Homemade Roasted Pumpkin Puree

Make your own roasted pumpkin puree with just one ingredient! Use it in your favorite fall recipes for better-than-canned flavor and color.

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Homemade roasted pumpkin puree in two golden measuring cups, sitting on a tan and white striped tea towel.

I’ve been making my own roasted pumpkin puree for a decade. Partly, because it’s easy, mostly hands-off and crazy delicious. But mostly because, here in Germany, canned pumpkin puree doesn’t exist. Our loss, really.

I did order canned pumpkin online once. It was convenient, but also a bit of a letdown. Once you get used to the taste of homemade roasted pumpkin, the canned stuff pales in comparison.

In recent years, pumpkin baking recipes have become increasingly popular, even here. Pumpkin pie spice has already made its way to our shelves, so maybe it’s just a matter of time before canned pumpkin follows.

But even then, I’ll keep making my own. It’s budget-friendly, keeps beautifully in the freezer, and skips the BPA that they keep finding in canned products. Honestly, it’s one of the easiest, most rewarding staples to make in your own kitchen.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Better Taste & Texture — Roasting deepens the flavor and gives a smooth, velvety puree that tastes fresher and brighter than store-bought.
Pick Your Pumpkin — Use your favorite variety for flavor and color.
No Additives or Hidden Sugar— Just pure roasted pumpkin.
Budget-Friendly — Fresh pumpkins are often cheaper than canned and yield more than you expect.
Easy to Make — Slice, scoop, roast and blend. Most of the time is hands-off.
Batch & Freeze: Roast once, portion, and thaw in minutes for quick use anytime.

Best Varieties for Pumpkin Puree

Good news: any pumpkin you like the taste of can be turned into puree!

What pumpkins (or squashes) are best for turning into puree will depend on your taste preferences and what’s available to you.

I prefer starchy varieties, like hokkaido or sugar pumpkins, kabocha or acorn squash.
Starchy pumpkins make a thicker puree. They have less liquids, so you end up with more puree after draining.

That being said, some watery squashes, like butternut or musquee are widely available and they make a delicious puree! You’ll just have to drain them a lot and the yield will be a little less.

If you can, choose a variety with edible peel, it will help to thicken the puree even more.

How to Use Homemade Roasted Pumpkin Puree

You can use roasted pumpkin puree in any recipe that calls for canned pumpkin puree.

If your recipe is very sensitive to additional liquids, see if you can hold back a little of whatever other liquids the original recipe calls for and only add the rest if the dough or batter needs it.

These are my favorite recipes to make with roasted pumpkin puree:

Cinnamon-Swirled Pumpkin Sourdough Bagels
Pumpkin Sourdough Chocolate Brioche
Sourdough Brioche Pumpkin Buns
Pumpkin Cheese Cake Bars

Roasted Pumpkin Puree sitting in a fine mesh sieve over a pale blue bowl, draining after blending in a food processor.

Tools You May Need

Food Processor or Powerful (Immersion) Blender — The easiest way to get perfectly smooth pumpkin puree.

Fine Mesh Sieve — To drain the liquids from the puree.

Large Bowl — To catch the liquids.

Plastic Wrap — To wrap around the sieve and bowl, if you want to drain the puree overnight in the fridge.

Cheesecloth or Clean Tea Towel (optional) — If your sieve does not have a very fine mesh, a cloth will prevent any puree to seep through.

Reusable Silicone Freezer Bags — For stashing pumpkin puree in the freezer. I’ve used (and loved!) these ones for years.

How to Make Roasted Pumpkin Puree

01

Prep Pumpkin

Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
Cut pumpkin(s) down the middle. Scrape out all of the seeds and stringy bits.
If the peel is edible, scrub it well before roasting.

Two small orange pumpkins on a wooden cutting board, ready for roasting to make homemade pumpkin puree.

A small orange pumpkin, cut in half on a stained wooden cutting board, with seeds being scooped into a ceramic bowl.

02

Roast Pumpkin

Place cut side down on a baking sheet, lined with baking paper.
Bake for 30-50 minutes, or until you can easily pierce the pumpkin with a knife.
Set aside until cool enough to touch.

Four small pumpkin halves, sitting cut side down on a parchment-lined baking tray, roasted and ready for pureeing.

Roasted pumpkin halves on a parchment-lined baking tray,fresh from the oven and ready to blend into homemade pumpkin puree.

03

Blend Pumpkin

Transfer the roasted pumpkin pieces to a food processor or powerful blender.
Blend until completely smooth, and no chunky bits remain.

Roasted pumpkin pieces in a food processor bowl, about to be blended into homemade pumpkin puree.

