A classic Pumpkin Pie with a soft, perfectly set filling, perfect amount of spicing, not too sweet and a bronzed surface that’s crack free! Simple to make, it’s perfect in every way. Use a homemade pie crust or store bought for ease, fresh or canned pumpkin!
Pumpkin Pie
For a recipe that’s actually incredibly simple to make, perfecting The Pumpkin Pie was irritatingly difficult – hence why it’s taken me until 5 years to share it.
Not enough spicing, weird blend of spicing, too sweet, not sweet enough, unpleasant “curdled” filling, severe cracks, overcooked, undercooked. I feel like I’ve battled every possible variation of pumpkin pie to confirm that this is The One.
It’s based on the filling recipe from Smitten Kitchen albeit I tweaked the spices (I found them too subtle) and reduced the oven temperature because I discovered by trial and error that this is the easiest path to avoid cracks on the surface of my Pumpkin Pie.
Isn’t she a beauty? There are the teeniest of cracks on the edges, and truthfully I could’ve just photoshopped them out (and I bet some food magazines DO!!). But there is no need – she’s pretty near to perfection!
What you need for Pumpkin Pie Filling
Here’s what you need for the filling:
Pumpkin puree – canned or homemade (see below). If using canned, make sure you use pure pumpkin, not pre spiced pumpkin pie filling;
Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spices – cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg; and
Sugar, cream and eggs.
Homemade Pumpkin Puree for Pumpkin Pie
After much trial and error, I’ve found that the best way to make pumpkin puree for pumpkin pie is to steam pumpkin pieces then pass through a sieve. Boiled pumpkin is too watery. Roasted pumpkin, albeit arguably the “best” pumpkin flavour, dries out too much so once mashed, it’s too thick which results in a pie filling that’s not as soft as it should be.
Steamed, mashed or pureed in a food processor, then passed through a sieve yields pumpkin puree that is, in my opinion, virtually identical to canned pumpkin.
Pumpkin Pie Crust
Buy it or make your own. Though personally, I think once you discover that it takes 1 minute to make a Pie Crust with your food processor, you may never buy one again!
How to make Pumpkin Pie
99% of Pumpkin Pie recipes out there are as simple as dump-and-mix. I credit Smitten Kitchen for leading me to the Cooks’ Illustrated method to gently cook the pumpkin and spices just for just 5 minutes to remove a bit of the excess water in the pumpkin (canned OR fresh) to ensure the pie crust base doesn’t go soggy and let the spices bloom for improved filling texture and superior flavour.
Once that’s done, it does become a dump and mix job!
How to avoid cracked surfaces on Pumpkin Pie
This is a problem I kept running into. They were never severe, and when the pie was cooling it always deflated a bit so the cracks would largely “self heal”.
But it annoyed me enough to persist with trying to solve the problem of cracked Pumpkin Pie, and here’s how I resolved it:
Don’t overbeat the eggs – Once you add the eggs, don’t whisk to death because it creates air pockets in the filling which = cracked surface.
Add eggs last, one by one – I thought whisking eggs first would reduce air pockets but in fact, it created more and made the cracks worse!
BANG the bowl before pouring into the pie crust – this will make bubbles rise and pop on the surface (bonus: it’s super fun 😂)
LOWER oven temp – baking temperatures vary wildly from recipe to recipe. For me, I found that by using a lower temperature, the filling sets more slowly and avoids cracks. Whereas at much higher temperatures (200°C/390°F and above), the filling would puff up early on in the bake time, causing cracks. (Bonus: Lower temp = more even golden pie crust colour).
And that, my friends, concludes The Pumpkin Pie Project once and for all. I’m so happy with it, it’s all my Pumpkin Pie dreams come true.
Serving with a generous dollop of cream is not an option, it’s essential! The extra texture, that extra hit of creaminess…. it’s the perfect finishing touch. – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
See the separate how-to video for the homemade pie-crust here!
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Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
- 1 homemade pie crust OR
- 1 9"/22.5cm store bought crust
Pumpkin Pie Filling:
- 1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree , from 15 oz/425g can or homemade puree (Note 1)
- 2/3 cup (145g) sugar, white/granulated
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- Pinch of nutmeg
- 1 1/3 cups (330 ml) cream, heavy / thickened (cold)
- 3 eggs
Instructions
Pie Crust
- If using homemade pie crust, blind bake it per the Pie Crust recipe and fill crust straight after removing from oven.
- If using store bought, blind baking is not necessary (but if you want to, follow the Pie Crust recipe).
Pie Filling
- Preheat oven to 170°C / 335°F (150°C fan).
- Place pumpkin, sugar, salt and spices into a saucepan over medium heat. Once you see steam, cook, stirring regularly, for 5 minutes (this removes excess moisture and lets spices bloom).
- Remove from stove and scrape into a bowl. Add cream, whisk.
- Whisk eggs in one by one, mixing just enough to incorporate. If you whisk vigorously for ages, it will aerate the mixture, leading to cracks.
- Pour into Pie Crust, transfer to oven.
- Bake 45 – 55 minutes or until the centre is set but still has a slight jiggle and the toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean but damp (if it still has pumpkin batter, keep cooking). (Note 2)
- Cool completely for 4 hours+ before cutting to serve. Serve with cream and dusting of cinnamon or nutmeg if desired!
Recipe Notes:
- use pure canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling
- measure this using cups as the density and therefore weight of pumpkin does differ between canned and fresh homemade. Volume is relevant here, not weight.
