Pumpkin Puree + How to Roast a Pumpkin

I love fall. The leaves are changing, the air is crisp, and it’s absolutely beautiful outside. Normally, I’d be frustrated by the amount of rain, but that seems to be a moot point this year.

The weather has been nothing if not spectacular! I’ll take it, thankyouverymuch! With all of these 70 degree days, there’s been lots of time to play outside, enjoy the season, and visit cider mills (another perk of living in the midwest).

I LOVE Pumpkin

But I think that my absolute favorite thing about fall is the squash! Butternut, spaghetti, kabocha, and pumpkins. I’m not talking carving pumpkins, although they qualify on a technicality, I’m talking sweet, small sugar pie pumpkins that you can make into delicious pumpkin puree!

Sure, you can buy some pretty decent canned pumpkin puree (although most are a mix of kabocha squash and pumpkin), it’s so much better to make your own!

Sugar pie pumpkins are super easy to prepare, and since they’re in season…why wouldn’t you? If you’ve got a little one at home, pumpkin is a great starter food, either pureed or cubed (Smalls preferred semi-pureed pumpkin…he liked his starter foods easy to grab AND easy to spread.).

If you have older kids, pumpkin puree can go into so many recipes: pumpkin butter, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pie overnight oats, pumpkin pie, pumpkin shakes…the list is endless. Did I mention that pumpkin smells amazing roasting in your oven?

bake a pumpkin

How To Roast A Sugar Pumpkin

 

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grab a glass baking dish.
  2. Cut the stem off with a VERY sharp knife. If you haven’t sharpened your knives in awhile, please do so before you attempt to cut into any squash. Let’s all keep our fingers, please.
  3. Slice down the middle of your pumpkin, so that you end up with two halves.
  4. Scoop out the stringy guts and seeds, but KEEP THE SEEDS! OhSheGlows has a killer tutorial to help you get perfectly roasted seeds every time.
  5. Take a small amount of grapeseed oil and brush the inside (flesh) of your pumpkin (this step is optional, but it adds flavor, and helps to keep the flesh moist.)
  6. Place your pumpkin halves, cut side down in the dish.
  7. Put your pumpkin into the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes, until a fork goes into the skin and flesh easily.

Pumpkin Puree

  1. Remove your pumpkin from the oven and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes.
  2. Pull the very thin skin from your pumpkin and put the flesh into your blender.
  3. Blend until smooth.

At this point, you’re ready to use your puree! You can store it (refrigerated) in an air-tight container for about 3 days, or can it and store it long-term.

I love to put 1/2 to 3/4 cup into my morning smoothies with just a bit of pumpkin pie spice. Freshly roasted pumpkin is also delicious for pancakes, muffins…or even eating straight out of the oven. Try adding a bit of butter and some maple syrup. YUM!

You can also dust your pumpkin with some cinnamon and just eat it straight out of the oven…not that I would know anything about that….

What’s your favorite way to use pumpkin?

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Brea

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