How to cook whole pumpkin in instant pot
Cooking a whole pumpkin in an instant pot is an easy and effortless way. Cooked pumpkin could be diced or pureed to use in pies, muffins, cakes, smoothies and curries.
Servings: 4
Calories: 0.1kcal
Equipment
- 1 Instant Pot pressure cooker
- 1 Wooden Board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Trivet (wire rack) that came with Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 2 lb (or) 1.2 kg Pumpkin
- 1.5 cups Water
Instructions
- Pierce the pumpkin in several spots. Ensure not to cut through the vegetable.2 lb (or) 1.2 kg Pumpkin
- The knife should pierce through the skin and the vegetable just about an inch.
- Place the trivet (wire rack) in the steel pot.
- Pour 2 cups of water inside the steel pot of the instant pot.1.5 cups Water
- Now place the pumpkin on the trivet.
- Close the pot with the lid and move the pressure valve to the SEALING position.
- Press the PRESSURE COOK button and set the timer to 10 minutes at HIGH PRESSURE.
- Once the timer counts down to 0, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes of NPR, move the pressure valve to the VENT position and wait until the knob next to the pressure valve goes down.
- Once the knob goes down, open the lid.
- Using oven mitts or gloves carefully remove the trivet along with the pumpkin and keep it on a plate or cooling tray to let it cool down completely.
- Cut the pumpkin into half, scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Remove the rind.
- Perfectly cooked pumpkin is ready to use.
Video
Notes
To prevent burning your hands, always use oven mitts while removing the pumpkin from the pot.
Piercing the pumpkin helps with faster cooking.
Let the pumpkin cool to the touch before handling it.
The pumpkin I used here is small so 10 minutes is good to cook perfectly without the flesh being neither too mushy or hard. Just soft, fork tender yet retains shape when chopped and the skin peels off easily without putting too much effort.
You have to cook it a little longer for a mushy texture. For the small pumpkin, an extra 2-3 minutes and for large pumpkin an extra 7-8 minutes.
If the pumpkin is not cooked well and is hard. Put the pumpkin back on the trivet, close the instant pot lid, set the pressure cook mode for 5 minutes on high pressure.
Using a trivet that comes with an instant pot is essential to handle the hot pumpkin. The handles help you lift the trivet along with the pumpkin out of the inner pot. Trivet is also referred to as a steam rack or metal rack.
You may have to adjust the pressure cook time based on the size of the pumpkin you cook. Large pumpkins need extra time to cook than the smaller ones.
Nutrition
Calories: 0.1kcal | Carbohydrates: 0.02g | Protein: 0.01g | Sodium: 4mg | Potassium: 1mg | Fiber: 0.01g | Sugar: 0.01g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 3mg | Iron: 0.003mg