Easy Maple Pumpkin Butter (VIDEO)

An easy recipe for homemade pumpkin butter sweetened with maple syrup. Make this creamy, thick, and fragrant "butter" on your stovetop in about 30 minutes using simple pantry ingredients & canned pumpkin puree (no apple juice needed). Use it as a spread on your favorite fall breakfast foods (pancakes, waffles, scones, biscuits, muffins, or toast), serve it as a dip with sliced fruit, or stir it into oatmeal or yogurt for a healthy snack! (gluten-free, paleo & vegan)

Pumpkin butter one of my favorite recipes to kick off the fall season because it makes my kitchen smell warm & cozy in a short amount of time without having to turn on the oven.

I can then pretend it's a crisp fall day by:

• cranking the A/C (it's currently 93 & humid here in Texas)
• steeping a mug of hot herbal tea or fixing a pumpkin spice latte or hot chocolate
• toasting a few slices of bread (like sourdough or cinnamon raisin)
• slathering said toast with salted Kerrygold butter & this warm maple-sweetened pumpkin butter
• sitting down on my couch with a soft blanket, said toast & hot beverage + a good fiction book (mostly likely Outlander again because I am LEGIT OBSESSED & the 9th book + the 5th season of the TV show comes out in early 2020) 

If you need an excuse to unplug & enjoy the simple pleasures in life as the busy holiday season approaches (self-care is important for all of us), I 100% recommend all of the above. Especially for any fellow introverts. It's pure bliss.

In the meantime, you can whip together a batch of this easy homemade pumpkin butter to keep in your fridge (it'll last a few weeks) until you're ready for such a moment.

(In a hurry? Click here to save this to your fall recipes board on Pinterest.) 

Ingredients For Making Homemade Pumpkin Butter

Most homemade pumpkin butter recipes use apple juice & brown sugar, but I find that WAY too sweet for my taste, so my version just uses maple syrup and omits the apple juice altogether. 

(If you're looking for a fruit butter with less sugar like mine, try this pear butter recipe made with only a little bit of brown sugar.)

If you prefer it on the sweeter side, you can increase the amount of maple syrup and/or add in some bottled apple juice 1/4 cup at a time.

Here's what you'll need for my simple stovetop version:

• Canned Pumpkin Puree: Look for the cans with only pumpkin puree in the ingredient list (like this brand), not pumpkin pie mix, which has spices already mixed in. You can also use fresh homemade pumpkin puree, but it may need more time on the stove to reduce & thicken up since it tends to be a bit more liquidy.
• Maple Syrup: Use the real stuff made in Vermont or Canada (this is one of my favorites - Trader Joe's also has a big jug for a good price), not "pancake syrup" which is just maple-flavored corn syrup. Brown sugar or coconut sugar also works, just keep an eye on it while it's reducing as this may take less time to thicken up.
• Lemon Juice: This brightens up the flavors of the pumpkin butter. If you're in a pinch you could omit it but I think it makes a big difference!
• Pumpkin Pie Spice: This is a mix of fragrant warm spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, clove, etc.) that makes the pumpkin spread taste & smell heavenly! Grab a pre-made mix or use my homemade pumpkin pie spice recipe to make a blend using warm spices already in your pantry.
• Vanilla Extract: Pumpkin spice + vanilla = heavenly! Use the real stuff, not imitation. Or you could also add a bit of vanilla bean paste instead. To save some money down the line (since vanilla beans have soared in prices) you can use my homemade vanilla extract recipe to start infusing your own for the holidays and next year's baking. This makes an excellent gift for foodies in your life.
• Sea Salt: Just a bit to balance out the flavors.

How to Make Pumpkin Butter

• Add all the ingredients to a saucepan on the stove. Stir well and turn the heat to medium-high.  
• Cook until the mixture starts to bubble. This should only take a few minutes.
• Top the saucepan with a lid set at a slight angle (leave 1/2 inch or less uncovered). The lid prevents the pumpkin from splattering all over your stove (it does this in bursts as it cooks, almost like pockets of air), but keeping it cracked helps the liquid evaporate (there's a lot of water in pumpkin), which thickens it into a spreadable "butter" consistency.
• Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the puree has thickened or reduced to your desired consistency. If you're using fresh pumpkin puree this may take longer. My pumpkin butter is pretty thick so if you like yours a bit looser, you may only want to only cook it 10-15 minutes or add a bit of water and/or apple juice at the beginning. 
• Cool completely, transfer to clean containers & store covered in the fridge. The mixture should keep for at least one week in the fridge (potentially up to two weeks) and can be frozen for up to 3 months (longer than that & you risk freezer burn). 

