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Homemade pumpkin pie is, simply stated, the best dessert for fall! Learn how to make the best homemade pumpkin pie with this recipe. Includes ingredients and bake times for 8″, 9″ or 10″ pumpkin pies. This is one of our best pumpkin recipes for Thanksgiving.
Nothing says fall, Thanksgiving and the holidays like pumpkin pie! This is my sister’s homemade pumpkin pie recipe, taken from her Betty Crocker cookbook. It’s the pie we always have during our family dinners and it’s delicious!
How to Make Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin pie is one of the easiest pies to make! It only takes one crust and you can have the filling mixed up in about 5 minutes. Be sure to buy solid-pack pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling. You can adjust the spices for this pie if you’d like. Add a touch more cinnamon or leave out the cloves. It’s up to you!
Do I need to pre bake the crust for a pumpkin pie?
There is no need to pre-bake a pie crust for pumpkin pie. Make your favorite pie crust and place it in the pan unbaked (or buy refrigerated pie dough if you’d like a shortcut). The crust will bake beautifully along with the pie.
Can you substitute milk for evaporated milk in pumpkin pie?
Evaporated milk is the best choice for pumpkin pie. If you don’t have evaporated milk, the next best choice is half and half or heavy cream. Can you use milk in pumpkin pie? Yes, but add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to the pie filling to be sure the pie sets up correctly.
Do you need to refrigerate a pumpkin pie?
Pumpkin pies are made with milk and eggs, similar to custard. Because of this, pumpkin pie should be stored in the refrigerator. The pie will generally be okay for 2 hours at room temperature, then refrigerate it.
Homemade Pumpkin Pie – 8″ Recipe
1 large egg
1 ¼ cups canned pumpkin
2/3 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ginger
⅛ teaspoon cloves
1 ¼ cups evaporated milk
Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes, then without opening the oven, reduce temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for an additional 35 minutes.
Homemade Pumpkin Pie – 10″ Recipe
3 large eggs
2 ¾ cups canned pumpkin
1 cup sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
¾ teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon cloves
2 ¼ cups evaporated milk
Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes, then without opening the oven, reduce temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for an additional 55 minutes.
How do you know when a pumpkin pie is done?
Your pumpkin pie should not jiggle when you shake the pie plate gently. It should be firmed up in the center. You can do a knife test and gently push a knife into the center of the pie. It should come out clean. Sometimes the knife test can cause a crack in the top of the pie, but it is the easiest way to test if the pie is done.
In a bowl, beat the eggs using a hand mixer. Beat in remaining ingredients and mix until smooth.
Pour into the unbaked pie shell.
Bake for 15 minutes, then without opening the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Bake for an additional 40-45 minutes or until the center is set and a knife inserted comes out clean.
Serve with whipped cream.
Store the cake in the refrigerator.
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Notes
The calories shown are based on the pie being cut into 8 pieces, with 1 serving being 1 slice of pie. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate.
While many recipes call for it, you can absolutely make an outstanding pumpkin pie without evaporated milk. If your recipe calls for one can of evaporated milk (as most do), you can substitute 1 ½ cups of cream or half and half, or a combination of the two. You can also use milk (any kind from whole to skim).
First grab a neck pumpkin because they will give you more puree per pumpkin than any other type of pumpkin. Pumpkins can be steamed, baked or boiled. I've tried the various methods, and I prefer baking. I usually leave it whole and bake it (300F) on a rimmed sheet pan or baking pan.
To avoid a soggy crust, I blind bake it until it's thoroughly dry before adding the filling. To prevent those unsightly cracks in the filling, I've tweaked the traditional recipe: a bit of flour for stability, replacing some whole eggs with yolks for richness, and baking at a low temperature for even cooking.
Also known as Sugar Pie pumpkins, these thin-skinned squash are smaller (4-8 lbs.) and have a sweet, dense flesh with a fine-grained, smooth texture. The cooked flesh is a bit drier, which makes a great pie filling.
During my testing of pumpkin pies, I tried lots of different milk options – heavy whipping cream, regular milk (I used 2% in my testing), sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk. Ultimately, I found heavy whipping cream to be the best. It produced the creamiest pie in my opinion.
Another common issue with pumpkin pie is when the filling seems too watery, even if it's been baked long enough. Why this happens: This happens most often when using fresh pumpkin. Canned pumpkin purée has a lower moisture content than fresh pumpkin.
The outer edges of the pie should be firm while the center will be a little jiggly, but not sloshy or unsteady. As the old adage goes, "It needs to jiggle like Jell-O but not wiggle like a wave." If the entire pie is wobbly, continue baking. Use a piecrust shield if it's browning too fast.
Often, blind-baking solves this problem. If you're making a single crust custard-filled pie, like a pumpkin pie, bake the pie dough first before adding filling to allow some of the moisture in the crust to evaporate. You can also totally blind-bake fruit pies.
As a general rule, you do need to blind bake when cooking a dish with wet fillings. For example, if you're making a quiche or frangipane, blind baking the crust first will help ensure the pastry case stays buttery and retains its crunch.
If the pie jiggles (but doesn't wiggle), then it's done. You should also see that the filling has darkened and the texture of the pie should be a bit puffed up from when you put it in the oven. If you're still uncertain, stick a knife (or a toothpick) in the center and see if it comes out clean.
For even more flavor, you can add spices (like the celebrated pumpkin pie spice!) to the purée during the cooking step. Heating spices “blooms” them, releasing their flavorful, fragrant oils.
Start with the right variety of pumpkins, sugar pumpkins. Large pumpkins that we traditionally think of as jack-o-lanterns aren't ideal for pie as they are very stringy and have a lot of seeds. There really isn't very much “meat” to the larger pumpkins. Sugar pumpkins, also known as pie pumpkins, are sweeter.
In this taste test, our Test Kitchen pros found that the biggest name in the pumpkin game does, in fact, make the best canned pumpkin on the market. Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin is a favorite among our culinary crew.
The milk you have in the refrigerator is the best substitute for evaporated milk because it can be concentrated, much like the product you find on grocery store shelves. To make your own evaporated milk, pour 2/3 more milk than called for in the recipe into a saucepan.
Eggs: Two eggs add moisture and act as a binding agent, which means they help hold the pumpkin pie filling together. Pumpkin: Of course, you'll need a can of Libby's pure pumpkin. Evaporated milk: A can of evaporated milk lends richness and helps thicken the pie filling.
You can create evaporated milk by mixing 1 cup of powdered milk with 1 ½ cups of warm water; stir until the powdered milk has dissolved completely. The water will thicken enough to resemble the same product as what's inside that classic 12-ounce can.
Introduction: My name is Jonah Leffler, I am a determined, faithful, outstanding, inexpensive, cheerful, determined, smiling person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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