Dehydrate pumpkin and make pumpkin powder to use in baked goods, pies, smoothies, dog treats. Enjoy fall all year long with this easy way to preserve pumpkins.
Pumpkin is my favorite fall flavor when altered with a little spice and creams in soups, or in every form of baked good.
It's even my favorite fall drink in pumpkin juice!
Yes, Harry Potter fans, you can make pumpkin juice at home if you can't be in the Wizarding World enjoying it!
But let's get back to dehydrating pumpkin, shall we?!
This easy process takes a little time, but it's worth it when you can grab so many of those orange orbs of autumnal goodness and save them for the whole year.
And you'll never have to worry about those pesky, fake canned pumpkin shortages, either! This way, you can have pumpkin powder stored on the shelf and make your own pumpkin puree anytime you feel the need for fall and pumpkin spice!
Learn more: How to Dehydrate Pumpkin Leaves
How to Dehydrate Pumpkin
There are numerous ways to dehydrate pumpkin. We're going to focus on drying a puree to make pumpkin powder to store.
How to Roast Pumpkin
Instructions:
- Wash pumpkins. It's important. You're cutting into the skin and flesh and pumpkins can be very dirty.
- Cut the pumpkin into segments of your choice, and clean out the 'guts'.
- A great tip for cleaning is to use an old canning jar lid to scrape your pumpkin clean - it works wonders!!! It's in the video at the 2:14 mark
- (Set aside the seeds to roast later.)
- Place pumpkin segments on oven-safe lined baking sheets and bake at 350°F / 175°C for 45-50 minutes until just fork tender
- Remove skins and allow puree to cool
At this point, if you decide that you don't want to save this for pumpkin puree, you can go to a pumpkin pie fruit leather instead.
Dehydrate Pumpkin Puree
- Spread pumpkin puree onto fruit leather sheet line dehydrator trays and dry at 135°F / 57°C for 10-12 hours until brittle.
- Condition
- Store in an airtight container for up to a year
I happen to use an Excalibur Dehydrator, but any dehydrator will work!
How to Powder Dehydrated Pumpkin
- Place pumpkin puree shards into the bullet blender, blender or coffee grinder of your choice. I have some suggestions in my essential dehydrating tools list if you need one.
- Blend until smooth
- Place on cookie sheet in an oven that has been warmed, but not on, and allow to dry for 15-20 minutes.
- Store in an airtight container with a desiccant pack for six to twelve months.
How to Rehydrate Pumpkin Powder
Pumpkin puree is a mainstay in our home. From breads to smoothies to soups to pie, it's something I keep stocked all year long.
However, I don't have space to keep as many jars as I might use in a year, so I dehydrate my pumpkin (I even dehydrate canned pumpkin!) to save space in my pantry.
Whenever I want to make something, I can either use the powder to flavor, or I can reconstitute the dehydrated pumpkin powder back into puree!
Ingredients
- 2 cups of hot water
- ½ cup pumpkin powder
Directions:
- Mix 2 cups of hot water with ½ Cup Pumpkin Powder
- Allow the mixture to sit for 10-15 minutes!
- Use in any recipe that calls for pumpkin puree.
Pumpkin Spice Coffee Mix
- 6 tablespoons pumpkin powder (adjust to your taste)
- 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- Shake a little into your coffee for a pumpkin spice flavor!
- (reminder, this will not dissolve the way drink mixes do, so expect a little fiber left at the bottom of your coffee cup)
Dehydrate Pumpkin Cubes
Instead of using a puree, winter squash can be diced and used in soups, stews, and other dishes throughout year!
Instructions:
- Cut and remove seeds and strings
- Dice into ½" or smaller cubes
- Blanch cubes for 4 minutes
- Dehydrate at 125F/35C for 8-15+ hours
- Condition
- Store in an airtight container for up to two years
Dryness test: When cubes are slightly translucent, plink when dropped, leathery and hard. Don't assume a slight color change and hardness on the outside to be fully dry, the insides should be dry as well.
Commonly Asked Questions
Yes - roast the pumpkin (I do recommend cutting it in half for a faster roast and easier managing - or even in large slices). Then simply puree the entire pumpkin. The skin and strings are edible.
Yes, you can dehydrate butternut squash in the same fashion as this.
How to Dehydrate Pumpkin and Make Pumpkin Powder
Equipment
Ingredients
- Pumpkin Any type of pumpkin
Instructions
Preparing Pumpkin Puree
- Wash pumpkins thoroughly
- Cut in sections
- Remove pulp and seeds
- Place on cookie sheets lined with aluminum foil or silicone baking sheets
- Bake at 350°F / 175°C for 45-50 minutes until fork tender, do not let them burn.
- Allow to cook, then remove skin. Set aisde puree to cool
Dehydrating Instructions
- Spread puree thinly on dehydrating trays lined with fruit leather sheets or parchment paper
- Dry at 135°F / 52°C for 10-12 hours
- Puree should be brittle
- Condition
- Store in airtight containers
To Make Pumpkin Powder
- Place pumpkin shards in a blender
- Blend until smooth powder is formed
- Pour onto baking sheet and place inside oven that has been warmed to 175F, but turned off
- Remove after 20 minutes, allow to cool, store in airtight container with desiccant packs
Make Pumpkin Puree from Dehydrated Pumpkin Powder
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Hot water
- ½ Cups Pumpkin Powder
Instructions
- Mix powder into the water
- Allow powder to absorb water
- Use as you would in most baking recipes including pie!
Donna says
Great info and love the u tube video. Thanks so much!
Darcy says
Thank you! Glad it was helpful!
Penny Pritchard says
This sounds interesting.
I use 500g of cooked pumpkin in a delicious recipe. How would I work out how much powder to rehydrate please?
Darcy says
Looking it up on google to convert- you'd need about a cup and a quarter of powder.
Penny Pritchard says
Thanks so much ?
Laura says
I dehydrate my pumpkin raw, You have to make sure your pieces aren't to large!. I use a nutribullet to grind to powder. I always put my powders back in the dehydrator so I'm sure they are completely dry.
Darcy says
It's definitely a preference - and thanks for sharing yours.
Robin says
I found that it takes way longer than 12 hours to dehydrate...more like 3 days
Darcy says
All times are relative - it depends on humidity, the power of your machine, how you prepped your produce, etc. Always take time windows as a guide. I'm surprised that it takes 3 days for you to dry any leather, though. Are you flipping it? What kind of machine are you using?