Bursting with flavor, this pumpkin pie recipe is my very favorite. It’s rich, smooth, and tastes incredible on my homemade pie crust and served with sugared cranberries and whipped cream.
Pumpkin cookies, pumpkin bars, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin cupcakes, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cake, and pumpkin Bundt cake, but HELLO what about pumpkin pie?? My Great Pumpkin Pie Recipe is here today.
Did you know that testing the perfect pumpkin pie recipe is a lot more challenging than one would assume!? Fresh pumpkin, canned pumpkin, ginger, no ginger, brown sugar, white sugar, cornstarch, flour, no cornstarch, no flour…?
But I finally I cracked the pumpkin pie code. I grew up in a house of pumpkin pie lovers and absolutely no Thanksgiving was complete without a nap and a massive slice of pumpkin pie. What I’m trying to say is, my pumpkin pie standards are high for this classic Thanksgiving dessert.
Pie Crust
Let’s start with the pie crust. Every pumpkin pie has to start with a stellar pie crust. My homemade pie crust uses a mix of shortening and butter so you get the most buttery tasting, tender, flaky (so flaky) pie crust. It’s easy to make. And I have a video tutorial and step-by-step photos in my pie crust recipe.
If you skip the leaf decorations on top, you’ll have a 2nd pie crust you can use to make leftover turkey pot pie or mini pecan pies! Or if you like extra thick pie crust, use some of your 2nd pie crust to make a decorative crimped or fluted edge. My how to crimp and flute pie crust tutorial will walk you through all the steps.
Fresh or Canned Pumpkin in Pumpkin Pie?
I tested this recipe with both and I truly liked the pie using canned pumpkin better. The canned pumpkin pumpkin pie (say that 3 times fast) was a little more sturdy when baked for the same amount of time. The pie baked with fresh pumpkin puree tasted grainy and a little… herbaceous? I prefer using fresh pumpkin puree in savory recipes, not desserts. This is your call, you can use either fresh or canned pumpkin.
Other Ingredients in Pumpkin Pie
- Eggs. Eggs set up the pumpkin pie filling. They give the filling its rich, luxurious texture.
- Heavy cream. Heavy cream makes pumpkin pie silky smooth. It’s thick, creamy, and absolutely heavenly in this pumpkin pie recipe. I use 1 cup of heavy cream and 1/4 cup of milk. I found that 1 and 1/4 cups of heavy cream (or more) was simply too much. Too thick, too gloppy! You can also use the heavy cream to make homemade whipped cream for the topping.
- Cornstarch. A starch thickener is one of the most important ingredients in a pie filling. I use a touch of cornstarch in my pumpkin pie because it helps set up the pie. Makes it a little sturdier and firm, while keeping everything smooth.
My Secret Ingredient
This sounds so incredibly weird, but I add freshly ground black pepper to my pumpkin pie filling. It’s bizarre, I know. But I’m being serious. I got this tip from the genius kitchen crew over at King Arthur Baking. And I am forever grateful. Because this little addition turns your pumpkin pie into the BEST pumpkin pie. No one will know it’s there except for you. And they will all be wondering what makes this spiced pie so good… it’s a pinch of pepper.
I actually add it to my homemade pumpkin pie spice blend, too! Feel free to replace the ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and black pepper below with my homemade spice. (Keep the cinnamon in the filling though!)
How to Avoid Cracks in Pumpkin Pie
Silky yet thick, this pumpkin pie cuts beautifully as long as it is baked for the right amount of time. The bake time is about 55-60 minutes. At this time, the center of the pumpkin pie will be slightly wobbly. It will set as it cools. Careful not to overcook; overcooking it will cause the filling to crack.
P.S.: For some fun twists on this classic, try this recipe as mini pumpkin pies, with a crunch topping on pecan praline pumpkin pie, or with extra spices in chai pumpkin meringue pie. You can also make a pumpkin cheesecake pie!
So from my kitchen to yours, enjoy The Great Pumpkin Pie Recipe. And if you’re looking for more inspiration for your dessert table, here are all of our favorite Thanksgiving pies and a list of 30+ pumpkin dessert recipes.
