Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie! A crowd-pleasing holiday favorite made from scratch with a flaky gluten-free pie crust. Thanksgiving isn’t complete without it!
Whether you’re a gluten-free eater or hosting a gluten-free guest, this blog post has all the tips you’ll need to make a smooth and rich pumpkin pie in a homemade pie crust. Nobody will be able to guess it’s gluten-free!
It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without classic, custardy pumpkin pie! Pumpkin pie is my favorite of all the holiday pies. That is saying a lot considering how much I love this Gluten-Free Chocolate Pie (with a tasty pretzel crust!).
It’s taken me quite a few years to get comfortable making gluten-free pie crust. This pumpkin pie is made with my very favorite flaky, buttery, gluten-free pie crust recipe.
Just as a note, it’s very important to use the listed ingredients and follow the directions when making this pie crust. I’ve tested it many times to get it just right!
Ingredients for Gluten-Free Pie Crust
This combination of ingredients creates a gluten-free pie dough with just the right consistency! Here are a few notes on the ingredients.
- Gluten-Free Flour: I like to use a high-quality 1:1 gluten-free baking flour that contains xanthan gum. This is my favorite brand.
- Vinegar: I prefer white vinegar or rice vinegar.
- Sour Cream: Gives the dough a little stability and helps it brown.
- Butter/Ice Water/Salt/Sugar: All the usual suspects when it comes to pie crust!
Dairy-Free? I don’t recommend swapping in ingredients to make this crust dairy-free. If you need a dairy-free alternative check out this recipe for gluten/dairy-free crust.
Make the Pie Dough
Tips for Gluten-Free Pie Dough Success
I really like making this pie crust in the food processor because it’s quick and reliable. You could also cut in the butter by hand using a fork or pastry cutter.
It’s important to let the pie dough sit in the fridge for at least 1 hour (up to overnight) before rolling it out. This allows the dough to hydrate form a cohesive ball.
After the chilling time, the pie dough also has to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before you roll it out.
Shape the Crust
Gluten-free pie dough is more delicate than regular pie dough. It helps to roll the dough in-between plastic wrap so you can easily transfer it to the pie plate.
Peel off the top layer of wrap and carefully invert the rolled crust onto the plate. Then peel off the remaining plastic wrap. After this you can trim the edges and shape the crust as usual.
Ingredients for the Filling
Growing up my Mom always made the good old back-of-the-pumpkin-can recipe for pumpkin pie. I like to do the same! The only changes I’ve made are I reduce the sugar and sometimes swap out the evaporated milk for coconut milk.
Fill the Pie Crust
Once the pie crust is shaped you’ll need to freeze it for 15 minutes. You want it to be really cold before it hits the hot oven!
Then it’s as simple as whisking the filling together, pouring it into the crust and baking.
Serving/Storing Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie
To Serve: I’m a big fan of pumpkin pie being served cold! I recommend chilling it for at least 4 hours. It can also be served at room temperature if that’s your preference.
To Store: This pie should be refrigerated until you’re ready to serve. This pie does not freeze well.
Make Ahead? You can make the pie crust up to 2 days in advance. This pie can also be made 2 days in advance.
More Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Recipes
- Gluten-Free Rolls – soft and fluffy.
- Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Casserole – a long-time reader favorite.
- Gluten-Free Cheesecake – rich, creamy and decadent!
- Gluten-Free Pumpkin Roll – another delicious pumpkin dessert.
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Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie (with Homemade Crust)
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 8 tablespoons butter, (1 stick)
- 3 tablespoons, ice water
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar or rice vinegar
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons gluten-free 1:1 baking flour, (6 1/2 ounces)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoons salt
For the Pie:
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 15 oz can of pumpkin
- 2 eggs
- 12 ounce (1 can) evaporated milk, or 1 cup full-fat coconut milk
Instructions
For the Crust:
- Cut the butter until small 1/4-inch pieces and freeze for 10-15 minutes.
- Combine the ice water, sour cream, and vinegar in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth and set aside.
