How To Make A Perfect Pumpkin Pie, According To Southern Chefs (2024)

We asked the South's best how they make this most classic Thanksgiving dessert—and we learned a few great tips.

Pumpkin pie and the holiday season go hand-in-hand in many people’s minds, and while there’s certainly no shame in heading to your favorite local bakery and picking up a professionally-crafted version, making your own pie gives you the chance to flex your creativity (and, let’s be honest, to prove to any naysaying relatives that you know your way around the kitchen).

Baking a pumpkin pie from scratch that can hold up to grandma-level scrutiny may seem intimidating, but don’t worry: We consulted a group of professional chefs and bakers from all over the South and gathered some tips that will turn you into the star of this year’s holiday dessert table.

Related: We Tried 6 Pumpkin Pies, And There's Only One We'd Buy Again

For the flakiest crust, use real lard and a touch of vinegar.

Every pie is only as good as its crust, and if you’re making a from-scratch crust and filling it with pumpkin (which has high moisture content), you’ll need to build in structural sturdiness, a pleasantly flaky texture, and plenty of flavor.

According to Brian Landry, co-owner and executive chef of QED Hospitality (which operates restaurants in New Orleans, Nashville, and Kentucky), the best way to accomplish this goal is to “use real lard in your pie crust. Pork lard has a milder flavor than shortening or oil and produces an even flakier crust than butter. Lard is also easy to work with because its melting point is higher than butter's melting point, so it doesn't soften as quickly. Therefore, it is easier to incorporate it into the flour.”

Megan Garrelts, executive pastry chef and co-owner of Rye in Kansas City, Missouri, also likes to use lard in her pie crust, but she opts for a “50/50 [mix of] unsalted butter and lard–butter for flavor and lard for texture. Lard is something of an ‘outdated’ ingredient, according to some, but it’s one of the best fats to use for baking and it’s all natural."

If you decide to do a butter-lard combination, be sure to get the best-quality butter you can find. Susana Querejazu, executive pastry chef at Lutie's in Austin, Texas, tells us that “European [butter] that’s unsalted so you can control the salinity [of the crust]” is the right move.

Another trick that will improve your crust comes from Jandee Millett, executive pastry chef of Criollo Restaurant at Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans: “Add a touch of vinegar to your dough. It helps keep the gluten loose,” which can prevent the crust from becoming too tough and will yield a perfect degree of flakiness.

Canned pumpkin is the right move for convenience and nostalgia, but fresh pumpkin will offer more nuanced flavor and texture.

Canned pumpkin’s shelf-stable reliability makes it a classic base for pumpkin pie filling. Christian Welch, executive chef at The Dupont Circle Hotel in Washington, D.C., prefers to use it for his pies, telling us that “it has the perfect texture and flavor for a pie, and it’s incredibly consistent. For me, it’s about simplicity and tradition. Canned pumpkin has a straightforward, comforting flavor that makes the pie feel nostalgic and satisfying—just the way it’s meant to be.”

But several of our consulted chefs told us that fresh pumpkin yields a much more robust pie filling. “Take advantage of the season with fresh pumpkin. Generally, I cook it in syrup and a mix of water, brown sugar, cinnamon, clove, star anise, ginger, and allspice, letting it simmer until it gets tender [enough to] puree. This will give you the most flavorful homemade pumpkin base,” says Vannesa Bordoy, executive chef of White Limozeen in Nashville.

Combining pumpkin with root veggies can also amplify the filling’s richness and nuance. “I mix my pumpkin with sweet potato. I roast sweet potatoes in the oven and pass the flesh through a tamis [sifter] to make them nice and light. I then combine it with pumpkin, add my spice mix and then put everything back on the stove for a few minutes to awaken the spices and pull out any unnecessary moisture. This process adds great depth of flavor and to me is more indicative of the fall season,” Eric Wolitzky, executive pastry chef of Fifth Group Restaurants in Atlanta, tells us.