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The Great Pumpkin Pie Recipe
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour, 5 minutes (includes blind bake)
- Total Time: 5 hours (includes cooling)
- Yield: serves 8-10; 1 cup sugared cranberries
- Category: Pie
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Bursting with flavor, this pumpkin pie recipe is my very favorite. It’s rich, smooth, and tastes incredible on my homemade pie crust and served with whipped cream. The pie crust leaves are purely for decor, you can leave those off of the pie and only make 1 pie crust. You can also leave off the sugared cranberries.
Ingredients
Sugared Cranberries
- 1 cup (100g) fresh cranberries (do not use frozen)
- 3/4 cup (180ml) water
- 1 and 1/4 cups (250g) granulated sugar, divided
Pumpkin Pie
- Homemade Pie Dough (full recipe makes 2 crusts: 1 for bottom, 1 for leaf decor)
- egg wash: 1 large egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon milk
- one 15-ounce can (425g) pumpkin puree*
- 3 large eggs
- 1 and 1/4 cups (250g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon (8g) cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger*
- 1/4 teaspoon ground or freshly grated nutmeg*
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves*
- 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
- 1/4 cup (60ml) milk
Instructions
- If garnishing with sugared cranberries, make those first: If you want to decorate the pie with sugared cranberries, start them the night before because they need to sit for several hours. Place cranberries in a large heatproof bowl. Set aside. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, bring the water and 3/4 cup (150g) of sugar to a simmer, whisking until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the pan from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Pour the sugar syrup over the cranberries and stir. Cover the bowl and set aside for 15 minutes. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cranberries from the sugar syrup and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Allow to dry, uncovered, for 1 hour. Pour remaining 1/2 cup (100g) sugar into a large bowl. Toss the cranberries in the sugar, coating them all the way around. Place on a parchment paper- or silicone baking mat-lined baking sheet and let them dry uncovered for at least 1 hour at room temperature or in the refrigerator. Cover tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. For more uses, see how to make sugared cranberries.
- Make the pie crust through step 5 according to my directions and video tutorial in my pie crust recipe. Or use your favorite pie dough or store-bought.
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Roll out the chilled pie crust:Â Remove 1 disc of pie dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough out into a 12-inch circle. Make sure to turn the dough about a quarter turn after every few rolls. Carefully place the dough into a 9×2-inch deep dish pie dish (this is the one I use; it is 1.75-inches deep). Tuck it in with your fingers, making sure it’s tightly pressed into the pie dish. Fold any dough overhang back into the dish to form a thick rim around the edges. Crimp the edges with a fork or flute the edges with your fingers. Review my how to crimp and flute pie crust tutorial if you need extra help with this step. Brush edges lightly with egg wash mixture.
- Par-bake the crust: Line the pie crust with parchment paper. Crunching up the parchment paper is helpful so that you can easily shape it into the crust. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. (Note that you will need at least 2 standard sets of pie weights to fit.) Make sure the weights/beans are evenly distributed around the pie dish. Par-bake the crust for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the parchment paper/pie weights. Prick the bottom of the crust all over with a fork to create steam vents and return crust (without weights) to the oven for 7-8 more minutes or until the bottom is *just* starting to brown. (Review this how to par-bake pie crust page if you need extra help with this par-baking step.)
- Make the pumpkin pie filling: Whisk the pumpkin, 3 eggs, and brown sugar together until combined. Add the cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, pepper, heavy cream, and milk. Vigorously whisk until everything is combined.
- Pour pumpkin pie filling into the warm crust. Only fill the crust about 3/4 of the way up. (If using a deep dish pie dish as instructed, you should only have a little filling leftover. Use extra to make mini pies with leftover pie dough scraps if you’d like.) Bake the pie until the center is almost set, about 55-60 minutes give or take. A small part of the center will be wobbly—that’s ok. After 25 minutes of baking, be sure to cover the edges of the crust with aluminum foil or use a pie crust shield to prevent the edges from getting too brown. Check for doneness at minute 50, and then 55, and then 60, etc.
- Once done, transfer the pie to a wire rack and allow to cool completely for at least 3 hours before garnishing and serving.
- Decorate with sugared cranberries and pie crust leaves (see note). You’ll definitely have leftover cranberries… they’re tasty for snacking. Serve pie with whipped cream if desired.
