Best Ways to Use Leftover Canned Pumpkin

Here are 10 smart ways to use up the rest of your canned pumpkin. Get sweet and savory recipes and simple and easy ways to use leftover pumpkin puree without waste.

If your recipe only uses half a can of pumpkin and you have some left, these recipes and ways to put it to use will come in handy. Keep reading. Here’s how to use up leftover canned pumpkin puree plus get all of the nutrition benefits and zero waste.

I hope these ideas inspire you to get creative! 

Freeze your leftover pumpkin

When a recipe calls for less than a full can, save the extra pumpkin puree by freezing in ice cube trays. Pop a few cubes out to add to sauces, soups and more – as I’ll get into below.

Tips to Use Leftover Pumpkin

Blend a fall smoothie. While you have the blender out, pop a few cubes of frozen pumpkin in with bananas, cinnamon, and your favorite milk for a fall-inspired smoothie.

Swirl pumpkin into yogurt or oatmeal. Stir leftover canned pumpkin into oatmeal or Greek yogurt with a pumpkin spice blend and a drizzle of maple syrup for a fiber-rich, fall-inspired breakfast. And yes. You can also make pumpkin pancakes!

Give chili a healthy boost. Try stirring canned pumpkin puree into soup, stew, or chili to boost the nutrition quality and color of the dish without an overpowering flavor.

Make a curry, soup, or stew. As with pasta sauce and in chili, pumpkin is a delicious addition to curries. It works well in this Easy Vegan Pumpkin Lentil Curry.

Freeze leftover pumpkin puree. As soon as you know you are going to have leftover puree, add it by the spoonful into ice cube trays or flatten into a freezer bag to easily break off pieces once frozen.

Stir a leftover pumpkin into hummus. Too far? Well, dessert hummus is a thing. I haven’t tried it. But if I did venture that way, I’d add leftover pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and a swirl of maple syrup to plain hummus for a fun fall twist.

Creamy Pumpkin Pasta

Use the pureed pumpkin as a base to create a silky texture like in this Creamy Pumpkin Pasta with Toasted Walnuts and Spinach Never tried pumpkin pasta? This recipe uses up a full cup of pumpkin puree. The pumpkin pasta sauce is made velvety smooth with plenty of extra virgin olive oil and a touch of tomato paste. You can even double the sauce and freeze it to enjoy later.

Blender Pumpkin Banana Nut Bread

This gluten-free Pumpkin Banana Nut Bread is made with oats, pumpkin, and bananas in the blender. Try a slice with almond butter or Greek yogurt for a quick get-out-the-door breakfast. And if you somehow find yourself with extra pumpkin bread, you can toast it up or freeze individual slices to enjoy throughout the fall.

Feed plain pumpkin to your dog

Your pup will enjoy pumpkin as is or mixed in with her regular food. My Biscuit loves it as a treat, and it’s good for her doggy digestion. I’ve also recently learned that she will take her medicine a lot easier if it’s covered in cold pumpkin puree!

Pumpkin nutrition benefits

Pumpkin puree is versatile. It works well in both sweet and savory dishes. It also has some impressive nutrition benefits. Just a ½ cup of pure pumpkin delivers 4g of fiber to help you reach the minimum recommended 25g fiber per day.

Pumpkin puree is also an excellent source of the antioxidant, beta-carotene, widely researched for its potential cancer prevention, immune health, and vision supportive properties. So, even if you’re more a sweet potato pie than pumpkin pie fan, there’s room in the pantry for pumpkin!

How are you using leftover canned pumpkin?

Please let me know in the comments or tag me on Instagram so I can see your creations and give you a shout out. Because this question will roll around again next fall, PIN this post so you can always find it!

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A version of this post went out in my Monday Morsel this morning. Are you on the list? Sign up here for food, nutrition, and lifestyle tips and recipes that I don’t share anywhere else!