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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Your wonderful recipe for pumpkin pie is requested frequently by my grandson…. it is the best. I have noticed the last two times I have made it that there are large cracks in the filling. I made it many times before with no cracks. It doesn’t affect the taste but I am wondering what I am doing that is causing this. I always follow your recipe instructions because I have such success. Thank you for any assistance you can provide. Also, just made your delicious pecan bars. They were perfect in every way. Family added these to their list of favs!
Hi Jennie, glad to hear you like the pumpkin pie but sorry to hear you’ve had a problem with it cracking the last few times you’ve made it. Have you made any adjustments to the recipe or used any different brands of ingredients? Also, you may want to check the accuracy of your oven temperature. Here are some tips for how to do that. Please let me know if I can help in any other way!
This is the creamiest and lightest pumpkin pie. You do not have to worry about it cracking either.
This truly is the perfect pumpkin pie. I was definitely an ‘on the back of the can recipe’ lady as it was the flavor that was comfort. This took all the comfort of our family’s traditional recipe and lifted it to a new level. The crust is perfect for the texture of the pumpkin custard. Thank you for opening my mind to something new and giving our family a new traditional recipe!
This is absolutely the BEST pumpkin pie recipe! Creamy filling and the perfect balance of spices. I’ve used the recipe from the back of a can of Libby’s pumpkin purée for 50 yrs. – because my mother always did…and last year I decided to try a new recipe (because I was tired of the filling being a bit watery and the crust getting soggy). I am so glad I tried Jen’s recipe + her pie crust recipe. The pie was a huge success and this pumpkin pie recipe and crust is now my (and my son’s) favorite recipe!
First time making this pumpkin pie and my family loved it. Perfect amount of seasoning and easy to make even for a beginner!
I made this at Thanksgiving this past year and it was fantastic! Definitely the best pumpkin pie we’ve ever had. Mother in law requested it again at Christmas! Thank you!
Throw out every PP recipe you have and use this one only including the pie crust! Everyone raves over my PP when I use this recipe that I’ve tossed my PP spice bottle and only use Jenn’s PP recipe. It’s has such a deep flavor and the crust turns out perfect every time – just be sure to l et the pie crust rest as needed. Super-awesome PP recipe. Every year, even COVID 2020, friends asked for a piece of my (Jenn’s) PP so we made more pies than just what our family needed. In fact, our pies at home go so fast that I barely get to have more than one piece myself. Don’t change a think and share this fabulous recipe with friends!
This pie is amazing and THE best I’ve ever tasted. Ill confess i used refrigerated crust for convenience. This filling is easy to put together, and has a beautiful consistency and a smooth, silky bite. The spices are perfect, and we loved the pepper note. A definite keeper!
The filling flavor is phenomenal. But I had difficulty getting it to set. So it was sort of a soupy delicious mess. Will try again soon. Must have been cook’s error!
I tried this recipe after years of being frustrated with my bland pumpkin pie recipe. This is what we needed. This recipe is fantastic! Everyone loved it! It is the new family pumpkin pie! Thanks so much, Jenn!