Hey, friend. Did you know that you could roast small pumpkins in the slow cooker? Did you know that those mini pumpkins we see on sale every fall are little gold bombs?
Yes, those sugar pumpkins are ones that we can buy up, and use for months to come. When you cook pumpkin in the slow cooker, you can use the pulp for pie, smoothies, oatmeal, or pumpkin spice ritz bars.
Small pumpkins are magical.
This post will be very simple: how to cook small pumpkins in the slow cooker, so you can use them however you want and not turn on your oven.
Why Slow Cooker Pumpkin Is Amazing
Here’s the thing: roast pumpkin in the oven has been important for decades. This is how our mamas started their pumpkin pie process. Roasting pumpkin used to be a fall mainstay.
Now, we just don’t have the time! Or, if you we do have the time, we’d rather use the oven to cook something else. Deciding to cook small pumpkins in the slow cooker saves us time, and gives us options. Options are fun when you’re cooking.
Cooked pumpkin can be frozen for up to 6 months, so I suggest you make a bunch in the slow cooker, and freeze for use up until spring. Pumpkin is chock full of vitamins A, C, and E. Those are all vitamins we desperately need in the fall and winter.
Use this pumpkin to make delicious pumpkin soup and other hearty meals. Slow cooking pumpkin not only keeps it easy, but keeps it healthy, too!
Can You Roast Large Pumpkins In The Slow Cooker?
Yes, you can roast larger pieces of pumpkin in the slow cooker. I would suggest putting the skin side of the slices on the bottom of the slow cooker insert.
Another bonus of making small pumpkins in the slow cooker is that you don’t have to cut them until it’s completely roasted. If you roast large pumpkins in the slow cooker, you’ll have to cut that sucker ahead of time. That’s a lot of work!
If you don’t mind the extra work, then have at it. If you’d rather put those mini pumpkins in the slow cooker, check out the recipe below.
Slow Cooker Pumpkin
Ingredients
1 to 2 pound small pumpkin, usually a sugar pumpkin
Instructions
Thoroughly wash the outside of the pumpkin.
Place your whole sugar pumpkin slow cooker and cook on high for 2-3 hours. You want a knife to easily pierce through the skin of the pumpkin.
Once the pumpkin slightly cools, cut it open and scoop out the seeds. This will be VERY easy to do, once the pumpkin is cooked.
After you take out the seeds, scoop out the pumpkin flesh.
Pumpkin will last up to a week in the refrigerator. Freeze as is for up to 6 months, or place the flesh in a blender or food processor to make the pureed pumpkin we’re used to.