- Homemade pumpkin puree – use a 1 kg / 2 lb sugar pumpkin or butternut squash (weight with skin and seeds). Peel and remove seeds, cut into 2.5cm/1″ pieces then steam until very very tender (I microwave steam 10 minutes). Mash then pass through sieve (use a tablespoon and mix vigorously then rubber spatular to scrape from underside, you’ll figure out method that works best for you). Measure out 1 3/4 cups, place in bowl, leave for 10 minutes. If water pools around edges on surface, place paper towel across surface to absorb, then proceed with recipe (ie cooking on stove)
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Oh boy, Dozer has had a LOT of Pumpkin Pie over the past few weeks!!!
Absolutely loved this pumpkin pie, the best one I’ve had! Definitely worth putting the pumpkin through the sieve for the smooth texture (but it is time consuming and I’m sure it would still taste great without doing that!)!
Hi Nagi,
Honestly, the BEST and most user-friendly website EVER!
Thank you. Your recipes make me feel like I can actually cook.
Made the vegetable lasagna tonight and it was amazing.
Made the Pumpkin Tart yesterday and ate it tonight… OH MY GOODNESS! It’s heavenly.
My crust pastry tasted great, but I messed up with the crumping and baking of the crust. (I didn’t weigh it down enough – I used rice.) So I ended up using a different base for the pumpkin pie. ( Digestive biscuit base)
Can’t wait to have this (again) with the proper crust pastry.
THANKS again.
M
Hi Nagi, I’ve made a couple of your slow cooked recipes – the lamb shanks was a particular hit:)! – and am about to try the pumpkin pie. I’ll be making my own puree and just wondering about steaming (which you recommend) vs baking, which I would have thought gives more flavour and is less likely to be watery. could you comment please? many thanks, M.
Hi Michael, I prefer to steam here as you don’t want that typical oven caramelisation – N x
Can you get tinned pumpkin puree in Australia? If so, where do you find it?
Hi Wendy, Harris farm sometimes stock it as well as coles/woolies in the international section. N x
Is this a main or dessert?
Hi Cheryl, definitely a dessert! N x
I made it! It was nice and smooth but I won’t say easy especially the pie crust. Oh man. Really enjoyed it.
One question however, I end it up with a huge crack in the center, any idea why?🤔 Doesn’t bother me, to be honest it looks more rustique
Hi Matt, the crack can be from a number of reasons, most likely cooking too quickly or cooling too quickly. Try turning the oven down a little and cooking a little longer – N x
I made my first pumpkin pie for my first Thanksgiving in America using your recipe. It was so easy to follow with your directions, thank you. I still don’t like pumpkin pie, I thought I would if I made it myself but sadly no, I think it’s a texture thing. 😂
I followed your recipe exactly, except that I used brown sugar and probably didn’t cook the pumpkin mix as long. Heavenly! My new go to recipe for pumpkin pie. Shared it and got raves.
I’m so glad you loved it Patsy!!!
Hi Nagi..I am going to try your pumpkin recipe. i usually make my own filling using a sugar pumpkin and adding two cups of cooked sieved yam/sweet potato. I also make my own spices omitting mace (but may try adding it!
thank you for sharing and have a wonderful day!
yvonne
Hi Yvonne! I usually make my own filling as well 🙂 I used canned for testing purposes leading up to sharing this recipe, simply for convenience because I like my pumpkin puree smooth so when making it fresh, I always sieve it. Which is a PAIN! 😂 I hope you enjoy this! N x
Help! I only have sweet condensed milk-should I still add a bit of sugar? Or will the sugar in the condensed milk be enough? Thank you for your help 😁
Hi Sheena, I haven’t tested with sweetened condensed milk! I would omit the sugar in the recipe, love to know if it works for you though!
Thank you so very much for your help and your wonderful recipe, Ms. Nagi!
If I didn’t say it already, that is the best pumpkin pie I ever made. It is so creamy!
Wahoo!!!!!! I’m so glad you loved it Evelyn!
HI! Blind baking the pie crust prevents a soggy bottom in the finished product, right? Does that also work well in fruit pies? Thanks…I love your anecdotes and great instructions!
Hi Patti – sure does!
Yet another easy to follow, recipe tin success!!! Both beautiful and delicious xx
What can you replace granulated white sugar with
Hi Janice, brown sugar would also work but would give it a more caramelised flavour – N x
Hi Nagi, where do you buy the can pumpkin in Australia? I’ve never seen it any supermarket here.
Thanks in advance
Hi Nicky, Coles stock it 🙂
Does anyone else use the spice, mace in their recipe? I wouldn’t make pumpkin pie without it.
Hi Darlene, I use nutmeg as it’s more readily available – N x
I’m going to try this, I love trying new recipes! Mine is so close to yours… it’s the “eagle brand recipe” no sugar and cream.. just pour in a can of condensed milk. I love that you are using fresh cream!! Love you and Dozer! 😘
Sounds great Laura!
I’m going to make this for Thanksgiving in Aus. My daughter is allergic to dairy though, so I am going to try making this with coconut cream and nuttalex instead of butter in the pastry. I’ll update with my dairy free version! Wish me luck 😳
I would love to know if it works Jessie – N x
Hi Nagi, This looks delicious, and I managed to get some tinned pumpkin from Costco. Have you ever tried to alter the recipe to make it Vegan friendly? I’d love to make this for the family but don’t want my sister to miss out. Thank you
Hi Kate, I haven’t tried to be honest! You’d need to use an egg and cream alternative so I’m not sure the result would be the same. N x
Hi Nagi, i’d love to try this recipe. If one makes it a day ahead of time, what is the best storage option?
Hi Lydia, it’s perfect to make ahead, just store in the fridge 🙂
Thank you Nagi, also for the storage update in recipe notes 👍