How to cook the whole pumpkin in a slow cooker.


Cooking the whole pumpkin in a slow cooker? Yes!  Here's how to easily crock-pot a whole pumpkin.
Ingredients:
All you need to cook a whole pumpkin in a slow cooker is a medium-sized pumpkin (approx. 2kg or 5 pounds; it can be bigger if you've got a big slow cooker) and 50ml of water. You can also use slow cooker liners.

Kabocha Squash


New England Sugar Pie weighs about 5lbs (2kg), Pic: Rareseeds


Instructions:
Pour 50 ml of water into a crockpot, put a pumpkin (with skin on) inside the cooker, close the lid, and cook for 2 or 3 hrs on high, or for 4-5 hrs on low.
Make sure the bottom of the crockpot is evenly covered with water. If it's not, part of the pumpkin that's in direct contact with the bottom of the cooker may burn.
You can pierce pumpkin with a skewer or a fork to check if it's ready. Fork should easily penetrate the skin & the flesh.


It's very easy to scoop out the seeds (and the flesh!) from the pumpkin that has been slow-cooked. If you're planning to make a pie or freeze pumpkin puree, slow cooking is the way to go!



Any pumpkin or squash can be slow-cooked. Adjust cooking time depending on squash weight and thickness of its flesh. Please check out the cooking time guide at the bottom of this page.

Tips and tricks.
Crown Prince cut into 10 pieces.

If the pumpkin is bigger than your crockpot, you can cut it into smaller pieces. You can cook them for 2hrs on high or 4 hrs on low.
Slow cooking pumpkins time guide:
  • whole medium-sized (approx. 2kg or 5 pounds) sugar pumpkin: 2 or 3 hrs on high /+ 2hrs on low
  • medium-sized sugar pumpkin cut into up to 8 pieces: 2 or 1,5 hrs on high /+ 2hrs on low
  • thick flesh big squash (like Crown Prince) cut into up to 10 pieces: 3 or 3,5 hrs on high /+ 2hrs on low
  • small squash (like orange kabocha/kabocha or carnival squash): 1hr or 1,5hr on high /+ 2hrs on low  
  • longer large squashes (delicata honey boat, butternut, spaghetti):
    2  hrs on high /+ 2hrs on low
  • banana squash: 1,5 hrs -2hrs on high /+ 2hrs on low

Crown Prince
Carnival Squash (left) & Orange Kabocha (right).
Honey Boat Delicata, Pic: Rareseeds
Medium-sized sugar pumpkins are the perfect choice for slow cooking.
Photo: Pixabay

Happy Slow-Cooking!

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