Pumpkin Butter
Since Kenya started school this fall, I’ve been making a lot more sandwiches for him. He goes to a “nut free” school, so it can be tricky because the number one kid favorite sandwich, PB & J, is a major no-no (although, I have found sunflower seed butter to be a good replacement for peanut or almond butter in terms of flavor and texture). One of the sandwich fillings Kenya loves most is cream cheese and strawberry preserves. Now that strawberries are out of season, though, I wanted to make another type of spread he would crave.
A few weeks ago I went to Trader Joe’s and bought a jar of their pumpkin butter. It’s delicious, but it is SO sweet. You can actually taste the sugar more than the pumpkin. Always up to a challenge, I decided to make my own version of this seasonal treat. For this recipe you could roast a pumpkin and puree it, but canned pumpkin seems to be all over the grocery this time of year, so I decided to save some time and use it instead.
Now I’ve got everyone in my house hooked on this creation. We’ve been eating it on rice crackers and pita, stirring it into yogurt and more. It only takes minutes to make and will last for a few weeks in the fridge — that is unless everyone doesn’t eat it all up first!
Pumpkin Butter (Makes 2 Cups)
2 Cups Pureed Pumpkin or 1 15oz Can Pumpkin Puree
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1/4 Tsp Nutmeg
1/4 Cup Honey
2 Tbsp Agave Nectar
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1. Place all of the ingredients in a saucepan and cook over low heat for 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
2. Cool and serve.
*Place in appropriate tupperware or ziploc bag and freeze up to 4 months. Defrost in fridge.
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Can you can this?
Yes you can
I am planning to make this tonight and was thinking about canning it (before I read any of the comments), but a quick google search told me that the USDA recommends that pureed pumpkin or pumpkin butter NOT be canned. I’m not going to risk it, I’ll just freeze the extras.
Have you tried pumpkin seed butter? Our little guy loves it almost as much as peanut butter – I bet Kenya would love it
No tell me more about it!!
I sent you an email with all the yummy details
I’d be interested in learning more about pumpkin seed butter.
Hi Jenny,
Can you post this? My daughter has a nut allergy, and I would love to hear more about this!
Thanks!
can i use something besides agave nectar?
honey or maple syrup
Would you add extra honey in place of the agave or leave honey amount as is in the recipe? Thanks!
Sorry–I guess it’s a silly question. I will just taste it and try it out.
leave the amount the same
I’m going to try making this and then stirring it into some Fage Greek yogurt as a pre-dance snack for my 8-year old. That will be a nice mix of protein and carbs (incl fiber), and it sounds delicious!
Why can’t he have Peanut Butter, peanuts aren’t nuts they are legume?!
My husband and I really enjoy this pumpkin butter and the pumpkin apple muffins….and the cheese wafers, eggplant burgers, egg quesadillas… well we are just enjoying your site and recipes altogether.
Thank you very much!
We look forward to many more tasty creations, and we don’t even have kids yet!
The very best to you and yours,
Amber and Husband
If you use fresh pumpkin puree you will need to cook it longer to get excess water out of it. canned pumpkin “squeezes” some of the water out before they can it so it is already much thicker then fresh puree. I love making fresh puree and usually do a couple pumpkins at once and it really is easy to scoop out and puree. and to me it is totally worth it taste wise!!!
How long would this keep in the fridge? It is so delicious. We are going to start using it in my daughter’s oatmeal…I’m sure she gets tired of apples.
2 weeks or even up to a month.
Nevermind…Apparently I can’t read…lol.
yumm!! just made this and put it on graham crackers with cream cheese for a snack. so good!
My baby is under a year old, can I skip the honey? or put something else in it’s place?
You can use agave or even maple syrup.
Catherine, your website is my new obsession. I discovered it a few days ago and have made the pumpkin apple muffins, the pumpkin butter, the eggplant burgers (and nuggets), and I plan to make the carrot ginger soup tomorrow. What fun! Thank you so much for your awesome work!
Would you be able to make a pumpkin “pie”, like the apple butter turnovers, with this?
I don’t know how it would turn out since its more of a puree.
Thanks!
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