When fresh pie pumpkins are in season in the fall you can easily make your own homemade pumpkin puree in your slow cooker. Use the pumpkin puree for pumpkin pies, pumpkin bread, as a secret way to sneak in vegetables in casseroles and soups or even as baby food.
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time8 hourshrs
Total Time8 hourshrs15 minutesmins
Course: Side Dishes
Cuisine: American
Keyword: 10 Ingredients Or Less, 3 Ingredients Or Less, 5 Ingredients Or Less, Healthy, Pumpkin
Rinse the outside of the pumpkin under cool water to remove any dirt or pesticides.
1 Medium Fresh Pie Pumpkin
Using a sharp knife, carefully cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds and pulp from each half of the pumpkin using a large spoon.
Cut each half of the pumpkin into 4 to 6 wedges, cut away the skin of the pumpkin on each wedge and then cut into chunks.
Place chunks of pumpkin into a 6 quart or larger slow cooker.
Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or until the pumpkin chunks are soft and tender.
Puree pumpkin using either a hand-held immersion blender, food processor or blender, being careful as the pumpkin and the resulting puree will be hot.
Freeze in 1 cup portions for use in baked goods such as pies and pumpkin bread or in ice cubes for baby food.
Notes
As the pumpkin cooks it will release a little liquid so you should not need to add any water to the slow cooker. However, you can add a little water while pureeing if you pumpkin is not blending easily. Just add a little water at a time so that your puree is not too runny.Servings in this recipe will really depend on how big of a pumpkin you use. It could vary any where from 6 cups for a small pumpkin to 15 cups for a larger pumpkin. To fit a larger pumpkin just cut the pumpkin cubes into smaller pieces so that they will fit in your slow cooker.