Has Anyone Made Pumpkin Pie from Fresh Pumpkins?

I have made pies with the fresh pumpkin but found that it wasnt any different than the canned..... so I decided the extra work was not worth it. What I have really found is that sweet potato pie tastes EVEN better than pumpkin pie and I think it's even better for you. Throw a sweet potato pie in the mix this year and I bet no one will even know that its sweet potato but they will tell you its the best pumpkin pie they've ever had!
I don't have an exact recipe on hand to give you, but there are plenty of them on the internet to choose from. I use one of the most simplest ones and it really is terrific.

I like cooking from scratch (when possible) because I know EXACTLY what is in it.

Cut the pumpkins in half and put them face down in a jelly roll pan with a little water (to help steam them) but don't go too overboard. I prefer to use two pumpkins and one butternut squash. They tend to be creamier, add more flavor, and the pies aren't so pale either. Depending on size, you should get two to three pies out of this. The recipe on the Libby's website is excellent but I tend to add extra seasoning.

We notice a slight difference between the canned and homemade mainly because we're all junkies but most people cannot tell one from another.

Have fun baking!

A friend of mine did this a few years ago.
She got a good cooking pumpkin, peeled it, cooked it, pureed it, added spices, etc - made it into a home made pie with a home made crust. It took her 4 hours. She set it out to cool on the table and went to tidy up the kitchen and shower up. An hour later her husband came home.
She comes into the kitchen and the pie had been eaten inside of 20 min.
She just wanted to bang her head against the wall.
She was glad he enjoyed it, but 4 hrs of work for a 20 min snack just didn't turn out like she thought it would.
She's been using canned pumpkin ever since.
Her husband says he can't tell the difference - it all tastes good to him!

I buy the pumpkin pie pumpkins and they come with a recipe on them (a sticker). They are the best pumpkin pies I have ever made! You don't need to puree w/ a blender, after you bake them the pulp is already 'pureed'. They do not come out stringy. You will love. Don't tell your husband you made it from a real pumpkin and see what he says.

Everyone is right, be sure to buy a pie (or "sugar") pumpkin (they are small pumpkins.) Most jack-o-lantern pumpkins are hubbard squash or spaghetti squash - totally edible, but that's where the stringiness comes from. The biggest issue I've found is that fresh pumpkin has much more water in it than canned - that can throw off your recipe. It's best if you can find a recipe that calls for fresh pumpkin. But there's something that I always do, regardless of the recipe: after you puree it (you will find yourself adding *lots* of water to get a good puree, working in small batches helps) - heat your oven to 300, spread the puree out on a jelly roll pan (big flat pan w/a 1/2" edge) or a pizza pan and bake for another 30-60 minutes, stirring every 5-10 minutes with a wooden spoon. This evaporates out the extra water, so you get a more concentrated pumpkin. Good luck!

I either just don't like pumpkin pie, or we tried a bad recipe last year LOL

But, I did want to tell you that I cut our pie pumpkin into 4 pieces after cleaning out the inside. Then I put the pieces in our crock pot with a little bit of water & let it cook that way! I didn't have the right stuff to cook it any other way.

I do not remember how long I let it cook (this was last year!), but I kept checking on it. It was sooo easy to just scoop it off the skin! I don't remember anything telling me to put it in a blender. It was nice & mushy the way it was.

Yes, but do not buy a Jack o lantern type pumkin! Buy a "cheese pumpkin" a the farmer's marker, it is silvery orange and more wide and flat. Clean it out and cut it into wedges and bake covered with a little water underneath until it very very soft. Then you can puree it. Pumkin comes out stringy if you use the wrong kind or do not bake it enough.

I think you'll love it actually. Its not stringy at all if you bake it long enough and blend it well. You can actually use the regular carving pumpkins for pies as well, they're just not naturally as sweet. I think the reason why I like it is because I know what's in it 100% and the puree from one pie (it freezes very well) depending on how big it is, can make multiple pumpkin pies. So after that initial baking or steaming then pureeing, you have puree you can just pull out of the freezer, thaw and use for baking. Its a little extra work at first, but imo pays off. Pumpkins are also pretty easy to grow should you ever want to explore that option.

