Classic Pumpkin Pie
You can’t beat classic homemade pumpkin pie! This recipe is smooth and creamy, with great pumpkin flavor and warm spices, all baked into a flaky butter pie crust.
If you’ve followed along here for long, you likely know that pumpkin isn’t my most favorite baking ingredient. However, I simply cannot resist a slice of pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. It’s a classic for a reason!
My recipe has no twists or variations. This pumpkin pie is traditional, with a rich and silky smooth filling scented with cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg. A homemade pie crust is necessary, in my opinion, for a really great pumpkin pie. And so is plenty of homemade whipped cream to serve on top!
Whether you’re a big fan or only an occasional indulger this is a pumpkin pie we can all get behind. It’s perfect for Thanksgiving and the holiday season!
Ingredients you’ll need
In addition to a pie crust, here’s everything required to make this classic pumpkin pie (full recipe at the end of this article):
How to make classic pumpkin pie
- Prepare pie crust. Use your favorite pie dough recipe, or try my foolproof flaky pie dough recipe. Roll pie crust into a 12-inch circle and transfer to a 9-inch pie plate. Trim and crimp edges as desired.
- Blind bake pie crust. Freeze pie crust for 30 minutes, then line pie pan with greased aluminum foil and fill with pie weights. Bake at 400°F for about 20 minutes until edges are set and just starting to brown. Remove foil and weights.
- Combine filling ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, eggs, heavy cream, brown sugar, salt and spices.
- Bake. Pour filling into the partially baked pie crust and bake at 375°F until edges of the filling are set but center still jiggles slightly. Do not overbake or the pie may crack as it cools.
- Let cool. Turn off the oven but leave the door ajar with the pie inside for at least 1 hour, or until it has cooled to room temperature.
- Slice and serve. Use a sharp knife to slice cooled pie. Serve slices with whipped cream, or as desired. Enjoy!
How to keep pumpkin pie from cracking
To ensure your pumpkin pie does not crack, do not over-bake the pie and let it cool down gradually. The center of the pie filling should still wobble or jiggle a little when you gently shake it. Once it’s done, turn the oven off and leave the door ajar with the pie still inside.”Carry over cooking” will set the filling up completely as it slowly cools, leaving you with a silky smooth, crack-free pie.
If you wait until the center of the pie is firm and doesn’t move at all, then it will be over-baked and it may crack as it cools. Don’t over bake! (If you want to be super specific, use an instant thermometer. The pie is done when it reaches 175°F.) Similarly, if you shock the pie by moving it directly from the hot oven to your cool counter, it may collapse and crack.
How to avoid a soggy crust
Because pumpkin pie filling is so runny, blind baking (or par-baking) the pie crust a little on its own before adding the filling is recommended to prevent a soggy bottom crust. Learn How to Blind Bake Pie Crust here. It is possible to skip this step, but results won’t be quite the same.
More tips for making the best pumpkin pie
- I prefer to use canned pumpkin puree for baking, as it’s the most consistent and gets the smoothest texture. However, you can also use fresh pumpkin puree.
- I love the blend of spices in this pie (particularly the freshly grated nutmeg), but you can substitute them for 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice if you prefer.
- Only fill your pie crust with filling up to the crimped edges. If you have a slightly smaller pie dish or if your crust has shrunk a little during it’s blind bake, you may not have room for all of the filling. Discard any leftover filling.
- Because this pie is made with heavy cream and eggs, it is best stored in the refrigerator. If I’m serving the pie within 24 hours, I typically don’t worry about it too much. But it will definitely keep longer in the fridge.
- Pumpkin pie is best served within 2 days of baking, but will keep for up to a week if stored in the fridge.
More pie resources
- How to Make Flaky Pie Crust
- How to Make Pie Crust in a Food Processor
- 8 Common Pie Mistakes & How to Fix Them
- Best Pie Tools
More holiday pie recipes
Shop tools for this recipe
This recipe was originally published November 2015 in partnership with Go Bold With Butter.
Classic Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
- 1 pie crust recipe
- 2 cups pumpkin puree (15-oz can, 425 grams)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 ¼ cup packed light or dark brown sugar (275 grams)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 ¼ cup heavy cream (300 ml)
Instructions
- Roll out one disk of pie crust into approximate 12-inch circle. Transfer to 9-inch pie dish. Fold edges over and crimp as desired. Freeze for 30 minutes. While pie crust is in freezer, preheat oven to 400°F.
- Line pie crust with buttered foil and fill with pie weights, uncooked rice or dried beans. Prebake crust just until it appears set, about 20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes then remove weights and foil. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F.
- In large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, eggs, sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Whisk in heavy cream. Pour mixture into prebaked pie crust and bake until center no longer sloshes when gently shaken, but still jiggles, about 45-50 minutes. Do not over bake.
- Turn off oven and leave oven door slightly ajar with pie still inside. Cool to room temperature inside the oven. The pie will finish setting as it cools, and cooling it down slowly prevents cracking. Serve pie warm or at room temperature with whipped cream, if desired. Store leftovers in the fridge.
NOTES
- This recipe only uses one half of the pie crust recipe. Store other half for another use, in the fridge for up to 5 days and in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Makes one 9-inch pie.
11 Comments on “Classic Pumpkin Pie”
This looks perfect, and nice and thick! I love me a sturdy pumpkin pie… it needs to hold LOTS of whipped cream.
This is literally what I’m most looking forward to this Thanksgiving!!!
You can never go wrong with a classic pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. Beautiful!
After drooling over the Pumpkin Pie pictures, I turned to the recipe only to find it’s gone, they can’t find it, etc. Sigh. Anything you can do?
Hi Rosemary! Thanks for letting me know the link was no longer working. I’ve added the recipe here to the bottom of my post. Hope you like the pie!
This pie looks delicious – more pumpkiny than the evaporated milk version we always make. Would you say your version is denser and less custard like? It would make sense, the quantity of evaporated milk is 12 ounces vs. 10 ounces of heavy cream, and yours calls for 3 eggs, while the other versions uses 2.
I know for a baking blogger to detest pumpkin desserts but that’s just the way it is.
Is it necessary to pre bake the pie crust (assuming I’m using one of your pie crust recipes).
Not necessary, but partially baking it before adding the filling helps prevent the crust from getting soggy.
This is my favorite pumpkin pie! I’ve been making it for the past 3 or 4 holiday seasons and my family always loves it!
It comes out perfect with the homemade pie crust. I look forward to making it every year 🙂
I love to hear this, Stephanie! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave the feedback. 🙂