Homemade baby food is super nutritious! Pumpkin baby food is not only easy to make but will provide you with lots of delicious baby food that is cheaper than store bought!
This site contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using one of these links, I may earn a commission. Please visit my disclaimer page for more information about cookies collected and our privacy policy.
Pumpkin Baby Food
When it comes to our children, we as moms want to give them the best! We want them to be healthy and we want them to have the best start at life possible!
A great way to give your baby the best optimal start is to make your own baby food! Unfortunately store bought baby food can be laden with chemicals and other nasty ingredients.
Making your own baby food fresh is a great way to not only avoid these nasty ingredients, but to give your baby the freshest, most nutritious food possible!
When all four of my children were babies I made my own baby food for them. If you have never done it before, then don’t worry, it’s very easy! I’ll walk you step by step through the entire process:)
And I know it sounds time consuming, but it’s really not. You can make up a whole months worth of baby food in just a few hours!
How to Make Pumpkin Baby Food
So let’s get started and go make some pumpkin baby food!
The only ingredients that you will need for this recipe are pumpkin, and a little filtered or reverse osmosis water.
The first step is to wash and prepare the pumpkin.
As with all veggies for baby, I recommend only buying organic pumpkin.
Also when choosing a pumpkin to make baby food you want to choose a small pumpkin. The small varieties are best for eating while large pumpkins are great for decorating and carving for halloween!
How to Prepare Pumpkin for Baby Food
There are multiple ways to prepare and cook pumpkin.
You can steam it, you can bake it whole, or you can bake the halves. If you choose to steam or bake the halves then you will need to cut the pumpkin.
To cut the pumpkin you want to cut it in half lengthwise. Then scoop out the seeds and fibers in the middle. Be sure not to scoop out the actual pumpkin, only the seeds and goo in the middle!
If you are going to bake the halves then you are done cutting. However if you wish to steam the pumpkin you are going to need to chop the halves into smaller pieces. Cut them into approximately one inch cubes.
If a pumpkin is extremely tough and hard to cut, I recommend skipping this step and just baking the whole pumpkin.
How to Bake Pumpkin
Baking pumpkin is very easy. If you are baking halves then place the halves cut side up on a baking sheet. Rub the cut side with butter if you desire. This helps to keep the pumpkin moist and from drying out.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 45 or until tender. The amount of time really depends on the size of the pumpkin. Once it is done you can scoop the flesh out of the peel.
If you are baking your pumpkin whole, then you need to pierce the pumpkin several times on top just as you would with a sweet potato. If it’s a little on the bigger side you can also go ahead and cut off the top of the pumpkin, scoop out the seeds and replace the top before baking.
Place the pumpkin on a baking sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for about an hour to an hour and a half or until soft. Again, size will dictate how long the pumpkin takes to cook. When it has cooled, if you haven’t done this already, you can easily slice off the top and scoop out the seeds and goo. Then scoop out the pumpkin.
How to Steam Pumpkin
Steaming the pumpkin requires it to be peeled and cut into cubes as I mentioned above.
Simply add water to the bottom of the steamer, put the steamer basket in place, and add your chopped pumpkin to the basket. Place the lid on and turn on the burner. Once steam begins to build up you want to steam the pumpkin for about 20-25 minutes depending on the size of the pumpkin cubes.
Pumpkin Puree Baby Food
To puree the pumpkin I highly recommend purchasing a Vitamix Blender to make your baby food with. It is one of the best blenders and will blend baby food to a super smooth consistency to insure that you do not end up with pumpkin strings or chunks in the baby food that baby can gag or choke on.
This is the only blender that I will use when pureeing not only baby food, but other recipes such as Sweet Potato Pie or Apple Butter as well! It is the best! And it lasts FOREVER! I have had my Vitamix for over a decade and it’s still going strong and purees foods just as good as the day I got it! Definitely worth investing in!
Pumpkin Puree
So add the cooked scooped pumpkin to the blender. I usually fill mine about 1/3 full at a time and blend in batches to help speed the process up. You need to also add a little water at this time. If you steamed your pumpkin you might want to add back in some of the nutrients that were lost during steaming by using the water that you used to steam the pumpkin. Just be sure that you use a good quality filtered or RO water when you steam them.
Start with a few tablespoons of water as you can always add more. If the pumpkin gets too thick it will not blend well. So keep stopping and scraping down the sides of the blender as needed and adding water until all the pumpkin is smooth and well blended.
You want it to be somewhat thick and not runny, so don’t add too much water. You basically only want to add as much water as is needed to help the blender out. Otherwise the pumpkin will just stick to the sides and won’t fall down to the blades.
Once all the pumpkin is blended to a super smooth consistency you have baby food! Yep, it’s that easy!
How to Store Homemade Baby Food
But wait, we’re not done yet!
What are you supposed to do with this large batch of pumpkin baby food?
Like I mentioned above you can make a LOT of baby food in a short amount of time. The key is to freeze the pumpkin puree that you won’t be using in the next couple of days for later.
However, you don’t want to freeze it all together. You want to be able to freeze it in serving sizes so that you can easily thaw out and use a small amount at a time. This way you can have baby food for a month or more!
