It’s Finally Here: My Easy Pumpkin Pie Recipe
After sharing dozens of pumpkin recipes over the past few years, I’m finally caving and sharing the big one, the one I get requests for daily this time of year but have always shied away from… pumpkin pie! If you follow me on Instagram, you know this recipe took quite a few tries to nail down and that I avoided this recipe for years because, well, while I don’t like pumpkin, I absolutely loathe pumpkin pie. I know, I said it! In order to make sure this one turned out absolutely perfect, I had to enlist the help of Zach as well as half a dozen other taste-testers, while my pumpkin-snob-self turned up my nose at each one. Tack on being pregnant and particularly pumpkin-averse and I had a rough few weeks getting this one just right. BUT, we did it! After rigorous research, testing and taste-testing this is the perfect pumpkin pie. Rich, smooth, sweet, and perfectly spiced, my pumpkin pie recipe is utterly divine… at least that’s what they tell me (I did try it myself! I even tried it at the end of today’s video so you can see for yourself!). It’s also incredibly easy to make, which was important for me since this pie is typically made around Thanksgiving when you’re probably juggling dozens of other recipes at the same time. We start out with my chilled homemade pie crust, which is filled with a velvety pumpkin custard. Then top it all off with piles of pillowy homemade whipped cream, of course. I know you’re excited for this one, so let’s get right to the details!
What You Need
There are a few unique twists in my easy pumpkin pie recipe, including swapping in brown sugar for granulated and using heavy cream instead of evaporated milk. This results in a beautiful texture and flavor that truly makes this the best pumpkin pie recipe. Here’s everything you’ll need:
Pie dough. Blind bake your pie crust before filling to avoid a soggy bottom. I highly recommend using my easy pie crust recipe for best taste, but you could use a pre-made crust if that’s what you prefer. Pumpkin. Make sure you use pure pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling. When you check the ingredients on the can, the only ingredient listed should be pumpkin–nothing else. I recommend canned pumpkin for this recipe for best results.Brown Sugar. I expected to use a blend of granulated and brown sugar, but found that all brown sugar provided a depth that pairs beautifully with the spices without being too much. Vanilla. I add a good bit of vanilla extract to give my pie a rich, smooth flavor. Spices. After MUCH taste testing, I decided ginger, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg provided the perfect flavor (not surprisingly, all the same spices used in my pumpkin spice recipe). Some pumpkin pie recipes use cloves as well, but in my opinion (and in that of many of my taste-testers!) the cloves overwhelmed the flavor of the pie and gave it too much of a gingerbread taste. Salt. Just a pinch of salt adds balance to the flavor while keeping things from being too sweet. Eggs. Pumpkin pie is a custard-based pie, and we need eggs to form our custard. Ideally, they’ll be room temperature when you add them. Make sure you lightly beat them before adding them to the rest of the filling; I’ve found that being too rough when combining the eggs and the filling can cause cracks, so be gentle. Cream. I considered and tested a number of different options to make the filling for this recipe including evaporated milk, whole milk, cream, and even condensed milk. High fat cream won out every time. It makes a smooth, perfectly textured pie. Heavy cream, double cream, or whipping cream will work.
SAM’S TIP: If you don’t have brown sugar on hand, save yourself a trip to the store and make my homemade brown sugar recipe! All you need is granulated sugar and molasses.
How to Make the Best Pumpkin Pie
SAM’S TIP: The leaf decorations that you see in some of the photos are simply scraps of pie crust that’s been cut into shapes and baked. Technically, these are called “pie crust cookies,” and they’re a great way to use up pie dough scraps. I’ll be sharing an easy tutorial for them in the near future…stay tuned! Enjoy!
More Recipes You Might Like
Pecan Pie RecipeThe Best Apple PieHow to Make a Lattice Pie Crust
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
More Pumpkin Recipes to Try:
