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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Such a great pie recipe! Not too sweet and the spices really take centre stage. I will say, I used a store bought crust (Tenderflake deepdish to be exact) and found I had leftover filling. Hot tip: bake your leftover filling in ramekins for a little crustless treat. Will definitely be keeping this recipe handy for the future.
I doubled the spices in the recipe as they never have enough spice for my family but this filling wasn’t sweet enough. Cooked well and looked nice.
I’ve made many pumpkin pies and this is by far the best! The filling was stunning. It was my first time making a crust however. I really appreciated the simple instructions.
This was delicious and it was the first time I managed to make a flaky crust, yay! Usually I find pumpkin pie to be too sweet and mighty, but the flavour in this one was really delicate and there was the perfect amount of spices in it.
I usually make a large pumpkin pie doubling the filling recipe. How long should I cook it?
Hi Val, if you double the filling, it won’t all fit in the crust/pie plate. I’d make two pies instead.
This isn’t perfect pumpkin pie it is “excellent flawless perfect pumpkin pie” 😃 I have made hundreds of pumpkin pies over the years and most have been great but nothing like this. This is my recipe to use and share. 👌
Could I use no shortening?
Hi Tingal, you can use all butter; the crust will just be a little less flaky. Hope that helps and that you enjoy! 🙂
Hi Jenn,
I’m from Australia and I’d like to purée my pumpkin fresh – do you have a suggestion as to which pumpkin would be the best to use?
Thank you!
Hi Kerri-Lynn, I’m not sure it’s called the same thing in Australia, but you’ll be looking for sugar pumpkin, which is about the size of a volleyball. You’ll usually see them labeled as cooking, pie, or sugar pumpkins, and they’ll weigh in the 4- to 8-pound range. Hope that helps!
My family loves this pumpkin pie. Thank you for this recipe. So easy to make and the directions are very simple to follow. Best pie ever!!!
I’ve been wanting to try 5″ individual mini pies. Can I use this recipe… so many great reviews! What adjustments do you recommend I make? Thank you in advance!
Hi Gerbie, I think this would work as 5-inch pies. I suspect you’ll get two 5-inch pies out of this. I’d keep the temperature the same and start checking for doneness at 30 to 35 minutes (though it probably will take a bit longer). Just keep a close eye on them!
Hey, Jenn! I made your recipe but I didn’t use your pie crust! It was a big fail for me! So, I used a different pie crust and I’m still failing but I will use your filling! I’m going to make it for a birthday and I’m excited! I hope it tastes delicious!
Hello Jenn,
Thanks for this recipe. It was delicious, however since it’s my very first attempt at any pie… ever, I have a few questions and comments:-
1) There wasn’t enough dough for my 8 inch pan. Can I increase the flour by maybe 1/4 cup?
2) Should I not use all the 4 tbsps of water. My dough was a little too sticky but I managed to make it work.
3) The amount of filling was way more then the pastry but I suspect it was because I did not have enough dough.
Comments welcome. 🙂
Thanks
Guhan
Hi Guhan, sorry to hear you had a problem with the crust! If there wasn’t enough dough for your 8-inch pie pan, I suspect you may have measured something incorrectly as I use a 9-inch deep dish pie pan and there is enough dough for that. If you’re certain you measured everything correctly, next time, I would try increasing all of the ingredients for the dough by 1/4.