This is, hands down, the best Pumpkin Custard Pie recipe for Thanksgiving. A flaky, buttery pie crust filled with silky, creamy, and incredibly delicious pumpkin custard. It's super rich, smooth, and full of the Fall flavors everyone loves, and it can be the perfect alternative to your usual traditional Pumpkin pie!

Why this pumpkin custard pie is the best pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving

With a flaky all-butter crust and a perfectly sweetened custard filling that reminds me of pumpkin Creme Brulee, this recipe for custard pumpkin pie will become one of your favorite ever Thanksgiving desserts.

It's so easy and quick, and you won't need any special equipment or fancy ingredients. It's also a lifesaver if you are out of condensed milk, as it does not contain any! So try this recipe if you want to make pumpkin pie without evaporated milk or condensed milk.

It's also completely beginner-proof! This is a detailed pumpkin pie tutorial that anyone can follow. I'll give you all my pro tips and you'll never have to buy pumpkin pie ever again.

Katalin's key take on what the secrets are behind the perfect pumpkin pie, including how to avoid cracked pumpkin pie

The perfect pumpkin pie comes down to a few things; the quality of the ingredients, the recipe, and the preparation. A homemade all-butter flaky pie crust is essential, and my recipe will show you exactly how to do it perfectly every time with an easy lamination technique for extra flakiness.

This pie crust is so easy to make, and keep reading for all my pro tips on making flaky pie crust for pumpkin pie. If you need more information and guidance, please check my in-depth guide to making a flaky pie crust recipe.

To avoid soggy pie, you must fully pre-bake the pie crust, as it won't bake once the filling is in. I will also show you how to precook the filling and bake it until it is just set and not overbaked to avoid cracks.

How to prepare homemade flaky pie crust

In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, and salt together until fully combined. Cut the cold butter into small chunks and place into a separate bowl. Measure the water and vinegar separately. Once all your ingredients are measured and ready, place everything into the freezer for 5-10 minutes.

After letting the ingredients chill down, add the butter chunks to the bowl of flour and rub the mixture between your fingers. The goal is a sand-like consistency, but leave some bigger butter chunks in the mixture, as this encourages a flaky crust.

Slowly add the water and apple cider vinegar into the butter and flour dough, a small amount at a time, while stirring with a spatula or wooden spoon.

When you have added around 75% of the liquid, take out the part of the dough from the bowl that has come together and is well-hydrated and place it on the lightly floured counter. Continue adding liquid to the rest of the dry dough.

Depending on the flour you use, you might need to use all of the water/vinegar or slightly less (or maybe slightly more). It should not be sticky or wet.

Now, start working the dough with your hands on a lightly floured surface or silicone baking mat. It will look crumbly initially, but it should come together in the next minute.

Stop as soon as the dough comes together, and don't knead, as we don't want to overdevelop gluten. It's ok if there are still some visible butter chunks.

Form a disk from the dough, cover it with plastic food wrap, and place it in the fridge to rest for a minimum of 2 hours.

Quick lamination technique (optional)

After 2 hours, take the pie dough disk out of the fridge and let it rest for a few minutes on the kitchen counter. It needs to be cold but able to be rolled out.

Roll the dough out into a rectangle roughly 11x17 inches / 28x43 cm in size. Always work quickly so the dough won´t warm up.

Fold the left half over the right half. Then, fold the bottom half up over the top half. Then, fold the bottom half over the top half again. You will end up with a 5.5x4 inches / 14x11 cm rectangle.

Re-cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for another 2 hours.

Roll out and prebake the pie crust

Let the dough rest on the counter for a few minutes so it can be rolled out, then transfer it to a lightly floured surface or silicone baking mat.

Roll out the dough evenly so that it will fit your pie dish. I use a 9 inch / 23 cm pie dish, so I roll it out to 10 inch / 26 cm in diameter.

Place the dough into the pie dish, fold the extra dough under the crust, then flute with your fingers. Do not force the dough, and make sure it stays cold.

Chill the pie dough in the dish for 30 minutes in the freezer while thoroughly pre-heating the oven to 200 C / 370 F (no fan).

Line the pie crust with parchment paper and fill it with pie weights.

pie dough in a pie tin with baking paper and filled with rice for blind baking.

Bake it for 20 minutes with the pie weight in, then remove the pie weights, and prick holes all over the crust with a fork. Bake for another 15 minutes.

Apply a thin layer of egg wash (using egg white only) on the bottom and side of the pie crust to support the crust and stop it from getting wet from the pumpkin filling. Bake until the crust is golden brown, which will take around 15 minutes more. We need to pre-bake the pie crust for approximately 50 minutes in total.

