If there were ever a side dish that screams “I’m here for fall and I brought fuzzy socks,” it’s mashed pumpkin. And let me tell you—this stuff is silky, buttery, gently spiced comfort in a bowl.
If you’re looking for an alternative to mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes for your Christmas or Thanksgiving meal, you need to try mashed pumpkin! It brings all the warm, festive holiday vibes but with a lighter, naturally sweet flavor that pairs with just about everything on your table.
We’re taking roasted sugar pumpkin (because we’re classy like that), mashing it with butter, cream, warm spices, and a drizzle of honey, then topping it off with crunchy hazelnuts and fresh sage. If fall had a signature scent, it would be this recipe.
Perfect for holiday spreads, weeknight dinners, or eating straight out of the bowl while standing at the kitchen counter—no judgment here.
We normally serve this mashed roasted pumpkin for the holidays with sous vide ham or sous vide turkey thighs, along with some Instant Pot carrots and air fryer frozen Brussels sprouts.
Why This Recipe Works
Mashed pumpkin sounds simple (and it is), but a few clever tricks take it from “meh” to WOW:
- Roasting the pumpkin caramelizes the edges and deepens the flavor—boiling could never.
- Warm milk and cream keep the texture luxuriously silky instead of gluey.
- A touch of honey + warm spices makes it taste like fall without veering into dessert territory.
- Hazelnuts + sage = crunch + freshness. It’s the glow-up you didn’t know mashed pumpkin needed.
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What Is My Take on Mashed Pumpkin?
I’m calling it now: mashed pumpkin is the underrated side dish of the fall season.
Move over mashed potatoes (just kidding, I still love you). Pumpkin is lighter, naturally sweet, deeply flavorful, and turns into a mash so creamy it practically whips itself.
Plus—it’s way more impressive than it looks. Like that friend who shows up in sweatpants but somehow still looks fabulous.
Make It a Meal
Mashed pumpkin might be a side, but it plays VERY well with others:
- Serve it under this Air Fryer Roast Chicken (chef’s-kiss levels of good).
- Pair with Instant Pot Beef Short Ribs for peak cozy vibes.
- Add it to a fall harvest bowl with quinoa, roasted veggies, and seared sausage.
Easy Side Dishes
Round out your meal with some equally delicious additions:
- Spicy Braised Green Beans
- Instant Pot Wild Rice
- Roasted Sweet and Spicy Brussels Sprouts
- Easy Cranberry Orange Chutney Recipe — bright, zesty, and the perfect pop of color and flavor alongside creamy mashed pumpkin!
Ingredients
For the full list of ingredients and quantities, refer to the recipe card below.
You’ll need 1 pound of fresh pumpkin, peeled and cut into chunks. Pumpkins come in different varieties so you’ll want to make sure you’re using a culinary pumpkin like sugar pumpkins (also called baking pumpkins or pie pumpkins). The larger decorative pumpkins are stringy and not as flavorful.
To make the mash creamy, the recipe calls for 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter, ¼ cup of whole milk and ¼ cup of heavy cream.
If you only have salted butter, just reduce the amount of added salt in the recipe.
As for the whole milk and heavy cream, the recipe calls for both to create maximum creaminess without making the pumpkin mash too heavy. You can use all whole milk or all heavy cream, if you prefer.
For the warm seasoning, you’ll need cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Nutmeg and cloves have intense flavor, so the recipe just needs ⅛ teaspoon of each.
To add a little extra sweetness, the recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of honey. Feel free to use maple syrup instead.
Step by step instructions
STEP 1: Heat an oven to 400F degrees.
STEP 2: Coat the pumpkin in the salt and olive oil and spread out on a baking sheet.
STEP 3: Roast for 1 hour, mixing halfway through, until the pumpkin can be easily pierced with a fork.
STEP 4: Remove from the oven and place in a large bowl.
STEP 5: Combine all the remaining ingredients (except sage and hazelnuts) and use a potato masher to mash until creamy.
Add additional salt if necessary and serve sprinkled with crushed hazelnuts and chopped sage leaves.
Recipe variations
- Top your mashed pumpkin with crumbled bacon, chopped pecans or toasted pumpkin seeds.
- In place of the nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon, use garam masala.
- For a savory version, use garlic powder and dried herbs like thyme or rosemary.
- Spice it up with cayenne pepper or Cajun seasoning.
Expert tips
- While I bought a whole pumpkin and cut it into pieces myself, sometimes you can find pre-cubed pumpkins at the grocery store.
- If you’re using a whole pumpkin, keep the seeds and make roasted pumpkin seeds.
- If you’re not sure how to peel and cut a pumpkin, here's a helpful video on how to quickly peel, seed and cut a pumpkin.
