Classic Pumpkin Pie

This Classic Pumpkin Pie is creamy, sweet and luscious! Completely homemade from the crust to the creamy filling. It’s utterly delicious and bursting with flavor! It also freezes well! Perfect for your Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving table!

Seriously The Best Pumpkin Pie

If there’s one recipe that’s a must at every Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving for me is this Pumpkin Pie! I love pumpkin pie. No I really really love pumpkin pie, like starry eyed hopelessly smitten kind of love.

I know some of you must be nodding along as you read this, I mean who doesn’t dream all year of sinking their teeth into a slice of this perfectly crafted and lovingly baked sweet center piece? So yes, out of all the pie recipes, this is my most favorite.

This is a recipe I published quite a few years back so over the years I’ve had time to perfect it in order to give you guys the best pumpkin pie recipe possible. It all starts with the perfect crust!

Homemade Crust Makes The Difference

There’s just something about homemade pie crust, especially mine, I guess I’m a little biased. It’s buttery, flakey, golden perfection – if I do say so myself. I mean I guess you can go with store bought if you want, but it might lack that razzle dazzle.

Pumpkin Pie Ingredients

Pie crust

• Follow my recipe here for the best pie crust recipe with all the tips and tricks you need. If you don’t want to make your own, you can use store bought pie crust.

Filling

• SUGAR – We’re using both granulated white sugar and packed brown sugar today to sweeten up our pie.
• SPICES – You can use your favorite pumpkin pie spice, or simply make your own using my homemade pumpkin pie spice recipe here. I also like to add a little extra cinnamon to my pumpkin pie.
• EGGS – We’re using entire eggs and egg yolk to act as a rich binder for our filling.
• SEASONING – Salt is a very important flavor enhancer for our filling, be sure to include it! It really does bring out all the flavors together.
• LEMON – Were using a bit of lemon zest to brighten up and balance the flavors in our filling. Just a bit makes all the difference.
• MILK – Evaporated milk is recommended because it creates a creamier filling. Evaporated milk actually acts as a thickener in pumpkin pie filling so you don’t end up with a runny mess.
• PUMPKIN – This is the star ingredient of our pie. You’ll need pure pumpkin purée, one small can. You can definitely make your own, but it’s so much easier to just use the store-bought canned stuff. That’s what I do anyway. Just make sure you’re using pumpkin purée and not pumpkin pie filling because that has some other spices and ingredients in it.

How To Make Pumpkin Pie

1. PREPARE THE CRUST: Make the pie crust according to this pie crust recipe. You can also use store bought pie crust.
2. PREPARE THE OVEN: Preheat your oven to 425°F.
3. MAKE THE FILLING: In a large bowl combine the sugars, pumpkin spice, cinnamon and salt. Add the rest of the filling ingredients and mix well until well incorporated and smooth, using a mixer or whisk. Set aside.
4. PREPARE THE PIE CRUST: If using your own homemade pie crust, remove the dough from the refrigerator, and let it sit at room temperature for up to 10 minutes. This is required to soften the dough a bit, so that you can roll it out. Roll out the disc using a rolling pin. If your dough is sticking to the surface or to the rolling pin add a bit more flour as necessary. Roll it until it’s about 1/8 of an inch in thickness. Place the pie dough lightly into a pie plate. I usually roll it on the rolling pin and unroll it over the pie plate. (see video) Crimp the edge and cut off excess dough.
5. BLIND BAKE THE CRUST: Place a piece of parchment paper over the pie shell and fill it with pie weights. If you don’t have pie weights, you can use dry beans. Place the pie shell into the oven and blind bake it for 15 minutes. Read ALL about blind baking here. Once done, remove the pie weights and the parchment paper from the pie shell.
6. BAKE THE PIE: Pour the pumpkin mixture into the pie shell and bake at 425°F for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F and bake for another 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool before serving.
7. SERVE: I love to serve this luscious pie with lots of whipped cream.

How Do I Know When My Pumpkin Pie Is Done Baking?

Every oven is different so keep an eye on it once you start to reach that 30 minute mark after reducing your oven temperature. The pie should still have a bit of jiggle to it when removed from the oven! Overcooking will cause it to crack.

What Is Blind Baking?

Blind baking basically means baking your pie crust before filling it and baking the entire pie. This is necessary when making a pie with a custard filling like ours here as it prevents the crust from becoming soggy. Don’t forget to read the post on making the perfect pie crust and all about blind baking!

What Are Pie Weights?

These little weights prevent the pie crust from forming air bubbles and from puffing up. The crust will stay nestled nicely right against the pie plate and bake uniformly. You can buy ceramic or metal weights or just use plain old dried beans.