- Cover leftovers tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Pumpkin pie freezes well, up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving. Pie crust dough freezes well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using. If decorating your pie with sugared cranberries, start them the night before. You’ll also begin the pie crust the night before as well (the dough needs at least 2 hours to chill; overnight is best). The filling can be made the night before as well. In fact, I prefer it that way. It gives the spices, pumpkin, and brown sugar flavors a chance to infuse and blend. It’s awesome. Cover and refrigerate overnight. No need to bring to room temperature before baking.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | Saucepan | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Rolling Pin | 9-inch Pie Dish | Pastry Brush | Pie Weights | Whisk | Pie Crust Shield | Cooling Rack | Fall Cookie Cutters
- Cranberries: Use fresh cranberries, not frozen. The sugar syrup doesn’t coat evenly on the frozen berries, leaving you with rather ugly and some very plain shriveled cranberries.
- Pumpkin: Canned pumpkin is best in this pumpkin pie recipe. I use and recommend Libby’s brand. If using fresh pumpkin puree, lightly blot it before adding to remove some moisture. The bake time may be longer.
- Spices: Instead of ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and pepper, you can use 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. Be sure to still add 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon.
- Pie Crust: No matter if you’re using homemade crust or store-bought crust, pre-bake the crust. (Step 5.) You can use graham cracker crust if you’d like, but the slices may get a little messy. Pre-bake for 10 minutes just as you do with regular pie crust in this recipe. No need to use pie weights if using a cookie crust.
- Pie Crust Leaves: On a floured work surface, roll out one of the balls of chilled dough (keep the other one in the refrigerator). Roll out into any shape you really want (doesn’t matter) and 1/8 inch thickness. Using leaf cookie cutters, cut into shapes. Brush each lightly with the beaten egg + milk mixture. Cut leaf veins into leaves using a sharp knife, if desired. Place onto a parchment paper or silicone baking mat-lined baking sheet and bake at 350°F (177°C) for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove and set aside to cool before decorating pie.
- Mini Pumpkin Pies: Many have asked about a mini version. Here are my mini pumpkin pies. They’re pretty easy—no blind baking the crust!
Pie Crust Leaves
My pie crust recipe makes enough for two crusts. So with the extra dough, you can make adorable leaves for decoration on your pumpkin pie. Or any pie, really. I’ve seen the pie crust leaves baked directly on top of the rim of the pie—and I tried that—but was not thrilled with the results. Too much uneven baking. The underside of the leaves weren’t really cooked through and the tops got a little burnt (even through my pie shield). So, to make things easier, just bake the pie crust leaves separately and place them on top of your pie before serving. You can also sprinkle them with a little cinnamon-sugar right before baking. I was going to do that, but I forgot.
My leaf cookie cutters (affiliate link) don’t have “veins” so I made leaf veins myself using a sharp paring knife. It’s tedious, but if you want authentic looking leaves you can go ahead. Don’t worry if your veins aren’t perfect. That’s a weird sentence.
My directions for the leaves are in the print-out recipe above.
I made this twice, the 2nd time I reduced the sugar to 200 grams and it is still sweet. I didn’t like the color of the dark brown sugar so I will use light brown sugar the next time. But there is something still off, it tastes salty (the cornstarch?) and there is too much of a spice, but I don’t know which one? I’ll play with this again next year.
So good. So good. So good! This should be the recipe on the back of the Libby’s pumpkin can. It’s absolutely fantastic.
This recipe is easy and absolutely delicious! I used dark brown sugar and the deep mahogany color was just beautiful. Using the individual spices, instead of standard pumpkin pie spice, and the black pepper is definitely a stand out. Everyone loved. This recipe is a keeper!
Thank you for the recipe it was delicious! I will use this from now on
This was the best pumpkin pie recipe I have ever made. So many compliments! I painted the leaves with a yellow food coloring wash. I used the leftover filling in my pancake batter the next morning and it was amazing!
I was not a pumpkin pie person until I made this for my husband. It turned out so well I made again for Thanksgiving. I was told it was the best pumpkin pie ever and they want to make it! I did make one change by using 5 eggs. It was like a pumkin custard.
Pumpkin perfection, thank you!
We loved this one turned out perfectly. Thank you!
This is pretty near perfection. I think it could handle a little bit more cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg but perhaps adding a teaspoon of vanilla might be the trick to elevating the spice flavor a hint more. The texture of this pie is silky and elegant, some pumpkin pies can feel too thick and this one has a moisture on the palate feeling. I did not taste the cornstarch or any other ingredient in front, it was a harmonious flavor. I think the sweetness is ideal. I used fresh ginger and all organic ingredients including the canned pumpkin and my own pate brise. This is going in my best Thanksgiving recipes notebook.