Let the crust come to room temperature before filling.

Make the pumpkin custard filling

Heat the cream in a saucepan over medium heat until simmering (but not boiling). Whisk the egg yolk with the cornstarch in a bowl, then pour the warm cream over the egg yolk mixture slowly while whisking vigorously with a hand whisk. This tempers the egg yolks, and the mixture should slightly thicken.

In a separate saucepan, heat the pumpkin puree (try my homemade pumpkin puree, or I recommend Libby's) with both kinds of sugar and cook the mixture for 2-3 minutes. Add the lemon juice and cinnamon powder or pumpkin spice mix.

Lastly, fold the warm pumpkin puree mixture with egg yolk & cream mixture. The filling is now ready to be used.

The filling part of the Pumpkin Pie is creamy custard-like, similarly to the filling of this Buttermilk Pie, which is another custard type of pie for Thanksgiving.

Assemble and bake

Preheat the oven to 175C / 350F.

Carefully pour the warm pumpkin filling into the pre-baked pie crust.

Bake the pumpkin custard pie at 175C / 350F for about 45 minutes. Cover just the edges of the pie crust with aluminum foil if it is browning too much.

It is ready when the edge of the crust is beautifully golden brown and the edges of the pumpkin custard pie filling are set, but the middle might still be a little bit wobbly. The pie will further set as it cools.

Let the pumpkin custard pie cool at room temperature for at least 3 hours before cutting and serving.

Decoration ideas

Use any leftover pie dough to make the cute Fall leaf decorations. Either cut the leaf pattern by hand using a sharp knife or Leaf Cookie Cutter.

Bake the leaf decorations on a lined baking sheet at 200 C / 370 F for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Place the leaves on the pie after both the pie and the leaves have cooled down to room temperature.

Whip cold heavy cream with sifted powdered sugar for a few minutes with an electric hand whisk until it reaches a pipeable (but not stiff) consistency.

Pipe the decoration onto the pie (I use a piping bag fitted with a 104 nozzle tip), then place one cinnamon stick on the piping.

Storage and freezing

Store leftover pumpkin custard pie covered in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days.

I do not recommend freezing this pumpkin dessert, the custard does not freeze very well.

Flavor variations

You can use any of your favorite spices for this pumpkin filling, e.g., a teaspoon of ground ginger for some extra heat, vanilla extract, cloves, cardamom, or homemade pumpkin spice.

I like to decorate this pumpkin custard pie with pastry leaves and whipped cream, but you can also pipe cream cheese frosting on top to give it a super rich and tangy finish.

Alternatively, use an equal amount of sweet potato puree to turn this into a sweet potato custard pie.

Ingredient substitutions

Baking is a science, so changing ingredients can be difficult. Unfortunately, I cannot provide exact substitutes for all allergies and diets, but there are some swaps you can try to make this recipe suit you.

Try one of the gluten-free flours mentioned in my flour guide to swap out the all-purpose flour in the pie crust. You can also try one of the egg substitutes in this helpful guide and read about butter substitutes.

Check out my list of other baking guides to learn more about the possible ingredient substitutions and how they may affect the recipe.

Expert tips to make pumpkin custard pie

The key to making pie crust from scratch is that the pie dough ingredients must be very cold at all times. If the dough starts to warm up too much at any time, put it in the freezer for 5-10 minutes.
Do not use a mixer to make pie dough, and don't skip the resting periods in the fridge.
Always apply an egg wash when blind baking pie crust to prevent a soggy bottom.
Make sure that your pumpkin puree is not watery. I recommend using Libby's or making homemade. Squeeze out the puree in a cheesecloth and then measure it. See my detailed instructions on maximizing your pumpkin puree filling before baking.
Cover the edge of the pie crust around with aluminum foil if it is browning too much at any point in baking.
For an even better shine, apply a light egg wash made from a full egg and a splash of milk rather than just from egg whites.
Try making my macaron recipe with any leftover egg whites!

What equipment to use

As always, weigh your ingredients by the gram with the help of a digital scale.

You will need a rolling pin, and I use a 9-inch/ 23cm pie dish to make this spiced pumpkin custard pie. I also like using an inexpensive and fun cookie stamp to make the leaf decorations. But many people can do it using just a sharp knife!

Avoid under-baked or burnt pumpkin custard pie by investing in an inexpensive Digital oven thermometer and always baking at the right temperature.

And finally, for the piping decoration, I use my favorite 104 nozzle tip. It is a super elegant way to decorate most desserts.

Try some of my other Thanksgiving recipes

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Pumpkin Custard Pie