Perfect Pumpkin Pie
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Make the perfect pumpkin pie with a buttery, flaky crust and a smooth, crack-free filling. It’s the ultimate holiday dessert!
Pumpkin pie is a holiday classic, and when it’s done right, it’s as comforting as dessert gets—a smooth, warmly-spiced filling in a flaky, buttery crust. But for such a seemingly simple dessert, pumpkin pie can be tricky to get just right. Over the years, I’ve tested at least a dozen recipes, and I’ve run into every pitfall: fillings that won’t set, unsightly cracks, and soggy crusts. Whoever coined the term “easy as pie” had clearly never baked a pumpkin pie!
Part of the challenge lies in the many variables. The type of pan you use—ceramic, glass, or metal—makes a big difference in how the pie bakes. Then there’s the pie crust—no two homemade crusts behave exactly the same. And finally, like cheesecake or flan, pumpkin pie is a custard, which means you need to pull it from the oven while it’s still a little jiggly. Take it out too early and it won’t set; leave it in too long and it’ll crack. Sometimes, even perfect timing can’t prevent that dreaded crack!
But after years of testing, I’ve cracked the code. This pumpkin pie recipe is perfect in all the ways that matter: a buttery, flaky crust, a smooth, rich filling, and no unsightly cracks. It’s everything a pumpkin pie should be—and it’s easier than you’d think.
Table of Contents
“I’ve been baking pumpkin pie for what seems like an eternity. The custard always cracks. Not this time. And, not only does the the pie look great, its absolutely delicious! Thank you.”
What You’ll Need To Make Homemade Pumpkin Pie
- Pie Crust – The flaky, buttery base for the pumpkin filling; use homemade pie crust or store-bought—whichever you prefer. If you’re going with store-bought, opt for the frozen kind in an aluminum pie pan—it’s easier to blind bake and less likely to shrink.
- Pumpkin – The star of the show, adding rich, earthy flavor and a smooth texture. For the best results, go with Libby’s canned pumpkin puree.
- Egg & egg yolks – The whole egg binds the filling, while the yolks bring extra richness and a silky texture.
- Granulated sugar – Adds sweetness and helps balance the warm spices.
- Light brown sugar – Adds a deeper, molasses-like sweetness that complements the pumpkin.
- All-purpose flour – Slightly thickens and stabilizes the filling to prevent unsightly cracks.
- Salt – Enhances all the flavors and keeps the sweetness in check.
- Spices (ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, black pepper) – This classic pumpkin pie spice blend gives the dessert its warm, signature flavor, with just a hint of heat from the black pepper.
- Evaporated milk – Makes the filling creamy and smooth, giving the pie a luscious, velvety texture.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Blind Bake The Pie Crust
If using a store-bought crust, simply follow the blind-baking instructions on the package. If using a homemade pie dough, roll it out with a rolling pin and fit it snugly into a 9-inch deep-dish pie dish, then chill for at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375°F. Remove the pie crust from the refrigerator and place it on a baking sheet (this makes it easy to move in and out of the oven).
Cover the crust with a piece of parchment paper and fill it about three-quarters full with dried beans or pie weights.
Bake for 20 minutes. Take the crust out of the oven and remove the parchment paper and beans/pie weights.
Bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the dough is dry and golden. Don’t worry if the bottom puffs up; just press it down gently with a flat spatula, taking care not to puncture it. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.
Step 3: Make The Filling
While the crust finishes cooking, combine the pumpkin pie filling ingredients in a large bowl.
Whisk until the mixture is smooth.
Step 4: Bake the Pumpkin Pie
Pour the filling into the pre-baked crust.
Bake the pie for 50 to 60 minutes, until the filling is just set. It should look dry around the edges and the center should jiggle just slightly if you nudge the pan. The pie will look a little puffed when it comes out of the oven, but it will settle as it cools.
Cool the pie on a wire rack (leave it on the baking sheet) to room temperature, a few hours. Slice or refrigerate until ready to serve. Enjoy!
Video Tutorial
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Perfect Pumpkin Pie
Make the perfect pumpkin pie with a buttery, flaky crust and a smooth, crack-free filling. It’s the ultimate holiday dessert!
Ingredients
- 1 homemade pie crust or 9-inch deep-dish frozen pie crust shell (thawed)
- 1 (15-oz) can pure pumpkin (about 1¾ cups)
- 1 large egg
- 3 large eggs yolks
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1¼ cups evaporated milk (you'll need one 12-oz can but you won't use all of it)
Instructions
Blind Bake the Crust
- For homemade crust: Roll out the dough and gently fit it into a (9-inch) deep-dish pie pan, ensuring it's snug against the pan's edges and bottom. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Remove the chilled pie crust from the refrigerator and place it on a baking sheet (this makes it easy to move in and out of the oven). Cover the crust with a piece of parchment paper and fill about three-quarters full with dried beans or pie weights. Bake for 20 minutes. Take the crust out of the oven; remove the parchment paper and beans/pie weights and tent the edges with a few strips of foil folded in half lengthwise (this will protect the edges from getting too dark). Bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the dough is dry and lightly golden. Don't worry if the bottom puffs up; just press it down gently with a flat spatula, such as a pancake turner, taking care not to puncture it. Remove the foil but don't throw it away; you may need it again.
- For frozen crust: Follow the instructions for blind-baking on the package.
- After blind-baking the crust, reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.
