Pressure Cooker Pumpkin

Cooking an Instant Pot pumpkin to make homemade pumpkin puree is easy if you follow our recipe here. You can make as a Ninja Foodi recipe too and either slice and enjoy as a side dish or blend until smooth and bake with it.

Ninja Foodi Pumpkin

It makes this Fall vegetable so tender and perfect for canning or making delicious Instant Pot pumpkin butter too! You can make this in a Ninja Foodi with the lid that is attached this same way too.

I mean there are SO many options once this is done. I’d have to say our pumpkin zucchini muffins top the list though. Whether you want to just slice it to enjoy as a tender squash side dish with dinner or puree it when done that is up to you.

I got this squash from a relative out of her garden. In researching what it was it was found it to be a long pie pumpkin. Cooked it tastes just like the traditional circular orange versions.

I knew you could pop a whole pumpkin in your pressure cooker but it was a bit long so I cut up into large pieces. If it is too big to fit in their cut in half, just slice those halves into fourths and it will be fine that way. It worked great!

Ingredient Notes

A pumpkin, and since we were making it a bit sweet we added some goodies like sugar, nutmeg and more. We will share what we made with you below. It was so yummy!! For this scoop the insides out. Throw this pulp into your blender with just a dash of liquid. Once it’s as smooth as you’d like you’ll have your own pressure cooker pumpkin puree to use as you wish.

You will also need;

1. Trivet – I like one with handles or vegetable steamer basket
2. A knife to cut the pumpkin into pieces so it will fit, sugar pumpkins are a great size
3. A large spoon and colander are great for removing the seeds and cleaning.
4. Cup of water
5. Blender or food processor would work
6. Mason jars for storing in fridge, or pint size freezer bags if making it in bulk and freezing it.

How Long to Cook Whole Pumpkin in Instant Pot

You will need 9-15 minutes depending on if you cut it in half or left it whole. I recommend slicing it like we did here so you can first remove the seeds and roast them later. You can steam the whole thing though if you would rather but it would need to be small enough to fit on your trivet with a bit of space around it for the hot steam to circulate properly.

Can you cook big pumpkins this way?

Not with this method or air fryer pumpkin. I mean it has to fit inside. Yes you can cut it in half or even into fourths if you wanted but there’s still a limited capacity. It might be easier to use a big pot on your stovetop with a trivet in the bottom for a rather large one. I would choose a small / medium one for this method.

Once you scoop out the seeds put them in a strainer and get the gunk off. Then you can make our killer air fryer pumpkin seeds for a healthy snack. 

You could use these same steps with acorn, butternut squash or pressure cooker Spaghetti Squash too. In all cases I will suggest that my biggest tip is that you slice into pieces and remove the seeds first. This will get you the best overall tender texture with the flesh, so soft it is almost like butter with a spoon.

What can you make with homemade pumpkin puree?

Our pumpkin monkey bread is to die for!! Try pumpkin coffee creamer with some pumpkin cookies with cake mix. We love this pumpkin crisp or pumpkin pie sheet cake are always a hit.

We have even made pumpkin angel food cake which is just amazing.

How long does pumpkin puree last in the freezer?

It can last up to a year if stored properly!! That means you can make “all things pumpkin” all year long with this! Make a big batch and then store in airtight containers or in pint size freezer bags. Make sure to remove the air, zip them closed, and lay them flat.

I like to freeze as much as I would typically use in one use. That’s about the size of a can of pumpkin I’d buy at the store. Take one out at a time and allow to thaw out on the countertop, then bake away with it!