Prepare Your Own Pumpkin for Pie

October 16, 2024

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Skip the can this year and make your own pumpkin puree. You’ll have to carve out some time for it, but you can bake the freshest of the fresh pumpkin pie. Look at you, you awesome pie baker.

It’s easy to forget that fresh pumpkins are good for something other than jack-o’-lanterns and festive mantel decorations. But don’t forget that a pumpkin is first and foremost food, and a damn good one at that. You can, and should, eat the heck out of pumpkin! Especially if you’re putting that pumpkin into the best pie of the season.

Jump To:

How To Make Fresh Pumpkin Puree
Using And Storing Your Pumpkin Puree
Podcast Episode: Making Pumpkin Puree
Prepare Your Own Pumpkin for Pie Recipe

A food processor with pureed pumkin in it. Behind it is the hallowed out skin of the pumpkin.

Well. Maybe. I did . Whether you believe me or not though, if you make your own pumpkin puree you totally get all kinds of bragging rights.

Draining the excess liquid from the roasted pumpkin is the key to success here. The goal is to get it as thick (or thicker than) the stuff from the store.

I’ve outlined how to make your own pumpkin puree below so you can kick the can to the curb. You’ll need a food processor (like this one) and a little (okay, a lot) of patience, but in a few hours you’ll be ready to make your crazy fresh pumpkin pie. Mmm, tastes like triumph.

How To Make Fresh Pumpkin Puree

Step #1: Pick out your pumpkin

Choose a pumpkin that feels heavy for its size. Also, you want one that’s labeled “sugar” or “pie” pumpkin. They’re smaller than their carving cousins and they have more flesh inside. This is what a pie pumpkin looks like:

This is a pie pumpkin.. It's smaller and a bit wider than a lot of jack'o'lantern pumpkins.

Step #2: Cut the pumpkin

Preheat your oven to 375°F. Slice the pumpkin in half lengthwise (that’s stem to base). I kept my stem on, but if it’s easier for you, you can chop the very top of the pumpkin off first.

Pie pumpkin cut in half on cutting board.

Step #3: Scoop out the seeds

Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and stringy “guts” from the inside of the pumpkin and set them aside. You can use those later for roasting pumpkin seeds, so don’t throw them out.

Scooping seeds out of pumpkin with a spoon.

Step #4: Bake the pumpkin

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, a silicone baking mat, or foil. Place your pumpkin halves cut side down on the baking sheet.

Pumpkin halves on parchment paper on a baking sheet.

Pop the pan into the oven for about 45 minutes. You should be able to pierce through the pumpkin easily with a fork, see the prick marks I did for testing mine below.

Step #5: Cool and scoop

Let the pumpkin cool for about 15 minutes so you don’t burn your hands, then use a spoon to scoop out the flesh, leaving the skin behind. Place the flesh into the bowl of a food processor (a good blender would work, too).

Step #6: Process the pumpkin into a puree

Put your food processor to work. Start by pulsing the pumpkin in the food processor. You may need to scrape down the sides every now and then. Keep pulsing until it is relatively smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and let the food processor run for about a minute more to really smooth things out.

Important tip: Resist the urge to add water; once the pumpkin flesh starts to break down, it will release liquid and be easier to process. Our goal below is to remove water from the puree, so adding any now makes things harder later.

Step #7: Strain the puree to thicken it for pie

Rest a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl. Line the fine mesh strainer with cheesecloth. Add the pumpkin puree to the lined fine mesh strainer and let it drain for 1-2 hours, until the pumpkin is thick and holds its shape when pressed together in the cheesecloth. When you unwrap it, it’ll look like this:

Thickened pumpkin puree in cheesecloth with strained liquid in white bowl.

Using And Storing Your Pumpkin Puree

Use your pumpkin puree any way you would use canned pumpkin puree. One 15-ounce can of pumpkin is almost exactly 2 cups worth (it’s short by about two tablespoons). So for most recipes you can use 2 cups when it calls for a 15-ounce can. A 29-ounce can of pumpkin has about 3 and 1/2 cups in it.

Try using your own pumpkin puree in our classic pumpkin pie recipe. This thick puree really is especially good for pies, including our Bourbon Pumpkin Pie recipe. You could also turn it into a delicious Pumpkin Pie Trifle or Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal Bars for something different.

Store any puree that you don’t use immediately in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or freeze it for 3 months. It might get more liquidy from freezing and you will probably need to strain it through cheesecloth again.

Finished Pumpkin Puree in glass storage container.

Podcast Episode: Making Pumpkin Puree

Listen to our editor, Christine Pittman, explain briefly how to make this pumpkin, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:

Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.

Prepare Your Own Pumpkin for Pie Recipe

Contributor: Maria Siriano

The most important tip here is to make sure you don’t add water when processing your pumpkin, and then be sure to strain it really well later. That is how you end up with THE BEST pumpkin puree for pumpkin pie, and other uses too.

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4.9 from 33 reviews

Author: Maria Siriano
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Category: Side Dish
Method: Baked
Cuisine: American

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale

1 medium sugar or pie pumpkin

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Pick out your pumpkin. You want one that’s labeled “sugar”or “pie” pumpkin. They’re smaller than their carving cousins (see the picture up above), and they have more flesh inside. Choose a pumpkin that feels heavy for its size.
Preheat your oven to 375°F. Slice the pumpkin in half lengthwise (that’s stem to base). I kept my stem on, but if it’s easier for you, you can chop the very top of the pumpkin off first.
Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and stringy “guts” from the inside of the pumpkin and set them aside. You can use those later for roasting pumpkin seeds, so don’t throw them out!
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, a silicone baking mat or foil. Place your pumpkin halves cut side down on the baking sheet. Pop the pan into the oven for about 45 minutes. You should be able to pierce through the pumpkin easily with a fork.
Let the pumpkin cool for about 15 minutes so you don’t burn your hands, then use a spoon to scoop out the flesh, leaving the skin behind. Place the flesh into the bowl of a food processor (a good blender would work, too).
Put your food processor to work. Start by pulsing the pumpkin in the food processor. You may need to scrape down the sides every now and then. Resist the urge to add water; once the pumpkin flesh starts to break down, it will release liquid and be easier to process. Keep pulsing until it is relatively smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and let the food processor run for about a minute more to really smooth things out.
Rest a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl. Line the fine mesh strainer with cheesecloth. Add the pumpkin puree to the lined fine mesh strainer and let it drain for 1-2 hours, until the pumpkin is thick and holds its shape when pressed together in the cheesecloth. It’ll look like this:
Use your pumpkin puree any way you would use canned pumpkin puree. Store what you don’t use immediately in a covered container in the refrigerator.

Love this recipe? I’d appreciate it if you could scroll down and add a *5 star rating* to help others know they’ll love it as well!

This article originally appeared in November 2015 and was revised and republished in August 2024.

Maria Siriano

Somewhere among the towers of batter-smeared mixing bowls, you'll find a flour-covered Maria making unique seasonal desserts for her blog, Sift and Whisk. Although she never quite got the hang of the clean-as-you-go technique, she has still managed to elevate her baking skills far beyond “add oil, water, and eggs.” She makes a killer pie, if she does say so herself.