Ideas For Using Pumpkin Butter in Recipes

• slather it onto toast (cinnamon raisin is especially good), bagels, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread, scones, pancakes, waffles, or French toast
• stir it into steel-cut oats, yogurt, smoothies, museli, or butternut squash soup
• use it as a filling for hand pies, turnovers, or homemade pop tarts
• serve it as a dip on a fall-themed charcuterie board with toasted cinnamon bread, plain mini scones, mini bagels, graham crackers, sliced apples, or sliced pears
• add it to baked goods like muffins or quick bread in place of plain pumpkin puree (note: it will make the spice taste stronger)

Can you think of any good recipe ideas using pumpkin butter that I missed? Leave a comment below with a suggestion!

Watch The Recipe Video

Are you a visual learner? Watch my short recipe video showing you how easy it is to make this pumpkin butter recipe at home on your stovetop.

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homemade, best, how to make, spread, spice

condiment

American

Yield: 3 1/2 cups (approx.)

Author: Elaina Newton - The Rising Spoon

Easy Maple Pumpkin Butter

prep time: 5 Mcook time: 25 Mtotal time: 30 M

An easy recipe for homemade pumpkin butter sweetened with maple syrup. Make this creamy, thick, and fragrant "butter" on your stovetop in about 30 minutes using simple pantry ingredients & canned pumpkin puree (no apple juice needed). Use it as a spread on your favorite fall breakfast foods (pancakes, waffles, scones, muffins, or toast), serve it as a dip with sliced fruit, or stir it into oatmeal or yogurt for a healthy snack! (gluten-free, paleo & vegan)

ingredients:

• 4 cups of pumpkin puree (canned or homemade)
• 1/2 cup of real maple syrup
• 3 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice (get my homemade recipe here)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (get my homemade recipe here)
• 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt

instructions:

How to cook Easy Maple Pumpkin Butter

1. Add all the ingredients to a medium saucepan with a lid (keep the lid off right now). Stir everything thoroughly and turn the heat to medium-high.
2. Once the pumpkin mixture starts to bubble (holes will form and pockets of air will escape), set the lid on the pan at an angle. Make sure the lid is NOT on tight but cracked (or set askew) so steam can filter out, which allows the puree to reduce & thicken up.
3. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Make sure the bubbles are still rising, but not as rapidly. You may need to adjust the heat slightly so that it keeps bubbling slightly.
4. Cook, stirring once or twice, for 20-25 minutes or until the pumpkin puree has thickened to your desired consistency. This may take a little bit longer if you're using fresh pumpkin puree or you decide to add some liquid like apple juice or water.
5. Cool completely, transfer to a container with a tight-fitting lid, and store in the fridge. The pumpkin butter should keep for at least one week in the fridge (potentially up to two weeks) and can be frozen up to 3 months.

NOTES:

For this ratio of ingredients, a medium-sized saucepan or lidded pot works fine. However, if you plan on doubling or tripling this recipe, use a large pot or pan so you have plenty of room for the puree to splatter & reduce. Because of its low acid content, it's not recommended to can pumpkin butter. So if you want to give this as a gift for the holidays, make a fresh batch and keep it in the fridge until you're ready to give it to them in person (ideally within a few days of you making it).

https://www.therisingspoon.com/2013/10/monthly-veg-ucation-maple-spice-pumpkin.htmlV

© The Rising Spoon. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not reprint this recipe without my written permission. If you'd like to feature this recipe on your site, please take your own pictures, rewrite the directions in your own words, and link to this post as the original source. Thank you!

Created using The Recipes Generator

Adapted from Oh She Glows' All-Natural Pumpkin Butter From Scratch

UPDATE (September 2019): This recipe was originally published in October 2013, but I've recently rephotographed it, made a recipe video, re-written the post to include more helpful information, and added a printable recipe card.

Did You Make This Recipe?

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