If you’ve been reading this blog for a year or longer, you may know that I’m head over heels for Homemade Pumpkin Butter. Not only is it one of the most popular recipes on the blog, but it’s also a personal favourite. I eagerly make several batches every fall and winter (umm, and apparently during the summer now…). No two batches are ever the same; I love changing it up with different sweeteners and spices depending on my mood. You all seem to love pumpkin butter too – I get so many comments and emails about the recipe!
The original recipe uses canned pumpkin which is great for convenience, but I’ve always wanted to try out the recipe using freshly roasted pumpkin. I just knew it was going to rock my world.
Oh, did it ever.
If you saw my pumpkin roasting tutorial Monday, you may recall this photo of the roasted pumpkin after blending in my Vitamix:
Well, after that photo I had a lightbulb moment. Why not just throw all of the pumpkin butter ingredients straight into the blender and blend it all up?
It turned out to be a great idea to use the blender – no need to whisk in any ingredients. Plus, the blender got it super smooth and silky. I also reduced the amount of juice so it only took 10 minutes to cook down on the stove top as compared to 35-45 minutes in the original recipe. I certainly wasn’t complaining!
My Tip:
The best tip I can give you when making pumpkin butter on the stove-top is to cover the pot with a lid and prop it open with a wooden spoon. The mixture splatters everywhere while simmering and you definitely need a lid to cover it while still allowing steam to escape. You can also make it in a slow cooker if that floats your boat.
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All Natural Pumpkin Butter From Scratch
Yield
3 to 3.5 cups
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Adapted from Homemade Pumpkin Butter.
Ingredients
- 4 – 4.5 cups fresh pumpkin puree (made from ~3.8 pounds sugar pumpkin)
- 1/4 cup sweet apple cider or apple juice, more if needed
- 1 cup Sucanat (or brown sugar, unpacked)
- 3-4 tbsp pure maple syrup, to taste
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice (enhances flavour and helps preserve)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- pinch of fine grain sea salt
Directions
- Roast your sugar pumpkins (see this tutorial). Cool for 10 minutes on pan before handling.
- Add pumpkin flesh (without the skin) in a blender. Add juice and blend until smooth, stopping to push down the pumpkin when necessary. It may take a bit to get it going.
- Add the Sucanat (or brown sugar), maple syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg. Process again until super smooth and no clumps remain.
- Spoon mixture into a medium-sized pot. Cover with lid and prop lid ajar with a wooden spoon. Over medium-high heat, bring mixture to a low boil. Reduce heat to low-medium and cook for about 10 minutes, or until it’s as thick as you want it. Keep the lid ajar throughout the cooking process – you will find it splatters everywhere so be careful! I like to keep the lid propped up on an angle while I stir the mixture so I don’t get splattered. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
- Cool completely, stir in lemon juice and a pinch of salt, and then store in a sealed jar in the fridge. Should keep for 2-4 weeks.
No matter which version you make, one thing is for sure; your house will smell absolutely wonderful throughout the process.
Looking for ways to enjoy pumpkin butter? There are many…
- Swirled into vegan overnight oats or hot oatmeal
- Smoothies (try it in my Pumpkin Pie Smoothie for two!)
- Pumpkin Butter Oat Squares with Candied Pecans
- Spread it on toast for breakfast
- Stacked Pumpkin Butter Pancakes for One
- Swirl it into yogurt or make parfaits
- muffins & quick loaves
- try this Pumpkin Pie Chia Pudding Parfait
- Pumpkin butter latte, anyone?
- Use it as a dip for fresh sliced up apples
- With a spoon!
- Wouldn’t it be great in a pie filling? I’ll have to try this…
- Add it to banana soft serve (or vegan ice cream) for a seasonal twist
Have I convinced you yet?
Can I can this? I’d love to process a bunch of it and give it away as Christmas gifts! Thank you!
NO—that’s not recommended by the USDA, because botulism spores can survive home pressure canners. Pumpkin puree & pumpkin butter are not acidic enough, nor do they have enough water content to be safely processed in a home canner.
I’m wondering if I could canned: this pumpkin butter recipe? Thank you
Yes 3 hour water bath
I am in the process of making this. I steamed my pumpkin instead of roasting it. But the problem is… I keep eating it straight out of the pot! I don’t know if there will be any left by the time it’s supposed to be ready.
