The BEST PUMPKIN PIE RECIPE
Award-winning creamy pumpkin pie recipe has a secret ingredient to make it extra special!
I spent most of my life making the pumpkin pie recipe on the back of the Libby's pumpkin can. It is a yummy recipe and produces a classic pumpkin pie. But it might just be a tad boring. Most of my kids reach for any other pie but pumpkin so I set out to change it.
Last year, I made a simple perfect pumpkin pie using sweetened condensed milk. This year I decided to up the ante and really change up the classic pumpkin pie recipe. The result was pumpkin pie perfection.
How to make the best pumpkin pie recipe:
So what makes this the best pumpkin pie recipe? Two ingredients -- Cream Cheese and Butter. Instead of using evaporated canned milk, we add cream cheese and butter. Duh. Why have I not thought of this before? The creamy cheese and butter add a touch of rich creaminess to the pumpkin pie. My son, Carson, who will NOT even touch pumpkin pie, is in hog heaven with this pie.
The cream cheese and butter also softens the strong pumpkin flavor. Don't you worry...it is still a perfectly pumpkin flavored pie but is much creamier than the original. When paired with a buttery flaky pie crust and fresh whipped cream, it just screams holiday.
This Best Pumpkin Pie Recipe actually just won 1st Place in the Pumpkin Pie Bake-Off competition -- Pumpkin Pie Bake-Off. What a fun surprise!
The best pumpkin pie recipe starts with a homemade all-butter pie crust. Click here for the recipe. I include step-by-step instructions on how to make butter pie crust. I use a deep-dish pie pan for this recipe since there is plenty of filling.
There's nothing like homemade whipped cream. It begins with heavy whipped cream, whipped until soft peaks form. Powdered sugar is added to sweeten it.
Find the recipe for the Best Pumpkin Pie Recipe here:
The Best Pumpkin Pie Recipe
Ingredients
Pumpkin Pie Filling:
- 1 - 8- ounce pkg. Cream Cheese softened
- 1 - 15 ounce can Pure Pumpkin Puree
- ½ cup Butter melted
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla
- 3 Eggs
- 3 ¼ cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Nutmeg or 1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- All-Butter Pie Crust Recipe
Homemade Whipped Cream:
- 2 cups Heavy Cream
- ½ cup Powdered Sugar
Instructions
- Make pie crust recipe according to recipe directions. Find the recipe for an all-butter pie crust here. Let dough chill in refrigerator, tightly wrapped.
- In mixing bowl, beat cream cheese for 5 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides often with spatula. The whisk attachment works the best to whip the cream cheese.
- Add pumpkin and mix for another 5 minutes.
- Add melted butter and vanilla and mix for 1 minute.
- Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Add powdered sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice and salt.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Place pie dough in a deep-dish pie pan.
- Pour pumpkin pie filling into pie crust and place pie plate on baking sheet. Depending on the size of your pie pan, you may have some extra filling.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Lower the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 42 - 48 minutes. Watch the crust carefully to make sure it isn't becoming too brown. Cover with pie cover or foil to prevent browning.
- Let chill in refrigerator for 4 hours.
- Top with freshly whipped cream.
Video
Click the links below for more pie recipes:
Caramel Apple Pie
White Chocolate Macadamia Chocolate Ganache Pie
Double Chocolate Marble Pie
The BEST Pumpkin Pie
Old-Fashioned Pecan Pie
Sweet Cherry Pie
Traditional Perfect Pumpkin Pie
Caramel Banana Cream Pie
PIN this IMAGE on PINTEREST:
Happy Baking, my friends! Find all of Modern Honey Thanksgiving Recipes on www.modernhoney.com/thanksgiving.
Alex
Pie is in the oven now smelling Divine... the filling knocked my socks off, Melissa!! ☆☆☆☆☆ The idea of 3+c of powdered sugar made my teeth fall out just reading it tho, lol, so I used just 1c with a smidge of brown creamed with the cream cheese. Plenty sweet for my taste. Roasted a Jarrahdale for this and threw in a pinch of cardamom as well. Wish it was morning so I could throw the leftover filling in some pancakes. Wonderful recipe - thanks!
Kristina Smith
Leftover filling in pancakes?? Please tell me how you do this! And I agree with the sugar!! I’ll be using much less next time!
Mary
I just pulled this pie out of the oven, it smells amazing! I can already tell this is going to be a keeper. So happy I found your site. ❤
B K
Hmm, guidelines on how firm or wiggly the center should be before removing from oven? Appreciate a tip.
