Just in time for your Thanksgiving pumpkin recipes, we're bringing you another hack from our favorite group on Facebook, the Instant Pot Community (remember the brownie flower and pancake bites?). Whether you have an Instant Pot already or are holding off to purchase until Black Friday, you’re probably familiar with classic Instant Pot recipes like chili, chicken and mac and cheese. But, have you ever considered pressure cooking an entire pumpkin to make pumpkin puree? If not, now's the time to put those small-sized pumpkins to good use.

How to Cook a Pumpkin an Instant Pot

We were shocked to discover that hacking this pumpkin pie ingredient in the Instant Pot not only worked, but was incredibly easy. After testing with a 3- to 4-pound pumpkin, the Food Network Kitchen chefs found that cooking the pumpkin on high pressure for just 15 minutes (on a trivet with 1 cup of water) resulted in a perfectly cooked pumpkin.

Once you’ve finished cooking for 15 minutes, do a natural steam release. Once the steam is fully released, transfer the pumpkin to a baking sheet to cool slightly.

How to Remove the Skin

If the skin peels off easily, remove it, split and deseed. If it’s not falling off, remove the stem, and split in half. Without removing the skin, deseed then scoop the flesh of the pumpkin out.

These Tips Make a Difference

First, make sure you have a pumpkin that fits into your Instant Pot. Sounds obvious, but you’ll want to pay attention to shape as well as size and weight. The Food Network Kitchen recommends avoiding anything too squat or upright. This is especially important because — while you can trim slightly — you will want to keep the stem intact. We also recommend either a sugar or pie pumpkin.

You Can Pressure Cook Squash, Too

Now that you have cooked pumpkin ready to puree for your holiday pie and more, it's time to try your pressure cooking skills on more than just pumpkin. If you want your pie to have a mixture of squashes like some canned purees do, try this method with any squash you desire. Just remember to adjust time based on size and hardness of the squash. Add this to our list of reasons why we love the Instant Pot at the holidays — it’s given us even more reason to be excited for our upcoming week of baking and cooking!

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