Hi Angela,
Love all of the recipes you have with sugar pumpkins. I have many ready for baking growing in my backyard. I was wondering have you tried preserving the pumpkin butter? It would be nice to give out as Christmas gifts. I am just starting to get into making homemade jams from our fig tree and pressure sealed the jam under boiling water / 7 min. Would the same process work for this?
I’m so happy to see a recipe with Sucanat!
can you “can ” this butter? it would be great to give as christmas gifts!
No—too risky due to botulism spores that can survive home pressure canners. Freeze it instead.
Wonderful, just wonderful. I tried with honey in place of syrup, turned out great. Smells like Heavon. Thank you!
It’s awesome, and the best part is the 2 minutes hands-on time if you have puree already!
Thanks, Angela
I love this! I substituted the maple syrup with honey and a bit of agave. My son is gobbling it up on everything. Toast, ice cream, as a apple dip, by itself. I will be making this again.
When I saw pie pumpkins in the store after years of looking for them i knew what I had to do.
So good.
minimalist baker recommended your pumpkin pie butter for her pumpkin cinnamon rolls, and i took her up on that suggestion….i made a smaller amount of your recipe—it was delish!…i’m going to make another batch of it to put in my coffee or on oatmeal—or just eat it with a spoon!
Oh, I’m so happy you enjoyed it! :)
Hi There,
My apologies for asking a question on an older post, but I only just came across it. This was linked on a post by Minimalist Baker.
In Australia we don’t stock sugar pumpkins. Can you recommend some alternatives? Currently, our supermarkets stock: butternut, kent, and jarrahdale (grey skin) pumpkins. Will any of these work?
Thanks :-)
Hey Jes, I’m not familiar with Kent or Jarrahdale, but I think butternut would be lovely!
We also don’t have much availability in sugar pumpkins where I live (small town Germany), so this week I roasted a butternut squash and so far I’ve made pumpkin pie, smoothies, and pumpkin spice lattes with it, and all have been delicious. Just whipped up the pumpkin butter and am waiting for it to cool, but it smells amazing too :)
If canned pumpkin purée is available in your area, that would work. A 15 ounce can equals 2 cups.
How do i print the recipe without printing 39 pages?
Hey Sue, My apologies this recipe uses our old recipe system (Recipage), which we no longer use. My advice would be to copy and paste the recipe into a word doc and print it that way. Hope this helps!
No website… Made some pumpkin butter this afternoon from a different recipe and later
when I came back to computer to write down recipe, I was directed to your site. Not a vegan, and don’t plan to become one anytime soon, but I have written down your recipe and will try it as soon as I can get out to buy a pumpkin to roast. Thanks for the recipe.
It looks better than the result I got, but I do not have a high speed blender that you have, so I used canned pumpkin in mine. I live in a senior village and don’t have a stove in my small apt. so I cooked mine in the microwave (whoa) will soon be 83 and have meals
made for me here, but I still love to cook and try to adapt some recipes to make it possible to cook in the microwave. Can’t keep me down yet, tho I’ve had a stroke and need a knee replacement and eye surgery for double vision caused by the stroke…
Best to you,
Jiovanna
PS My email address comes from a store I used to have, called the Nutcracker Sweet Shoppe. Sold supplies for bakers, candy makers, cake decorators etc, And I’m a
former pastry chef……
Hi Jiovanna, I can’t thank you enough for your comment! I’m thrilled that you’ve discovered my blog, and that you’re experimenting with the recipes. How inspiring! All my best.
Hi! This looks so yummy! I was wondering if it’s possible to use canned pumpkin instead of fresh in the recipe. I know fresh is optimal but if I make this and I’m pressed for time, I’m just wondering if you think it will work!
Hi Danielle, Yes absolutely! My original recipe linked in the post uses canned pumpkin and it’s a fantastic option too: https://ohsheglows.com/2010/10/05/happy-thanksgiving-homemade-pumpkin-butter/ :) Hope this helps!
This is delicious. I made it with a sugar pumpkin I grew in my backyard.
Hi Lisa, nice job on growing the sugar pumpkin…that must be such a rewarding thing to harvest! :)