- Process the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor until combined. Scatted the butter over top and pulse until the butter is the size of large peas, about 10 pulses.
- Add the sour cream mixture and pulse until the mixture begins to clump around the blade, about 10 pulses.
- Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Gather into a a flat disc and wrap tightly in the plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 2 days.
- Let the dough sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before rolling. Roll the pie crust between 2 large pieces of plastic wrap.
- After rolling, remove the top piece of plastic wrap and flip into a 9-inch pie plate. Gently ease the dough into the edges of the pan before removing the 2nd piece of plastic wrap. Trim any excess edges with scissors and shape the edges as desired.
- Wrap the shaped pie crust loosely in plastic and place in the freezer for 15 minutes or up to 1 hour until chilled and firm.
For the Pie:
- Preheat the oven to 425 F.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt. Whisk in the remaining ingredients until smooth.
- Pour filling into the prepared pie shell – pouring any extra filling into ramekins if needed. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 F and bake for another 40-50 minutes until the custard is set.
- Cool on a wire rack for 2 hours. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Serve chilled with whipped cream!
Christi says
I am so excited to try this out! My son is allergic to milk and I literally just looked at the Libby’s recipe and wondered what kind of replacement I could use for the evaporative milk.
THANK YOU!
Nicole Conard says
Just came out of the oven. Looks like perfection! Our GF/DF family can’t wait to dig in 🙂 Thank you.
cierra says
Is this canned full fat coconut milk or like the boxed kind?
Erin Collins says
Yes canned full-fat coconut milk!
Erin A says
It tastes exactly the same as regular pumpkin pie – yum!
Madison says
This is such a yummy recipe! Perfect for Fall and a favorite at thanksgiving dinner
Erin Collins says
Thanks! 🙂
Laurie says
Can I substitute the coconut milk for unsweetened almond milk instead?
Amanda says
Can you subtweet spices for pumpkin pie spice? If so how much should you use?? Thanks!
Erin Collins says
Yes! You can use 1 3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice instead.
Selma says
I love this recipe, it is easy and the whole family loved the pie. Besides the gluten free and dairy free diet I have a cinnamon allergy so I substitute with Cardamon, absolutely no one noticed the difference in taste.
Thank you for this great recipe. Happy Thanksgiving
Alessandra Elliot says
If I use an already baked gluten free pie crust, Do I even need to bake the pie? Or can I just put the filling in the pie crust and put it in the fridge over night? What do you suggest. Sorry I never bake so I have no idea what I’m doing
Erin Collins says
You need to make this pie with an unbaked pie crust. The custard definitely needs to be baked so it won’t work to just refrigerate it. I hope this helps!
Connie Ryder says
Can non-dairy sour cream be substituted for the dairy one?
Erin Collins says
Yes that will work great!
Sarah says
Any thoughts on subbing full fat Greek yogurt for the sour cream? That’s what I usually do, since we don’t really eat sour cream, but I’ll get some if it’s a deal-breaker. This looks a lot simpler than the GF crust recipe I’ve been using. Thanks!
Erin Collins says
I think it really needs the sour cream! The crust needs the fat for richness and texture. I hope you like it! 🙂
Julie says
This recipe sounds great!
If I wanted to use a store bought gf pie crust would I bake it the same way that your recipe is stated above?
Erin Collins says
Yes exactly! You can use a store-bought crust in place of mine no problem
Jan says
Can this same pie crust recipe be pricked and baked to be used for a cream type pie?
Erin Collins says
Absolutely! It’s delicious with any pie. I like using it as a base for my dairy-free banana cream pie.
Jackie says
Hi, my son is allergic to eggs. Is there any substitution I can use to replace the eggs? Maybe flaxseed, just not sure if this will work. Thank you!
Mei says
This was a delicious and perfect pumpkin pie. The crust was the best! My family usually doesn’t like pumpkin pie, but they all commented how this tasted so good. I will be making this at Christmas too. I haven’t made a crust like this before. Your instructions were clear and precise, so it turned out great.