A classic Thanksgiving pie and autumn favorite, pumpkin pie from scratch starts with a homemade all-butter pie crust that is filled with smooth, warmly spiced, sweet pumpkin custard.
Key Takeaways: Pumpkin Pie From Scratch
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Bake Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
- Servings: 8 servings
- Cook Method: Baked in a pie pan until set
- Flavor & Texture: A crisp, buttery crust with a smooth, pumpkin-spiced custard filling.
- Difficulty: Easy. This pie has a simple filling with a single pie shell.
- Why this Recipe? This pumpkin pie recipe is a simple but delicious classic, focusing on homemade components and warm, fall flavors.
We love pumpkin pie in the fall. The warm spices and complementary textures of the crisp crust and custard filling make this one of the best seasonal desserts.
Serve the pie with a dollop of from-scratch whipped cream or old-fashioned ice cream.
Some of our other fall favorites include pumpkin cheesecake, baked apple cider donuts, homemade apple pie, apple cake with homemade glaze, and sourdough cinnamon rolls.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Delicious classic – Simple, but full of flavor, keep this recipe on hand for any and all fall occasions.
Make-ahead friendly – You can prepare the crust and custard separately, refrigerating and then baking when needed. You can also assemble and bake the pie 1-2 days ahead of time, refrigerating until ready to serve.
Wholesome ingredients – Homemade crust and purée, plus quality eggs and dairy, this pie is creamy, sweet, and full of ingredients you know and love.
Ingredients
Pumpkin purée – Use homemade pumpkin purée (from one medium pumpkin) or canned pumpkin.
Vanilla extract – Use a store-bought vanilla or use your own homemade vanilla extract.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How To Make Pumpkin Pie From Scratch
Step 1: Prepare your all-butter pie crust and press it into a 9-inch pie plate, trimming and crimping the edges. Keep the dough chilled while mixing the filling.
Step 2: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, add eggs, pumpkin purée, heavy cream, vanilla, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Whisk until smooth.
Step 3: Pour the filling into the prepared pie shell and bake for one hour. The edges of the crust should turn golden brown, and the filling should be set.
Step 4: Cool on a wire rack for at least an hour before serving.
Lisa’s Expert Tips
- This is a single crust recipe. My all-butter pie crust recipe makes two crusts (a top and bottom crust). Halve the pie crust recipe for a single pumpkin pie, or make the full recipe and double the pumpkin filling for two pies.
- If the pie crust starts to brown too much before the pie is done, cover the edges with aluminum foil to prevent further browning.
- You can make your own pumpkin spice out of individual spices or use a premade blend from the store.
- If you are crunched for time, you can easily substitute the homemade crust with a store-bought pie crust, and your own pumpkin purée for canned pumpkin.
- Pumpkin pie is egg-based and should be kept refrigerated to prevent spoiling.
Pumpkin Pie from Scratch FAQs
Before storing, let the pie cool completely to room temperature. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to four days.
No, regular carving pumpkins lack flavor and are watery and stringy. Pie pumpkins, also known as sugar pumpkins, are ideal for making homemade pumpkin purée. They have a smooth texture and sweet flavor, perfect for pies.
Some common errors include using premade canned pie filling, which is pre-spiced and sweetened, or disregarding the correct baking and cooling times.
Yes, a pumpkin filling is a custard made with cream and eggs. It should be runny and pourable and will firm up after baking and cooling.
More Fall Recipes from the Farmhouse
- Pumpkin Frittata with Bacon and Feta
- Cranberry French Toast Casserole
- Garlic Sourdough Bread with Rosemary
- Sweet Potato Casserole
- Pumpkin Deviled Eggs
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
How To Make The Best Pumpkin Pie From Scratch
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ all-butter pie crust
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups pumpkin purée
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Prepare your all-butter pie crust and press it into a 9-inch pie plate, trimming and crimping the edges. Keep the dough chilled while mixing the filling.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, add eggs, pumpkin purée, heavy cream, vanilla, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Whisk until smooth.
- Pour the filling into the prepared pie shell and bake for one hour. The edges of the crust should turn golden brown, and the filling should be set.
- Cool on a wire rack for at least an hour before serving. Serve with fresh whipped cream or old-fashioned ice cream.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Excellent pumpkin pie! My 3 year old told me after his first bite “you make the best pies, mum” 🫠
I used two small pie pumpkins to fill 2 cups worth and also placed my crust in the freezer before baking – it came out perfect!
I’ve never heard of placing your crust in the freezer before, thank you for that tip! I’m so excited to try it!!
My go-to, thank you!
It would be great if you gave instructions on how to make the filling as opposed to just the ingredients! The entire recipe is about how to make the crust!!!
In step 6 it says put all filling ingredients into a bowl and combine. Then in step 7 it says to pour the filling into the pie crust. The majority of the recipe is about how to make the crust because that is the most time consuming, and more complicated, part. It does give instructions on how to make the filling, it’s just the the filling only needs the ingredients to be stirred together.
Thank you for helping me make my first pie ever! Since it was my first time, I played it safe and used canned pumpkin and a store-bought crust. I made the filling exactly as written and baked for exactly an hour. I used the pumpkin pie spice blend recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction website.
My fiance took one bite of the pie and said “can I marry you twice?” Pumpkin pie is one of his all-time favorite foods and he can be very discerning with his tastes, so this is definitely a winner!!
I’m thrilled with how it turned out and next time I will be brave and try my own crust.
So yummy!! I had to bake mine for 11/2 hours for it to set up
Best pumpkin pie I’ve ever eaten – let alone made!
Turned out amazing! I used a sourdough crust with my pie and it was so good
I used my regular crust and your recipe for the filling, it was amazing! It is very creamy, not too sweet. It is the first time of my life that I had a pumpkin pie and I will mot look any further, this is THE one I’ll keep!
Thanks!
I’ve tried and loved dozens of your sourdough recipes but this one hasn’t worked for me. I’ve tried it twice recently and both times it came out chewy and def not crisp. I’m thinking it could be because I used a mixer? I tried not to overmix but it takes awhile for the cold butter to incorporate. Thinking I could try softened butter instead with mixer? Or just do by hand? Any recs?
For a flakey pie crust, you dont want to mix the butter in. You just want to cut it into pea-sized crumbles. If the butter fully incorporates into the flour, you will have a chewy crust 😉
This turned out really good, had to bake it for a half hour more. It didn’t set it the middle after an hour but I think it’s because I used a little more than 2 cups of pumpkin so the mixture was a little soupy. Our kids like it so I think it a win.🙂
Thanks for sharing – so glad you enjoyed it!