It may seem somewhat obvious that, if you can make Butternut Squash Burritos from the same recipe as Sweet Potato Burritos, you could also make Pumpkin Burritos.  But if you’re among the many people desperately searching the Internet this month for new and different ways to serve the remains of your jack o’lantern, it might not occur to you to search for squash or sweet potato recipes as well, or you might be nervous about modifying those recipes to use pumpkin.

Daniel made Pumpkin Burritos for us last night, so we can assure you that this recipe works!  To convert our pumpkin into pumpkin puree, we used these instructions as a guide, but we were not starting with a small pie pumpkin like they recommend; our son had begged for a big pumpkin to decorate our porch this Halloween, and I bought one that must have weighed 25 pounds before we scooped it out.  After being carved and displayed for two weeks, it was a bit moldy on the inside, but I couldn’t help seeing it as $7 worth of food–and I suspected it would make a lot more pumpkin puree than the 3 cans we could buy for $7.50.  I sliced the pumpkin into wedges with a cleaver, then used a paring knife to cut off all surfaces that had been exposed to the air; there were only a few spots where I had to dig deeper to remove yuckiness.  Daniel baked it in the oven as directed–microwaving would have been more complicated because we had so much pumpkin it would have had to be in 3 or 4 batches in the microwave.  We got about 11 cups of finished puree, and it tastes fine, at least as good as the canned stuff.

For each burrito, you will need:

• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 1/4 tsp. chili powder
• salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup grated cheddar or jack cheese
• 1 large tortilla (We like the multi-grain ones from Costco.)
• olive oil or other cooking oil

Dice onion and brown it in oil in skillet.  Meanwhile, grate cheese.

Add pumpkin and spices to skillet.  Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, for about 15 minutes, allowing pumpkin to sizzle and bubble so that a lot of the moisture comes out and you won’t have a soggy burrito.

Sprinkle cheese in a line across center of tortilla, ending about 1 inch from each edge.  Scoop filling over cheese and distribute evenly.  Fold ends of tortilla over filling.  Fold one side up, then roll.

If you are making more burritos than you can eat in one meal, here’s how to freeze your burritos: Wrap each burrito in waxed paper (or plastic liner bags saved from cereal or cracker boxes).  Put several together in a large zip-top plastic bag.  Close the zip-top most of the way.  Press air out of the bag, then use your mouth to suck out as much air as you can before closing the zip-top.  (This prevents frost from forming inside the bag to make your burritos soggy and freezer-flavored.)  Freeze for up to 3 months.  Reheat a burrito by removing from waxed paper and microwaving on a plate for 1-2 minutes or heating on a pan in toaster oven at 350F for 7-10 minutes (keep an eye on it!).

Visit the Hearth and Soul Blog Hop for many other autumnal recipes!  Visit Waste Not, Want Not Wednesday and Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways for other ways to use resources wisely!

If you still have more pumpkin to use up, try our high-protein Pumpkin Cornbread or Kitchen Stewardship’s Pumpkin Bread/Muffins, or just eat a big bowl of Pumpkin Snack!