pumpkin Archives - Fueled By Instant Pot

[Instant Pot] Insta-Pumpkin! DIY Pressure Cooker Pumpkin Puree

Original publish date September 26, 2020. Updated 2022 with expanded information.

The easiest way to prep your own pumpkin from scratch: pressure cook it in your Instant Pot!

I love and respect canned pumpkin as much as the next fall baking enthusiast – but if you have a local source for fresh pie pumpkins, you can make your festive fall recipes that much more special by giving them the starring role.

[Instant Pot] Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake

Pumpkin cheesecake is a beloved Thanksgiving tradition in my family. Since I was a little girl, my mom has always slipped a cheesecake layer underneath her annual pumpkin pies… and everyone loves her for it!

The layering is essential, if you ask me. I am not satisfied with the mere pumpkin-flavored cheesecakes of the world, which homogenize together into less than the sum of their parts. This dessert shines from the contrast between rich vanilla cheesecake, and a pure, silky, spiced pumpkin custard layered on top.

If you don’t already know, believe it: Instant Pot is a secret weapon for effortlessly perfect cheesecakes. This fall, let your pressure cooker help you serve up this irresistible seasonal treat!

(Your Instant Pot can also help you make dessert even more special, with your own DIY homemade pumpkin puree… See: Insta-Pumpkin!)

[Instant Pot] Pumpkin Salted Caramel Flan

Silky-smooth custard, salty-sweet caramel, pumpkin-spiced joy. This seasonal treat is a perfect fit for Instant Pot’s dessert wheelhouse – like we learned when we made Maple Espresso Creme Brulee and Greek Yogurt Cheesecake, high-pressure steam can be a very effective way to quickly and evenly cook any custard.

If you’ve never made caramel before, it’s an interesting reaction to observe. Upon heating pure sucrose, the sugar molecules begin to break down and their pieces get shuffled around to form a virtually infinite array of new and different compounds, each with unique flavors and aromas. This is why as caramel darkens, it gradually becomes less sweet and more complex.

[Instant Pot] Pumpkin Spice Steel-Cut Oats

Seattle is getting colder, and predictably, my breakfasts are getting warmer. The days of raw fruit & chilled muesli have come and gone, and now my oats are getting the hot & hearty porridge treatment.

A breakfast like this can help you stay strong through the stresses of the seasonal shift. With the growing season coming to a close and colorful summer crops disappearing from the local food system, pumpkins and other winter squash persevere as a shelf-stable source of vibrantly orange vitamin power. And as the weather chills, spices become magical; we love them, and they love us back with their stimulating, grounding and warming qualities. (Don’t forget: spices are powerful plants that humans have selected, valued, and carried along with us through the history of eating. They interface with our physiology in ways that science is only beginning to understand).