How to Roast Pumpkin

How to Roast Pumpkin

Roasted pumpkin is delicious and nutritious. You can add it to baked goods, soups, stews, or whip up a homemade pumpkin pie. Plus, it's super easy to make. The only things you'll need are the aforementioned pumpkin, a knife (for halving the pumpkin), a spoon (for scooping out its insides), an oven, a pan or vessel of some sort, and a bit of time.

As with all winter squash, you want to choose a pumpkin that feels heavy for its size.

Are you eyeing those giant field pumpkins piled up for Halloween to make jack o' lanterns? Ignore those. Completely. Unless you're carving one for your doorstep or otherwise using it as decoration. They are not at all sweet and you will be sad if you try and use one in a recipe.

Look instead for sugar pie, red Kuri, cheese, rouge vif d'étampes, or blue Hokkaido pumpkins if you plan on eating them!

You'll also want to preheat an oven to 375 F.

Cut the Pumpkin in Half

You'll need a large knife and a certain amount of upper-body strength. Cut the pumpkin more or less in half working on one side of any stem that's still attached to the pumpkin.

As long as you can safely control it, the bigger the knife, the easier it is to crack the pumpkin apart.

Scoop Out Seeds

Use a large spoon to scoop out the seeds and stringy "guts" from the pumpkins halves. If you have an ice cream scooper, know that it will work beautifully for this task.

If you're so inclined (and you should be), save the seeds to make roasted pumpkin seeds.

Get Those Insides Clean

You don't need to be crazy about it, but you also want to remove all the wetter, darker "guts" from the harder, lighter-colored pumpkin flesh.

Actually, you want to be a little bit crazy about it. It's better to scrape out too much rather than too little.

Roast the Pumpkin

Set the cleaned pumpkin halves on a lightly oiled baking sheet or a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast in a preheated 375 F oven (the temperature is actually quite flexible, anywhere in the 350 F to 425 F range will yield decent results) until the pumpkin halves are tender enough to pierce easily with a fork through the shell. Depending on the size of the pumpkin halves, this will take between 40 minutes and 1 hour. 

Roasted Pumpkin, Ready to Use

Let the pumpkin sit until cool enough to handle. Then use a large spoon to scoop out the sweet and tender cooked flesh.

Roasted pumpkin is perfect for serving mashed with butter, using to make a pumpkin soup, or whirling into a pumpkin pie.

Roasted pumpkin also freezes beautifully. Pack in a freezer-safe container (a resealable plastic bag will do), remove as much air as possible, seal, and freeze for up to six months in a freezer attached to a fridge and up to a year in a stand-alone freezer.