How to Freeze Baby Food
To freeze baby food efficiently you really need to get these baby food cube trays. They’re kind of like ice cube trays that have lids.
Simply scoop the pureed pumpkin into the trays, place the lid on, and put it in the freezer. Once they are completely frozen you can pop them out and store them in freezer bags that are labeled with the date made.
Now you have a large supply of ready made, single serving, pumpkin baby food cubes! How easy is that?!
How to Thaw Frozen Baby Food
When it comes time to use your frozen pumpkin cubes you need to be sure that they are thawed in advance.
There are a couple of different ways to thaw out pumpkin baby food.
The easiest is to put it in a bowl with a lid the night before and let it thaw in the fridge. That way the next day it will be soft and ready to use.
However, I know from experience, that this isn’t always an option! There were many times that I forgot to lay my baby food out and had to do it just before serving it.
I really don’t recommend thawing baby food in the microwave. Not only does it leave hot spots in the baby food that can burn your baby, but it also is bad for the baby food! You can read here about the dangers of microwaves and why I don’t have one.
So, the best way to thaw frozen baby food cubes quickly is to fill a bowl that is a little larger than the bowl holding the baby food with hot water. Sit the bowl with the cubes in the hot water. The heat will be enough to cause the cubes to melt.
You might have to change the water a few times and add fresh hot water as it gets cold. Also occasionally turn the cube and break it up as it gets softer to help speed up thawing.
I know this might seem like a pain, but it’s the best way to thaw the cubes so that they don’t get too hot for baby and the best way to preserve the nutrients in the food that you worked hard to make!
Be sure to test the thawed pumpkin to be sure that it isn’t too hot before feeding it to your baby.
Making Pumpkin Baby Food
And that’s how you make homemade pumpkin baby food!
Now the only thing left to do is to serve it to your little one:) I hope they enjoy it as much as you enjoy giving your baby the healthiest food possible!
For additional baby food recipes be sure to read:
How to Make Broccoli Baby Food
How to Make Zucchini Baby Food
How to make Green Bean Baby Food
How to Make Sweet Potato Baby Food
How to Make Butternut Squash Baby Food
Pumpkin Baby Food
Pumpkin Baby Food
Make your own pumpkin baby food to give your baby the healthiest food possible!
Ingredients
- Organic Pumpkin
- Filtered or RO Water
Instructions
The first step is to wash and prepare the pumpkin.
How to Prepare Pumpkin
If you choose to steam or bake the halves then you will need to cut the pumpkin.
To cut the pumpkin you want to cut it in half lengthwise. Then scoop out the seeds and fibers in the middle. Be sure not to scoop out the actual pumpkin, only the seeds and goo in the middle!
If you are going to bake the halves then you are done cutting. However if you wish to steam the pumpkin you are going to need to chop the halves into smaller pieces. Cut them into approximately one inch cubes.
If a pumpkin is extremely tough and hard to cut, I recommend skipping this step and just baking the whole pumpkin.
How to Bake Pumpkin
Baking pumpkin is very easy. If you are baking halves then place the halves cut side up on a baking sheet. Rub the cut side with butter if you desire. This helps to keep the pumpkin moist and from drying out.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 45 or until tender. The amount of time really depends on the size of the pumpkin. Once it is done you can scoop the flesh out of the peel.
If you are baking your pumpkin whole, then you need to pierce the pumpkin several times on top just as you would with a sweet potato. If it's a little on the bigger side you can also go ahead and cut off the top of the pumpkin, scoop out the seeds and replace the top before baking.
Place the pumpkin on a baking sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for about an hour to an hour and a half or until soft. Again, size will dictate how long the pumpkin takes to cook. When it has cooled, if you haven't done this already, you can easily slice off the top and scoop out the seeds and goo. Then scoop out the pumpkin.How to Steam Butternut Squash
Steaming the pumpkin requires it to be peeled and cut into cubes as I mentioned above.
Simply add water to the bottom of the steamer, put the steamer basket in place, and add your chopped pumpkin to the basket. Place the lid on and turn on the burner. Once steam begins to build up you want to steam the pumpkin for about 20-25 minutes depending on the size of the pumpkin cubes.
Pumpkin Puree
Add the cooked scooped pumpkin to the blender. I usually fill mine about 1/3 full at a time and blend in batches to help speed the process up. You need to also add a little water at this time. If you steamed your pumpkin you might want to add back in some of the nutrients that were lost during steaming by using the water that you used to steam the pumpkin. Just be sure that you use a good quality filtered or RO water when you steam them.
Start with a few tablespoons of water as you can always add more. If the pumpkin gets too thick it will not blend well. So keep stopping and scraping down the sides of the blender as needed and adding water until all the pumpkin is smooth and well blended.
You want it to be somewhat thick and not runny, so don't add too much water. You basically only want to add as much water as is needed to help the blender out. Otherwise the pumpkin will just stick to the sides and won't fall down to the blades.
Once all the pumpkin is blended to a super smooth consistency you have baby food! Yep, it's that easy!