Oops, too much pumpkin

September 22, 2023 3:00 AM

I have roughly 6–8 cups of pumpkin puree sitting in my fridge. How can I use it up? I've already used 2 cups to make a pasta sauce. Now I'm searching for other ideas. Just two restrictions, please: no soups, and nothing that requires eggs.
posted by Panthalassa to Food & Drink (26 answers total)

I would make 1. Pumpkin butter and then I would make 2. This pasta with some of it.
posted by warriorqueen at 3:16 AM on September 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

You can add a cup or two to any chili recipe.
posted by chr1sb0y at 3:25 AM on September 22, 2023 [5 favorites]

This would make a great sauce for a mild coconutty curry.
You could fry up some pork and apple and use the pumpkin as a sauce for that (make sure it's well seasoned).
Add plenty of garlic, ginger and chili, use it as sauce for noodles and protein-of-choice.
posted by quacks like a duck at 3:37 AM on September 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

There are zillions of recipes for pumpkin baked goods. Here are two nice ones (both egg-free): pumpkin spice pancakes and chocolate-pumpkin quick bread.
posted by snaw at 3:45 AM on September 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

Pumpkin smoothies. I don’t have a recipe because I usually just throw in what seems good at the time.
posted by telophase at 4:22 AM on September 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

If you run out of ideas, freeze in 1/2 c scoops on a plate, then move to a freezer bag / container once frozen then you have portions for future use.

I use my extra pumpkin puree in a cream-cheese filled pumpkin bread or pumpkin cookies that both have eggs but I'm sure there are egg-free versions out there. Adding pumpkin to oatmeal along with your favorite spices / seasonings is good. People feed their dogs pumpkin puree though I'd start slowly with 1-2 TB to see how that changes their digestion.
posted by RoadScholar at 4:54 AM on September 22, 2023 [7 favorites]

Sometimes when I have an overabundance of squash or pumpkin puree I add some seasoning and fat and just eat it as a side dish, like mashed potatoes. You can spread it on the plate and use it as a bed for another vegetable or protein like at a fancy restaurant.
posted by mskyle at 5:10 AM on September 22, 2023 [6 favorites]

I like mixing half a cup or so into oatmeal with pumpkin pie type spices.

Also, pumpkin pie popsicles are a surprisingly good mix of summer (cold pops!) and fall (warm toasty pumpkiny spices). I used the people's pops recipe, which is basically this minus the espresso; you can use homemade pumpkin puree, a scant 2 cups, instead of the canned this recipe called for.

It also works pretty nicely in a standard yeasted bread recipe.

Now I need to go dig that frozen pumpkin puree out of my freezer and make something delicious . . .
posted by carrioncomfort at 5:18 AM on September 22, 2023 [3 favorites]

I'd make this pumpkin ice cream pie, which is a once-a-year treat in my family, and then I'd make these muffins, using ground flax seeds + water as an egg substitute (I add pecans, walnuts, dried cranberries and pepitas to the muffins, so I think the ground flax would work well here). If I were feeling VERY adventurous I'd mix it with cheese, sage and nutmeg and use it to fill ravioli...something like this. Yum.
posted by notquitejane at 5:35 AM on September 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

we recently made a pumpkin saag similar to this recipe. I like a creamy saag and that's what it's adding to this dish.
posted by the antecedent of that pronoun at 5:54 AM on September 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

A note on non-egg pumpkin baked goods: five spice is an alternative flavor profile that works really well with pumpkin. A vegan pumpkin cake with five-spice frosting is really good.
posted by Frowner at 5:56 AM on September 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

I’ve used pumpkin as one would applesauce as an egg/fat replacement in baked goods before with good results. With that much I’d probably freeze half of it so I didn’t get sick of pumpkin first.
posted by tchemgrrl at 7:05 AM on September 22, 2023

Pumpkin bread!! If you can find the mock starbucks version, it's so good.
posted by DoubleLune at 7:22 AM on September 22, 2023

Oh, this baked pumpkin quinoa is so good.
posted by mcgsa at 7:31 AM on September 22, 2023

Pumpkin cheesecake is a good thing. A very good thing.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:48 AM on September 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

I'm vegan, and it took me forever to find a vegan pumpkin pie I liked. This one from FOODAL is it. No eggs, and you can probably replace the soy creamer with milk if you want to. I just use regular soy mil,
posted by FencingGal at 7:51 AM on September 22, 2023

I'll second freezing it in measured scoops. A few Thanksgiving ago, I made some awesome sweet potatoes, but I'm the only one who eats them. Froze in scoops, vacuumed sealed then and then used it later in place of pumpkin in some muffins.
posted by kathrynm at 8:00 AM on September 22, 2023

I'll second freezing it in measured scoops.

