My family favorite Thanksgiving recipe, Homemade Roasted Pumpkin Pie, is made from fresh cooked pumpkin, rich spices, baked in a 9 inch crust.
How to Make Pumpkin Pie from Real Pumpkin
This easy Roasted Pumpkin Pie recipe is not only simple to make, it also beats out the store bought ones, hands down. Made from scratch, it only takes a bit longer to make than the canned version.
One of the reasons I believe many cooks shy away from making homemade pumpkin pie is the fear of the unknown when it comes to cooking with fresh produce, especially pumpkins. We’ve all grown accustom to the canned version as our mainstay, so why change?
Now don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with canned pumpkin, but it isn’t necessarily the real deal as I recently found out in this article: Canned Pumpkin Isn’t What You Think It Is.
That’s why I decided to try my hand at making pumpkin the old fashioned way and roast my own pumpkin. It’s a simple process that even beginner bakers can do at home and be successful at it.
For the Pumpkin
First, cut the top off your pumpkin.
Then seed your pumpkin.
Once your pumpkin is cleaned thoroughly of seeds, place it on a sided baking sheet.
But don’t throw away the seeds–instead, roast them. Here’s a quick and easy recipe: Easy Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Then, place the pumpkin halves on a sided baking sheet and bake in a 375 degrees F oven for approximately one hour or until a knife can be easily inserted into it’s side.
Remove from the oven and allow it to cool to room temperature. Use a spoon to scoop out the pumpkin flesh.
At this point you can continue on with the recipe or you can refrigerate your cooked pumpkin until you need it.
NOTE: You will only need two cups of cooked pumpkin for this pie. *Any extra pumpkin you have can be made into the following:
- Pumpkin Spice Pancakes
- Cuban Pumpkin Flan
- Pumpkin Spice Muffins
- White Bean and Pumpkin Hummus
- Roasted Pumpkin and Root Vegetable Soup
Cooking Tip: Pumpkin is by nature full of liquid, even when roasting. If you refrigerate your cooked pumpkin overnight, it will retain all of its roasted goodness but without any trace of liquid. This will alleviate a runny pie.
For the Crust
For the crust, I use Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust, although you can definitely make your own. For this recipe, you will only need one 9 inch pie crust.
For the Filling
The rest of the recipe is easily assembled using a blender. Use the blend or puree button to combine the cooked pumpkin, spices, evaporated milk, sugar and eggs together.
Then pour the batter into the pie shell and bake for about 60 minutes or until a knife comes clean when pierced in the center of the pie.
If you’re worried about the crust getting too dark, you can always wrap aluminum foil around the edges of the pie pan. I usually don’t, but that’s my preference.
Allow the pie to cool before serving. I like to dollop some homemade whipped cream over my slice, but you don’t have to. It’s delicious all by itself. Enjoy!
Easy Roasted Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
- 1 cooking pumpkin halved, seeded
- 1 Pillsbury Refrigerator Pie Crust, 9 inch unbaked
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp salt
- 1.5 cups sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 eggs large
- 12 oz Evaporated Milk
- Whipped Cream for topping
Instructions
For the Roasted Pumpkin
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Halve the pumpkin and remove seeds.
- Place pumpkin halves on a cookie sheet and place in oven for approximately one hour or until softened.
- Once baked, remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes.
- Scoop out the cooked pumpkin and place it in a large mixing bowl and allow to cool to room temperature or refrigerate overnight, covered tightly.
For the Pie Filling
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a Blender add 2 cups of the pumpkin*, eggs, milk and spices and puree to a smooth consistency. Set aside.
For the Pie Crust
- Remove one of the crusts from the package and lay it out in the pie pan.
- Press the crust down carefully, working your way out from the center to edge of the pie pan.
- Crimp the edges and cut off the excess pie dough.
- Assemble the pie by pouring in the pumpkin pie filling to just one 1/2 inch shy of the top of the pie crust.
- Put the pie pan on a cookie sheet and place it in the oven.
- Bake at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes, then turn up the temperature to 400 degrees F to finish baking for approximately 20 minutes.
- Test the doneness of the pumpkin pie with a knife inserted in the center. If it comes out clean, the pie is done.
- Remove from oven and place on cooling racks for about an hour before serving.
- Cut and serve. Add a dollop of whipped cream, if you’d like. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
