Fresh roasted pumpkin is wonderfully delicious. Taste wise, it’s a big step up from canned pumpkin, like the difference between almost anything fresh and canned. But tackling a big whole pumpkin can feel intimidating, even if my normal method of roasting a pumpkin (or any type of winter squash — recipe HERE) is pretty simple.

This method of roasting a pumpkin is easier than my normal way. The one downside, is that it doesn’t allow you to roast and eat the pumpkin seeds (which we all love — recipe HERE). But if you’re looking for a simple way to roast a pumpkin in order to make your own pumpkin puree (recipe HERE) and you don’t care whether or not you get to roast the seeds, this is the way to go.

This is the method I use when I’m processing a bunch of pumpkins into puree at once.

Here’s how to do it, step by step:

1. Wash your pumpkin.
2. Break off the stem (I usually hit the stem with the back of a sturdy knife or against the counter and it just comes off).
3. Poke a few holes through the skin of your pumpkin with a fork, like you would pierce the skin of a potato before you bake it.
4. Place the whole pumpkin on a jelly roll pan or in a baking dish and place in a 350 degree oven.
5. Roast the pumpkin for approximately 90 minutes, or until tender. You can test for doneness by piercing the pumpkin with a fork to see if the flesh is tender or not. You’ll be able to feel whether or not it gives easily to pressure
6. Remove the pumpkin from the oven.
7. Once the pumpkin has cooled sufficiently, you can very easily cut it in half, remove the seeds, and scoop out the flesh.
8. Season and serve the flesh as is, or puree the flesh in a food processor to make puree.

This method of squash roasting is wonderfully easy, and you don’t have to try to cut a large, easy-to-roll, hard, raw pumpkin. It’s definitely the safer way to go if you don’t have a good, sharp knife. And the puree tastes just as fantastic.

Have you tried roasting a whole pumpkin before? How do you roast your winter squash?