Perfect Pumpkin Pie
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After more than 25 years of cooking professionally—and hosting plenty of Thanksgivings—I’ve made a lot of pumpkin pies. This is the one I make every year, and the one my family looks forward to most.
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 buttery, flaky crust. But for a dessert that seems so simple, pumpkin pie can be surprisingly finicky. Over the years, I’ve tried at least a dozen 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 turns out beautifully, with a flaky crust, rich pumpkin filling, and smooth, crack-free top. And the best part? It’s truly easy to make.
If you’re planning your holiday dessert lineup, don’t miss my pecan pie, sweet potato pie, and apple pie—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: For the best results, I recommend Libby’s canned pumpkin purée.
- Egg & Egg Yolks: The whole egg helps set the filling, while the extra yolks add richness and give it a silky texture.
- Granulated Sugar & Light Brown Sugar: Using both gives the filling a more complex sweetness, with a subtle molasses note from the brown sugar.
- All-Purpose Flour: Slightly thickens and stabilizes the filling, which helps prevent cracks.
- Spices (ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves & black pepper): This classic blend gives the pie its warm, spiced flavor, with just a hint of heat from the black pepper.
- Evaporated Milk: Gives the filling its rich, creamy texture without making it too heavy.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How To Make Pumpkin Pie
Blind bake the crust: If using a store-bought crust, follow the package directions for pre-baking the crust. For homemade dough, fit it into a deep-dish pie pan and chill it. Line the chilled crust with parchment, fill it with pie weights (or dried beans), and bake until the edges look set.
Remove the weights and bake a bit longer until the bottom looks dry and lightly golden. If the crust puffs up, gently press it back down with a flat spatula. Blind baking gives the crust a head start so it stays nice and crisp once the wet pumpkin filling is added.
Make the filling: Whisk the filling ingredients together until completely smooth, making sure there are no pockets of flour or spices. Pour the filling into the pre-baked crust.
Bake and serve: Bake the pie at 325°F so the custard cooks gently and evenly. It’s done when the filling looks set and dry around the edges but still has a slight jiggle in the center when you nudge the pan—don’t worry, it will continue to set as it cools. If the crust edges start to brown too much before the filling is done, loosely cover them with foil.
Let the pie cool completely before slicing. Serve at room temperature or chilled, with whipped cream if you like.
Make-Ahead Instructions
Pumpkin pie is ideal for making ahead. You can bake it a day before serving, let it cool completely, then cover and refrigerate it overnight. For longer storage, the baked pie can also be frozen; see the recipe card below for full freezing instructions.
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 egg 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 pre-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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Hi Jenn, I need to make two pies. Would it work to just double the crust and custard recipes? Or will it be better to make it twice? I know baking can be a bit finicky when doubling. Thanks!
Hi Jane, You’re right that baking can get dicey when you multiply recipes, but I think you can get away with doubling this. Hope you enjoy!
Can you freeze this pie? Any recommendations on thawing or packaging for freezing?
Yes, Cindy, you can freeze this. See the bottom of the recipe for Freezer-Friendly instructions. 🙂
Can I use pumpkin pie spice instead of the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves ? If so how much pumpkin pie spice can I use in place of the other spices?
Hi Danielle, Yes — you’ll need a total of 2 3/4 tsp. Just make sure you still add the pepper that the recipe calls for. Enjoy!
My first and perfect pumpkin pie!! Delicious! My family loved it! Thanks for sharing your recipe!
I have a question – does the pie crust come out overdone?
No 🙂
I have made lots of pumpkin pie but never came out as pretty as this one. I have never made a crust and this one was perfect. Will always use it. Thanks Jenn
I made this today, it was devoured before it should have properly cooled.
My great nephew was the culprit, he loved it!,
Thank you for sharing,
Dave
It was just ok. We recently moved, and I could not find my old faithful pumpkin pie recipe. My husband ate a piece, and instantly questioned the taste. It was a passable pie, just not as great as the recipe we usually use. Sad to have made two of them with one to give away, as now I feel a little self conscious. Lol “My usual one is better, I promise!”
Maybe you could share your recipe.
Thx
fkafcanada@gmail.com
You sound insecure in your own cooking abilities, maybe everyone was just used the bland taste of your “old faithful” pie and never tasted an actual tasty pie, have you ever thought about that Ciara?
This snarky comment is unnecessary. To each their own.
Maybe it was the black pepper. I have not made this pie yet, but I would leave out the black pepper. Even 1/8 tsp. can be powerful and I have never seen another pumpkin pie recipe that included black pepper.
Fantastic. I used the Tenderflake deep pie crusts, doubled the recipe to make two pies and was heavy-handed with the spices as we like a full-flavored pie!
I did blind bake the pie crusts for about 13 minutes until they felt done but had covered them for the first 10 min with foil and beans as weights so they were not overly brown when I poured the custard in. Although the tenderflake was deep dish crust, it’s never as deep dish as a homemade crust in a pie plate so we had extra custard so I poured in ramekins for single-serve pumpkin custards and made 3 of them. I put them in with 25 min left in the pie baking time.
I set the timer for 50 minutes but left it in for another 7 minutes and when I went to take it out, the middle barely moved. When we cut it, it was still warm but cut very cleanly and the texture for us was perfect — the custard was completely set and stood up well on the plate. Texture-wise for us it was excellent.
I don’t need to buy pies for Thanksgiving! This was awesome.
Thank you very much! My husband said it’s the most delucious pumpkin pie he has eaten!
🙂 So glad you both enjoyed!
5 stars delicious! I only made the filling and replaced the evaporated milk with lactose-free 10% cream. It baked well in a greased dish and satisfied my sweet pumpkin craving in a short period of time.
This recipe is the BEST !! I have always hated that the bottom of the a pumpkin pie was under cooked and soggy. This recipe has you cook the pie shell first !! Genius !!