This Classic Pumpkin Pie is easy to make and full of pumpkin and spices! It’s the perfect classic pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving!
Pumpkin pie is my favorite dessert for Thanksgiving! It’s just not Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie. I love the entire meal of course, but no matter what or how full I am there is ALWAYS space for pumpkin pie.
And if you’re like my dad and I, it’s not just about the pumpkin pie but also the whipped cream. My dad likes a little pie with his whipped cream. I like a little more pie than that, but don’t even bother giving me pumpkin pie without plenty of whipped cream. One without the other is just no good. 🙂
And not all pumpkin pies are equal. There’s quite variety in taste and texture and after years of trying pie after pie from different places, I finally decided to test pumpkin pies galore and have a delicious homemade recipe to come back to year after year. I can’t wait to make it in a few weeks for Thanksgiving!
I tested and tested and this final pumpkin pie is the one! I messed around with the amount of spices, the kind of milk used, the sugar and the number of eggs. The final pie is easy to make and totally delicious!
The first thing I tested was the milk. There are so many options. Heavy whipping cream, regular milk (I used 2% in my testing), sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk. Ultimately, I found heavy whipping cream to be the best. It produced the creamiest pie in my opinion. Milk was a little blah for me. The sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk seemed fairly similar to me and were good, but I preferred the heavy cream. Ultimately, I used mostly heavy whipping cream and a touch of milk to keep it from getting to be too much and it was just right.
Next was the sugar. You could use regular white sugar, light brown sugar or dark brown sugar. While none are bad, light brown was definitely my favorite. I personally found the dark brown sugar to be too much and kind of take away from the pumpkin flavor a bit. White sugar was fine, but the brown sugar added more flavor and was the perfect one for me.
As for the eggs and spices, I preferred 3 eggs over 4 and loved a good bit of cinnamon. But of course I’m a cinnamon fanatic! You could easily adjust them, but I really did love the final mix of the spices.
One of the wonderful things about a pumpkin pie is that it’s SO easy to make! It’s really just a matter of combining all the ingredients and pouring them into a pie crust to bake. I used a refrigerated pie crust and did pre-bake it. I prefer pre-baking for a flakier crust. I like to use little pie weights to keep it from puffing up like crazy when it bakes. As for mixing ingredients – you just whisk them together! There is an order to adding things though – first the pumpkin, eggs and brown sugar, then everything else. Though it seems like it wouldn’t make a difference to change up that order, it does! Please, please follow the instructions. Believe it or not, changing it can actually cause cracks in the final pie.
As far as cracking, also be sure not to over bake the pie. Custard pies definitely crack when over baked. You want to bake it until the edges are set and the center is just set but still jiggly. When the pie cools on the counter after you take it out of the oven, it’ll continue cooking and then finally firm up when it’s refrigerated.
The final pie is pumpkin pie heaven! I love the final taste, texture and ease of making it! I hope you love it too!
Classic Pumpkin Pie
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 10-12 Slices
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Classic Pumpkin Pie is easy to make and full of pumpkin flavor and Autumn spices! It’s the perfect pumpkin pie recipe for Thanksgiving!
Ingredients
- Refrigerated pie crust
- 15 oz can pumpkin puree
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup (225g) packed light brown sugar
- 2 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 cup (240ml) heavy whipping cream, room temperature
- 1/4 cup (60ml) milk, room temperature
Instructions
1. Place the pie crust in a 9 inch pie pan and crimp the edges. Pre-bake according to the temperature and time of the package directions. I like to use pie weights to keep the crust from puffing up when baking.
2. While the crust bakes, whisk together the pumpkin puree, eggs and light brown sugar in a large mixer bowl.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk until well combined.
4. Remove the crust from the oven when done baking. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
5. Pour the pie filling into the hot crust, then place back in the oven and bake for 40-50 minutes. After about 20 minutes of baking, add a pie crust shield to keep the crust from browning too much.
6. When the pie is set around the edges and the center is just set but still jiggly, remove the pie from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool for 1-2 hours.
7. Carefully cover the pie and place the pie in the fridge to cool completely, 4-5 hours. Pie can be made 1-2 days ahead and refrigerated until ready to serve.
Keywords: pumpkin pie recipe, classic pumpkin pie, best pumpkin pie recipe, thanksgiving dessert recipe
Enjoy!
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Hi! Can I use fresh pumpkin instead of canned pumpkin?
Thank you.
I haven’t tried it, but imagine it’d be fine. You just might want to try to drain any excess moisture from it.
