Homemade Pumpkin Puree

It’s pumpkin pie time! Matt and I thought it would be fun to make our own Homemade Pumpkin Puree. I asked my grandma about it and she said it was so hard, turns out it wasn’t so bad.

Matt loves pumpkin everything! I mean everything. If he could have pumpkin-flavored stuff every day of his life, he definitely would. We used this pumpkin to make pumpkin cinnamon rolls, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin cupcakes. This was super easy, fun and let’s be honest kind of satisfying. Give this a try!

Homemade Pumpkin Puree

Ingredients

• 2 (4 to 6 pound) baking pumpkin, rinsed and dried
• Kosher salt

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Remove the stem and cut the pumpkin in half from top to bottom, using a cleaver.
3. Scoop out the seeds and fiber with a large metal spoon. Cut the fibers with kitchen shears if necessary. Reserve seeds for another use.
4. Sprinkle the flesh with kosher salt and lay the halves, flesh side down, on a parchment paper-lined half sheet pan. 
5. Roast until a paring knife can easily pierce the skin and be removed about 30 to 45 minutes. Test in a couple of places to ensure doneness.
6. Remove the half sheet pan to a cooling rack and cool the pumpkin for 1 hour. Using a large spoon, remove the roasted flesh of the pumpkin from the skin to the food processor. Process until the flesh is smooth, 3 to 4 minutes.
7. Store in the fridge for 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.