Caramelized Maple Pumpkin Butter
By Amanda Paa – Updated October 7, 2025
Made entirely on the stovetop with convenient canned pumpkin, this homemade pumpkin butter is rich, perfectly spiced, and irresistibly smooth. Its deep, caramelized flavor makes it perfect for spreading on toast, swirled into yogurt, or baking into fall treats — a simple recipe that delivers cozy, seasonal comfort in every spoonful. Cinnamon, ginger, and pure maple syrup are the main stars, with a hint of cardamom and black pepper to make it uniquely delicious. Freezes well, too!
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Sauces, spreads, and drizzles make any bite better.
It’s why my refrigerator is full of condiments, and I’m not willing to part with any of them!
A zippy, pickle-y burger sauce what elevates a smash burger. And a slather of sweet and tart strawberry-rhubarb jam is toast’s best friend.
Recently I bought some pumpkin butter at Trader Joe’s because I was all out of my homemade apple butter and was soooo disappointed. The flavor was buried under way too much sweetness.
So I developed this incredible pumpkin butter recipe – rich, perfectly spiced, and just sweet enough. Cinnamon and ginger are the main stars, with a hint of cardamom and black pepper to make it uniquely delicious. Simmered on the stovetop, it develops a caramelized, deep flavor that store-bought jars just can’t match.
Smooth, velvety, and deeply flavorful, this pumpkin butter is not only heavenly on toast, waffles, or stirred into oatmeal—but it also freezes beautifully, so you can savor the flavor any time of year.
Why This Recipe Is Different
- Rather than stirring in the spices with the rest of the ingredients to simmer, I first like to “toast”, or cook, the spices with 3/4 cup of pumpkin puree to release their warm, aromatic notes that add layers of complexity. It’s similar to what you do when making curry or chili, and makes the end result much more flavorful.
- I use unsweetened apple juice to help loosen the pumpkin purée as it cooks down, allowing it to simmer and thicken slowly without scorching. That’s important! Plus the subtle fruitiness of apple juice enhances and brightens the pumpkin’s flavor, created a more rounded flavor profile.
- At the end of cooking, I found that adding a tablespoon of actual butter gave the pumpkin butter a silky mouthfeel and the perfect texture.
I tested both canned pumpkin and roasted, fresh pumpkin.
The difference in taste was negligible; so small that I don’t think it’s worth the trouble (or expense) of using fresh pumpkin. Fresh pumpkin can vary in sweetness and moisture, making it trickier to get consistent results.
I found that even with different brands of canned pumpkin, they all had a smooth, uniform texture and comparable water content so there are less variables for you to worry about.
No roasting, scooping, or straining — so you get rich, flavorful pumpkin butter in a fraction of the time.
Caramelized Maple Pumpkin Butter (canned pumpkin, stovetop)
This warmly spiced pumpkin butter is rich with caramelized flavor and has the perfect texture from simmering on the stovetop. Cinnamon, ginger, and pure maple syrup are the main stars, with a hint of cardamom and black pepper to make it uniquely delicious. Canned pumpkin puree makes this recipe easy!
Yield: 3 half pints
Ingredients
- 2 (15 ounce) cans pumpkin puree
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- pinch of cardamom
- 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 10 cracks of black pepper
- 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon unsweetened apple juice
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Instructions
- To a medium sized saucepan with high sides, or a saucepot, add 3/4 cup of pumpkin puree and all of the spices. Place on burner and turn to medium. Stir constantly for 3ish minutes, while the spices begin to toast and give off their smell, letting you know their flavors are coming through.
- Then add remaining pumpkin puree, apple juice, brown sugar, maple syrup, lemon juice, and vanilla. Cook over low to medium heat, stirring often, to thicken the mixture. This can take anywhere from 30 to 40ish minutes, depending on how much moisture the pumpkin had. The mixture will sputter and spat a bit, and that is okay. Just make sure the bottom isn't burning.
- The pumpkin butter is finished cooking when it is thick and deeper brownish orange; when you pull a spatula through the pan, no liquid will seep back into the spatula trail.
- Remove from heat and stir in butter. Let cool a bit. (See note below if you'd like it smoother.) Then divide into jars; I like half pint jars. This will keep in the refrigerator for at least 3 weeks. It also freezes very well, just use glass jars and tight lids.
Notes
*To make my pumpkin butter extra smooth, I blend it in a blender once it is cooled. This is certainly not required, but makes it even more velvety.
Did you make this?
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October 7, 2025
