Recipe: How to Make a Pumpkin Pie From Scratch

I’ve been making my own pumpkin pie from what I considered to be “from scratch” for years now. But I’ve never made my own crust, and I never roasted my own pie pumpkin (a.k.a. a sugar pumpkin). Now, all of that has changed, and I’m not going back. The pumpkin tastes so much fresher when you roast it yourself as opposed to getting the canned stuff from the grocery store. And while I used to think making a pie crust would be daunting, it turned out to be (fairly) straightforward. I need to work on my crimping skills, but I’m getting there—and you can too. Here’s the perfect recipe to make your own pumpkin pie from scratch this Thanksgiving.

Pumpkin Pie Recipe Ingredients

Pie Crust

To make the pie crust, follow our recipe here!

Pie Filling

• 2-3 lbs of pie pumpkin (aka sugar pumpkin)
• 3/4 cup of brown sugar
• 1 tsp of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1/2 tsp of ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp of ground cloves
• ½ tsp of nutmeg—freshly ground if you have it
• 2 large eggs, slightly beaten
• 12 oz of evaporated milk

Pumpkin Pie Recipe Instructions

1. Start by preheating the oven to 350°F.

2. Cut the pie pumpkin in half (the easiest way is to leave the stem on one side only). Once it’s cut, scoop out the seeds and stringy bits, and discard them.

3. Brush each side of the pumpkin with oil and then place the flesh sides down on a parchment paper-lined baking pan. Pierce the skin a few times with a fork as well.

4. Bake the pumpkin halves for about 40-50 minutes until the flesh is soft. Then remove it and let cool. Scoop out the flesh, and then puree it in a high-speed blender, food processor or immersion blender.

5. Let the pureed pumpkin cool completely before using. It should keep well in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week if you need to make the recipe in two parts.

6. Then, preheat the oven to 400°F.

7. Make the pie crust with the linked instructions. Optional: add an egg wash to the crust before it’s baked.

8. When the crust is ready in the pie dish, it’s a good idea to partially bake it in the oven. Place some pie weights on the crust if you have them (dry beans will also work) and bake it for about 8 minutes. Then, remove the weights and bake it for another 5–6 minutes. This helps the crust bake and have a firm layer before you add the pie filling.

11. Mix 2 cups of the pureed pumpkin in a bowl with the slightly beaten eggs, the brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and the evaporated milk.

12. Whisk or beat the mixture with a hand mixer until everything is incorporated and smooth.

13. Add to the pie crust without over-filling the dish. (If there is extra filling, that means you can make mini pies with the leftover dough!)

14. Bake the pie for 40-60 minutes (checking frequently after 40 minutes) until a knife inserted near the edge comes out clean. You may want to cover the edges with foil to prevent them from burning as the mixture cooks.

15. The centre of the pie should be firm but can jiggle a little bit as it continues to cook and firm up after it’s out of the oven.

16. Place the pie on a wire rack to cool to room temperature.

Serve the pumpkin pie warm or cold—which is how I prefer it. Add whipped cream or maybe another fresh grating of nutmeg on top. It should keep in the fridge for up to four or five days (if it lasts that long!).