Expert Tips And Tricks

1. CHILL THE DOUGH. This is the secret to a flaky crust.
2. PRE-BAKE YOUR CRUST. This will prevent your crust from getting soggy.
3. DON’T SKIP THE BROWN SUGAR. It adds a little bit of caramel flavor to the pie.
4. USE ROOM TEMPERATURE INGREDIENTS. It’s important to always use room temperature ingredients for the filling because they blend more evenly in batters. Cold ingredients can result in lumpy batter, a stodgy texture and require longer baking time.
5. COOL COMPLETELY BEFORE SLICING. After baking, you should allow the pie to cool completely at room temperature. You want to make sure you allow the pie to set properly. Cool for at least 2 hours on a wire rack before serving.

Leftover Pie

Pumpkin pies are great because they can easily be made a day or two ahead. You can bake it, cool it, then wrap it in plastic wrap and store it in the fridge until ready to serve.

Can I Freeze Pumpkin Pie?

Absolutely! It’ll last up to a month in the freezer. Just make sure you wrap it tightly with plastic wrap after it comes to room temperature. Wrap it with a few layers of plastic wrap and then a layer of aluminum foil.

To defrost, place the pie in the fridge overnight and let it defrost slowly.

More Must Try Pumpkin Recipes

• Pumpkin Delight
• Best Ever Pumpkin Roll
• Pumpkin Magic Cake
• Healthy Whole Wheat And Oats Pumpkin Pancakes
• Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies
• The Best Pumpkin Pancakes

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Classic Pumpkin Pie

4.59 from 34 votes

Prep: 20 mins

Cook: 1 hr

Total: 1 hr 20 mins

Author: Joanna Cismaru

Serves: 8

Print Pin Rate

This Classic Pumpkin Pie is creamy, sweet and luscious! Completely homemade from the crust to the creamy filling. It's utterly delicious and bursting with flavor! It also freezes well! Perfect for your Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving table!

Equipment

• ▢
  9-inch Pie Plate
• ▢
  KitchenAid Hand Mixer
• ▢
  Pie Weights

Ingredients

Pie Crust

• ▢ ½ recipe pie crust

Pumpkin Pie Filling

• ▢ ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ ½ cup brown sugar packed
• ▢ 2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• ▢ 2 eggs
• ▢ 1 egg yolk
• ▢ 12 ounce evaporated milk 1 can
• ▢ 2 cups canned pumpkin

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Make the pie crust according to this pie crust recipe. You can also use store bought pie crust.
• Preheat your oven to 425°F.
• In a large bowl combine the sugars, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and salt. Add the rest of the filling ingredients and mix well until well incorporated and smooth, using a mixer or whisk. Set aside.
• If using your own homemade pie crust, remove the dough from the refrigerator, and let it sit at room temperature for up to 10 minutes. This is required to soften the dough a bit, so that you can roll it out.
• Roll out the disc using a rolling pin. If your dough is sticking to the surface or to the rolling pin add a bit more flour as necessary. Roll it until it’s about 1/8 of an inch in thickness. Place the pie dough lightly into a pie plate. I usually roll it on the rolling pin and unroll it over the pie plate. (see video) Crimp the edge and cut off excess dough.
• Place a piece of parchment paper over the pie shell and fill it with pie weights. If you don't have pie weights, you can use dry beans. Place the pie shell into the oven and blind bake it for 15 minutes. Read more about blind baking here. Once done, remove the pie weights and the parchment paper from the pie shell.
• Pour the pumpkin mixture into the pie shell and bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 F degrees and bake for another 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
• Cool before serving. Top with whipped cream if preferred.

Video

Recipe Notes

1. Check out the recipe to make this easy pie crust with video and step by step instructions here.
2. CHILL THE DOUGH. This is the secret to a flaky crust.
3. PRE-BAKE YOUR CRUST. This will prevent your crust from getting soggy.
4. DON’T SKIP THE BROWN SUGAR. It adds a little bit of caramel flavor to the pie.
5. USE ROOM TEMPERATURE INGREDIENTS. It’s important to always use room temperature ingredients for the filling because they blend more evenly in batters. Cold ingredients can result in lumpy batter, a stodgy texture and require longer baking time.
6. COOL COMPLETELY BEFORE SLICING. After baking, you should allow the pie to cool completely at room temperature. You want to make sure you allow the pie to set properly. Cool for at least 2 hours on a wire rack before serving.
7. Pumpkin pies will last 3 to 4 days stored in the fridge.
8. To freeze, just make sure you wrap it tightly with plastic wrap after it comes to room temperature. Wrap it with a few layers of plastic wrap and then a layer of aluminum foil and store up to a month in the freezer.
9. To defrost, place the pie in the fridge overnight and let it thaw slowly.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 294kcal (15%)Carbohydrates: 41g (14%)Protein: 6g (12%)Fat: 11g (17%)Saturated Fat: 4g (25%)Cholesterol: 77mg (26%)Sodium: 316mg (14%)Potassium: 312mg (9%)Fiber: 2g (8%)Sugar: 25g (28%)Vitamin A: 9725IU (195%)Vitamin C: 3.7mg (4%)Calcium: 158mg (16%)Iron: 2.1mg (12%)

Course:Dessert, Pie

Cuisine:American

Keyword:classic pumpkin pie, pumpkin pie, thanksgiving recipes

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