3 Mistakes to Avoid When Baking with Pumpkin Purée (2024)

Meghan Splawn

Meghan Splawn

Meghan was the Food Editor for Kitchn's Skills content. She's a master of everyday baking, family cooking, and harnessing good light. Meghan approaches food with an eye towards budgeting — both time and money — and having fun. Meghan has a baking and pastry degree, and spent the first 10 years of her career as part of Alton Brown's culinary team. She co-hosts a weekly podcast about food and family called Didn't I Just Feed You.

Follow

updated May 1, 2019

We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.

3 Mistakes to Avoid When Baking with Pumpkin Purée (1)

You should pretty much always have a can of pumpkin purée on hand for cooking and baking. Not only does pumpkin purée act as a sweetener, a creamy moisturizer, and a fat substitute in everything from muffins to soup — but it also tastes delicious in everything!

But because canned pumpkin is unlike any other baking ingredient, it tends to be mistreated in recipes. These common mistakes will help you know how and when to use pumpkin purée for various baked goods.

1. Don’t use it as a blanket substitute for sugar and butter.

Baking is a science — so when you try to swap canned pumpkin purée for butter and sugar without also updating the amount of flour or leavening, the results will be wonky at best. Treating canned pumpkin as a miracle ingredient that can go anywhere and do anything is an actual recipe for disaster.

Try this instead: Use canned pumpkin purée in specific recipes that call for it or look for recipes that use applesauce as their moisture and fat and substitute the pumpkin puree 1:1 for the applesauce.

2. Don’t use pumpkin pie filling in place of pumpkin purée.

I accidentally did this recently. You meant to grab pumpkin purée but you got pumpkin pie filling instead — but whatever, you can just use this, right? Not exactly! Every can of pumpkin pie filling has a different amount of sugar and spices and if you add it to a bread or muffin recipe you might get a very sweet and not-spiced-enough loaf.

Try this instead: Buy pumpkin purée! And if you do accidentally grab pie filling instead — turn it into pie using the recipe on the back.

3. Don’t under-bake it.

Whether you’re baking pumpkin pie or pumpkin loaf, you’re fighting against the moisture in the pumpkin purée to get it baked through completely. Going by touch or feel alone can result in a cake or pie with a gooey center.

Try this insted: Always use a probe thermometer or a skewer to test the thickest part of your pumpkin loaf of pie. Bake loaves and muffins until they reach 200°F and pies to 175°F.

3 Mistakes to Avoid When Baking with Pumpkin Purée (2024)

FAQs

3 Mistakes to Avoid When Baking with Pumpkin Purée? ›

because it's a versatile and delicious ingredient that brings moisture and flavor to baked goods. I usually bake with canned pumpkin puree because that's what's easiest, so it's often I have 1/4 cup or 1/2 cup leftover in the can.

What does pumpkin puree do in baking? ›

because it's a versatile and delicious ingredient that brings moisture and flavor to baked goods. I usually bake with canned pumpkin puree because that's what's easiest, so it's often I have 1/4 cup or 1/2 cup leftover in the can.

What happens if you put too much evaporated milk in a pumpkin pie? ›

Pies with too much evaporated milk formed blisters on top.

Though the interior of the filling had a great, creamy texture. The flavor was ever-so-slightly muted and had a hint of milkiness to it.

Why is it not safe to can pumpkin puree? ›

There are no research-tested pressure canning recipes for puréed pumpkin that prove the amount of heat penetration into the center of the product is adequate to eliminate the risk of Clostridium botulinum, which can cause botulism toxin and be deadly.

How do you get moisture out of pumpkin puree? ›

By slowly cooking pumpkin purée on the stovetop (10 to 15 minutes, depending on the recipe), the water is forced to evaporate off, resulting in an ingredient that's thicker and more concentrated.

What can pumpkin puree replace in baking? ›

Use pumpkin in your favorite breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert recipe –you can even sub it in for ingredients like eggs, oil, and butter.

Why is canned pumpkin better to use in baking? ›

The claim is that these pumpkins have been grown specifically for pumpkin puree in cooking and baking, so the result is a sweeter and creamier product. Interesting. Of course, anything that's been canned will likely taste different than the fresh product.

