin last year.

Then, cut them into half-moons and keep their skin on.

Place the pieces of pumpkin, flesh side up, onto a sheet pan covered with parchment paper, and bake at 400°F (200°C) for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until fork-tender.

Remove from the oven and cool down on the sheet pan for 20 minutes.

Then, use a spoon to scoop out the flesh and transfer it to a food processor. Using the S blade attachment, blend until smooth.

You may have to stop the food processor a few times, scrape down the sides of the bowl and repeat until the pumpkin puree is smooth.

Method 2: Steaming

If you don’t have an oven, steaming the pumpkin is a great way of making homemade pumpkin puree.

To do so, cut the pumpkin into smaller pieces than the oven method and remove the skin.

Next, place the pieces of peeled pumpkin into the steamer basket and steam for 30-40 minutes or until fork-tender.

The smaller you cut the pumpkin, the faster it steams. So, I recommend cutting your pumpkin pieces into 1.2-inch cubes (3 cm).

Then, remove the steaming basket from the steamer and let the pumpkin cool down, and steam out for 20 minutes.

Finally, use the method above to turn the steamed pumpkin into a puree.

Method 3: Boiling

The last method consists of boiling the pumpkin.

As for the steaming method, cut the pumpkin into 1.2-inch cubes, peel off the skin, and place it in a large saucepan filled with 3 liters of water.

Bring to a boil and cook until fork-tender – about 15- 20 minutes.

Turning Pumpkin Into Puree

The best way to puree the cooked pumpkin is to use a:

• Food processor
• High-speed blender like a Vitamix

But, if you don’t have any of these, you can also use a potato masher or a fork. This won’t create a smooth velvety pumpkin puree, but it’s also an option to puree pumpkin.

The last option is to use an immersion blender and add some liquid like almond milk, water, or vegetable stock to help you blend the pumpkin.

This method is not recommended if you want to use the pumpkin puree in baking because it adds moisture.

How To Use Pumpkin Puree

As mentioned above, choose the cooking method that matches the recipe you want to make with your homemade pumpkin puree.

I recommend the oven-roasting method because it works the best with all recipes. You can use this pumpkin puree as a:

• Side dish
• Ingredient for recipes calling for canned pumpkin puree.
• Meal – it makes a delicious bowl of food for babies!

Frequently Asked Questions

Recipes With Homemade Pumpkin Puree

Below I listed some delicious pumpkin recipes for you to make with your fresh homemade pumpkin puree recipe.

About Carine

Hi, I'm Carine, the food blogger, author, recipe developer, photographer, and published author of a cookbook and founder of The Conscious Plant Kitchen with my husband Damien.Learn more about us.