Modern Honey
Hi there! It will be slightly jiggly but should be mostly firm. It will set up after it comes out of the oven but it needs to be almost fully set in the middle. If you try to remove it from the oven, and it looks like there's an earthquake in the center, it is not done. 🙂 Hope that helps! Thank you for trying my recipe.
Christine
How do you measure the powdered sugar for this? I'm worried I put to much because I didn't shift. I guess we'll see how it comes out. I'm super excited.
Modern Honey
Hi Christine! I hope you love it! I use the scoop and scrape method. I don't pack it down but do a light swipe across the top. You should be just fine! It should taste amazing!
ANGELIQUE C BRIGHT
Great recipe, i lowered the amount of sugar and used 1 cup of brown sugar instead. Cream cheese really makes it come together
Heather
@Angelique
Did you just use brown sugar entirely and no powered sugar? How did it taste!? I'm curious!
Peggy
Really looking forward to making this pumpkin pie!!! Do you bake the crust before adding the filling?
Laural
Hello. It's almost that time of year again. So Exciting !!! Can you please tell me about the plates in the photo? They bring such an elegance to the table. The perfect complement to such a wonderfully prepared pie ???? thank you for sharing, Laural
Robin
Useing your recipe as my guide, I made the regular pumpkin pie w/ the 6 oz. of condensed milk not the powdered sugar. I then made the cream cheese, powdered sugar, egg & vanilla mixture and spread it atop the pumpkin layer and swirled it in a bit. Around the edges of the pie I sprinkled chopped walnuts just for fun. Thank you for the idea, we were so excited to taste it we cut into it while still warm, it is awesome.
Terri McCall Burkham
Hi. I'm planning on making cupcake sized individual pumpkin pies. Am I correct in assuming I can use this recipe but just cut down the baking time?
Modern Honey
Hi Terri! I LOVE that idea! They will turn out amazing. Yes, you can use the same recipe, no problem. Since they will be much smaller in size, I would suggest halving the time and then keep checking on them. It depends on how deep the filling is in the individual cups. If it is deep, it will need more time than if it is shallow. I hope that helps! Thank you for trying my recipe.
Lynn
Hi there! Looking forward to making this for my Pumpkin Pie Lovin' Hubby! I have a question....should I use unsalted or salted butter for both the pumpkin mixture and pie crust?
Thanks!!!
Modern Honey
Hi Lynn! I hope your pumpkin pie lovin' husband loves it! Even my non-pumpkin pie lovers will eat this pie so I hope it turns out amazing! I would suggest using unsalted for the pie and salted butter for the crust is fine. I like to make sure there's enough salt in the crust to bring out the flavor. 🙂
Alina
This is the best pumpkin pie I’ve tasted. Perfect amount of creaminess and pumpkin flavor. I only used 1 cup of sugar and still feel it’s plenty sweet. But then again I am averse to overly sweet anything. Next time I may even skip the sugar all together as other recipes don’t call for it and I prefer just the basics. The creamy pumpkin filling with some whipped cream to me is decadent enough on its own! Also healthier to skip the sugar. But this is just my personal preference. I didn’t like all the extra fillers the grocery store pies had in it and this recipe is amazing and easy!
Modern Honey
Awww thank you! I love to hear it! Thank you for trying my recipe. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Morgan
So excited to try this recipe! I’ll be making it the day before Thanksgiving - do you have any storage tips?
Thanks!
Modern Honey
Hi Morgan! The beauty of this pie is that it can be made ahead of time. You can bake it, let it cool, and then refrigerate it. I hope that helps!
Natalie
I want to make this in a 10 in cast iron skillet. Would that work for this recipe?
Thanks!
Modern Honey
Hi Natalie! Great question! I haven't tried it but I am sure it will be amazing. The baking time may vary slightly so keep checking the pie and watch for it to firm up in the center. You may want to put pie crust covers on the edges to ensure the pie crust doesn't get too brown. Good luck!
Sharon
Hi, I'm making two pies and wondering, do I just double the ingredients? I don't want it to be too sweet. Also, I don't have a deep dish pie pan, so any suggestions on what to do with the extra would be awesome! Thanks!
Angela
This was my first ever home made pie! Absolutely love the cream cheese! So rich and creamy. I only put two cups of powder d sugar and added a lot more pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon. It was delicious! Thanks for the recipe!