The Best and Easiest Way to Cook a Pumpkin
on Oct 04, 2017, Updated Oct 28, 2022
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Ever wonder about the best way to cook a pumpkin? Toss it in the slow cooker! This post will explain all the details of cooking your pumpkin perfectly.
The BEST Way to Cook a Whole Pumpkin
Have you ever tried to cook a pumpkin to use in a recipe instead of buying canned pumpkin from the store? I always think that it sounds like a fun idea but I rarely do it. A few years ago, I cooked a small pumpkin in the oven and what didn’t stick to the pan tasted too roasted to enjoy in sweet dishes. My quest for a better option started early this year when I decided to plant sugar pumpkins in my garden. They grew well and now I have about a dozen sitting on my porch!
Sugar, sweet, or pie pumpkins are general terms for the smaller 3 to 5 pound pumpkins that are typically grown to be eaten. They’ll be labeled at the store as a pumpkin that is good for baking (generally with a sticker or label attached to them). Their flesh is firmer and sweeter than other varieties, which makes them a great choice for cooking. The insides are a lot less slimy, stringy, and wet than typical jack-o-lantern pumpkins, so prepping them is pretty painless.
Cooking a fresh pumpkin is fun and simple. You should try it this fall just to say you did!
After a bit of research, I decided to try to cook a pumpkin in the slow cooker. My friends, this method is perfect. The pumpkin stays moist, it scoops out easily, there’s little clean up, and it practically cooks itself. The day that I was in the kitchen trying out this method, I planned on cooking 2 of my pumpkins in my large slow cooker at once. When they were finished cooking and my warm slow cooker was still on the counter, I grabbed 2 more pumpkins to cook just because it was so easy. I love this method!
Aren’t the pumpkins pretty?
Tips and Tricks to Cook a Pumpkin
- Sugar, sweet, or pie pumpkins are general terms for the smaller 3 to 5 pound pumpkins that are typically grown to be eaten. They’ll be labeled at the store as a pumpkin that is good for baking (generally with a sticker or label attached to them). Their flesh is firmer and sweeter than other varieties, which makes them a great choice for cooking. The insides are a lot less slimy, stringy, and wet than typical jack-o-lantern pumpkins, so prepping them is pretty painless.
- That being said, you can still cook the pumpkins you normally buy to carve!
- Most you-pick pumpkin patches will have a section of edible pumpkins/squash so be sure to ask if you go.
- Don’t forget to puree your homemade pumpkin puree in the food processor or blender for that smooth velvety texture.
- I love to use fresh pumpkin in my fresh pumpkin pie, homemade pumpkin pasta, and healthy pumpkin muffins.
- You can use fresh pumpkin puree in any recipe calling for pumpkin, though the color will be a little different than using canned pumpkin.
- Homemade pumpkin puree freezes like a dream. Freezing it in one cup proportions is the best option for long-term storage.
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How to Cook a Pumpkin in the Slow Cooker
- Total Time: 3 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 pumpkin makes about 1 1/2 cups 1x
Description
Ever wonder about the best way to cook a pumpkin? Toss it in the slow cooker! This post will explain all the details of cooking your pumpkin perfectly.
Ingredients
- 1 or 2 sugar pumpkins (3 to 5 pounds each)
Instructions
- Wash the outside of the pumpkin with warm water taking care to scrub off any dirt if necessary. Remove the stem and cut the pumpkin in half. Remove the seeds (you can save them to roast) and the stringy parts of the inside of the pumpkin with a spoon or an ice cream scoop.
- Place the pumpkin halves skin side up in your slow cooker and cook on high for 2-3 hours or until a fork pierces through the skin of the pumpkin easily. Allow the pumpkin to cool enough to handle and then scrape the flesh from the shell with a spoon.
- Use the fresh pumpkin as you would canned pumpkin. Mash the insides with a fork to remove lumps or you may choose to puree it in a food processor or blender before using to get a very smooth texture.
- Store pumpkin flesh in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Notes
- If the pumpkin isn’t fitting well in your slow cooker, feel free to cut it into a few more pieces.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Category: Side
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American
This is for sure the easiest way to cook a pumpkin but it isn’t the only way. You can also bake your pumpkin. It’s a bit quicker than this method, though there is a little more clean up involved. You can see my baked homemade pumpkin puree recipe here.
This post was originally published in October 2014 and has been updated and republished in October 2017.
Can you eat it without pureeing it? Like just chunked out on a plate as a side. If like to try it without the added sweetness most of us are accustomed to. Get the natural taste of it with salt maybe. Is this recommended? Thank you your video and article are wonderful and look amazingly delicious.
Yes, yes, yes! Most people don’t but you sure can (and we do!). There are SO many kinds of pumpkins and hard squashes that you can cook like this with all kinds of different flavor profiles. I’d hit up the farmer’s market and find some recommendations on new to your pumpkins for eating. I have a recipe post for roasting pumpkins and squash too, it’s also a great way to cook them for eating!
I love pumpkins! I’ve grown them, boiled them and sautéed them. The water from boiling can be used too. I will try your slow cooker method. Thank you!
You’ll LOVE how easy it is to cook them! Set it and forget it!
fastest way to cook a pumpkin for me , is in a pressure cooker …. get a new fancy one with digital LCD screen and all the settings ….. takes 4 minutes from when it gets up to pressure ……. waaaaaaaaaaay quicker, mind you its another gadget in the kitchen right ? lol I love to cook in a crock pot or slow cooker …… my waist line doesnt seem to mind though …
I am going to try in the crock pot! Thanks
I’going to try tomorrow on my Halloween pumpkins so I can fresh pumpkin pies!
First attempt at this
My pumpkin is really big
Will have to peel the shell off the meat first so no wasted time scooping
Planning on adding cinnamon in the possessor for extra flavor
I bought a pie pumpkin for my dog. This looks like the best way to cook it. Thanks!
Yes! Pumpkin is great for dogs!
Have you tried it on low? Maybe twice as long cook time? My days are such that i cant be there to turn it on then back 2-3 hours later to turn it off and i don’t have one of those fancy pots with the timer setting 🙂 thanks!
Yes, it works on low and the cooking time just depends on how big/thick/much pumpkin you stick in there!
I’m so GLAD I came across your post on Pinterest! I grew a variety of pumpkins for the first time, including the sugar pumpkins, and when temperatures soared over 100 here in Southern California for several days in a row, four of the pumpkins, for lack of a better term, “wilted,” on one side. Now I know what to do with them! I’ll cut out the ruined parts and toss them in a crockpot! Thanks for the great idea, and making me feel better about my previously known as ruined pumpkins…now they have a GREAT purpose!
Yay!!! You will LOVE the fresh pumpkin. I like to even eat it as a side dish like you might mashed butternut sqaush because it’s just so different than canned pumpkin. Enjoy!
No such thing as canned pumpkin in Australia
Yup, yup….worked like a charm! Either I was lucky enough to get exceptional sugar pumpkins this year or oven roasting them really changes the flavor, for the worse. Made a pumpkin pie that I didn’t have to drown 3 times in whipped cream to choke down……and your biscuits…..still droooooooooling……..
Your comments have had me laughing out loud! I can just hear you saying them, you type just like you’d talk and I love it. Thank you!