I would start out with a standard recipe first. I've been making them so long at this point that I don't have a specific recipe anymore. Just don't do what I did when pregnant one year and forget to add the eggs :).

Oh and BP is right, cheese pumpkins are awesome for pies. Cinderella pumpkins aren't half bad either.

Our recipe comes from the internet, maybe Cooks.com or Allrecipes.
My daugher does it every fall, She cant' wait until I buy her a pie pumpkin this year.
They do not come out stringy, puree them well. The pumpkins you buy now are hyrids and bred so they are not as stringy as they used to be.
The pies are really good.

I LOVE homemade pumpkin pie! You have some good direction here, I'm just writing to add my 2 cents. I like the idea of mixing butternut squash and pumpkin. I've used the two interchangeably for recipes that call for either, from pies to apple butter to stew. So far so good. The pies your husband referred to that turned out stringy may have been made from the pumpkins used for jack o lanterns as they do seem stringier.

I used to make pumpkin pie using freshly pureed pumpkins every fall. I never had a problem with a stringy pie. The only problem I ever had was with the pie crust (a totally separate issue)! You might check out the Moosewood Cookbook. There is a very tasty pumpkin pie recipe in there. Have fun!

Definitely buy a pie pumpkin. They are not stringy on the inside and the puree is smoother. I like to mix in some acorn or butternut squash also. I usually just look online for an easy pumpkin pie recipe or since I always keep a can of Libby's pumpkin in the pantry, I look at the recipe on there. My family loves a pumpkin/banana bread I make so I make sure I have some on hand.

I have not, but a friend has. She said that the key is to buy "pie pumpkins" instead of the regular/more common larger jack-o-lantern pumpkins.

This recipe may help you:
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/suzannes_old_fashioned_p...

It gives directions on making the pumpkin puree from scratch.

I have seen "pie pumpkins" at one of our local chain grocery stores, so you might want to call around and see if you can find any.

If you don't have access to pie pumpkins, I think you can still do it. I think you just need to cook down the puree from regular pumpkins to thicken it up enough to use it in place of the canned puree or pie pumpkin puree.

Hopefully, someone with actual experience will chime in to help! ;)

Your blender should take care of any stringiness. I always use fresh pumpkin for pies because it tastes SO MUCH BETTER!!!

Martha Stewart put out a recipe for 'real' pumpkin pie years ago. I did make it and found it to be oranger (canned pumpkin I believe is a hubbard squash and not real pumpkin) and a little looser. I didn't notice a big difference in taste. I don't recall it being stringy but you could always take the extra step of putting it through a sieve if need be. Try googling Martha Stewart AND pumpkin pie if interested in her recipe.

I love cooking with pumpkin-I turn it into an all day thing.

Cut up the pumpkin into small squares-leave the rind on. then put in a microwave safe bowl with a lid and add a tblsp of water. Microwave for about 10 ten minutes or so. Keep checking until the pumpkin is soft. Remove the rind-either cut or peel. repeat until all the pumpkin is soft.

I puree the pumpkin in my kitchenaid mixer like I would mashed potatoes but I've used a blender before too.

I've made pies, bread, cakes & bars from pumpkin and never had any complaints!

I've used a recipe similar to this one: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Pumpkin-Patch-Pie

Every year I puree a large pumpkin or two and freeze the puree in 1-pie batches. I can make 4 pies or so out of 1 pumpkin. I've never had a problem with them being stringy - and truthfully - never paid any attention to the kind of pumpkin I used. My hubby is a little picky so w/out telling him, I add a little bit of red food coloring LOL. Weird, I know, but he wouldn't eat the first pie I made because it wasn't "orange" like the processed pumpkin in a can. Anything from scratch is better than the processed stuff :-)