How to Cook Pumpkin in the Instant Pot
on Oct 20, 2019, Updated Mar 15, 2024
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Learn how to cook pumpkin in the Instant Pot with this simple guide that will teach you how to make pumpkin puree at home. Use it in pumpkin pie, soups, and all the other Fall comfort foods your family loves! This method is a cinch (and so fast) that you’ll find yourself ditching the canned store-bought pumpkin in no time.
How to Cook a Pumpkin in the Instant Pot for Homemade Puree
Do you love pumpkin as much as we do? It’s the tried-and-true hero of fall, whether you use it in desserts, entrees, or appetizers… Or simply to decorate your home in autumn decor! The flavors of cooked pumpkin are similar to that of sweet potato or butternut squash, and we like serving it mashed with a little butter, salt, and cinnamon as a side. But you can also use it as a puree for soups, pies, or other recipes that you’d normally use canned pumpkin for!
And once again, the Instant Pot is here to save all of our lives with yet another quick cooking hack. This how-to will get you fresh, warming cooked pumpkin in a half hour thanks to the Instant Pot. It’s truly magic. And I am here for it. There’s just something special about preparing your own cooked pumpkin, and it’s less wasteful than buying cans from the store. All you need is your Instant Pot, a 2-pound sugar or pie pumpkin, a cup of water, and the trivet that came with your IP, plus 30 minutes, and you’re all set!
How long does pumpkin puree last?
Pumpkin puree will last for about a week in a sealed container in the refrigerator. If you can’t use it by then, freeze it for up to 4 months! It freezes VERY well.
Can you use large pumpkins for cooking?
Large pumpkins can be cooked, but they have more liquid than small sugar and pie pumpkins. Plus, they won’t fit in your Instant Pot as well, so it’s best to stick to the little guys.
Can you eat small pumpkins?
Miniature pumpkins ARE edible, and they generally are sweeter than larger pumpkins that you think of as jack-o-lanterns. Look for pumpkins that are small and labeled as pie pumpkins or sugar pumpkins in the store. You can cook the large pumpkins meant for carving too! They’re just a bit less sweet and tend to be more watery.
How do you steam a pumpkin?
If you don’t have an Instant Pot, don’t fret! You can steam a pumpkin by cutting it into small pieces, removing the seeds, and peeling the skin off. Place the pieces of pumpkin in a steamer (or a metal colander) over boiling water. Cover and let it steam for about 50 minutes, until the flesh is fork tender.
How to Cook Pumpkin in the Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 small sugar or pie pumpkin, (about 2 pounds)
- Trivet that came with your pressure cooker
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Wash off the outside of your pumpkin, and break off the stem if you can. It’s okay if the top of the pumpkin is past the fill mark (since it’s not really filling that space), but be sure it’s not above the top rim of the pot.
- Place the pumpkin in a steamer basket that fits your pressure cooker or on the trivet, and then add 1 cup of water to the bottom of the pot.
- Close the lid, move the gasket to “sealing,” and press “pressure cook.” Set the cook time to 18 minutes (high pressure), and let the machine do its thing.
- When the 18 minutes has passed, do a manual pressure release.
- When the pressure comes down and you can remove the lid, do so carefully.
- Carefully remove the pumpkin from the Instant Pot, and cut it from top to bottom (stem to blossom end). Use a spoon to scrape the seeds from the squash.
- Use a spoon to scrape the flesh from the skin (the skin will peel off really easily, too).
- Use the pumpkin how you like, or add it too a food process or blender and blend until smooth to make a pumpkin puree.
Notes
- You can eat mashed pumpkin like you would sweet potatoes or butternut squash. We like it with a little butter, cinnamon, and salt.
- You can use homemade pumpkin puree in recipes calling for canned pumpkin. If your puree is very moist, let it drain in a fine mesh colander for a little while to remove extra moisture before using.
Nutrition
More ways to cook squash and pumpkin:
- How to Cook Spaghetti Squash in the Instant Pot
- How to Cook a Whole Spaghetti Squash in the Slow Cooker
- How to roast pumpkin in the oven
- Grilled Butternut Squash in a foil packet
- How to Cook a Whole Butternut Squash in the Slow Cooker
- How to Cook Butternut Squash in the Instant Pot
- How to cook a pumpkin in a slow cooker
- Homemade Butternut Squash Soup
- The Best Oven Roasted Spaghetti Squash
- Easy Lentil Curry with Butternut Squash
My pumpkin is close to 4 pounds. How long should I cook it?
What are you doing to do with it after? If you are just doing to do a puree or something I like to err on the side of longer. I’d probably do 20 minutes.
I remembered you’d posted this recipe a while ago when I decided to use some fresh pumpkin in my Thanksgiving pies. I knew right where to go without spending time searching for it.
It worked perfectly, with the skins sliding right off afterwards!
Thanks Melissa!,?
Yay! So glad I can be a resource, that’s the goal! And isn’t it magical isn’t it, that instant pot sure does simplify some cooking!
Scraping pumpkin guts has always been my least favorite part of processing them…..but now…..oh how easy! I did 3 sugar pies, back to back, from beginning to end in less time than in the crock pot. (Which I used to think was the best method ever! Now its #2 as I don’t like oven cooked pumpkin) As a pumpkin was steaming, I was off doing other things. When it came time to scrape out the innards, it was as simple as using a spoon to lift and plop into the compost pail. Oodles and oodles of thanks!!!!!
Yay! And did your skin peel off really easy too? I feel like I don’t waste a thing.
The skin slid off slicker than ever! Then I gently ran my spoon over the skin to get ever last drop. I was impressed!
Well I’ll be….guts and all…how much simplier can it be? I’ll have to try it when I finally score some sugar pumpkins….I love the quick factor! I use pumpkin mash all the time since you taught me to put it in the chili….now it happily jumps into the spaghetti sauce and he still doesn’t know….well…he does know something is different…it tastes better! Hahahahaha Thanks for the great new method!