This is the ultimate Pumpkin Pie recipe, complete with step-by-step instructions for making your very own homemade pie crust. It’s smooth and creamy with the perfect blend of pumpkin pie spice all wrapped up in a buttery, flakey crust.
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Homemade Pumpkin Pie
No fall season would be complete in our house without this homemade Pumpkin Pie. The filling is super creamy, rich and pumpkiny and the crust is tender, flakey and so easy to make. In a pinch, you could buy a premade crust but trust us when we say that you can totally do it.
Whether you want to use fresh pumpkin puree or canned is completely up to you. We like it both ways, although canned is far quicker and has that “pumpkin pie flavor” that you may be used to. When in doubt, why not try it both ways!
For a total stunner, top with these Sugared Cranberries and a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream.
If you're looking for more holiday pies and desserts, be sure to to try our Berry Pie, Chocolate Cheesecake, and Nutella Cream Cheese Cake. They're sure to make everyone swoon.
Ingredients in Pumpkin Pie
Pie Crust
- Flour - you can use all-purpose flour for this recipe.
- Salt - any kind of sea salt or finely ground salt will work. ½ teaspoon is about right.
- Crisco - crisco works great because it doesn’t melt as easily as butter. But, you can absolutely substitute cold butter if you’d prefer.
- Water - use super cold water to keep the dough as cool as possible. You can even add ice cubes to the water (just don’t add the ice cubes into the dough).
Tips for the Crust
- You may want to consider blind baking the crust. It will keep your crust from being soggy if it's stored for a couple of days before serving. If you plan to serve it within 24 hours, there's no need to blind bake the crust. Just be sure to use pie weights or dried beans. You can get all the tips and tricks for the best homemade pie crust here.
- You can also use a store-bought crust. You can find them in the refrigerator aisle at the grocery store, by the biscuits. That will take a few minutes off your preparation time. You can also use a frozen pie crust found by the frozen berries at the grocery store. That's a great option too.
- This recipe is for a standard pie crust but a deep dish pie crust will work too. You may consider using 1 ½ pumpkin pie custard recipe and adjusting the baking time as needed.
Pumpkin Pie Filling
- Pumpkin Puree - you can used canned pumpkin puree or make your own.
- Evaporated Milk - this makes your pie silky smooth.
- Brown Sugar - you can use light or dark brown sugar.
- Eggs - any kind of large eggs will work great.
- Baking Spices - we use a blend of cinnamon, ginger and cloves.
- Salt
How to Make this Pumpkin Pie Recipe from Scratch
- Mix the pie dough. In a medium bowl, combine the four and salt. Add the Crisco (or cold butter) and use your fingers to combine. Once the mixture resembles coarse meal, make a well in the center and add the water. Carefully bring the flour mixture from the sides of the bowl into the center with the water and gently mix until combined and the flour is all moistened. Do not overmix or knead!
- Chill. Form the dough into a flat disc, wrap in plastic and let rest in the cooler for about 30 minutes - 1 hour. Note: if you don’t have time, don’t worry about chilling the dough. It’s a good practice, but not 100% necessary with this recipe!
- Roll the dough out. Once the dough has rested, remove from the plastic wrap and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Using a rolling pin, start in the middle of the dough and roll outwards to make a circle. Roll into an evenly thick, round, circle large enough for the dough to hang over your pie plate at least ½".
- Line your pie plate. Carefully line a pie plate with the rolled dough, cutting the excess dough off to leave ½” overhang. Tuck the dough under to create a smooth edge, then use your fingers to crimp the dough into a decorative pattern and set aside.
- Make the filling. In a blender, combine the pumpkin puree, evaporated milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger, cloves and eggs. Blend on low until all of the ingredients are combined, then pour into the prepared pumpkin pie crust.
- Bake. Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven tempreture to 350 degrees and bake for another 45 minutes, or until the filling is set in the center and the crust is golden brown. If the edges of the pie become golden before the baking time is complete, cover the edges with strips of aluminum foil and finish baking.
- Serve. Once the pie has finished baking, remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack to room tempreture before slicing and serving with a scoop of fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
Tips and Tricks
- When it comes to making flakey pie dough, remember to keep your ingredients cold, cold, cold! Using cold butter or Crisco and ice water will help immensely.
