In The Wild Heart Kitchen

How to Preserve Pumpkins for year round use? Freeze them! Here is your quick and easy guide how to enjoy pumpkins year round.

From September through Thanksgiving, I buy up as many sugar pumpkins as possible. They are piled in my kitchen like an ode to orange. In fact, I eat so much pumpkin this time of year, I seriously asked my husband if I might turn orange as a result. I’ll report back on that one….

Pumpkins are delicious and are high in nutrients (and also are said to help with migraines and are good for PMS symptoms).

Pumpkin is My Star Ingredient.

But please, save us from the pumpkin pie! I use my pumpkins for savory rather than sweet. They are the star of my butternut and sage baked pasta. For this recipe, I use butternut squash because it’s more widely available, but the best way is to swap the squash out for pumpkin. The pumpkin makes this pasta bake creamy and luscious without all that extra dairy (though it is nice and cheesy).

Pumpkin is the primary ingredient my Roasted Pumpkin Soup; its silky and hearty and easy to make! Make an extra large pot of it and keep it on hand for a quick lunch for dinner served with grilled cheese.

Let’s not forget that dinner showstopper; my One Pan Roast Chicken with Pumpkin and Sage Rice. This entrée looks impressive but is shockingly easy to make and can be prepped in stages ahead of time. It’s perfect for the coming season; cozy and earthy, filling and just outright yummy!

But why stop there? I love pumpkin roasted in wedges and served drizzled with good quality olive oil, flakey salt, and chopped hazelnuts. Simple, yet elegant! (for this, simply cut a sugar pumpkin into wedges and rub with olive oil and roast on 415 until golden brown and tender). There are so many ways to enjoy this delicious ingredient!

Keep The Pumpkin Cookin’ All Year Long!

September through Thanksgiving is prime sugar pumpkin season…not a long season. During this time, I buy up all the sugar pumpkins I can find so I can preserve them for the year ahead.

Starting this time of year, I roast and freeze my pumpkin puree in pre-measured out mounds. This allows me the ability to pull out small quantities of pumpkin for recipes whenever I so fancy.

For more freeze hacks – check out How to freeze anything. This article will teach you my most valuable freezer hacks!

How to Roast Pumpkin:

1. Wash your pumpkin well, scrubbing off all the dirt and dry it very well.
2. Using a very sharp knife, carefully (very carefully) cut your pumpkin in half. Remove the pumpkin seeds. You can feed the seeds to your chickens, wash and roast them as salad toppers, or simply compost them.
3. Place the pumpkin halves on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Rub the pumpkin (all over, all sides) with extra virgin olive oil then place the pumpkin cut side down on the cookie sheet.
4. Place the cookie in a preheat 415 degree oven and roast until you can easily glide a fork into the pumpkin’s skin and right down through the flesh. This can take anywhere from 30-50 minutes, depending on the size of your pumpkin.
5. Remove the pumpkin from the oven and allow it to cool.
6. Using a fork or spoon, remove the pumpkin flesh and place in a large bowl. Mash the flesh up with a fork until smooth.
7. Your pumpkin is now recipe ready!

How to Freeze Pumpkin:

1. Prepare a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and make sure you have a flat space available in your freezer for it.
2. Using either a 1/2 cup or 1 cup measuring cup (your choice), scoop up pumpkin puree and fill the measuring cup. Neatly pour the pumpkin puree onto the cookie sheet in a little mound. Repeat this until all the pumpkin puree is neatly in little mounds on the parchment paper.
3. Carefully place the cookie sheet into the freezer as flat as possible. Freeze the puree mounds until solid.
4. Carefully peel each pumpkin mound off the parchment paper and place them a gallon size zip-top bag. Freezing them in mounds first allows you to take out pre-measured sized mounds of pumpkin as needed.
5. To thaw, simply leave the pumpkin in a bowl on the counter or defrost in the microwave if you’re short on time.