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This Classic Pumpkin Pie recipe is absolutely flawless! You’ll make my buttery homemade pie crust and simple pumpkin pie filling. We’ve been using this recipe for years and it makes the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving or Christmas dessert table!

My Favorite Pumpkin Pie Recipe

Fall baking has arrived! Isn’t this the best time of year to be baking in the kitchen? A pumpkin pie recipe is a must this Holiday Season! To start, you’ll want to make my Homemade All Butter Pie Crust, it’s flaky, buttery and perfect for your pie baking needs.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Pumpkin Pie is a classic favorite for Thanksgiving!
This recipe is fail proof. There’s no messing it up.
It’s made with my homemade pie crust that gets rave reviews.

This is the BEST time of year for baking! Follow Picky Palate on Instagram for daily recipe inspiration.

What You’ll Need

Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this classic pie recipe at home. See the recipe card located at the bottom of the post for full instructions.

For Pie Crust

all-purpose flour– All-purpose flour is the main dry ingredient in making homemade pie crust.
granulated sugar– Just a touch of sugar adds a bit of sweetness to the pie crust.
kosher salt– Kosher salt is a course salt
salted butter– salted butter is added to the crust to give it that buttery flaky taste and texture. Unsalted butter works fine as well.
ice water– Ice water is added at the end of making the pie crust to keep the butter firm.

For Pumpkin Pie Filling

pure pumpkin puree– When shopping for pumpkin puree, make sure you don’t get pumpkin pie filling. Can should say pure pumpkin puree.
evaporated milk– Evaporated milk is found in the baking section near the sweetened condensed milk. It’s added to the pumpkin filling making the pie.
large eggs– You’ll notice when shopping for eggs, there will be medium, large and extra large eggs available. For consistency, I always purchase large eggs for my baking needs.
granulated sugar– The granulated sugar adds sweetness to your pie.
kosher salt– Kosher salt is a coarse salt, I prefer using it in my baking and cooking.
ground cinnamon– Find ground cinnamon in the spices section of your grocery store. It’s a very common spice in pumpkin pie.
ground nutmeg– Ground nutmeg is also found in the spices section. You can buy whole nutmeg and grate it yourself if you’d like as well.

How To Make a Pumpkin Pie

Preheat Oven. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Prepare Pie Crust. Prepare pie crust according to recipe instructions. Place pie dough into 9-inch pie plate, crimp edges if desired. Brush pie edges with an egg white wash-1 egg (whites only) and 1/2 teaspoon water whisked.

Prepare Pumpkin Pie Filling. Place pumpkin and evaporated milk into a large mixing bowl, stir to combine. Beat in eggs until well combined. Slowly stir in sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. When combined, carefully pour filling into pie crust, only filling 3/4 full. You may have extra pumpkin pie filling depending on size of your pie plate.

Bake. Bake at 425 degrees F. for 15 minutes then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 40-45 more minutes. Remove and let cool completely before serving.

Top With Whipped Cream. Serve with a dollop of homemade whipped cream and dust with cinnamon if desired.

Can I Use A Refrigerated Pie Crust?

You sure can, no judging here, however….my pie crust recipe is so simple and can be made ahead of time. I love that you can freeze the dough for 30 minutes and it’s ready to roll and use. Consider a homemade pie crust recipe for special occasions!

pouring pumpkin pie into pie crust to bake

What’s The Difference Between Pumpkin Puree and Pie Filling?

Pumpkin pie filling and pumpkin puree often sit in cans next to each other on the grocery store shelf in the baking isle. It can be easy to confuse the two products because they look very similar. They have a few key differences that you should keep in mind when you are using them to cook or bake.

Pumpkin puree only contains pureed pumpkin flesh. Some brands of pumpkin puree also have a little bit of salt for flavor. Pumpkin pie filling, on the other hand, includes many of the ingredients that go with pumpkin puree when you make a pie. The pumpkin pie filling usually contains cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, nutmeg and sugar in addition to the puree.

What Kind of Pie Plate Should I Use for Pumpkin Pie?

Pie plates typically come in three different materials: metal, glass, and ceramic. All three can absolutely create a fantastic pie, so determining which is “best” is primarily based on personal preference. I prefer the ceramic such as Emile Henry and just the basic glass pyrex.

Prepare your pumpkin pie filling in a large mixing bowl. No fuss at all, just place your pumpkin puree and evaporated milk into the bowl first, mix to combine then add the rest of your ingredients. Once mixed will, carefully pour filling into the pie crust.

pumpkin pie filling in pie crust ready to bake

Tips For Baking The Perfect Pumpkin Pie

Make sure you don’t overfill your pie! Depending on what size your pie plate is, you may not need to use all of your pie filling you prepared. Only fill your pie 3/4 full, leave a good 1/2 inch of crust showing. Pie will rise slightly.
Don’t overcook your pumpkin pie. Use a cake tester or toothpick to check center of pie. When it comes out clean, pie is done. Let pie cool for at least 2 hours before slicing.

How To Avoid Cracks In Pumpkin Pie

When your pumpkin pie has been baked, it should still be ever so slightly jiggly in the middle. When you carefully remove the pie from the oven and let it cool, this will give you a nice even pumpkin pie. Overcooking pumpkin pie can cause cracks in the top.

How Should I Serve Pumpkin Pie?

There are lots of ways you can serve Pumpkin Pie! You can serve it simple like I have shown here with a light dusting of powdered sugar or get fancy and top the pie with homemade whipped cream! Another delicious option is to serve each slice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream…and even drizzled with caramel. Enjoy!

How To Store Leftovers

Refrigerate. Store any leftover homemade pumpkin pie in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Try More Thanksgiving Recipes

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