BEST Easy Pumpkin Pie Recipe
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If your holidays aren’t complete without a creamy Pumpkin Pie (with pumpkin pie spice and sweetened condensed milk!) then this recipe is for you. It’s easy, foolproof, no-fuss, the perfect texture and flavor, and will leave you with just one bowl to clean up!
Ready for more pie recipes? You’re in luck, friend! Check out my popular posts for Apple Slab Pie, Brown Sugar Walnut Apple Pie, and Apple Crumble Pie.
Why This Recipe Works
Volunteer to make the pumpkin pie this year, it’ll be our little secret that it took you no time at all!
Canned pumpkin — The holidays are for eating sure, but they’re also for enjoying time with family and friends. Free up some of that time by making your baking as easy as possible, using pre-packaged ingredients if possible, like using canned pumpkin puree in your pumpkin pie. Just open and mix with a few other ingredients, easy, peasy!
Pumpkin pie spice — You can definitely mix up your own pumpkin pie spice with a combination of ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and a pinch of black pepper OR, just grab your favorite store-bought brand and you’re ready to go!
Easily doubles — If you have a big family like mine (or lots of holiday guests) then you know one pumpkin pie isn’t going to cut it. Plus, refrigerated pie crusts come in packs of two so basically the universe is telling you to just go ahead and make two of these easy pumpkin pies.
Great leftovers — If (big “if”) you have any pie leftover, it keeps just fine on the counter for a couple of days or even longer in the fridge. Also? It’s great for breakfast the next morning, or for a midnight snack, dessert after lunch…basically it’s great to eat at any time of day or night.
Ingredients
- Canned Pumpkin Puree – using canned pumpkin just cuts outs so much work and the holidays are already so busy, make your to-do list a little shorter!
- Sweetened Condensed Milk – this is key to the silky-smooth texture and sweetness of a classic pumpkin pie.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice – A classic blend of spices your pie can’t be without.
- Cinnamon – I know pumpkin pie spice already has cinnamon, but you’ll appreciate the little cinnamon boost in this pie, trust me!
- Salt – to enhance all of the pumpkin flavor and balance out the sweetness of the condensed milk.
- Pie Crust – If you are short on time, grab yourself a pre-made store-bought pie crust and this pie will be delicious! If you can spare a few extra minutes, you will not regret making my (SUPER easy) shortbread pie crust recipe!
Here’s How You Make It
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. If you are using a homemade pie crust, make your crust ahead of time. If you’re using store-bought crust, make sure it’s thawed first. (photo 1)
- Get out a large bowl and mix together the pumpkin, sweetened, condensed milk, and eggs. (photo 2)
- Add the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt and stir together. (photos 2-3)
- Pour the mixture into the pie crust. (photo 4)
- Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees, then reduce oven temperature to 350 and cook an additional 35-40 minutes. The pie is done when the crust is browned and only the center of the pie jiggles when you lightly shake the pan. (not pictured)
- Allow pie to cool on a cooling rack to room temperature or cover and chill for up to 2 days. When you’re ready to serve, allow the pumpkin pie to come to room temperature and serve with chopped nuts and whipped cream if desired. (photos 5-6)
Expert Tips
Here’s what you need to know to make the absolute best, easy homemade pumpkin pie!
- Get your pie crust out to thaw about 30 minutes before you’re ready to make this pie. You don’t want to be all ready to bake and find out your crust is still frozen. Plus, if you try to unroll a frozen crust, it will just break up into pieces.
- I prefer to bake the whole pie — crust and all — at the same time. But, this does make the pie crust a little soggy. If you want your crust a little flakier, you can poke the bottom of the crust with a fork a few times (to release steam), then pre-bake it at 375 for 10-12 minutes before adding the filling. Then, cover the outside edges of the crust with foil or a pie shield.
- You know what’s better than whipped cream on top of pumpkin pie? That’s right, ice cream! Especially if the pie is still warm (and even if it isn’t!).
Frequently Asked Questions
Nope, sorry, if all you have is evaporated milk, that will not be a good substitute at all for sweetened, condensed milk in this pumpkin pie recipe. The sweetened milk sweetens the filling and makes it creamy. If you use evaporated milk, the pie won’t be sweet at all and will have a watery texture.
More Pumpkin Recipes For the Holidays
- Pumpkin French Toast
- Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
- Caramel Pecan Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Sugar Frosting
- Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
- Easy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Did you make this dish? Please rate the recipe below!
