Cooking Pumpkin in an Instant Pot

Wow, what a time saver! I just added pumpkin to my list of foods I will always make in my Instant Pot from now on! Unbelievably quick and easy…. here’s how.

Wash small pie pumpkins – 15 to 20” in circumference. (Circumference is measurement around largest part of pumpkin.) Cut in half. Scoop out seeds and scrape inside clean.

Place metal rack in instant pot. Add 3/4 to 1 cup water. Position pumpkin, cut sides up, on rack. (You may have to quarter pumpkin pieces to fit.)

Secure lid and move pressure valve to “sealing” position. Select “manual” setting and set timer to 10 minutes (use + and – buttons to adjust).

When time is up on instant pot, allow pressure to naturally release 10 minutes. Move pressure valve to “venting” position and carefully open lid.

Remove pieces from Instant Pot and place in a large bowl, skin side up. Gently remove large pieces of skin. This was the part I especially liked – the skin removed easily!

Puree with an immersion blender or regular blender.

Use in your favorite recipe or freeze by packing into freezer bags or containers (measure out by cups needed in favorite recipes). Seal, label and freeze. See our book, Eating Pure in a Processed Foods World®, for delicious pumpkin recipes.

VARIATION: Buttercup squash is a wonderful substitute for pumpkin! It’s one of the sweetest varieties of winter squash with deep orange flesh and no stringiness. Follow the above instructions increasing cooking time to 12 minutes on manual high setting. Allow pressure to naturally release 12 minutes.

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