Bright orange pumpkin puree blended smooth in a food processor.

04

Drain Pumpkin

Set a fine mesh sieve over a bowl and scoop in the pumpkin puree.
Drain the puree for at least 2 hours. If necessary, wrap the bowl and sieve in plastic wrap and drain overnight in the fridge.

Overhead shot of bright orange roasted pumpkin puree in a food processor bowl, next to a fine mesh sieve set over a pale blue bowl, ready to drain.

Bright orange roasted pumpkin puree draining in a fine mesh sieve set over a pale blue bowl on a wooden counter with a green and white striped tea towel.

05

Freeze Pumpkin

In the morning, collect any liquids you drained overnight. Freeze pumpkin puree in quantities of 1½ cups in (reusable silicone) freezer bags.

Homemade roasted pumpkin puree stored in a blue silicone freezer bag, ready for freezing.

Tips

If there’s a lot of water on the baking sheet after roasting, remove the pumpkins as soon as they’re cool enough to touch. Otherwise the liquids may soak right back in.
Drain the strained liquids every 30-60 minutes, so you can gauge how much liquid is still straining.
Collect the drained liquid, and use it in other recipes. There’s a lot of flavor there.
Fill freezer bags with 1½ cups puree, plus one or two tablespoons extra (because there will always be leftover bits that stubbornly cling to the bag). Make sure to label them.

Pumpkin puree liquid being strained into a pale blue bowl, showing mid-air droplets and ripples from dripping puree.

How to Store and Freeze

In the Fridge
Store your homemade roasted pumpkin puree, well sealed in a mason jar or other airtight container, in the fridge for up to 5 days.

In the Freezer
I like to freeze pumpkin puree in reusable silicone freezer bags (or regular freezer bags), and remove as much air as possible. That way, it keeps well for several months (I’ve used it for up to a year, and it was perfectly fine).

To Thaw
Fill a large bowl with hot (not boiling) water and immerse your pumpkin puree, freezer bag and all, for 10 minutes.

Recipe FAQs

Absolutely! Use it in place of water in your next loaf of sourdough bread, or add it to soups, porridge, overnight oats, or anywhere else you’d like a hint of pumpkin flavor.

Not at all! Pumpkin varieties, growing conditions and ripeness all affect how much liquid is released. Sometimes there’s a lot, sometimes almost none. It’s part of working with a natural ingredient. Enjoy it as it comes!

No. If the skin isn’t edible, you don’t need to peel it beforehand. Roasting makes it easier to scoop out or peel away. If the skin is edible, I just scrub it really well and blend it in with the flesh, for an extra thick, velvety puree.

If you make this roasted Pumpkin Puree…

I’d love to hear how it turned out! What’s your favorite pumpkin recipe to use it in?

Let me know in the comments below.
Leave a star rating,
or save it for later on Pinterest!

Prep Time:5

Cook Time:45

Cooling and Draining:2

Total Time:2 50

Equipment

Food Processor or Powerful (Immersion) Blender
Fine Mesh Sieve
Cheesecloth or Clean Tea Towel (optional)
Reusable Silicone Freezer Bags

Ingredients

1 large or 2-3 small pumpkins - choose organic if you plan to use the skin

Instructions

Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). If the peel is edible, scrub it well before roasting. Cut pumpkin(s) down the middle. Scrape out all of the seeds and stringy bits.
Place cut side down on a baking sheet, lined with baking paper. Bake for 30-50 minutes, or until you can easily pierce the pumpkin with a knife. Set aside until cool enough to touch.
Transfer the roasted pumpkin pieces to a food processor or powerful blender. Blend until completely smooth, and no bits of pumpkin remain.
Set a fine mesh sieve over a bowl and scoop in the pumpkin puree. Let it drain for at least 2 hours or wrap the bowl and sieve in plastic wrap and drain overnight in the fridge.
Freeze pumpkin puree in quantities of 1½ cups in (reusable silicone) freezer bags.

Notes

Use homemade pumpkin puree in any recipe that calls for canned pumpkin puree.
Remove the pumpkins from any excess water on the baking sheet as soon as they’re cool enough to touch, so it doesn’t soak back in.
Drain the strained liquids every 30—60 minutes, so you can gauge how much liquid is still straining.
Collect the drained liquid, and use it in other recipes. There’s a lot of flavor there.
Fill freezer bags with 1½ cups puree, plus one or two tablespoons extra, and make sure to label them.
Pumpkin puree keeps, well sealed, in the fridge for up to a week, or several months, up to a year, in the freezer.

Servings: 2 cups, aprox.

Calories: 98kcal

Author: Sarah | Grains & Greens Kitchen