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 traditional pumpkin pie is made with my very favorite flaky, buttery, gluten-free pie crust recipe. I use this flaky crust in our favorite gluten-free apple pie and gluten-free pecan as well.
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 Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie Filling
Growing up my Mom always made the good old back-of-the-pumpkin-can recipe for pumpkin filling. 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. Be sure to use 100% pumpkin puree rather than pumpkin pie filling for this recipe.
Fill the Pie Crust
Once the pie crust is shaped and in the pie pan 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.
Recipe FAQ
Yes! I often cut the sugar back to 1/2 cup for the filling.
Pumpkin pie filling does not contain gluten. However, you’ll need a gluten-free pie crust to make gluten-free pumpkin pie.
Serving/Storing Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie
To Serve: I’m a big fan of gluten-free 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.
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie (with Homemade Crust)
Video
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 180 grams
- 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 into 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. Scatter 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. (If the mixture doesn't clump after 10 pulses no worries! Pour it into a bowl and smash together with your hands to form a ball.)
- Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Gather into a flat disc and wrap tightly in the plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 2 days.
- If you refrigerated the dough longer than 1 hour, let the dough sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before rolling. Roll the pie crust out between 2 large pieces of plastic wrap, to ¼ inch thickness.
- 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 pumpkin, eggs and milk 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!
can you substitute lemon juice for the vinegar?
Yes that will work great!
Do you think replacing the sugar with brown sugar would be an issue?
No that would be just find! It would give the pie a delicious molasses flavor 🙂
Hi Erin! Can you make the crust in advance, shape into pie pans after it’s had time to set in the fridge and then freeze the pie crust and pan until you’re ready to make the pie?
Yes that’s a great way to make this in advance!
This was amazing! Thank you
This is the most wonderful pie crust recipe. I had never made in food processor. Once you do that you will never go back to doing another way. The taste and texture of the crust is exceptional and even those who are not Gluten Free love it. I make it for cobblers also. Double for cobblers or 2 crust pies. Always works. I also use your recipes for muffins and hot roll recipe for making hamburger buns. Always great
Can you use sugar substitute instead of regular sugar?
I haven’t experimented with sugar substitutes very much myself! Maybe someone else in the comments can help 🙂
Absolute perfection! I added 1tsp vanilla and used a bit more cinnamon. My new favorite pie!
I made a gluten free pumpkin Pie. I use the Libby’s pumpkin pie instruction and I add 1/2 a cup of Bisquick into the mix n blend well and bake at 350 degree. About 45 minutes n check for done if not bake until done
Does anyone know if this freezes well? I didn’t see anything about it so I was wondering if it would be good to freeze half the pie since my husband is the only gluten-free person in our family! Thanks
Made the recipe exactly but used my ninja blender because I don’t have a food processor. The crust was perfection! I have not eaten pumpkin pie in years. I actually think the filling could have been a little sweeter but that might be because my sweet potato casserole leans to the sweet side. I will be trying your recipe for Apple pie next! Thank you so much!!!
I’m so glad it worked out for you! It’s so exciting to eat pie when you’re gluten-free. Thanks for the comment!
Hi Erin! I’m making this recipe and I’m wondering if I can substitute the spices with pumpkin pie spice. If so how much pumpkin pie spice can I use so the flavors will be there?
Yes! You can easily use 1 3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice in place of the individual spices.
hi erin! i make this every year and it’s delicious! i noticed your recipe was updated this year. is it the same recipe as last year in terms of the filling? i (possibly?) remember something about ‘tastes like the libby’s’ and including nutmeg from one iteration? just want to make sure this is the same one! THANK YOU!
Hi Monica! Yes the filling should be the same as last year! I just updated the crust to use my favorite homemade pie crust. I hope you enjoy it!
I was worried that the crust t would fall apart, since it didn’t roll out perfectly, but it held up to the filling really well.
That looks amazing! How long would I need to bake the pie crust by itself if I want to make the crust for a different recipe (like cold peach pie where the filling isn’t baked)?
First pie and crust my daughter and daughter in law like. Yay
What would you recommend if one has sensitivities to cinnamon and eggs? Would you just use nutmeg and egg whites or would that alter the result?
Thanks
I don’t think this would turn out well without the eggs. Sorry about that!