Meghan was the Food Editor for Kitchn's Skills content. She's a master of everyday baking, family cooking, and harnessing good light. Meghan approaches food with an eye towards budgeting — both time and money — and having fun. Meghan has a baking and pastry degree, and spent the first 10 years of her career as part of Alton Brown's culinary team. She co-hosts a weekly podcast about food and family called Didn't I Just Feed You.
updated May 1, 2019
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
There are two reasons why you might need to substitute something for canned pumpkin purée: either your grocery store ran out (it happens!), or you accidentally forgot to pick some up.
Don’t worry, though — there are a few pantry and freezer staples that you can easily substitute for canned pumpkin purée in most recipes. These three pumpkin purée alternatives will keep you cooking or baking no matter what.
1. Frozen Butternut Squash
You can substitute almost any roasted and puréed squash for canned pumpkin. Frozen butternut cubes are a shortcut we think you should always have on hand. Bonus: They might also minimize the prep work you’ll need to do.
How to Use Frozen Butternut Squash for Canned Pumpkin in a Recipe
Roast or sauté the butternut cubes until tender — this helps draw out excessive moisture from the frozen cubes. Then cool and purée in a food processor or blender until smooth.
Get roasting instructions here: How To Roast Frozen Butternut Squash
2. Sweet Potatoes
Whether you keep the raw tubers or canned cubes on hand, sweet potatoes are one of the best alternatives to canned pumpkin you can keep stocked.
How to Use Sweet Potatoes for Canned Pumpkin in a Recipe
Roast raw potatoes whole to concentrate their sweetness and soften their flesh so that you can use them 1:1 in place of pumpkin. Be sure to purée the roasted flesh before adding it to pie filling or bread batter. For canned sweet potatoes, drain the cubes and rinse before puréeing and using.
Get a recipe: How To Make Baked Sweet Potatoes
3. Roasted Acorn Squash
Technically you could roast any hard squash and make purée from it, but we prefer acorn or butternut to other varieties. They each have the brilliant color and sweetness we expect from pumpkin purée.
How to Use Roasted Squash for Canned Pumpkin in a Recipe
Halve your squash and remove the seeds with a spoon. Roast until tender then purée. Sound a lot like making pumpkin purée? That’s because it is! Use this squash purée 1:1 for pumpkin purée.
Get the details: 3 Steps for Making Fresh Homemade Pumpkin Purée from Scratch
