There is nothing better than roasting your own pumpkins.

The humble pumpkin. The sign of the harvest, fall, and Halloween fun! Did you know that pumpkins are very nutritious? Pumpkins are high in fiber, which helps to stabilize blood sugar and give you a boost of energy. There are many minerals in the pumpkin to help with blood pressure including potassium, iron, and magnesium. You can get a healthy dose of antioxidants from pumpkin, which is helpful for immunity support. Potassium, vitamin E, and C are also noted when eating pumpkins. The pumpkin deserves a superhero cape for all it offers!

There is nothing better than roasting your own pumpkins. The taste is far superior to any canned pumpkin, and it’s so incredibly easy. Also, I have to mention your house will smell amazing, trust me! This is our second year growing our own pumpkins. My pumpkin patch is not very pretty at all. We plant seeds in the Spring and just look forward to seeing what happens. My favorite pumpkins for pie pumpkins have been “Baby Wrinkles“, and “Winter Luxury Pie Pumpkin“. These pumpkins do really well in our shorter growing season, and I haven’t had many issues with those icky squash borers!

To roast your own pumpkin, start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. You don’t need to do much prep to your pumpkin at all. Be sure to give your pumpkin a good wash. I like to go ahead and cut my pumpkins in half. We will be roasting them cut side down. To make cutting your pumpkin in half easier, cut the stem of your pumpkin. Next, cut your pumpkin in half. Be sure to have a sharp nice, good cutting board, and take your time.

The scoop on the goop. You have the option to remove the “goop” before roasting or actually waiting until after the pumpkins are cooked to remove the seeds. To be honest, sometimes I remove the seeds before, and sometimes I remove it after. If you scoop your goop before roasting your pumpkins, you can set the seeds aside and roast those after roasting the pumpkin. Those make a great treat! We like to give our goop and seeds to the chickens. They devour the seeds in a matter of minutes!

After you have prepped your pumpkin now in halves, place them cut side down on your baking sheet. I like to use my Silpat mat to make clean up super easy. To help with the roasting process, give your pumpkin skins a very light coat of olive oil. Olive oil spray is great for this. Roast your pumpkin for 30-40 minutes or until it is fork-tender.

When you take your pumpkin out of the oven, allow to cool for 15-20 minutes. You can then carefully peel the skin right off. The first time I did this, I was amazed how easy the skin came right off. You can now use your pumpkin how ever you would like. I like to pulse my cooked pumpkin pieces in the food processor and use in my favorite recipe. A quick tip is to measure out 1 cup portions and freeze the pureed pumpkin.

If you haven’t roasted a pumpkin before, I highly suggest picking up a pumpkin of your own, and giving it a try! You will never buy another can of pumpkin again.