Canned pumpkin

[laf36]

I was given a few cans of pumpkin from a friend, and I realized I have never cooked with pumpkin before. Does anyone have recipes that use canned pumpkin in them? This might be a silly question, but can you just eat it straight from the can?

 

Thanks!

[ShannonM816]

I was given a few cans of pumpkin from a friend, and I realized I have never cooked with pumpkin before. Does anyone have recipes that use canned pumpkin in them? This might be a silly question, but can you just eat it straight from the can?

 

Thanks!

 

You could eat it straight from the can, I suppose. You can sub it for butternut squash or sweet potato in any recipe where those are mashed up -- like this Velvety Butternut Squash, or these salmon cakes. There are pumpkin soup recipes out there, I haven't made any so I don't know which to recommend, but google Whole30 pumpkin soup and you should get a lot of options. It may sound weird, but a big spoonful of pumpkin scrambled with your eggs is actually good. 

[HelenLA]

I have tried seasoning canned pumpkin like you would a baked sweet potato or squash but it never tasted very good to me. I have a couple of soup recipes using canned pumpkin that I have not tried yet. but I have often added canned pumpkin to chili, meat sauce - aka spaghetti sauce, and taco meat filling. you can't really taste it but it thickens things up and I always feel like I'm adding an extra vegetable and vitamins to my meal.

[rhed]

I used canned pumpkin in my salmon cakes last night (the ones Shannon linked), and they came out really well! 

 

Of course, I have half a can left...Helen, I may try your idea of mixing it in with chili this weekend. Or maybe even a chicken soup? I wonder if that would make it creamier, or just have mushy pumpkin at the bottom of the pan...

[ultrarunnergirl]

I second the idea to mix a little in with your scrambled eggs.

Also great in a curry. Add plenty of curry powder, coconut milk, veggies and meat (I like chicken). Stir in the pumpkin. It will thicken it up and give it good flavor. Add salt if needed. Yum!

[Lesliechapman00]

1. I cant wait to make the salmon cakes!! Yay!!!

[jechurch2005]

I don't know about canned pumpkin much. I'm really new to this. But I'll tell you what I DO like. Take a pie pumpkin, which you can only find in stores around Halloween and Thanksgiving, cut it in half and scoop out the guts. Save the seeds: they'll come up! or you can roast them for snacks later. Butter a cookie sheet or spray it with olive oil. Bake at 350F for an hour or so. (The bigger it is, the longer it'll take.) The skin will turn black and soft. If it's crunchy, you went too far. Take it out and let the surface cool for a minute or two so you don't burn your fingers, then peel off the skin. Underneath is a sweet, beautiful starch that you can serve with a little salt and cinnamon. Cooking the gourd brings out its natural sugars, so none needs to be added. Before thinking about paleo, I would use this for pies, but I would also just eat it as a meal. It's also good scrambled with sausage. (making myself hungry here) Since it is a heavy starch, like a sweet potato, you might want to find someone to share it with, though. Pie pumpkins may be smaller than JackOLanterns, but they're pretty big for a veggie.

[Mountain gal]

I would add canned coconut milk and ginger, salt, cinnamon -- stir and heat for a great soup.