It's so easy to make pumpkin pie from scratch! If you've wanted to make pumpkin pie from a pumpkin, here's your chance. Follow my foolproof method to make the best homemade pumpkin pie with pumpkin ever.
Skip the canned pumpkin this year and make pumpkin pie from a pumpkin! You won't believe how easy it is to do this, and I will show you how in this post. A blend of homemade pumpkin puree and heavy cream is swirled with sugar, warming spices, and eggs for a beautiful, flavorful pumpkin custard in this pumpkin pie from scratch recipe. Use your favorite pie crust, or try my easy and reliable gluten free all butter pie crust, oat flour pie crust, or simple gluten free pie crust to beautifully balance the pumpkin filling.
Jump to:
Why You'll Love From Scratch Pumpkin Pie
- A perfect way to use pumpkins. Homemade pumpkin puree is beyond easy to make and if you have extra pumpkins leftover from Halloween or just had a bumper crop in your garden, this is a wonderful way to use them up.
- Whole ingredients. Fresh pumpkin, real heavy cream - these simple, wholesome ingredients will make every bite of pumpkin pie from a pumpkin taste like a celebration.
- Naturally gluten free if needed. All the ingredients in this easy homemade pumpkin pie filling are gluten free and if you use a gluten free crust you'll easily have a super delicious, totally gluten free pumpkin pie.
Ingredients You'll Need
Here's a look at the ingredients in this homemade pumpkin pie from a pumpkin. The full ingredient amounts and instructions are in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Pie crust - You'll need 1 9-inch pie crust, homemade or store-bought.
- Pumpkin - A sugar pumpkin or pie pumpkin is best. Choose a pumpkin that's 1 ½-2 pounds.
- Heavy cream - Heavy cream adds richness to the custard filling. In a pinch, use half-and-half or whole milk.
- Eggs - Use large eggs and not jumbo eggs which can make the filling too liquidy.
- Brown sugar - You can use light or dark brown sugar. Dark brown sugar may make the filling slightly darker.
- Granulated sugar - A little regular sugar sweetens the pie with the brown sugar.
- Cornstarch - This works as a binder to help the filling hold together.
- Spices - A combination of ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.
- Salt - Fine sea salt or table salt is best.
How to Make Pumpkin Pie from a Pumpkin
You'll first roast the pumpkin to make enough puree for the filling. Here's a look at how you'll put together this pie:
- Make the pumpkin puree: Roast a 2-lb pumpkin at 400F until soft, then scrape off the skin and puree it until smooth.
- Make the filling: Whisk together the pumpkin puree, cream, eggs, spices, vanilla, salt, arrowroot, and sugars in a large bowl.
- Make the crust: Roll out the crust and fit it into a pie pan.
- Assemble: Pour the filling into the crust.
- Bake: Cook the pie for 15 minutes at 425℉, then cook it on 350℉ for about 1 hour. Cool completely before serving.
What Kind of Pumpkin Should I Use?
The best kind of pumpkin to use in pumpkin pie from scratch is called a sugar pumpkin or pie pumpkin. These tend to be on the smaller side, which means that their flavor and sweetness is more concentrated and flavorful. You'll typically need about 1 ½-2 pounds of fresh pumpkin to make the 2 cups of pumpkin puree called for in this pie recipe.
Tips for the Best Pumpkin Pie
- Prepare the filling ahead of time. You can whisk together the filling ingredients and store the mixture in a glass jar or airtight container for up to 24 hours before you plan to bake the pie. A rest will help the filling to deepen in flavor. Give the filling a good whisk to integrate it again before adding it to the crust.
- Butter the pie pan. To help with neatly removing the pie slices, generously butter the pie pan before fitting in the crust.
- Use a baking sheet. In addition to baking the pie on the lower rack, place the pie on a large baking sheet in the oven while it bakes. This will help the crust to crisp nicely as it's baking.
- If you blind-bake your crust: Just bake the pie at 350F for 1 hour or until set. Don't bake it on high heat first.
- Don't overbake. How to know when the pie is done? It should look firm around the edges but still a little soft and "jiggly" in the center although NOT at all liquidy. Identifying when a pumpkin pie is done takes a bit of trial, error, and experience - so know that even if you get a slightly cracked surface the pie will still taste delicious.
- Fully cool the pie. Custard pies need time to cool fully after being baked, so make sure to cool your pie at least to room temperature before serving it. I love pumpkin pie served cold after it's chilled in the fridge, but it depends on personal preference!
- Make it dairy-free. Use whole-fat coconut milk in the filling or your favorite non-dairy milk to make this pie dairy-free.
- Use pumpkin pie spice. If you don't have all the spices in the pantry you can use pumpkin pie spice for the combination of the spices (use 2 ½ teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice).