Hi Lindsay,
Love your recipes! Was not a person that baked until I found your website. Now I bake one of your recipes once a week. I have never made a pie before because my mom, who was a great baker, always said it was the hardest thing for her to master. But knowing how amazing your recipes are I want to try because your pie will deserve nothing less! Anyway I have a question about the blind bake. The recipe I found and decided to make gives blind bake instructions. It says to put an egg wash on after, bake for a few more minutes and then let crust cool completely before filling and baking. I know nothing about baking, but I thought you might be able to instruct me on if I should skip the egg wash and just put the filling in while pie crust is hot as your recipe states to do. Or do I do the egg wash, bake for a few minutes and then still pour pie filling in while crust is hot.? Or do I let the crust cool completely like the pie crust blind bake instructions state? Sorry for the long question. I just want to get it right. Thank you for your time.
★★★★★
Glad you enjoy the recipes! It’s hard to tell from your question – are you making my recipe or another one? If a different one has specific instructions for the crust, I’d probably follow them. Then if you want to experiment with it in the future, you can compare those results to how the recipe was written. I hope that helps!
Sorry. I was referring to the homemade pie crust. I know that your recipes usually call for a store bought crust. I wanted to make a homemade crust to go with your pumpkin pie recipe. I went with Inspired Tastes’s crust because it seemed easy and the comments were really good about others experiences. I managed it and I did skip the egg wash. Everyone enjoyed the pie immensely, but I’m always my toughest critic, especially since I am comparing it to my moms, so I want to keep practising with the pie crust. But overall very good for a first try. Thank you for trying to answer my question even though I wasn’t clear that it was your pie recipe with a homemade pie crust!
P.S. I just made your pumpkin coffee cake and as usual, everyone absolutely loved it!
★★★★★
So glad it worked out and that you enjoyed the coffee cake! I actually posted a pie crust recipe this week as well as a how to on blind baking your crust if you want to check those out. 🙂
Best pie I’ve ever had!
★★★★★
So glad to hear that!
Are there no eggs in this pumpkin pie
There are 3 eggs. It’s the third ingredient in the list.
Sorry for bothering you. I will be more careful in my reading next time. Made the pie and it turned out great. I have never pre-baked my crust before, only for lemon. My husband loves pumpkin and have been looking for the ultimate one so hope this is it.
★★★★★
My new favorite pumpkin pie, absolutely delicious.
★★★★★
Awesome! So great to hear that!
I only have a 29oz can of pumpkin puree. So should I just double the recipe or should I just use half a can???
I would probably just use half the can.
Waaayyy better than any store bought pumpkin pie! First time making this and it was SO good and super easy!!
am I able to use this exact recipe but instead of pumpkin puree use butternut squash puree?
★★★★★
Great question! I’ve never baked with butternut squash, so I’m not sure. It’d be worth trying though, since they are fairly similar.
Your pumpkin pie was probably the best pumpkin pie we ever had. Thank you!!!
Wonderful to hear that! Glad you enjoyed it!
I made this pie yesterday and it is wonderful. I did have to make 2 substitutions because I didn’t have whipping cream (I used 10oz Carnation evaporated milk) and I didn’t have light brown sugar (I used dark brown sugar).
IMPORTANT: I made this pie yesterday afternoon and we had some after dinner. Delish! But, it is MUCH better the next day! We had it with coffee this morning and it seemed better set yet creamier and the flavors blended/mellowed out to perfection. If you make this pie, make it a day before you want to eat it. YUM!
This will be the best thanksgiving dinner ever. Just tried this and it is seriously delicious! Already add this pie to my thanksgiving dinner list.
Wonderful! So glad you enjoyed it!
Well this pie sounds great with the whipping cream. I love pumpkin pie but I don’t use so much of the spices as I don’t like the spicy taste. Currently trying out pies in a jar for holiday gifts. And your recipe is going to be the one I use with a few different things as far as the dough.
Can’t wait to try this creamy pie I bet. Thank you..sandee
Hi Lindsay
Can I know the size of the pan used in this recipe?
Thank you
Certainly! In instruction #1 it mentions a 9 inch pie plate. 🙂
I’m Australian and while I have tried to love pumpkin pie, I haven’t met one I can ( though I really want to!). Your pie looks like it could be one for me. It looks smooth and creamy almost “custardy”. Of, course, whipped cream seals the deal!
If you get a chance to try it, I hope you enjoy it!
Thank you, looks perfect. Love your photography of each item.
I am looking forward to trying this recipe Just would prefer it be easier to print off recipe without having to print all the remarks before ..Just one page would have been better just saying.
Hi Margaret, there is actually a way to print just the recipe. Perhaps you just overlooked it. In the pink recipe card, there is a teal button that says “PRINT RECIPE”. That will print just the recipe for you.
Thank you very much ????
This is the best pumpkin pie recipe I have ever made it’s perfect. I would of never thought to put corn starch it really helps with the form.
★★★★★
Wonderful! So glad to hear that!
Can’t wait to try this. Will try to substitute coconut milk (which whips like heavy cream) for the measure of whipping cream and milk, in order to keep the pie non dairy and in compliance with dietary restrictions