- Don’t use large decorative pumpkins for this recipe as their flesh is watery and stringy.
- To ensure even cooking, cut the pumpkin into roughly the same size chunks. The larger the chunks, the longer they will take to roast.
- You’ll want to make sure your butter is at room temperature and your milk and cream are warmed so the pumpkin doesn’t cool down too much as it’s mashed.
- I don’t recommend using low fat milk as this will make the pumpkin mash a little thin.
- The pumpkin will mash easily, so I don’t recommend using a blender or a food processor. A potato masher, ricer or even a fork will work fine.
- Be careful not to over mash the roasted pumpkin as it can start to take on a gummy texture.
Common questions
The best type of pumpkin to cook with is a culinary pumpkin. These can often be found as sugar pumpkins, sweet pumpkins or pie pumpkins. They’re small and their flesh is tender and sweet when cooked.
Carving pumpkins or decorative pumpkins are larger with a stringy flesh that will be more watery when cooked. I don’t recommend using this type for this recipe.
If you don’t have time to peel and cube the pumpkin, you can cut the pumpkin in half, remove the seeds and roast it. It will take longer to roast and you’ll need to scoop the cooked flesh out when it’s done.
Absolutely! I think this recipe would be great with butternut squash or acorn squash.
Yes, you can make this mashed pumpkin recipe a day or two in advance and reheat it in the microwave or over medium heat on the stovetop. Just add a little extra cream or butter to make it creamy again.
You can also save time and cube your pumpkin a few days in advance and store it in the fridge. Then, the day of your meal you just need to roast it and mash it up!
We normally serve mashed pumpkin for the holidays and it pairs well with just about anything that mashed potatoes or mashed sweet potatoes would go with.
Some delicious options include sous vide turkey breast or roasted duck, air fryer carrots, sous vide green beans, and Instant Pot Brussels sprouts.
Storage instructions
Leftover mashed pumpkin will last for 3-4 days if stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
Reheat leftovers in the microwave or over medium heat on the stovetop. I like to stir in some extra cream or butter to help make it creamy again.
While I prefer freshly mashed pumpkin, you can freeze it for up to 6 months.
Just let the pumpkin cool completely in the fridge and then divide out portions into freezer safe bags or containers and freeze.
To defrost, let thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating. Just note that the mashed pumpkin may be a bit watery.
More pumpkin recipes
If you want to add more pumpkin to your holiday menu, I highly recommend these awesome recipes:
- Instant Pot pumpkin soup
- Creamy pumpkin pasta
- Air fryer pumpkin
- Pumpkin Risotto
- Curry pumpkin soup
- Instant Pot pumpkin
- Pumpkin Alfredo
- Pumpkin souffle
- Pumpkin pie bars
- Spicy Thai Pumpkin Curry
- Pumpkin Scones
- Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
- Slow Cooker Pumpkin Puree
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Recipe
Mashed Pumpkin
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh pumpkin sugar pumpkin, peeled and cut in chunks
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
- ¼ cup whole milk warm
- ¼ cup heavy cream warm
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoons crushed hazelnuts for garnish
- Fresh sage for garnish
Instructions
- Heat an oven to 400F degrees.
- Coat the pumpkin in the salt and olive oil and spread out on a baking sheet.
- Roast for 1 hour, mixing halfway through, until pumpkin can be easily pierced with a fork.
- Remove from oven and place in a large bowl.
- Combine all the remaining ingredients (except sage and hazelnuts) and use a potato masher to mash until creamy.
- Add additional salt if necessary and serve sprinkled with crushed hazelnuts and chopped sage leaves.
Expert Tips:
- While I bought a whole pumpkin and cut it into pieces myself, sometimes you can find pre-cubed pumpkins at the grocery store.
- If you’re using a whole pumpkin, keep the seeds and make roasted pumpkin seeds.
- If you’re not sure how to peel and cut a pumpkin, here's a helpful video on how to quickly peel, seed and cut a pumpkin.
- Don’t use large decorative pumpkins for this recipe as their flesh is watery and stringy.
- To ensure even cooking, cut the pumpkin into roughly the same size chunks. The larger the chunks, the longer they will take to roast.
- You’ll want to make sure your butter is at room temperature and your milk and cream are warmed so the pumpkin doesn’t cool down too much as it’s mashed.
- I don’t recommend using low fat milk as this will make the pumpkin mash a little thin.
- The pumpkin will mash easily, so I don’t recommend using a blender or a food processor. A potato masher, ricer or even a fork will work fine.
- Be careful not to over mash the roasted pumpkin as it can start to take on a gummy texture.
Nutrition
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