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Classic Pumpkin Pie Recipe

This easy homemade Pumpkin Pie Recipe makes the best pumpkin pie! This pumpkin pie from scratch is quick and easy to make. It’s perfect for Thanksgiving or the holidays!

A slice of homemade pumpkin pie is one of my favorite desserts during the fall and holiday season. I’ve updated my best pumpkin pie recipe with new photos and an improved recipe and instructions. Keep reading for all of my best pumpkin pie baking tips!

I’ve tested many, many pumpkin pie recipes and what I’ve found is that you don’t need complicated or time-consuming steps to make the best pumpkin pie. To make a delicious pumpkin pie worthy of your holiday table, it’s as simple as whisking together a few ingredients for the filling, pouring it into an unbaked pie crust, and baking the pie. This pumpkin pie is about as easy and delicious as it gets, even for beginning bakers.

My pumpkin pie recipe starts with a homemade buttery, flaky pie crust, although you can use store-bought if you’re short on time. The pumpkin pie filling is luscious and creamy and perfectly spiced with pumpkin pie spices, including cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. You are going to love this easy pumpkin pie!

Canned Pumpkin or Fresh Pumpkin for Pumpkin Pie?

I’ve tested this pie both with canned pumpkin puree and homemade pumpkin puree. Honestly, I prefer this pie with canned pumpkin. Fresh pumpkin has more moisture, so if you choose to use fresh, you’ll want to remove some of the moisture. You can do this by putting the pumpkin puree in a strainer lined with cheesecloth, and then letting it sit in your refrigerator for 1-2 hours.

Do you need to blind bake pie crust for pumpkin pie?

This might be controversial but… I don’t blind bake my pie crust for pumpkin pie. Blind baking means to partially pre-bake your pie shell, before adding the filling.

Many people will insist that pre-baking the crust is a necessary step, but this pumpkin pie is every bit as delicious without blind baking the crust. I choose not to blind bake my crust because it saves me time and effort. I’ve said it before, but I’m all about skipping steps that aren’t totally necessary in the kitchen. When I’ve tried to blind bake, the edges of my pie crust have shrunk down, although these tips might help with that.

If you want to blind bake your pie crust, you certainly can. You’ll first line the empty pie crust with parchment paper. Then fill it with pie weights, dry beans or rice to weigh it down and prevent it from puffing up. Bake the crust for 10-15 minutes at 375° F. Then remove the pie weights and parchment before adding your filling.

How to Make Pumpkin Pie

There are two parts to pumpkin pie: the crust and the pumpkin filling. First, let’s talk about the crust and then we’ll get to the filling.

Store-Bought vs. Homemade Pumpkin Pie Crust

If you want to save time, you can use a store-bought pie crust to make your pumpkin pie. If you choose to make my homemade pie crust recipe, I promise you it’s really simple to do. Even following the homemade pie dough instructions in the recipe card below, you can still have this pie ready to go in the oven in just about 30 minutes.

You can make the pie crust in a food processor or by hand. My pie dough rolls out like a dream and you can roll it out right away – no chilling required before rolling!

Once you’ve rolled out your pie crust, fit it into a 9-inch pie dish. You can crimp the edges of the crust using your fingers. Then chill the pie crust while you make the pumpkin filling.

Pumpkin Pie Filling

The pumpkin filling for this pie is a simple mixture of ingredients: pumpkin puree, eggs, heavy whipping cream, milk, brown sugar, cornstarch, salt and spices. The cornstarch acts as a thickener and helps the pie filling to set up. Whole milk is best in this pie recipe because the fat makes the filling rich and creamy.

You’ll whisk everything together in one bowl until it is very well combined.

How Long to Bake Pumpkin Pie

Once your filling is ready you’ll pour it into your pie shell. Bake pumpkin pie at 375° F for about 50-60 minutes, until the filling is almost set in the center. The pie is done when the center wiggles a little bit when you gently shake the pie.

