Homemade Roasted Pumpkin Puree

Let’s elevate your fall baking with my simple guide to making roasted pumpkin purée that you can make fresh, right in your home kitchen!

It’s officially pumpkin season! There’s nothing quite as delightfully autumn as the sweet taste of fresh pumpkin purée (and just look at that color!). For years I would make my pumpkin treats with the canned purée and thought it was totally fine. Then one year, I took a fall roadtrip to Hood River, Oregon, which is know for The Fruit Loop. At one of the farms, I found beautiful varieties of pumpkins and winter squash (one of my favorite things to add to the dinner rotation as the weather gets cold)! Maybe it’s just my excuse to keep the oven on and the house warm during the cold months, but squash can be so versatile and when roasted right, each one can have a totally different flavor and texture! The first year I made my pumpkin purée with sugar pie pumpkins alone, but now I love to add a winter squash into the mix. I dive into some squash options below!

When I make this homemade pumpkin purée, I literally have to stop myself from eating it by the spoonful. If you’re here, I assume you may have yet to taste fresh roasted pumpkin purée, but believe me, it’s a game changer for the texture and flavor your fall bakes (hello, homemade pumpkin pie, completely from scratch!).

This simple fresh pumpkin purée is the upgrade your Thanksgiving pumpkin pies and other winter bakes need. Once you taste the difference, you’ll never want to reach for tinny-tasting canned pumpkin purée again!

Let’s get to it.

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What Type of Pumpkins Do I Use?

To make pumpkin purée, skip the jack-o-lantern and acorn squash. Jack-o-lanterns would produce watery puree, lacking flavor. Acorn squash are lightly sweet, with a mild flavor that could easily get lost in a bowl full of other ingredients.

Luckily, there are a few perfect options that you can choose from (or combine) to customize the flavor of your fresh pumpkin purée and whatever you make with it:

Sugar pie pumpkins: This is the pumpkin most commonly used for homemade pumpkin purée. It is small, round, and orange. When roasted, the flavor profile is sweet, buttery, and slightly earthy.

Butternut squash: We all know and love it’s hourglass shape. When roasted, nutty and sweet butterscotch notes come to the forefront.

Kabocha squash: So-ugly-it’s-cute, this dark green squash is like a pumpkin mixed with a sweet potato when it comes to flavor and texture. The flavor after roasting is very sweet with a depth of caramelization.

Why Fresh Pumpkin Purée over Canned Purée?

• Elevated flavor: Using freshly roasted pumpkin purée not only brings a depth of toasty sweetness of your baked goods, especially homemade pumpkin pie, but also adds a delicious silky texture.
• Simple: They are easy to prep, clean, and purée. Plus, pumpkin puree keeps well in the freezer!
• Bonus: You get a million pumpkin seeds to roast, my favorite easy fall snack!

 How to Make Homemade Pumpkin Purée

Ingredients:

• Whole pumpkins or squash (each pumpkin will yield 1.5-2.5 cups of puree, depending on size)

Tools:

• Knife
• Cutting board
• Spoon or ice cream scoop (for scraping)
• Baking Pan (preferably lined with parchment or a silicone mat for easier clean up)
• Food processor, blender, or potato masher if you do not have one of the first two!

Steps

1. Prep the Pumpkins: (10-15 minutes)
Start by washing your pie pumpkins. Carefully cut them in half with a sharp knife. If you can’t cut all the way through the top due to the peduncle (stem) of the pumpkins, you can pull the halves apart once they are mostly cut. Sugar pie pumpkins have LOTS of seeds, but I find them to be much easier to scrape out than jack-o-lanterns. Scrape out the seeds and stringy insides. Consider saving the seeds to roast for one of my favorite fall snacks: roasted pumpkin seeds!

2. Roast the Pumpkins: (1 hour)
Place the pumpkin halves cut-side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Roast in a preheated oven at 350°F for about 1 hour or until the flesh (cut side) is tender and easily pierced with a fork. You can also check doneness by using a utensil to push the pumpkin skin in to test how soft it is (photo below). Make sure the pumpkin flesh is very soft so you don’t end up with gritty lumps in your puree. The roasting process caramelizes the natural sugars in the pumpkins, resulting in a naturally sweet flavor for your pumpkin pie!

3. Purée the Pumpkins: (10-15 minutes)
After roasting, let the pumpkins cool for a few minutes until they can be handled with your bare hands. They will be easiest to peel while still warm. Blend the flesh of the pumpkins in a blender or food processor until smooth and creamy.

4. Storage:
Cool completely at room temperature. Store any leftover purée in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or freeze it in portions for later use in your favorite recipes for up to 3 months.

Tips for smooth pumpkin purée at home

If your blender or food processor is struggling, you can add a few tablespoons of water per pumpkin.

If you do not have a food processor or blender, you can use a potato masher. Mashing is easiest while the pumpkin flesh is still warm.

You can use as-is after blending, processing, or mashing, or strain through a fine mesh strainer for extra velvety homemade pumpkin purée.

Using Your Pumpkin Purée:

Perfect for Pumpkin Pie: Substitute your homemade purée in any pumpkin pie or cheesecake recipe, swapping it 1:1 for fresh flavor that will leave your Thanksgiving guests begging for a second slice.

Savory fall treats: Fresh roasted pumpkin puree is great for savory meals like pumpkin curry, pumpkin gnocchi, or anything paired with browned butter and sage!

Grab your sugar pie pumpkins and squash and get ready to enjoy the sweet and silky goodness of homemade pumpkin purée. Happy fall baking!