This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our affiliate policy.
This is The Best Pumpkin Pie You’ll ever make!
As a busy mom of 3 young children and a classically-trained chef, I understand the desire to make everything from scratch while the clock keeps ticking and there is simply too much to do.
This pumpkin pie recipe is ideal for anyone who loves to bake but has a Thanksgiving to-do list a mile long. You’re not settling for a store-bought pie, but you are okay with the compromise of semi-homemade. I’m giving you permission to make the trade-off!
Table of Contents
What makes this the BEST Pumpkin Pie Recipe
This recipe starts with a store-bought crust, but should you have the time and desire to make it from scratch, please do. The simple filling is based on Libby’s famous pumpkin pie recipe and is mostly pantry ingredients. Just whisk it all together in a bowl, add to the crust, and bake!
In a world with limited time, recipes like my Best Pumpkin Pie strive to give you the balance you need as you feed the ones you love, especially during the busiest holidays.
Pumpkin Pie Recipe Ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
- Pumpkin puree: Seek out canned pumpkin pureé (not pumpkin pie filling). Want to make your own Fresh Pumpkin Puree? It’s easy: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut your pumpkin in half and remove all seeds and fibrous strings. Cut each half into 2 or 3 pieces, then roast until tender, 60 to 90 minutes. Cool completely, then scoop out the pumpkin flesh from the skin. Blend in a food processor or blender until smooth. Finally, drain over cheesecloth or paper towels to remove excess water.
- Evaporated milk: Canned evaporated milk, NOT the sweetened condensed milk. Carnation or PET brand is easy to find.
- Pie crust: Make a homemade pie crust or use a store-bought deep dish pie crust. To make the pie dough in advance, make the dough, form it into a disk shape, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and foil, and freeze for up to 2 months. To use, thaw it overnight in the refrigerator, then roll it out. If you have the space, you can roll out your pastry dough, press it into the pie pan, and freeze it, tightly wrapped in plastic. You can bake frozen pie crust straight out of the freezer without thawing.
- Whipped cream: You can make your own whipped cream or substitute store-bought; just don’t skip it entirely as the cream complements the custard pie beautifully.
How to Make The Best Pumpkin Pie
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves.
- In a large bowl, whisk eggs until beaten. Stir in sugar mixture and pumpkin. Slowly add evaporated milk.
- Pour mixture into unbaked pie shell. Bake 15 minutes.
- Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool on wire rack, about 2 hours. Serve or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream, if desired.
Tips and variations for this Pumpkin Pie Recipe with Evaporated Milk
- Yield: This easy pumpkin pie recipe makes 8 generous slices. If you’re enjoying it on a holiday alongside other desserts, slice 10 slightly thinner pieces (to save room for that Pecan Pie or Apple Pie, too!).
- Try a cracker crust: If you prefer it to a pastry pie crust, The Best Pumpkin Pie filling can certainly be poured and baked on top of Graham Cracker Crust instead.
- Spices: 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice can be substituted for the cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. You can add a pinch of nutmeg, too.
- No Bake Pumpkin Pie: Firm, sliceable, and indistinguishable from a classic pumpkin pie, this No Bake Pumpkin Pie is made with just 6 ingredients, no baking required, and is easily made ahead of time.
- Mini Pumpkin Pies: Tiny and irresistible, these Mini Pumpkin Pies come in handy for smaller gatherings or sharing with friends and family. They’re easy, creamy, and perfectly spiced, just smaller and cuter.
- Pumpkin Cheesecake: This homemade cheesecakefeatures a graham cracker crust topped with a rich, creamy, and warmly-spiced cheesecake filling.
- No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake: An even easier pumpkin cheesecake made without ever firing up your oven. It needs to chill, so this is a dream dessert if you want to get ahead on your menu.
- Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting: These easy Pumpkin Bars are moist, delicious, and loaded with cream cheese frosting. They are perfectly spiced without being too sweet.
Storing the Best Pumpkin Pie
Store your baked and cooled pumpkin pie covered in the fridge for up to 4 days. It’s delicious cold with plenty of whipped cream.
Make ahead:
If you’re making this Pumpkin Pie in advance, store it in the refrigerator because custard pies need to be kept cold. Pull out out an hour or so before you serve so it can come up to room temperature.
Can this Pumpkin Pie Recipe with Evaporated Milk be frozen?
If you’re looking for a pie that freezes like a dream, try my Make-Ahead Pumpkin Pie. It can be made and frozen up to 2 weeks in advance and has a delicious maple-cinnamon whipped cream topping.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pumpkin pie filling is made with pumpkin purée (often canned), eggs, evaporated milk, and warming spices such as cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.
