Chestnut Puree Recipe

Chestnut Puree in a bowl with a spoon on the side.

Whether you make a batch to use in your dessert recipes during the Christmas season or you just want to spread some on your morning toast for breakfast with a European flair, this chestnut puree is sure to add a delicious and unique touch to your meals.

Course Condiment

Cuisine French

Diet Gluten Free, Vegetarian

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 25

Total Time 30

Servings servings

Calories 238kcal

Author Aysegul Sanford

Ingredients

2 cups cooked chestnuts* or 16 oz cooked chestnuts drained - 350 g.
2 cups whole milk or almond milk or water
2 tablespoons granulated sugar or cane or coconut sugar
½ vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of kosher salt

Instructions

Place chestnuts, milk, sugar, vanilla bean, and salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
Bring to a boil, turn down the heat to medium heat, and let it simmer, stirring frequently, for 20-25 minutes or until the milk is reduced to ½ cup. After the first 15 minutes, it starts to thicken quite a bit, so keep a close eye on it.
Place a mesh strainer over a bowl and carefully strain the chestnut and milk mixture, saving the liquid at the bottom. Remove the vanilla bean.
Transfer the chestnuts to the bowl of a food processor and process until pureed, stopping and scraping down the sides a few times.
Depending on the recipe you plan to use your chestnut puree, adjust its consistency by adding the reserved liquid as it is blending.

Notes

- Yields: This recipe yields about 1 ½ cups of pureed chestnuts. I listed it as 4 servings but you can adjust the serving size according to the recipe you are using it in. The nutritional values below are per serving based on 4 servings.
Chestnuts: You can buy already cooked and peeled chestnuts from the store or cook your own chestnuts. If you purchase it from the grocery store, make sure the only ingredient listed on the packaging is chestnuts. If you decide to cook them yourself, I recommend following my boiled chestnuts recipe. Alternatively, you can cook chestnuts in the oven or roast them on an open fire, but please be aware that the end product might have a slightly smokier taste.
Sweetener: While the most popular sweetener used in this recipe is granulated sugar, you can use cane sugar, brown sugar, or even coconut sugar as well. The darker sugar varieties provide a toffee-like taste. Alternatively, for a healthier option, you can substitute sugar with a few pitted dates.
Vanilla: If you can’t get your hands on a vanilla bean, you can substitute it with vanilla extract. However, if you use vanilla extract, add it at the very end after the cooking is complete. Otherwise, all the alcohol (and flavors of vanilla) in the vanilla extract will evaporate during the cooking process.
Vanilla bean: When using a vanilla bean, it is best the scrape the beans out of the vanilla pod using a sharp knife. You can still put the whole (scraped) vanilla pot in the cooking liquid for flavor.
Storage: Bring the pureed chestnuts to room temperature and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freeze: Freeze the leftover chestnut puree in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight.

Nutrition