Fall is officially in the air and so are delicious pumpkin recipes. A few weeks ago pumpkin puree was nowhere to be found in any of the grocery stores here in Peoria. Right as I was beginning to get nervous about finding pumpkin puree, my husband comes home with two giant sugar pumpkins. 
One of the women that my husband works with brought in the pumpkins and placed them in his office. She had picked them and brought them in for Andrew to bring home to me. Now knowing how crazy I am about pumpkins, you can only imagine how excited I was. I couldn’t wait to make my own pumpkin puree. Homemade pumpkin puree has been on my list of things to make ever since I can remember. In fact, preparing your own homemade pumpkin puree is much easier than you think! Thank you so much Linda for bringing me these pumpkins! I promise to repay you in delicious pumpkin recipes! 
One Year Ago: Pretzel Rolls 
Homemade Pumpkin Puree
- 6 pounds of Whole Sugar Pumpkins
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a rimmed baking sheet.
- Remove the stem and split the pumpkin in half from top to bottom.
- With a spoon or a scoop, scrape out the seeds and pulp. Cut the fibers with kitchen shears if necessary. Reserve seeds for another use.
- Arrange the pumpkin with the rind side down on prepared baking sheet and roast 45-50 minutes, until a paring knife is easily inserted and removed. Test in several places to ensure doneness.
- Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack until pumpkin is cool enough to handle.
- Using a large spoon or paring knife, remove the skin of the pumpkin and place the flesh in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the flesh is smooth, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Line a large fine mesh strainer with paper towels or cheesecloth. Transfer the pumpkin puree to the strainer and allow to drain for one hour. Once drained, transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 1 week or freeze up to 3 months.
Yields: about 1 pound puree
Source: adapted from The Pioneer Woman
Never thought to drain it before, I just use it as is. Obviously much thinner than the canned stuff, but it usually works just fine still. I’ll have to try it out this way thought.
I love the step by step instructions…thanks!
Looking forward to more pumpkin recipes..with fresh pumpkin!
Wow, so ambitious of you to make this from scratch! I think i’ll stick with the canned stuff, although I bet this tastes 10x better
You must have been in absolute heaven! I’m always too lazy to make homemade but I’m sure it’s much, much better.
What a great and timely tutorial!
This is on my list of things to do, too! I have two sugar pie pumpkins waiting to be made into puree
Nifty!
Great Job….
I can bet this will taste so much better than the can one…
Need to try this soon.
Pumpkin Puree is on my to do list. I need to get pumpkins!!
i will buy my first pumpkin just for this!
Aha – draining. That´s why I´ve had watery pumpkin in the past. Great post!
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thanks for the how to. Never roasted a pumpkin before!