What to Make with Pumpkin Purée – Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins
Did you know that nearly TWO BILLION POUNDS of pumpkins end up in the landfill every year in just the U.S. alone? Nothing breaks down in a landfill, not even food. And yep, pumpkins are food! If you are wondering what to make with pumpkin puree, read on!
Instead of letting your jack-o’-lanterns go to waste, try transforming them into tasty treats like these rich chocolate pumpkin muffins. They’re perfect for batch cooking, and you can freeze them individually for easy, waste-free snacks in the weeks ahead.
How To Make Pumpkin Purée
Chop your pumpkin and roast (covered) in the oven at 400F for 45-60 minutes or pressure cook on high for 15 minutes with a little water in the bottom. When cooled, scrap the soft flesh into the blend and purée.
And let me save you a weird trip to the “freezer hack” side of the internet – freeze things in your muffin tray and then transfer them to a reused freezer bag. Each “muffin” is approximately ½ cup. This works well for purées (this is pumpkin, saved from Halloween), soups, stews, sauces, veggie stock, pesto, oatmeal, apple sauce, cooked rice and beans, leftover smoothies or coffee, and on and on. A super quick way to store food in manageable portions, saving you money AND preventing food waste.
On to the pumpkin muffins! You can also make these with cooked squash or sweet potatoes, or zucchini.
What You Need – Ingredients for Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins
- 1 ½ c flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ⅓ c cocoa powder
- ⅓ c plant milk
- ½ tsp vanilla
- ½ c butter of your choice
- 1 ⅓ c sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 c pumpkin purée
What You Do
*Preheat oven to 350F
- Whisk dry ingredients together in a small bowl.
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together.
- Beat eggs in butter, one at a time.
- Add pumpkin and beat on low until just mixed.
- Add half the flour mixture, followed by half the liquid and repeat until smooth.
- Bake at 350F in a muffin tin for 25-30 min.
That’s it! It makes a dozen muffins and my kids have yet to realize that there are vegetables in them. Nailed it!
Share your favourite things to make with pumpkin puree in the comments!
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