Pumpkin Butter · I’m a food blogger

There’s nothing like a fresh cup of coffee and a thick slice of toast slathered with pumpkin butter on a crisp, sunny fall day.

It’s pumpkin season! The coziest, most enjoyable – dare I say – most delicious time of the year? It makes me smile just thinking about sinking my teeth into a crisp, soft piece of toast with pumpkin spice butter melting into all the little nooks and crannies.

What is pumpkin butter?

Pumpkin butter is a spread made with pumpkin, pumpkin spice, sugar and of course butter. It’s sweet, rich and absolutely delicious. Think what life would be like if you could take pumpkin pie and spread it on toast. It’s kind of like that, but a little lighter, less dense and more spread out.

Is there butter in pumpkin butter?

yes! There is butter in this version of pumpkin butter because without butter is it technically pumpkin butter? That said, there are versions out there that don’t have butter in them (I’m looking at you Trader Joe’s, more on that below). I suspect they didn’t put butter in theirs so they could have a shelf-stable, more jam-like product.

Without the butter, it’s more of a fruit spread. Both are delicious, but pumpkin butter with real butter in it is great on warm baked goods or toast. The butter melts into all the nooks and crannies and infuses pumpkin spice flavor into whatever you spread it on.

Pumpkin Butter Ingredients

All you need is pumpkin, pumpkin spice, vanilla, and butter:

• mashed pumpkin – get the small 15 ounce pumpkin puree. I like Libby’s, which is a pure pumpkin – Dickinson pumpkin to be exact.
• pumpkin spice – if you have pumpkin spice in your pantry, perfect! If you don’t, it’s very easy to beat some. Pumpkin spice will add warmth and spice to our butter.
• VANILLA – just a touch of vanilla will bring out the warmth of all the spices and add to the feel of baked goods.
• butter – it’s just not butternut squash without butter! Use a high-quality butter that you like the taste of. It’s up to you whether you use salted or unsalted, but I find that salty helps bring out the other flavors. Make sure your butter is at room temperature so it’s easy to mix and incorporate with the brown sugar.
• brown sugar – Brown sugar will give us a caramel sweetness that you don’t get with granulated sugar. But if you only have granulated sugar at home, that will work too!

How to make pumpkin butter

1. Reduce – add the pumpkin, pumpkin spice and a little vanilla to a pot or pan. Raise the heat to medium and stir and cook the pumpkin until it becomes a thick, smooth paste. The key is to cook all the water content out of the pumpkin so that you are left with pure pumpkin flavor. I like to use non-stick and prefer to use a pan because the increased surface area makes it easier to reduce the squash. But using a larger pan means more splatter while the squash is cooking. The pumpkin will bubble and splutter, so keep that in mind!
2. Cold – Once the squash is smooth and thick, spread the spiced squash on a plate to help it cool.
3. Whip – Once the pumpkin has cooled completely, beat together the brown sugar and butter. You don’t need to make sure it’s creamy, if you see brown sugar grains in the butter, that’s perfect! Once the butter and sugar are combined, stir in the cooled, spiced pumpkin and mix well.
4. Enjoy – Once it’s ready, you can spread it on anything and everything! If you don’t use it all at once, simply spoon into an airtight jar or container and refrigerate for up to two weeks. Before using it, you can beat it to make it super smooth, or you can use it cold from the fridge. For me, there’s something about cold butter on toast or hot pancakes. I live for that contrast!

How to use

Spread a thick layer on fresh bread, toast, bagels, french toast, waffles, pancakes, cake slices, buns, basically anything you’d use butter on. For extra flavor, finish with a cinnamon spice drizzle.

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Mix

Making pumpkin spice mix at home is super easy, and if you make it yourself, you won’t have a whole bottle sitting in your pantry just waiting for fall. For 1 tablespoon pumpkin spice, mix: 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, 1/2 tablespoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, and 1/4 teaspoon allspice.

Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Butter

Trader Joe’s is dairy free and has no butter in it at all. Instead, it’s a kind of pumpkin spread that’s a little thick, seasoned with pumpkin spice, and sweetened with sugar and honey. Think of it as pumpkin jam. If you don’t consume milk, you can make the butter recipe below by adding sugar to the pumpkin when you cook it and leaving the butter mixture aside. Personally, I prefer it when it actually has butter because it adds that decadence and luxury that is absolutely necessary to a spread.

If you love pumpkin and pumpkin spice, please check out these other recipes

Pumpkin butter really brings fall up a notch. Why have regular toast when you can have pumpkin bread? Try this recipe to increase your autumn feeling to infinity.

xoxo steph

Pumpkin butter

Dip into a plush piece of toast with pumpkin spice butter that melts into all the little nooks and crannies.

It serves 24

Preparation Time 5 minutes min

Cooking time 20 minutes min

Total time 25 minutes min

• 15 oz mashed pumpkin ~ 1 can
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin spice
• 1 SPOON vanilla extract
• 1 CUP butter room temperature (2 sticks)
• 1/2 CUP brown sugar favorite light

• Add the pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice and vanilla to a non-stick pan and cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat for 15-20 minutes, or until smooth, thick and reduced. The squash will splutter and bubble as the water cooks, so be sure to stir and keep an eye on it.

• When reduced, remove from heat and spread the squash on a plate to cool.

• When the pumpkin is completely cooled, cream together the butter and brown sugar in a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer until combined. Add the cooled pumpkin puree and mix until fully incorporated.

• Enjoy immediately or spoon into an airtight jar or container and refrigerate to use on anything and everything. Pumpkin butter will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Nutrition facts

Pumpkin butter

Amount per serving (1 tablespoon)

Calories 85
Calories from fat 37

% Daily Value*

Fat 4.1 g6%

Saturated fat 2.5 g16%

cholesterol 9 mg3%

Sodium 30 mg1%

potassium 166 mg5%

Carbohydrates 10.5 g4%

Fiber 2.4 g10%

Sugar 4.9 g5%

Protein 1 g2%

* Percent Daily Values ​​are based on a 2000 calorie diet.