Here's How Long Canned Pumpkin Is Good For After Being Opened

Canned pumpkin, or pumpkin purée, is available year-round on grocery store shelves, but its time to shine is during the fall and early winter months — it's just as good, after all, as scratch-made pumpkin purée — with families gathering around the table for holiday desserts like pumpkin pie, pumpkin rolls, moist homemade pumpkin bread, and pumpkin cheesecake – there are so many ways to use canned pumpkin. While some recipes call for an entire can, many do not, so you might be wondering how long you have to use up the rest before it can start to go bad.

Canned pumpkin is a low-acid food, and as such, it is best used within four days with proper storage in the refrigerator. (It may be good for up to a week in the fridge, but you'll have to use your best judgment and check for signs of spoilage past the four-day mark.) While you absolutely can keep it in the can for storage (perhaps with a bit of plastic wrap and a rubber band to hold it in place for a cover), removing it and placing it instead into a plastic or glass container with an airtight lid will help it keep its pumpkin-y flavor better.

If you're about to hit day four and have no plans in sight for that canned pumpkin, freezing it for later is always an option. You will have to remove it from the can and place it in an airtight container, but if you're really thinking ahead, you can freeze it in perfectly portioned silicone molds, like these 1-cup trays from Ztomine, or these trays with smaller cubes from Excnorm. This way, you don't have to defrost all of the canned pumpkin at once when you only need a little bit.

Canned pumpkin retains its best flavor for up to three months in the freezer, so make sure you date the container to help keep track of how long it's been (it will stay edible indefinitely, but after three months its quality will begin to degrade). Freezing canned pumpkin also gains you some extra fridge time; if you allow it to defrost in the refrigerator, it can be used for up to four days (but again, keep an eye out for signs of spoilage sooner).

Canned pumpkin may start to spoil before the seven-day or even four-day mark, so it's important to know the signs so you don't accidentally ingest it after it has turned. The first thing you will likely notice is a change in color, where the canned pumpkin has darkened from its original orange hue.

If you open it and notice that the texture has changed from its smooth consistency to a watery one, or it has developed a film or slime on it, your canned pumpkin has likely turned and should be thrown out. Canned pumpkin that has gone bad will also change from its initial, pleasantly sweet smell to a more sour and possibly even rancid odor (depending on how far gone it is).

Finally, if you see mold on your canned pumpkin, it's really time to throw out whatever is leftover in your container. The mold on top or on the sides of the container is just the beginning; there are very likely roots and spores all throughout.