BEST Easy Pumpkin Pie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ cups pumpkin puree
- 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 2 eggs, slightly whisked
- 1 ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 homemade or store-bought refrigerated shortbread pie crust
- optional toppings: chopped nuts, whipped cream
- 1 egg, whisked
- coarse sugar, optional
easy shortbread pie crust
- 3 cups flour
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup salted butter, cold, cut into ½-inch cubes
- ⅔ cup cold water
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- ice cubes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. If using homemade pie crust, prepare crust as written in the recipe. ( If using store-bought make sure the crust is thawed.)
for the filling
- In a large bowl mix together pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, and eggs. Add cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt and stir well. Pour into prepared crust.
- Brush crust with egg wash.
- Bake on lowest rack for 15 minutes at 425 degrees, then change oven temperature to 350 and bake 35-40 minutes longer. Pie is done when the crust is browned and only the center of the pie jiggles when you lightly shake the pan.
- Allow to cool on a cooling rack to room temperature or cover and chill up to 2 days. When ready to serve, allow to come to room temperature and serve with chopped nuts and whipped cream if desired.
for the pie crust
- In a food processor combine flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon and pulse several times.
- Add butter cubes and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- In a liquid measuring cup combine water, vinegar, and enough ice cubes to reach 1 cup.
- Add liquid to the flour mixture (strain the ice so that it stays in the measuring cup) 2 tablespoons at a time, pulsing after each addition, until mixture resembles streusel (it will not come together like a dough, it will be somewhat dry but should stick together when you smoosh come of it between your fingers).
- Shape dough into a ball with your hands. Divide in half and place each half on a large piece of plastic wrap. Pat into a 1/2-inch thick disc and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Place in the freezer for 20 minutes.
- Roll each disc into a 12-inch circle. Gently shape one into the bottom of a 9-inch pie dish . Fold the overhanging dough back toward the center of the dish and crimp edges with your fingers to make the crust.
- Optional: Cut shapes from the second crust, brush with egg wash and sprinkle generously with sugar. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Cool and decorate baked pie.
Notes
- Get your pie crust out to thaw about 30 minutes before you’re ready to make this pie. You don’t want to be all ready to bake and find out your crust is still frozen. Plus, if you try to unroll a frozen crust, it will just break up into pieces.
- I prefer to bake the whole pie — crust and all — at the same time. But, this does make the pie crust a little soggy. If you want your crust a little flakier, you can poke the bottom of the crust with a fork a few times (to release steam), then pre-bake it at 375 for 10-12 minutes before adding the filling. Then, cover the outside edges of the crust with foil or a pie shield.
- You know what’s better than whipped cream on top of pumpkin pie? That’s right, ice cream! Especially if the pie is still warm (and even if it isn’t!).
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Delicious! Everyone loved it. My first time making pumpkin pie and as we are in the UK lots of our first time eating it. Recipe was super simple and we all really enjoyed it, a great level of sweetness to it.
This was an easy recipe but I wouldn’t call it the best. The flavor was not as good as the other recipes I have made.
This post is very simple to read and appreciate without leaving any details out. Great work! wuxiaworld
Hi Tiffany-I love sweetened condensed milk in desserts but I need to make this non-dairy and was not sure if coconut cream would be a substitute? Any thoughts? Thanks a bunch
My crust is a soupy mess. Theres nothing streudEsl or dry about it. Ive reviewed the ingred over and over. This cant be right?!
Hi Jenny, I’d love to help you out! It sounds like maybe one of your ingredient measurements was off – is there any chance you misread the recipe and used too much water? It should be 2/3 cup (not 2-3 cups).
Tiffany, thank you very much for delivering details of such delicious and appetizing dessert named as homemade Pumpkin pie. This is the most amazing pumpkin pie I have tried ever.
Imade this and it was DELICIOUS but i did have a large bubble On the top once created. DIDN’T Affect the How tasty it was but dUe you have any tips on how to prevent happening in the future? What did i do wrong?
I’m not sure on this one. Usually a pie cracks/sinks when it gets an air bubble trapped inside the batter, usually from mixing to quickly/vigorously. But I’m not familiar with a pie bubble that stays intact!
If using a FROZEN pie crust do you bake it first then fill it. Or pour into pie crust and bake all together
You should thaw your frozen crust first. Once it’s thawed, put it in the pan and then fill and bake as the directions say!
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Just thought I’d stop by and let you know that I made this pie for Thanksgiving and it was delicious!! Everyone agreed that it should be the de facto recipe from now on. It was so much better than the recipe on the can of Libby’s pumpkin puree that I used last year. Thank you so much and happy holidays!