Seconding this. Actually, to make it even easier - you know those "snack size" plastic baggies? Those are a g-darn boon for me - they are the PERFECT size for freezing things for storage, especially for someone like me who gets an overload of produce from a CSA. They hold about a cup of whatever substance I'm trying to freeze.

If I have something I need to freeze, I will get a bunch of the snack-size baggies, stuff them each full (with a little room) and seal, and then put all of them inside a larger baggie and that all goes in the freezer. Then it's just a matter of fishing out however many smaller baggies I need for a recipe later. That way I'm not trying to thaw out the whole damn bunch just to get the little bit I need and then refreeze the rest or whatever.

6-8 cups of pumpkin puree will take up about 6-8 of those snack size baggies, and that will in turn probably fill up one or two quart-size freezer baggies; and that can all live happily in your fridge until you need a cup or two for some later recipe, and then you can just grab however many tiny baggies you need for the recipe and leave the rest to sit. And you'll also have more snack-size baggies to do the same thing for ground meat (1/4 pound in each baggie), quick-blanched spinach or kale (about a bunch in each little baggie), etc. They thaw out super fast becuase they're a small size, too.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:22 AM on September 22, 2023

My first thought was to make this Creamy Pumpkin Pasta with Prosciutto + Sage, which absolutely nails the deliciousness-to-effort ratio. Way easy, but oh so good.
posted by DrGail at 8:54 AM on September 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

Here's a "three ingredient" recipe for pumpkin muffins:

https://www.southerncrushathome.com/3-ingredient-pumpkin-muffins/

I've made these before, though not with spice cake mix (I think I used regular golden cake mix). The muffins won't win any prizes, but they're OK. Note that they taste much better after they have fully cooled from baking.
posted by alex1965 at 10:29 AM on September 22, 2023

we've made risotto with winter squash and I imagine pumpkin would substitute just fine there too
posted by the antecedent of that pronoun at 11:20 AM on September 22, 2023

These are the last two things I've made with pumpkin purée:

1) Gnocchi in pumpkin sauce (pumpkin purée + milk/cream + nutmeg + sage leaves sautéed in butter)
2) Pumpkin-flavored mochi muffins (use any butter mochi recipe, replace half the liquid with pumpkin purée, add a dash of nutmeg and cinnamon)
posted by aws17576 at 11:34 AM on September 22, 2023

If you have an amount left that isn't taken up by a recipe, I've had vets prescribe pumpkin puree for constipation for dogs and cats. If I have any left over, I tend to freeze it so I don't have to commit to a whole can.
posted by *s at 12:20 PM on September 22, 2023

Gnocchi! Let it dry out - put it on the counter and forget about it for the afternoon or overnight or scootch it around in a pan until you dry off some of the moisture. Depending on your food safety comfort zone. Then add flour, same amount as the puree, and work into a smooth dough. Don't be like me and be tentative about it. I always get so worked up about developing chewy gluten that I half-ass making a dough. You want to make a dough without overworking it. White pepper, nutmeg, salt, cut into gnocchi and boil until the dumplings float freely on the water and go about doing your business. When you are actually ready to eat, fry the gnocchi in butter and allow the butter to brown, add garlic and fresh sage if you have it, splash with balsamic vinegar and cover with parmesan cheese and seriously, it's a whole thing.

Alternately: pumpkin pancakes, remove moisture as above, saute onion, garlic, bell peppers, chili peppers, mix with pumpkin, form little cakes, serve with a little fruit salsa i.e. a bit of orange mixed with onion and cilantro and a bit of lime juice.

(I love squash and pumpkin and sweet potatoes...they are so versatile and they feel luxurious and indulgent and also healthy in the good sense of the word, as in 'sustaining'.)
posted by A Terrible Llama at 4:47 PM on September 22, 2023 [3 favorites]

I like to mix pureed butternut squash (but pumpkin would be awesome for this too) into the creamy cheesy sauce when I do a homemade baked Mac and cheese. It adds a nice subtle sweetness but otherwise almost disappears into the creamy texture. Depending how big of a batch of this you could easily use 2-4 cups in this sort of application.
posted by fancyoats at 12:28 PM on September 23, 2023

Do you have a pet? If the pumpkin is plain rather than seasoned, it's safe to give to your cat or dog, especially they're a little constipated. The pet might turn his nose up if the pumpkin is seasoned.
posted by dlwr300 at 9:29 AM on September 25, 2023