Pumpkins. Pumpkins. Cute round pumpkins. I love watching them as decoration in my kitchen. I like to eat them in stews and baked in a roll. I love making tasty pumpkin smoothies and cakes. I just love them immensely.

I’ve already talked about healthy benefits of pumpkins in my earlier post here, so for today I’m just gonna show you how to prepare a homemade pumpkin puree.

Pumpkin puree is used to make cakes and smoothies, but can be used in addition to a variety of savory dishes. Given that I will be using pumpkin puree in the next couple of my recipes, it would be quite okay to show you how to make one at your home. I know there is canned pumpkin puree you can buy in the store, but since I’m a supporter of healthy clean eating, I encourage you to make your own at home. It is not difficult, I promise ;)

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Let’s start with selecting a pumpkin for making a pumpkin puree. Different types of pumpkins have different flavors. Butternut squash is very sweet and has a strong nutty flavor while Red Kuri squash (Hokkaido pumpkin) is sweet but with less pronounced nutty flavor. In cooking I also use Sugar Pumpkin – Jack O’Lantern pumpkin. Sugar pumpkin has very soft meat and it’s also very good for making puree. Which pumpkin will you choose depends on its purpose. Let’s say you want to make pumpkin smoothie or cake, then I recommend you to use a butternut or sugar pumpkin. For today’s recipe I’ll be using butternut pumpkin.

First you need to peel the pumpkin, which is a real pain in the ass :/ There is no easy way to peel a pumpkin, so you better prepare sharp knife. With a spoon or a scoop, scrape out the seeds and pulp from the center. Chop pumpkin into small pieces and put it in a boiling water. Cook over medium heat until pumpkin is tender, about 20 minutes. When the pumpkin is cooked, drain the water. Save little water in which pumpkin is cooked in a separate dish. You may need it later to dilute the puree if necessary. Put pumpkin into the blender and mix until it turns into a puree. If puree is too dense and is difficult to blend, add a little liquid in which you cooked pumpkin. If you don’t have a blender, you can use a stick blender to make a puree.

Transfer puree in washed and dried glass jar. Homemade pumpkin puree can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 weeks, or in the freezer for 6-12 months.

Didn’t I tell you it’s easy?!

Prepare your pumpkin puree today because soon you will need it to make other recipes that follow soon on my blog.

Also, check out my Pumpkin Loaf Cake and Pumpkin Risotto recipe where I used homemade pumpkin puree. Happy cooking!