Canned Pumpkin vs. Canned Pumpkin Pie Mix: What's the Difference? (2024)

FAQs

Canned Pumpkin vs. Canned Pumpkin Pie Mix: What's the Difference? ›

Canned pumpkin and pumpkin puree are the same thing, and you'll often see the terms used interchangeably in recipes and cookbooks. Unlike pumpkin pie mix, canned pumpkin does not have any spices, sugars, or other additives. In many cases, the only ingredient is pumpkin.

Pumpkin pie filling will be labeled as pumpkin pie mix or pumpkin pie filling. Ingredients - Pumpkin puree made from scratch contains only pumpkin, but canned puree may contain a preservative like salt. Pumpkin pie filling contains additional ingredients like sugar, spices, and thickeners.

Pie pumpkins, also called sugar pumpkins, usually weigh 1 to 6 pounds. Their flesh is denser and sweeter that the bigger ones, which are called carving or jack-o'-lantern pumpkins. The biggies have a moister, softer interior with a bigger seed cavity, and the flesh tends to be stringier.

The Best Overall: Libby's 100% Pure Canned Pumpkin

There is a reason that Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin has been the go-to brand for so many people for so long.

Solid pack pumpkin is exactly that: just pumpkin, and nothing else (despite the misleading pumpkin pie that is often on the label). It's sometimes called pumpkin puree or "100% pure pumpkin" to distinguish it from the similarly named pumpkin pie filling, which contains sugar and spices.

Pumpkin pie mix can be used as a substitute for pure canned pumpkin in some recipes. However, since it is already sweetened and flavored, you'll need to make some adjustments.

Butternut Squash and Sweet Potatoes

These ingredients, in these amounts, are interchangeable in most recipes to achieve the same texture and most similar flavor. For 1 cup canned pumpkin or pumpkin puree, substitute 1 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato or butternut squash.

Start with the right variety of pumpkins, sugar pumpkins. Large pumpkins that we traditionally think of as jack-o-lanterns aren't ideal for pie as they are very stringy and have a lot of seeds. There really isn't very much “meat” to the larger pumpkins. Sugar pumpkins, also known as pie pumpkins, are sweeter.

The Sugar Pie Pumpkin is often considered the crème de la crème of cooking pumpkins. Its deep orange flesh is sweet, smooth, and creamy, making it perfect for pies, soups, and purees. This culinary gem pairs beautifully with warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, creating irresistible autumnal flavors.

The canned option had a more powerful pumpkin flavor and a silkier texture. While some of my colleagues preferred the apple sauce-like texture of the fresh, I can't say all that extra work of cleaning, roasting and pureeing a whole pumpkin is worth it, especially during a busy holiday season.

Is Libby's 100% pure pumpkin the same as pumpkin puree? ›

Pumpkin puree can be labeled as 100% pure pumpkin, pumpkin puree, solid pack pumpkin, or simply "pumpkin." Regardless of what it's called, one thing pumpkin puree won't contain is any sort of seasonings or sugar—it's just cooked and mashed squash.

Sugar Baby Pumpkin

Also known as Sugar Pie pumpkins, these thin-skinned squash are smaller (4-8 lbs.) and have a sweet, dense flesh with a fine-grained, smooth texture. The cooked flesh is a bit drier, which makes a great pie filling.

Canned pumpkin offers the same health benefits as fresh pumpkin, making it quick and easy to add pumpkin to recipes year-round. Pumpkin seeds are typically roasted and sold separately as a snack or topping.

Your canned pumpkin is still made from pumpkin-like squash, but the exact components vary from brand to brand.

It's OK if some mold forms inside it, as not all fungi cause soft rots – diseases that produce wet spots that spread, become mushy and turn black. If a pumpkin does become overly moldy on the inside walls, move it outdoors to avoid producing a lot of spores in your home.

The Trader Joe's canned pumpkin stood out for several reasons. It's texture was the thinnest, the color the lightest, and the flavor the sweetest and least squash-tasting.

Each bulk can of Libby's Pumpkin contains only one ingredient - pumpkin.

How Many Cups in a Can of Pumpkin, Really? Fifteen ounces of canned pumpkin is just shy of 2 cups (16 ounces would be 2 cups). By comparison, a 3-pound pie pumpkin will likely give you enough puree for a recipe that calls for a can of pumpkin.

What exactly is canned pumpkin? There isn't much of a difference between canned pumpkin and fresh pumpkin puree, and looking at the list of ingredients on the back of the can will tell you that. It will probably just say pureed pumpkin or steamed pumpkin puree.