Libby’s, perhaps the most popular canned pumpkin around, isn’t really pumpkin at all. Instead, Libby’s uses a proprietary variety of Dickinson squash.
It’s not mandatory to use a water bath, also known as a bain marie, when making a pumpkin pie. It is highly recommended for cheesecakes though. Without one, a cheesecake tends to brown more around the edges, end up a little drier, may fall in the center while cooling, and could crack. It’s worth the extra step to get the picture perfect masterpiece, so the method for a water bath is built right into this recipe.
Blind-baking a pie crust means to cover raw pie dough with aluminum foil or parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Then you bake (or par-bake) the crust. This is a common technique for cold custard pies where the filling isn’t baked. In this recipe, the store-bought pie crust goes in the oven unbaked after you add the filling (because the filling needs to bake, too).
More Thanksgiving desserts
Pie and Tart Recipes
Best Apple Pie Recipe
Pie and Tart Recipes
Homemade Pecan Pie Recipe
Cookie Recipes
Soft Pumpkin Cookies
Fruit Dessert Recipes
Cranberry Cheesecake Galette
Join Us
Pumpkin Pie Recipe With Evaporated Milk
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 large eggs
- 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
- 1 (9-inch) deep-dish pie shell unbaked, 4 cup volume
- Whipped cream for serving, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves.
- In a large bowl, whisk eggs until beaten. Stir in sugar mixture and pumpkin. Slowly add evaporated milk. Pour mixture into unbaked pie shell. Bake 15 minutes.
- Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.
- Cool on wire rack, about 2 hours. Serve or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream, if desired.
Notes
- Pumpkin purée: Seek out canned pumpkin pureé (not pumpkin pie filling).
- Evaporated milk: Canned evaporated milk, NOT the sweetened condensed milk. Carnation or PET brand is easy to find.
- Pie crust: Make your own pie crust or use a store-bought crust. To make the crust in advance, make the dough, form it into a disk shape, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and foil, and freeze for up to 2 months. To use, thaw it overnight in the refrigerator, then roll it out. If you have the space, you can roll out your pastry dough, press it into the pie pan, and freeze it, tightly wrapped in plastic. You can bake frozen pie crust straight out of the freezer without thawing.
- Whipped cream: You can make your own whipped cream or substitute store-bought; just don’t skip it entirely as the cream complements the custard pie beautifully.
- Yield: This easy pumpkin pie recipe makes 8 generous slices. If you’re enjoying it on a holiday alongside other desserts, slices 10 slightly thinner pieces (to save room for that Pecan Pie or Apple Pie, too!).
- Storage: Store your baked and cooled pumpkin pie covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. It’s delicious cold with plenty of whipped cream.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
Baked North Carilolina Candy Roaster squash & made a fantastic pie! Added 1 1/2 Tbsp flour so it would set well, 1/2 cup DARK brown sugar, 1/4 cup granulated sugar & used pumpkin pie spice – 1/2 tsp – because we like it spicy. Added all spices & smelled heavenly. Turned out so well no one wanted the Libby pumpkin pies I made & fought over this one! I don’t like sweetened condensed milk so evaporated suited me great!
Thanks for writing, Virgie! – Meggan
you are using canned pumpkin. That is not scratch.
Hi Naimi. You might have missed it in the post, but here is how to make the pumpkin pureé from scratch: Want to make your own Fresh Pumpkin Puree? It’s easy: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut your pumpkin in half and remove all seeds and fibrous strings. Cut each half into 2 or 3 pieces, then roast until tender, 60 to 90 minutes. Cool completely, then scoop out the pumpkin flesh from the skin. Blend in a food processor or blender until smooth. Finally, drain over cheesecloth or paper towels to remove excess water. Here’s the link, too: https://www.culinaryhill.com/fresh-pumpkin-puree/. Hope you have a nice day! – Meggan
Well shoot. I didn’t see that this recipe was for deep dish pie crusts…something I’ve never seen available in my supermarket. I bought the regular sized pie crusts and couldn’t figure out why there was so much leftover!
Now what to do with all the extra filling…putting it in a mason jar for now, hope I can figure out how not to waste it! Maybe custards?
Hi Amanda, I’m so sorry I didn’t respond to your question. Hoping to answer you now in case another reader has the same question. You can store leftover filling for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator. Custard sounds delicious, or even making mini pumpkin pies. Sorry again!
Into store bought crust these days, too ! Thank you for sharing this simple solution !