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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I have looked at a few different recipes and noticed that some use sweetened condensed milk and some use heavy cream. What is the difference? Why do you choose evaporated milk over heavy cream?
Hi Chrissy, I’ve always used evaporated milk in pumpkin pie, but heavy cream works too. Sorry I don’t have a more scientific explanation!
No worries at all! Your explanation works for me! Thank you for responding! I’m so excited to try it. All of your recipes, that I have tried, have been amazing.
Hi! Can you kindly confirm the temperature for baking the pie? I saw a comment that someone baked @ 325 for 60 mins and it was underdone, then she said another set of directions said to bake it at 375. I’m going to bake 2 of these tomorrow!
Hi Pam, the empty crust gets blind baked at 375°F. Once you remove the crust from the oven, reduce the temp to 325°F as that’s the temp that the crust with the filling should be baked. Hope that clarifies!
Hello, would making this pie with a graham cracker crust work? Would directions to pre-bake the crust be the same? Thank you!
Hi Lena, A graham cracker crust would work here. You’ll still need to blind bake it but that initial bake time will definitely be a lot quicker than that of the pastry crust. Please LMK how it turns out!
I’m wondering, can I leave the flour out of this recipe to make it gluten free?
Hi Connie, I wouldn’t just omit it; I’d replace it with gluten-free flour or cornstarch. Hope that helps!
Jenn, please don’t freak out but I want to make your filling recipe and not pre bake my crust (50 years of horror pre bake incidents). I would like to use unbaked shell and the age old time and temp 425 reduced to 350. The usual pumpkin pie filling has 2 eggs. Does the extra egg you use require more or less bake time or does it matter?
Also, you really have more sugar and have flour in your filling, do any of these items effect baking time and temp I want to use as mentioned above in unbaked shell?
No, they wouldn’t affect the baking time.
Hi Marilyn, I really prefer baking custard pies at a lower temp. That said, the extra egg does not impact the baking time.
I have always doubled my eggs in my pumpkin pie and used the age old time and temp that you spoke of, and it’s always turned out perfect. In my experience, the extra eggs do not require more time, they only make the pie a bit more custard-y. Hope this helps. =)
I baked sugar pumpkins and made a purée out of them. Can I use this in the recipe?
Sure – enjoy!
Perfect is an accurate name for this recipe!
Hi Jenn,
I noticed that you used a ceramic pie dish. Normally I use a glass pie dish for my pumpkin pie but for this recipe do you prefer the ceramic? I made your pumpkin filling two years ago and it is now my go to recipe.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family
Hi Debbie, Both work well, so whatever you prefer. 🙂
Hi jen!
Thoughts on a store bought graham cracker crust? Would i need to move from aluminum pie pan to glass dish before baking? My son is the only one who likes pumpkin pie and i already have one in the pantry!
*im making your french apple cake for the rest of us 🙂
Hi, A graham cracker crust would work here. Yes, you’ll still need to blind bake it but that initial bake time will definitely be a lot quicker than that of the pastry crust. I’d love to hear how it turns out!
I just tried this recipe for the first time and it was a hit with the fam!
I ended up making 2 of these… One exactly to the recipe and another that was adapted to be wheat-free and lactose-free using gluten-free flour, vegan butter, coconut oil and macadamia milk. Both worked out perfectly! I’m in Australia and canned pumpkin isn’t as readily available so I made my own puree with half a Jap pumpkin which worked a treat. This is definitely a recipe I’ll save! Thank you! 😀
Hi Jenn, I plan to make this pumpkin pie. If I want to add Bourbon would it work & how much do you think? Thanks so much!
Hi Mary Ellen, I wouldn’t change anything here because pumpkin pie can be pretty finicky, but this would be delicious with bourbon-infused whipped cream on top. I’d love to hear how it turns out if you give it a try!