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    The Purposeful Pantry » Dehydrating

    Author: Darcy Baldwin • Published: Sep 15, 2020 · Modified: Oct 12, 2022

    How to Dehydrate Pumpkin Leaves

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe Pin Recipe

    Dehydrating pumpkin leaves is one more way to help preserve your pumpkin harvest and use it all year long!

    Pumpkin leaf and green pumpkin powder on a wooden surface with small pumpkin and serving dish

    This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read our disclosure policy.

    If you grow your own pumpkins (or any squash for that matter), you don't have to simply preserve the pumpkin itself and let the leaves die!

    Jump to:
    • How to Dehydrate Pumpkin Leaves
    • How to Make Green Pumpin Leaf Powder
    • Dried Pumpkin Leaf FAQ's
    • More Ways to Use Pumpkin
    • 📖 Recipe

    Pumpkin leaves are perfect for making green powder to add to the rest of the green powder stash you generate from things like spinach, kale, etc.

    In fact, many garden leaves are perfectly edible and can be added to your green powder ingredients list:

    Vegetable Leaves That are Edible

    Aside from lettuce, spinach, kale, and other greens grown specifically for their edible leaves, there are vegetable plants that have edible leaves, as well.

    Just a few are:

    • Beets
    • Broccoli / Cauliflower
    • Carrot / Parsnips
    • Celery
    • Onion tops
    • Pumpkin and other squash
    • Radish
    • Sweet Potato
    • Turnip
    • Zucchini

    Tips for using edible leaves from vegetables

    Pick young, tender leaves. As the leaves mature, they tend to turn bitter, tougher, or, as in the case of squash, spikier.

    The vein of a pumpkin leaf showing fine hairs

    How to Dehydrate Pumpkin Leaves

    Equipment Needed

    • Knife
    • Dehydrator - I happen to use an Excalibur Dehydrator, but any dehydrator will work. And if you don't have one, look below for instructions to dry pumpkin leaves in your oven.

    Instructions

    1. Pick tender, young, soft leaves
    2. Wash thoroughly
    3. Remove stringy veins if necessary
    4. Roll into a cigar
    5. Cut into strips
    6. Place on dehydrator trays
    7. Dry at 125°F / 52°C until crisp
    8. Condition.
    9. Store in an airtight container for up to a year.

    Oven Drying Instructions

    • Place leaves on cooling racks over cookie sheets
    • Set your oven at its lowest temperature (preferably 170°F or less)
    • Dry for 3-4 hours until crisp
    Dehydrated pumpkin leaf powder in a Nutri Ninja blender cup

    How to Make Green Pumpin Leaf Powder

    1. Once the leaves are dry, place them into a blender of your choice
    2. Pulse until broken down
    3. Increase grind to create a powder.
    4. Place back onto dehydrator trays (a muffin cup or coffee filter helps) and dry for another hour -or- put into a warmed oven for 15-20 minutes to dry.
    5. Store in an airtight container.

    How do I use Pumpkin Powder?

    Much in the same way that you use other green powder.

    • Sprinkle in smoothies
    • Add to your morning scrambled eggs
    • Use as a seasoning in a rice dish

    Dried Pumpkin Leaf FAQ's

    What does a pumpkin leaf taste like?

    Less bitter than even kale, surprisingly. I don't find them bitter at all. The texture is denser than spinach but less leathery than mustard or collard greens. Using younger leaves will get you best results.

    How to use dried pumpkin leaves?

    Use them like you might dried spinach or kale. Flake for dishes like rice or a casserole. Larger pieces can be used in soups and stews.

    Do I need to blanch pumpkin leaves?

    No. While it is helpful to blanch pumpkin leaves the way you might eat spinach or kale fresh in a dish to help remove the oxalic acids that keep your body from absorbing key nutrients like calcium and iron, the dried leaves will be cooked in the dish of your choice, accomplishing the same task.

    More Ways to Use Pumpkin

    • Stack of pumpkin waffles with canned pumpkin puree and some pumpkin decor in the background
      Healthy Pumpkin Waffles
    • Orange coffee mug with pumpkins with pumpkin spice powder in foam on a blue checked napkin
      Pumpkin Spice Coffee Mix with Dried Pumpkin
    • Fresh pumpkin and a jar of dehydrated pumpkin powder on a pumpkin leaf
      How to Dehydrate Pumpkin and Make Pumpkin Powder
    • Jar of dehydrated green powder laying on a bed of kale and spinach
      DIY Homemade Green Powder from Dehydrated Greens
    Dehydrating Basics & Journal for Beginners and Beyond book ad

    📖 Recipe

    Pumpkin leaf and green pumpkin powder on a wooden surface with small pumpkin and serving dish

    Dehydrate Pumpkin Leaves and Make Pumpkin Powder

    How to make the most of your pumpkin harvest by dehydrating not only the flesh or seeds, but the leaves as well, to add to a nutritious green powder.
    5 from 1 vote
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    Course: Preserved Food
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Vegetarian
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Drying Time: 7 hours
    Total Time: 7 hours 5 minutes
    Servings: 1 Cup
    Calories: 7kcal
    Author: Darcy Baldwin

    Equipment

    • Dehydrator
    • Knife

    Ingredients

    • Pumpkin Leaves

    Instructions

    Dehydrate Pumpkin Leaves

    • Pick tender, young, soft leaves and remove stringy veins if necessary
    • Wash thoroughly
    • Roll into a cigar
    • Cut into strips
    • Place on dehydrator trays
    • Dry at 125°F / 52°C until crisp
    • Condition
    • Store in an airtight container for up to a year

    Oven instructions

    • Place strips of pumpkin leaves on cooking racks
    • Dry in a 170°F degree or less oven for 4-6 hours until crips
    • Condition
    • Store

    Make Green Pumpkin Powder

    • Once leaves are dry, place into blender of your choice
    • Pulse until broken down
    • Increase grind to create powder.
    • Store in an airtight container for 4-6 months
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    Darcy's Tips

    Use pumpkin leaf (any kind of edible squash plant works as well as sweet potato vines) as you would any green powder. This helps boost nutrition without adding extra flavor.
    • A small scoop into any casserole or stew/soup
    • Add 1-2 tablespoons to tomato sauce
    • Add a scoop to your morning smoothie
    • Add a scoop to scrambled eggs. Work your way from 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon until you find the blend you like best.
     

    Nutrition

    Calories: 7kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 0.2g | Potassium: 170mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg

    Nutritional information is an estimation only. Nutrient information for dehydrated foods is based on fresh. Use ¼ of the servicing size for the same nutrient information. Thus 1 Cup of fresh fruit has the same sugars as ¼ dried.

    Tried this recipe?Mention @thepurposefulpantry or tag #thepurposefulpantry!

    ©ThePurposefulPantry. Photographs and content are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe's link is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.

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    Small pumpkin and large pumpkin leaf on wooden surface with a dish of green pumpkin powder

    More Dehydrating

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      Instant Beef & Vegetable Soup in a Jar
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    Darcy Baldwin of The Purposeful Pantry.

    Howdy! I'm Darcy! I've spent twenty years learning how to stretch our budget and stock our family's pantry by dehydrating food. You can do it, too!

    Learn how I can help you →

    You can get my new book, Dehydrating Basics & Journal to help you get started on your dehydrating journey!

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