This is hands-down the BEST pumpkin pie recipe I had EVER made…and we even tested it one year against Paula Deen’s…no competition. We do multiple pies with this recipe every year for Thanksgiving and they don’t last long. Yummy!
The BEST pumpkin pie recipe ever. Great flavor. I have made this for three years now and it is always a hit.
My family is filled with knowledgable foodies. They could not stop raving about this pumpkin pie. I and 68 years old will no longer search for the perfect pumpkin pie — I finally found it!
Turned out SO GOOD for Thanksgiving. Thank you, Sally!! I ended up making French toast with the leftover filling mix (added an additional egg) and that was amazing too!
when and where to use egg wash?
Hi Carol, the last line of step 4: Roll out the chilled pie crust, is to brush edges lightly with egg wash mixture.
I can not thank you enough for sharing this recipe! The BEST pumpkin pie I’ve ever made!
This pie was a HIT at Thanksgiving dinner. It’s now been requested for all Fall/Winter parties. Very easy and beautiful!
I generally love recipes from this site but this was very sweet and I could definitely taste the cornstarch. I have never added this before and it made it taste almost “powdery “ the ground black pepper is an old Edna Lewis trick 🙂
Best pumpkin pie I’ve ever had or made! Hands down!
This recipe is pure perfection. I made it as written, and it turned out beautifully – especially with the sugared cranberries and leaf decorations. The only thing I had an issue with was that the egg wash darkened too much and gave the pie edges a ‘burnt’ look. Maybe next time I’ll skip that step, or do the wash later in the baking process. This will be my forever pumpkin pie recipe.
not my favorite pumpkin pie—nor did my company love it. the flavor was a bit mild and the texture more souffle-like than a dense pumpkin pie. the crust was good and loved the leaf cutouts on top
I have to take back my comment–the pie was much better the next day. It sounds odd but a day in the fridge made the difference.
I loved this recipe and so did my best friend’s husband who doesn’t even like pumpkin pie!!
I have never liked pumpkin pie until I tried this recipe. Highly recommend using Vietnamese cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg. Pie crust tutorial is really good; I prefer a 3/4 butter 1/4 lard crust/
Can’t rate it yet, it is still cooling. I accidentally had my oven set at 425 so not sure how it will turn out. I have another pie dough in freezer getting ready for my second attempt. I can’t find any info on temp except for baking the pie crust at 375 is it the same for the pie?
I am excited to try this pie, will let you know. I hope I did not ruin the one tgat I already baked.
I love your recipes, but I found this to be too sugary and filling tasted like custard with a hint of pumpkin. Sorry. I threw it out because it was just too sweet.
This was the best pumpkin pie recipe and maybe my most favorite Thanksgiving pie that I have ever made. It was popular among every age group and even among the apple pie lovers at our table. Thank you!
Curious if it makes a difference on which milk to use- whole milk? 2%?
Hi Sophia, I usually use whole milk but 2% milk works just fine.
I have always used the recipe on the side of canned pumpkin and have always made one normal pumpkin pie and one chocolate chip pumpkin pie. Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it! Yum! I’ve never been a fan of pumpkin pie without the chocolate chips.
I made Sally’s pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving 2023, and it is so delicious!! Even without the chocolate chips!
I had to make subs due to my dairy allergy- I used canned coconut cream and canned coconut milk. I also added a full tsp of salt due to me having POTS and needing more salt in everything.
I highly recommend this recipe. I will always make this pumpkin pie for the holidays going forward. Thank you for sharing! (I love the added black pepper!)
Perfect Pumpkin and Apple pie recipes with your All butter pie crust….DELICIOUS.I made for our Thanksgiving lunch yesterday!!!
I can always rely for a great recipe. I was a little worried because I actually hate black pepper, but it worked out! I also added some tumeric because why not. Fortunately that worked too haha. Any advice for reheating?
We recommend serving this pie at room temperature or cold, so reheating isn’t really necessary!
Could you elaborate how much cinnamon I still need to add when using pumpkin pie spice in this recipe? Thank you! Every one of your recipes turns out amazing and my friends and family love that I’ve found a favorite site for baking recipes!
Hi Devin, instead of ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and pepper, you can use 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. Be sure to still add 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon in addition to that.
Even if my store bought pumpkin spice has cinnamon in it as well?