Serving Suggestions
Serve slices of pumpkin pie from a pumpkin with homemade or store-bought whipped cream! Sprinkle on a little cinnamon over the top of the whipped cream for a festive garnish. You could also drizzle the whole pie or individual slices with salted caramel sauce.
Or, try ice cream. Sweet vanilla ice cream or homemade no-churn pumpkin ice cream are nice accompaniments to pumpkin pie from a pumpkin.
Proper Storage
Store your pumpkin pie in the fridge, covered with plastic or foil, for up to 5 days.
More Gluten Free Pumpkin Recipes
If you tried this pumpkin pie from scratch or any other recipe on my website, please let me know how it went in the comments below! And I always appreciate a star rating if you loved it ❤️
Pumpkin Pie from Scratch
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch pie crust, you can use your choice of gluten-free or regular pie crust
- 1 2-pound sugar pie pumpkin, to make 2 cups pureed pumpkin
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3 eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ cup packed brown sugar, light or dark brown sugar
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425℉. Line a baking sheet with foil, and cut the pumpkin into four pieces. Remove the seeds and innards, place cut-side down on the baking sheet, and roast until soft, about 30 minutes. Let the pumpkin cool, then puree it until smooth.
- Whisk together the pumpkin puree, cream, eggs, spices, vanilla, salt, cornstarch, and sugars in a large bowl until smooth and blended.
- Roll out the prepared crust and fit it into a buttered or greased 9-inch pie pan. Place the pan on a baking sheet.
- Pour the filling into the crust and bake at 425℉ for 15 minutes then lower the temperature to 350℉ and bake until the filling is puffed and just set, about 50-60 minutes, lightly covering the top of the pie with aluminum foil if the crust starts to brown too much. Remove from the oven and cool completely (at least 2 hours). Serve at room temperature or cold.
Notes
- Prepare the filling ahead of time. You can whisk together the filling ingredients and store the mixture in a glass jar or airtight container for up to 24 hours before you plan to bake the pie. A rest will help the filling to deepen in flavor. Give the filling a good whisk to integrate it again before adding it to the crust.
- Use a large enough pie pan. Spillage is the worst! Make sure you use a 9-inch pie pan that isn't too shallow so that the filling cooks evenly and doesn't leak over the top.
- Use a baking sheet. In addition to baking the pie on the lower rack, place the pie on a large baking sheet in the oven while it bakes. This will help you easily set the pie in the oven without worrying about spilling, and if there happens to be any overflow it won't burn in your oven.
- Don't overbake. It's almost inevitable that you'll get a few cracks in your pumpkin pie, but the way to avoid this is to not let the pie bake for too long. The pie should look firm around the edges but still a little soft and "jiggly" in the center although NOT at all liquidy. Identifying when a pumpkin pie is done does take a bit of trial, error, and experience, so please know that even if you get a cracked surface the pie will still taste delicious.
- Fully cool the pie. Custard pies need time to cool fully after being baked, so it's really important to allow them to cool fully. Cool your pie at least to room temperature and then cut it or place it in the fridge to chill. I love pumpkin pie served cold, but it depends on personal preference!
- Make it dairy-free. Use whole-fat coconut milk in the filling or your favorite non-dairy milk to make this pie dairy-free.
- Use pumpkin pie spice. If you don't have all the spices in the pantry you can easily use pumpkin pie spice for the combination of the spices (2 ½ teaspoons).
Amanda says
I made your recipe for my Thanksgiving. I had a deep dish 9" pie pan, so I made a batch and a half of batter, though at least a 1/4 of that batch probably went straight into my mouth as I kept "testing" it.
In the oven, it souffled so high, then fell and developed a deep crack in center. I'm attributing this to using half&half instead of whole cream...never mind the appearance, it was perfect, custardy, flavorful in a way that canned pumpkin can never be. I think the 3rd egg was the trick. Thank you Nicole!
Camels & Chocolate says
AHHHH painful: This was the one key dish missing from my Thanksgiving dinner on the ship!
Bec says
Oh this looks mighty good! (And I can't believe you can buy canned pumpkin!)
Happy Thanksgiving!
Jessica @ The Desert Abode says
Congrats on your first real pumpkin pie! I'm convinced that once someone tries making a pumpkin pie from a real pumpkin, they'll never go back to the canned stuff. I never thought about making it without evaporated milk, though (what's in that stuff anyway?). I might have to modify my tried-and-true recipe and give this a try!
Happy Thanksgiving to you!
Nicole Gamble says
My mouth is watering now just looking at it! Super recipe!
loren says
thank you for this! we can't buy tinned pumpkin in New Zealand so a 'from real pumpkin' recipe is great! we are almost in summer here but you can still get fresh pumpkin because we love to eat it here, normally roasted.