Instant Pot Pumpkin Butter (with Double Ginger!)

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Instant Pot Pumpkin Butter (with Double Ginger!) tickles your tongue with the traditional warm spices and a burst of flavor from the double-ginger duo of fresh minced ginger and ginger beer! This delightful, creamy pumpkin butter elevates a humble piece of toast, and makes a great addition to a fall cocktail…

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it,

and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth

seeking the successive autumns.

~~ from the letters of George Eliot

The glories of autumn… I would wager a guess a majority of my acquaintances favor autumn over any other season.  🙂 Its sights and smells prove hard to beat!

Nothing “speaks” to autumn more profoundly than pumpkin. Am I not right? I am not one for an overly sweet pumpkin spice latte, and I rarely indulge in desserts. I do, however LOVE pumpkin! I recently created this recipe for Double (Fresh) Ginger Pumpkin Custard Ice Cream. My husband insists it “tastes like the best pumpkin pie ever.” I won’t argue.  😆 Pumpkin Barley Risotto and Vegetarian Pumpkin Posole are two vegetarian fall favorites at Andersen casa. I am trying to “diversify” my recipes beyond my comfort zone (savory mains and sides), and in this spirit of adventure, I started playing with pumpkin butter.

My pressure cooker has a prominent spot on my pantry shelf (unlike many of my collection of small appliances!). I was reasonably confident I’d achieve slow-cooked pumpkin butter flavor in a fraction of the time required on the cooktop or slow cooker.

I may have a love affair with ginger. It certainly find its way into a lot of my food. I do NOT keep ground ginger in my well-stocked pantry, opting instead to use fresh ginger. I do cheat a little in keeping a big jar (purchased at my Asian grocery) of minced fresh ginger in my refrigerator. No excuses. It is no more trouble to measure out a spoonful of fresh minced than it is that flavorless powder! Of course you can grate ginger root if you prefer. I have been known to pull a piece of frozen ginger from my freezer, scrape the skin, and grate it with a microplane. Please don’t substitute powdered ginger! My surprise ingredient in my Pressure Cooker Pumpkin Butter is a 12 ounce bottle of ginger beer. You can use either alcoholic or non-alcoholic ginger beer; it’s the extra layer of ginger flavor we’re after in this recipe. Note: Ginger beer is naturally gluten free. (See Is Ginger Beer Gluten Free).

Breaking down a pumpkin is annoying (maybe even anger-producing?). I hate it. However, I’m always pleased with the end result when I opt to use fresh pumpkin over the canned. Canned is fine in pumpkin muffins or pancakes, but this Instant Pot Pumpkin Butter features pumpkin, and really needs fresh. I take the process a step further by roasting the pumpkin. Because the pumpkin is roasted, the time in the pressure cooker is reduced. A side benefit of roasting the pumpkin is that you can leave the skin on the pumpkin, and roast the cleaned halves cut side up until it begins to caramelize. I’m all about layering flavors, and you may already know I’m a big fan of the maillard reaction and the complexity it brings to food. Roasting vegetables is my “go to” for maximizing flavor. See Why Roasting Makes Vegetables Taste Sweeter.

Now that we’ve got that settled, what are you waiting for? Let’s make a batch of Pressure Cooker Pumpkin Butter! This recipe makes about 6 cups (give or take). I store it in mason jars – 1 in the fridge, and 2 in the freezer. It’s fine refrigerated for a couple of weeks.

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Instant Pot Pumpkin Butter

Creamy Pressure Cooker Pumpkin Butter tickles your tongue with the traditional warm spices and a burst of flavor from the double-ginger duo of fresh minced ginger and ginger beer! This delightful, creamy pumpkin butter will elevate even a humble piece of toast!

Course Condiment

Cuisine American

Keyword condiments, gluten free, instant pot, pumpkin, vegan

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Calories 35 kcal

Author Tamara

Ingredients

• 1 small pumpkin *see notes halved and interior scraped
• 1 tbsp coconut oil melted if necessary
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup brown sugar packed
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger minced
• 2 fresh cinnamon sticks *see notes
• 1/2 tsp fresh nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 12 oz ginger beer *see notes

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (375 convection). Brush cut sides of pumpkin with the oil. Roast until tender when pierced with a fork (about 30-40 minutes).

2. Scoop the flesh from the pumpkin skin into the pressure cooker using an ice cream scoop or tablespoon.

3. Add the remaining ingredients to the pressure cooker.

4. Cook 10 minutes under pressure.

5. Do a natural release for 10 minutes (meaning allow it to sit undisturbed). Release the remaining pressure.

6. Remove cinnamon sticks.

7. Using an immersion blender, puree the pumpkin butter until very smooth.

8. Store in jars or zip bags in the refrigerator (1-2 weeks) or freeze for later use. Enjoy on toast, pancakes, etc. or add to a fall cocktail for a special treat!

Recipe Notes

I use a sugar pumpkin (typically 4-5 pounds) that easily yields about 6 cups. Precision isn't super important, but you want about 5-6 cups.

Removing the skin is the most difficult part of breaking down a pumpkin. I leave the skin intact, scrape the seeds and hairy stuff from the interior, brush with coconut oil, and roast.

If your cinnamon sticks don't smell intensely of cinnamon, they're not fresh.

Ginger beer is available in alcoholic and non-alcoholic versions. Ginger ale isn't really a great substitute if you love the flavor of ginger as it is more subtle. Ginger beer (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic versions) are gluten-free, but be sure to check the label. For more info...

Calorie count is taken from commercial pumpkin butter, and is approximate only.

Try mixing in with yogurt, topping granola, on pancakes and French toast, etc.