It is that time of year. We have all been popping open cans of pumpkin puree like tic tacs. Sometimes we need the whole can. Often though, we do not. By a consensus of what I have researched on Google, canned pumpkin once opened only stays good in the fridge for about 3 days. Use it, bake with it, or toss it.... Or freeze it and defrost in the refrigerator whenever you are ready for your next recipe that requires pumpkin goodness.
Freezing pumpkin puree is crazy easy. Have a muffin tin? Or better yet a silicone muffin pan or silicone cupcake molds? Then that is all that you need!
Fill the muffin pan or the cupcake molds with the leftover pumpkin. One muffin mold is equivalent to about a 1/2 cup of puree. Pop your pan or silicone molds in the freezer overnight.
This next part will be so much easier if you used a silicone pan or molds. Just let the pan or molds sit out at room temperature for a few minutes and then pop out your pumpkin pucks. (Yeah, they kind of resemble orange hockey pucks. ;) )
If you used a metal muffin pan (like I did), fill your sink about a fourth of the way up with hot water. Being careful to not submerge your fingers or the top of the pan in the water, lower the bottom part of the pan into the hot water. Let it set there for about 30-60 seconds, but no more. (You could end up with a mushy mess if you let it sit in the hot water too long.) Run a butter knife along the edge of each pumpkin puck and pop them out.
Label and date a freezer storage bag, and then fill it with your pumpkin pucks. Your pumpkin puree should stay good like this in the freezer for about 2-3 months. Just take out your pumpkin pucks (remember each one is about 1/2 cup) as you need them. It should take 1-2 days for them to defrost in the fridge.
