🥧 Pumpkin Purée & Pie Planner

Yield. A whole pumpkin is mostly skin, seeds, fibres and water. Roasting and scooping typically returns about 55–65% of the original weight as usable flesh, and a watery variety sits at the low end. The yield box is editable because your pumpkin is not the average pumpkin: weigh the roasted flesh if you want a real number rather than an estimate.

Purée per pie. A classic 9-inch pie uses a 15 oz (425 g) can of pumpkin, which is why that figure is the default. If you are scaling an old recipe that calls for a “small pumpkin”, weigh the flesh — volume measures for purée are unreliable because the water content varies so much.

Draining matters. Home-roasted purée holds more water than canned. Spread it in a sieve lined with muslin or a clean cloth and let it drain for 30–60 minutes, or simmer it gently until a spoon dragged across the pan leaves a clean line. Skip this and the filling separates, the crust goes soggy and the pie never sets.

Bake and store. A 9-inch pie at 200 °C takes about 45–50 minutes, until the centre wobbles only slightly; a 10-inch one needs 55–60. Cool within two hours, refrigerate and eat within three to four days, or freeze the baked pie for up to a month. The purée itself freezes well for several months in 425 g portions — freeze it flat in bags and it thaws overnight.

Which pumpkin. Sugar pumpkins, pie pumpkins and ‘Small Sugar’ varieties are bred for dense, sweet flesh; butternut squash is a close substitute and often more consistent. A jack-o'-lantern pumpkin can be used in a pinch, but roast it longer, drain it harder and expect a wetter, stringier purée. Weigh the flesh after roasting rather than trusting the size on the label — two pumpkins the same width can differ by a third in usable flesh.

Last reviewed: 2026-10-20. General cooking guidance; follow your own recipe's temperatures and local food-safety advice.