How to Prevent Cracks in Pumpkin Pie

Cracks can form in pumpkin pie when it is baked for too long. To prevent your pie from cracking in the center, take it out of the oven when the center is still a little jiggly. The pie will set up more as it cools.

If you do get a crack in your pie, don’t worry! The pie will taste just as delicious. You can hide the crack with whipped cream or pie crust shapes, if desired. To make pie crust shapes, roll out extra pie dough and cut into shapes using small cookie cutters, such as leaf or heart shapes. Bake the pie crust shapes on a parchment-lined baking sheet at 350°F for 8-10 minutes, until lightly browned.

Homemade pumpkin pie, served with whipped cream, is always a part of my family’s holiday celebrations. I’m sure you’ll agree, this is the best pumpkin pie recipe! I also have recipes for Chocolate Pumpkin Pie and the perfect Apple Pie that you might want to try next.

If you make your own pumpkin puree, be sure to save the seeds to make my crunchy roasted pumpkin seeds.

Classic Pumpkin Pie Recipe

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5 from 4 votes

This easy homemade Pumpkin Pie Recipe makes the best pumpkin pie! This pumpkin pie from scratch is quick and easy to make. It's perfect for Thanksgiving or the holidays!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword pumpkin pie, pumpkin pie filling, pumpkin pie recipe, Thanksgiving

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time55 mins

Total Time1 hr 25 mins

Servings 8 servings

Calories 390kcal

Ingredients

For the crust:

• ▢ 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
• ▢ 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter (cut into cubes)
• ▢ 4 tablespoons ice-cold water

For the filling:

• ▢ 15 ounce can (1 ¾ cups) pure pumpkin puree ((not pumpkin pie filling), or use homemade pumpkin puree*)
• ▢ 3 eggs
• ▢ ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
• ▢ ½ cup whole milk
• ▢ ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon allspice
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Make the pie crust:

• Place flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. (Alternatively, the pie dough may be made by hand in a large bowl using a pastry cutter to blend in the butter and a fork to bring the dough together.)
• Add the cold butter cubes and pulse until the largest pieces of butter are the size of small peas, about 8 pulses. Add the ice-cold water and pulse until the dough just comes together, adding more water by the teaspoonful as needed.
• Turn dough out onto a floured work surface and form into a round disk. Roll the dough into a 12-inch round. Transfer dough round to a 9-inch pie dish that is 2 inches deep by wrapping it partway around the rolling pin. Trim the dough edges as needed around the pie plate and then fold edges under. Use your fingers to crimp the edges of the pie crust as desired. Place pie crust in refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

Make the pumpkin pie filling:

• Preheat oven to 375° F.
• In a large bowl, combine pumpkin puree, eggs, heavy whipping cream, milk and brown sugar. Whisk until smooth. Add the cornstarch, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and salt. Whisk until well combined.
• Pour the filling into the unbaked pie crust. Bake at 375° for 50-60 minutes. Halfway through baking, check on the pie and loosely tent the pie with foil or use pie protectors as needed to prevent over-browning of the crust. The pie is done when the center jiggles just a bit when you wiggle the pan. The pie will continue to set up as it cools.
• Cool pie on a wire rack for at least 3 hours and then transfer to the refrigerator to chill for a few hours or overnight before serving. The pie flavor will develop overnight and it will taste even better on the second day. Store pumpkin pie in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, wrapped tightly with plastic wrap.

Notes

*If you use fresh homemade pumpkin puree, I recommend draining it to remove some of the moisture. This can be done by placing the pumpkin puree in a strainer lined with cheesecloth and placing it over a bowl in your refrigerator for 1-2 hours. The liquid can be saved and used in place of water or milk in bread recipes. It's a good source of beta-carotene!

Nutrition

Serving: 1/8 pie | Calories: 390kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 124mg | Sodium: 197mg | Potassium: 242mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 9145IU | Vitamin C: 2.4mg | Calcium: 96mg | Iron: 2.1mg

Nutrition information is an estimate.

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