- It’s a good idea to chill your pie dough if you have the time, but if you are in a rush you can skip it. This recipe still rolls out nicely without chilling.
- The trick to making sure your Pumpkin Pie doesn’t crack is turning the oven down after 15 minutes of baking, and making sure you don’t overbake it. Once the center is jiggly, it’s done!
Give the pie a gentle little shimmy and if it jiggles in the center, your pie is finished. If it still looks liquidy, keep baking and if you are unsure you can always check whether a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. If your pie crust is starting to brown but the pie hasn’t finished baking, cover the edges of the crust with aluminum foil so that they don’t burn.
Both work great but canned is more consistent. It has that pumpkin pie flavor and texture that you are probably used to. Check out our post on Homemade Pumpkin Puree if you choose to go that route.
Absolutely, and you actually have a few options:
Make and form the pie crust ahead of time and freeze. This way, all you’ll need to do is make the filling and bake.
Make the filling and pie dough the day before. The day of, you’ll just need to line your pie plate, add the filling and bake.
Freeze baked pies. You can freeze your baked Pumpkin Pie, cool completely, cover in aluminum foil and plastic wrap and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
Storing
- Refrigerator: you can also cover and store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: if you plan to freeze your pie, let it cool completely and then wrap in aluminum foil, then plastic wrap. Store frozen for up to 2 months, then thaw in the fridge overnight once you are ready to eat.
Pumpkin Pie Recipe
Ingredients
1 (9 inch) Pie Crust Recipe
- 1 ¼ cups All-Purpose Flour
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 4 oz Crisco or butter
- ⅛ cup Water cold
Pumpkin Pie Filling
- 15 ounces Pumpkin Puree about 1 ¼ cups
- 12 ounces Evaporated Milk or half and half
- ¾ cup Brown Sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoons Salt
- ½ teaspoon Ground Ginger
- ½ teaspoon Ground Cloves
- 2 large Eggs
Instructions
Basic Pie Crust
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the four and salt.
- Add the Crisco (or cold butter) and use your fingers to combine. Once the mixture resembles coarse meal, make a well in the center and add the water.
- Carefully bring the flour mixture from the sides of the bowl into the center with the water and gently mix until combined and the flour is all moistened. Do not overmix or knead!
- Form the dough into a flat disc and wrap in plastic. Let the dough rest in the cooler for about 30 minutes - 1 hour. Note: if you don’t have time, don’t worry about chilling the dough. It’s a good practice, but not 100% necessary with this recipe.
- Once the dough has rested, remove from the plastic wrap and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Use a rolling pin, start in the middle of the dough and roll outwards to make a circle. Roll into an evenly thick, round, circle large enough for the dough to hang over your pie plate at least ½".
- Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and transfer to a 9" pie plate. Cut the excess dough off leaving a ½" dough to hang over the side of the pie plate. Tuck the dough under to create a smooth edge, then use your fingers to crimp the dough into a decorative edge and set aside.
Pumpkin Pie Filling
- In a blender, combine the pumpkin puree, evaporated milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger, cloves and eggs. Blend on low until all of the ingredients are combined, then pour into the prepared pie crust.
Baking
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325 degrees and bake for another 45-50 minutes, or until the filling is set in the center and the crust is golden brown. If the edges of the pie become golden before the baking time is complete, cover the edges with strips of aluminum foil and finish baking.
- Once the pie has finished baking, remove from the oven and let cool before slicing and serving with a scoop of fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Here are some more of our favorite pumpkin recipes:
- Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Baked Pumpkin Rice Pudding
- Pumpkin Cake
- Pumpkin Stuffed French Toast
- No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Einkorn Pumpkin Muffins
- More Dessert Recipes
- More Pie Recipes
- More Holiday Recipes
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This Pumpkin Pie is super creamy and rich with a perfectly tender and flakey homemade pie crust. Follow these step-by-step instructions and you will see just how easy it is to make your own pie right at home. Every family loves this classic Pumpkin Pie Recipe!
Mel
A perfect, classic no-fuss pumpkin pie recipe that tastes just like autumn should! YUM!
Jill Baird
yes! Bring on all the fall flavors!
Ashley
So easy and such a classic. Will definitely make this again this fall!
Jill Baird
so glad you loved it too!