Why is my pumpkin pie runny after baking? ›

Why Didn't My Pumpkin Pie Set? You're ready to serve your homemade pumpkin pie, but when you try to cut it, it's too runny to get any clean slices. Why this happens: The pie was underbaked, or the oven temperature wasn't high enough. Taking the pie out of the oven prematurely is a very easy mistake to make.

Is heavy cream or evaporated milk better for pumpkin pie? ›

During my testing of pumpkin pies, I tried lots of different milk options – heavy whipping cream, regular milk (I used 2% in my testing), sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk. Ultimately, I found heavy whipping cream to be the best. It produced the creamiest pie in my opinion.

How to thicken up pumpkin puree? ›

To Thicken Pumpkin Puree:

Put the puree into the cheesecloth, wrap and gently squeeze to help release excess liquid. For a consistency similar to canned puree, I was able to strain off almost 1 cup of liquid from 2 small pie pumpkins.

Is 100% canned pumpkin the same as pumpkin puree? ›

Canned pumpkin (labeled as "100% pure pumpkin") is a purée of pumpkin that is sometimes mixed with other kinds of winter squash. It is unsweetened and does not contain any added spices. Canned pumpkin and pumpkin puree are the same thing, and you'll often see the terms used interchangeably in recipes and cookbooks.

Is it better to can or freeze pumpkin puree? ›

Fresh and opened canned pumpkin purée only lasts for a week stored in the fridge, but stored in the freezer it will last for months. Freezing pumpkin purée in the increments you use most makes it easier to store, thaw, and eventually use.

Is canned pumpkin puree bad for you? ›

Canned pumpkin offers the same health benefits as fresh pumpkin, making it quick and easy to add pumpkin to recipes year-round. Pumpkin seeds are typically roasted and sold separately as a snack or topping.

Why is my homemade pumpkin puree watery? ›

The one thing you don't want to do when making pumpkin puree? Cook the pumpkin in boiling water. Boiling pumpkin and winter squash can saturate the flesh with moisture and make it soggy and tasteless. The best way to cook pumpkins for puree is to roast or steam them.

How to enhance pumpkin flavor for baking? ›

Just add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, and ¼ teaspoon each of ground cloves and ground nutmeg, and you'll be well on your way to making our pumpkin pie dip, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, and chocolate pumpkin cheesecake.

Why is my pumpkin puree gritty? ›

Also we would mention that you should not use pumpkin puree that has been previously frozen as foods should not be thawed and re-frozen without cooking and also defrosted pumpkin puree can sometimes turn a bit grainy.

What is the function of pumpkin puree? ›

Pumpkin contains immune-promoting nutrients like vitamins A, E, and C, omega-3 fatty acids, zinc, selenium, iron, magnesium, and beta-carotene. Consuming pumpkin may help manage immune-related diseases, reduce how often you fall sick, and help you recover faster from infections.

What happens if I use pumpkin pie filling instead of pumpkin puree? ›

Pumpkin pie filling shouldn't be used in place of pumpkin puree since the finished dish will be too sweet. You can always set the can aside to make a quick pumpkin pie another day.

What is the difference in pumpkin puree and canned pumpkin? ›

Canned pumpkin and pumpkin puree are the same thing, and you'll often see the terms used interchangeably in recipes and cookbooks. Unlike pumpkin pie mix, canned pumpkin does not have any spices, sugars, or other additives. In many cases, the only ingredient is pumpkin.

Is it worth it to make pumpkin puree? ›

I'd never been a big fan of pumpkin pie until then, but there was just something about the texture and flavor that convinced me that making my own pumpkin puree was worth the extra effort—and as it turns out, it isn't much effort at all. I've been pureeing my own pumpkin ever since.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Sen. Ignacio Ratke

Last Updated:

Views: 5756

Rating: 4.6 / 5 (56 voted)

Reviews: 95% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Sen. Ignacio Ratke

Birthday: 1999-05-27

Address: Apt. 171 8116 Bailey Via, Roberthaven, GA 58289

Phone: +2585395768220

Job: Lead Liaison

Hobby: Lockpicking, LARPing, Lego building, Lapidary, Macrame, Book restoration, Bodybuilding

Introduction: My name is Sen. Ignacio Ratke, I am a adventurous, zealous, outstanding, agreeable, precious, excited, gifted person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.