Make the Filling
- In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin, egg, egg yolks, granulated sugar, brown sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, pepper, and evaporated milk. Whisk until smooth, then pour the filling into the pre-baked crust.
- Bake the pie for 50 to 60 minutes (at 325°F), until the filling is just set. It should look dry around the edges, but the center should jiggle just slightly if you nudge the pan. Keep a close eye on the pie as it bakes; if ever the crust looks like it's browning too quickly, tent the edges with foil strips. Let the pie cool on a rack (leave it on the baking sheet) to room temperature, a few hours. Slice or refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Make Ahead: Pumpkin pie can be made one day ahead of time and refrigerated.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The dough can be made ahead, wrapped in plastic, and refrigerated for up to 2 days, or frozen for up to 1 month. If you freeze it, thaw it overnight in the refrigerator. The pie can be frozen after baking for up to 1 month. After it is completely cooled, double-wrap it securely with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap, or place it in heavy-duty freezer bag. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (10 servings)
- Calories: 335
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated fat: 8g
- Carbohydrates: 45g
- Sugar: 27g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 6g
- Sodium: 287mg
- Cholesterol: 103mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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This is my new go-to pumpkin pie! I made this pie for Canadian Thanksgiving a couple of weeks ago. I was a bit sceptical of the black pepper, but decided to include it, and to follow the recipe exactly, with no omissions or substitutions. This pie is absolutely delicious, not too sweet, not too spicy, just perfect!
I made this yesterday, it’s the best pumpkin pie I have ever made, to the folks that said it was too runny, just remember you don’t use ALL the evaporated milk.
I made this recipe – the comments were – did you make this? It’s amazing!
I baked this Pumpkin Pie today, and it was the best I’ve made. Light, flavourful and easy to make.
This truly is the perfect pumpkin pie recipe, when it turns out properly. This is the first Once Upon A Chef recipe that I’ve had an issue with inconsistency. I’ve made this pie about 5 times. The first time I made it I baked it for 60 min and it was absolutely perfect. The next 3 times I did the same thing in the same oven with all the same ingredients, including the same store bought pie shell, and after 60 min the pie was still liquid in the middle and was inedible. Most recently I made it with the homemade pie shell linked in the recipe (didn’t love it, don’t think it was worth it compared to a good store bought crust) and again after 60 min it was still liquid in the middle, so I decided to just keep it in the oven until the middle only wobbled a little bit, which ended up being a total of about 70 min. The filling was perfect this most recent time after baking for 70 min. The spices are perfection, including the black pepper – my favourite pumpkin pie (although it’s a bit stressful when it doesn’t follow the cooking time listed in the recipe)!
Hi Hilary! You may need to make sure your oven is calibrated properly. When you’ve set it to 375 it may actually be baking at a lower temperature. This could account for the pie not being fully cooked through in the proper amount of time stated. This can happen to ovens over time. A simple oven thermometer placed inside of your oven will tell you what the temperature actually is and you can adjust your baking time accordingly. Hope this helps!
Hi Jenn, happy Canadian Thanksgiving. I am planning to make your pumpkin pie and am wondering what the difference is between using whole eggs versus yolks only.
Hi Stella, Happy Canadian Thanksgiving! The egg yolks help to prevent cracks and add richness to the filling. Enjoy!
YUM! Thank you Jenn for this amazing recipe. I’ve made a few of your other recipes and they’ve always turned out great! This time I made a pie, subbing honey nut squash, pumpkin pie spice, pinch of black pepper and 1 cup of sucanat—it came out fantastic—texture was firm and custardy; great creaminess, not to sweet; a key seemed to be blind-baking the bakery-bought crust. Would definitely repeat and recommend. I used the left-over pie filling in a ramekin to make a crust-less custard.
This is the best (and easiest) pumpkin pie I’ve made so far! Admittedly, I omitted the black pepper because even in everyday cooking I don’t enjoy the taste BUT, I don’t doubt that it would be good for others. I otherwise like the amount of spice – this is what was missing for me in other recipes I made.
The oven temp and bake times were also spot on for me – finished at 55 mins. Our old oven was not getting nearly hot enough without me knowing for months before it just died altogether. Every pie I had tried to make came out raw so, definitely worth checking your oven’s temperature with a probe thermometer if yours is coming out runny!
Per my son’s request, I made this pumpkin pie for Christmas lunch yesterday and it was absolutely delicious! I followed the recipe exactly and it was amazing (if I do say so myself!). I also made your Creamy Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potato Casserole, and Turkey Gravy and it was all perfect.
Side note, before the pandemic I didn’t know how to cook (could do little more than mac and cheese out of a box). Locked up at home, I discovered your blog and then your cookbooks and have made over 100 of your recipes since then! (No joke, I’ve actually counted) You have literally changed my life and made me a confident baker and cook – my family and I are soooo happy and every recipe is delicious without fail! Thank you for sharing your talents and knowledge with us!
Wow, good for you Irene!! And I’m flattered that my recipes have played a small part in increasing your confidence in the kitchen! 🙂
What a great review! You make me want to attempt my first effort at making a pumpkin pie. (By the way, I’m a huge fan of Jenn’s chai banana bread.)
Appears to be a sentence or two missing in the section about prebaking the pie crust. Says to put the weights in, then take them out and put back in oven. Ummm
Oh my gosh, thanks for pointing that out! Updating it now…