Perfect Pumpkin Pie
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If you’re looking for a pumpkin pie that sets beautifully, tastes absolutely delicious, and always gets a “wow,” this recipe delivers every time.
Pumpkin pie is a Thanksgiving classic, and when it’s made well, it’s hard to beat—a silky, warmly spiced pumpkin filling baked into a flaky, buttery crust. But for a dessert that seems so simple, pumpkin pie can be surprisingly finicky. Over the years, I’ve tried dozens of recipes and run into just about every issue: fillings that won’t set, unsightly cracks, and soggy crusts. Let’s just say the person who coined the phrase “easy as pie” had clearly never baked a pumpkin pie!
The good news is that all that testing paid off. This pumpkin pie recipe checks every box: a crisp, sturdy crust, a smooth, rich filling, and no cracks. And the best part? It’s truly easy to make.
If you’re planning your dessert lineup for the holidays, don’t miss my pecan pie, sweet potato pie, or apple crisp—they’re all wonderful alongside this pumpkin pie.
“I’ve been baking pumpkin pie for what seems like an eternity. The custard always cracks. Not this time…it’s absolutely delicious!”
What You’ll Need To Make Homemade Pumpkin Pie
- Pie Crust – Use a homemade pie crust or store-bought—whichever you prefer. If using store-bought, opt for the frozen kind in an aluminum pie pan; it’s easier to blind bake and less likely to shrink.
- Pumpkin – Adds rich 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 & Light brown sugar – A combination of sugars adds complex sweetness; the brown sugar lends a deeper, molasses-like flavor.
- All-purpose flour – Slightly thickens and stabilizes the filling to prevent unsightly cracks.
- 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 crust. If you’re using a store-bought crust, just follow the package directions. For homemade dough, fit it into a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan and chill it. Line the chilled crust with parchment, fill it with pie weights (or dried beans), and bake at 375°F until the edges look set. Remove the weights and bake a bit longer until the bottom looks dry and lightly golden. Then drop the oven temp to 325°F and you’re ready for the filling.
Pro Tip: Blind baking—or baking the crust before the filling goes in—gives it a head start so it stays nice and crisp once the wet pumpkin filling is added.
Step 2: Make the filling. In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin, egg, egg yolks, both sugars, the flour, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, pepper, and evaporated milk. Whisk until the mixture is smooth.
Step 3: Assemble and bake. Pour the filling into the warm, pre-baked crust and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the center is just set. Let the pie cool on a wire rack until it reaches room temperature.
Step 4: Serve. Slice and serve right away, or refrigerate the pie for up to a day before serving. For longer storage, you can freeze pumpkin pie for up to 1 month—just wrap it well. Enjoy!
Video Tutorial
More Holiday Desserts You’ll Love
Perfect Pumpkin Pie
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 (packed) light brown sugar
- 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: If you’re using a store-bought frozen crust, follow the blind-baking instructions on the package. If you’re using a homemade crust, roll out the dough and gently fit it into a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan, making sure it’s snug against the bottom and sides. Chill the crust for at least 30 minutes.Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Place the chilled crust on a baking sheet (it makes it much easier to move in and out of the oven). Line 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. Remove the crust from the oven, lift out the parchment and weights, and tent the edges with a few strips of foil folded in half lengthwise to keep them from getting too dark. Return the crust to the oven and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the bottom looks dry and lightly golden. If it puffs up a bit, just press it down gently with a flat spatula—try not to puncture it. Remove the foil, but keep it nearby in case you need it again later.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 and cool: 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.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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 was my first time EVER baking a pie. The recipe was extremely clear to follow and the pie turned out better than I could have imagined. Absolutely delicious. Thank you so much!
Sorry but I can’t seem to find mention of what temp to bake the completed pie at????? Other recipes I gave looked at say to bake at a high temp then reduce after about 15 minutes. What is the direction for your pie?
Hi Cindy, The pie bakes at 325°F. It’s in there…paragraph #4. 🙂
This beauty just came out of the oven! First time making everything from scratch and I couldn’t have had more helpful instructions!!! Thanks so much for the step by step. Should I refrigerate covered or uncovered? Does it matter??!!! Happy Thsnksgiving!!!!
Hi Lindsay, So happy it turned out nicely! I’d cover it loosely with foil. Happy Thanksgiving to you too! 🙂
Followed the recipe exactly. Felt that the pumpkin filling was about 20% too sweet for my taste. Still, with whipped cream to temper the sweetness, this was a solid but not the best pumpkin pie recipe I have used. B+
Jenn, Thanks for pumpkin perfection! My son requested pumpkin pie to celebrate Thanksgiving this year–he’s never liked it before so I was surprised. We’re living overseas and I left all my cookbooks (and pie plates!) in storage, but found your blog recently. I actually baked this in a 9-inch metal cake pan and it came out great! (Had a little extra filling and baked it in a couple of ramekins so I could try it first). The balance of spices is great; so is the texture. And the crust is excellent. Thanks for making our faraway Thanksgiving feel like home!
Hi! Is there a dairy free option that I can exchange the evaporated milk for?
Thanks!
Hi Brenna, I wish I could be more helpful but I can’t think of a good dairy-free substitute for evaporated milk. Sorry!
I’ve used coconut condensed milk instead of evaporated milk while making this recipe. It makes the pie a bit sweeter but it still turns out great. Maybe try cutting down on the brown sugar a little to make up for the extra sweetness?
You can evaporate any dairy free milk by cooking it until it’s about half of where you started.
If I freeze the pie crust in the pan overnight do I need to thaw it before I bake it?
Hi Sarah, It’s not necessary – go ahead and bake it frozen.
This tastes amazing–I love the spice flavor.
However, I do have a question. I baked the pie at 325 for 90 minutes and (I did put foil on the crust–turned out so perfect!) but several hours later after it’s cool, it still isn’t as “set” as I would like. I made a “practice pie” for Thanksgiving, and plan on repeating tomorrow. Any suggestions about why it didn’t set and how I can make it more firm the next time? I’m wondering if I got too much egg white when I separated the yolks, is that possible? Followed the recipe exactly. Thanks!
Hi Jenn, Hmmm – that’s strange as that should be more than enough time for the pie to set. Was it set enough for you to nicely slice the pie? Did you by chance use fresh pumpkin instead of canned?
Hi, I just made this pie today and it did seem to take longer to set. I had cooked the pie for over 60 minutes, last 12, I raised the oven to 350. The middle was still a bit soft when I pulled it out, but while it rested, I tented it with foil and the pie is perfect, it continued to cook/set outside the oven. Pie dough was perfect. Thank you for the great recipe.
Hey Jenn. When I make this recipe, I have to bake the pie for twice as long as the recipe says – about 1 hour 40 min or even a bit longer. As long as I tent the edges of the crust and wait for the centre to only be a BIT jiggly, it works out perfectly. I’ve temperature-tested my oven and it’s about 15 degrees cooler than it should be. I was worried about the extra cooking time, but I’ve made this recipe twice and both times it was absolutely delicious.
Hi there! I am making this for the first time and am so excited from all the positive feedback 😊 Are you using kosher salt or fine grained table salt for your recipe? Thank you so much! Happy early Thanksgiving.
Hi Katlyn, Always fine table salt unless I specify otherwise. Hope you enjoy the pie and happy Thanksgiving!
Tried makin this crust twice. Didn’t come out. Crumbly and really hard to work with. 😪
Hi Nelly, Sorry to hear you’ve had a problem with this (twice)!! It sounds like maybe the dough needs a tiny bit more water – not much – just a tablespoon or two. Hope you have better luck if you try it again!