How To Cook A Whole Pumpkin In The Instant Pot

his Instant Pot pumpkin is the easiest way to cook a whole pie pumpkin with no peeling or chopping first. Pressure cook it whole, then scoop out soft, sweet pumpkin for homemade puree!

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 15

Depressurizing Time 10

Total Time 30

Serving Size cups

Ingredients

1 Pie Pumpkin
1 to 2 cups Water

Instructions

Wash your pumpkin and pat dry.
Pour 1 cup of water into your Instant Pot, then place the trivet inside.
Set the pie pumpkin onto the trivet.
Lock the lid in place and turn the valve to pressure. Set the timer for 15 minutes on high pressure.
When done cooking let the Instant Pot do a natural pressure release.
Once the pressure has fully dropped, remove the lid. Check to see if the pumpkin is fully cooked by inserting a knife into the skin. If the pumpkin is done, it will go through easily if the flesh is still hard, place the lid back on and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes.
When done carefully lift out the trivet and place the pumpkin on a cutting board. Let it cool until it's comfortable to handle.
Cut it in half and scoop out the seeds and strings.
Either peel the skin off the pumpkin flesh or scoop the pumpkin off the skin.
Serve with some butter and seasonings or puree in a food processor for homemade pumpkin puree.

Notes

Use the minimum amount of water for your Instant Pot. For my 6 qt model this is 1 cup, for my 8 qt model it's 2 cups.

If your pumpkin puree is watery you can strain it through a fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth or a coffee filter for a few hours. This will help it to be thicker, like canned pumpkin.

Store in your fridge for up to 4 days or freeze for a year.

If your pumpkin is too big to fit whole, cut it in half or into quarters and cook on high pressure (manual) for 8 minutes.

Nutrition

These values are from a nutritional database and automatically calculated, and should only be used as an approximation.