Easy Homemade Pumpkin Puree

Forget canned. It's so easy to make your own pumpkin puree for use in recipes like pumpkin pie, pumpkin soup, and more. Find out how.

Soup made with pumpkin puree

Homemade pumpkin puree is a cinch to whip up—even kids can get in on this cooking project. I find it to be so versatile in the kitchen. Of course, it's the staple ingredient in pumpkin classics, like pie and quick bread, but it also makes a wonderful addition to cookies, muffins, and whole wheat bread. Or, sometimes I'll use it to make a savory soup, taco dip, hummus, or lasagna. I also give pumpkin puree a starring role in an autumn coffee classic: the pumpkin spice latte. Smaller "pie" pumpkins, such as Wee B Little, generally provide the most tasty puree, as they're sweeter and less stringy than larger pumpkins. You can also make puree with smooth-flesh winter squashes like butternut squash or buttercup squash.

How to Make Pumpkin Puree

Click through the slide show below for a quick tutorial on how to make homemade pumpkin puree. (Expect to get roughly 1 cup of puree for each pound of pumpkin.)

Article written by Julie Martens Forney.