According to Hunter Evans, executive chef and owner of Elvie's and The Mayflower Cafe in Jackson, Mississippi, replacing the pumpkin entirely with a bolder gourd is also a viable option. "The North Georgia Candy Roaster [squash] has so much more flavor; it becomes even sweeter as the squash ages, with more complex aromatics compared to a typical pumpkin” is Evans’ suggestion.

A brown butter swirl brings extra spice and depth to the pie.

To prevent a pumpkin pie filling that’s too one-note, Jason Dady, chef/owner of Jason Dady Restaurants in San Antonio, Texas, adds a brown butter spice swirl to the equation: “To make it, you brown 4 tablespoons of butter until it’s golden brown, then deglaze the pan with a squeeze of half a lemon. Then, add a dash of cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla bean and stir. After those are gently toasted, add two tablespoons of bourbon.”

After you put your pumpkin filling in the pie crust, “add the brown butter swirl on top. Bake as normal, and enjoy a delicious slice!”

Don't just use plain white sugar.

Pumpkin pie filling always calls for some sweetener, and while many recipes feature white sugar as the sole sweetening component, our chefs encourage you to think bigger. Allie Bearden, pastry chef and co-owner of Table 20 in Cartersville, Georgia, says that she prefers to cut the sugar “with molasses. Historically, pumpkin pies were often sweetened with molasses, especially in the South. This dates back to the 17th century when molasses was a common sweetener in our region.”

The molasses brings warm caramel-like notes with an earthiness that matches well with the natural taste of the pumpkin.

If you really want to emphasize fall flavors as much as possible, “replace a quarter of the sugar the recipe calls for with maple syrup,” recommends Jeremy Hemen, executive chef at Heirloom Room in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

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Remember to include a swig of bourbon—or other types of whiskey.

Southern chefs love their bourbon, and many of the experts we interviewed told us to add this spirit to our pumpkin pie filling.

Kentucky bourbon is always a smart move, but Christina Jones, pastry chef of the Brown Hotel in Louisville, has a fun and slightly-irreverent twist: “Fireball [whiskey] is the secret to making the best pumpkin pie! Add one or two ounces of Fireball to your pumpkin pie filling. The whiskey gives it a sweet heat that really elevates your pie.”

To prevent the pie from cracking, turn off the oven and give it some air.

Many a home baker can share their woeful stories about pumpkin pies coming out of the oven with unsightly cracks across the top. If you want to avoid that fate, try this trick from Natalie Morales, pastry chef of The Kitchen in Austin: “As soon as [your baked pie filling] has that perfect jiggle, turn your oven off and open the oven door just a little bit. Stick a towel or something in there to keep it just open enough to let the heat out. Let the pie rest for an additional 10 minutes with the oven open. It will [keep you from] shocking your pie with cooler temperatures, thus cracking your pie."

Morales also warns that “cracking can happen when you overcook your custard, so keep an eye on that pie when baking. Look for set edges and a Jell-O-like jiggle."

But sometimes, even when you take precautions to prevent your pie from cracking, the pie itself has other ideas.“ If it does crack, make a quick meringue, cover the top, and boom! No one will ever know,” Morales says.

Lizzy Evelyn, co-owner and executive pastry Chef at Ellē in Washington, D.C., is also well-versed in the art of covering up pumpkin pie cracks, and her preferred method involves “sprinkling candied pumpkin seeds or smearing maple whipped cream on top to hide any imperfections.”

Add some extra sweetness and richness with white chocolate.

Pumpkin pies can benefit from a sweet flavor element that balances the ever-present cinnamon and nutmeg, and Kamaria Moore, a cookbook author and lifestyle entrepreneur based in Atlanta, accomplishes this by “adding a white chocolate drizzle to the top of my pumpkin pie."

White chocolate can also help reinforce the pie’s structural integrity. “Pre-bake an empty gingersnap pie crust at 350°F for 10 minutes. Once the crust has cooled, add a thin layer of melted white chocolate to create a moisture barrier and keep your crust crisp,” advises Lauren Bolden, owner of Pie Bar in Marietta, Georgia.

Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

A sprinkle of sea salt will make the pie’s flavors shine.

Garrelts has one key piece of advice from an unforgettable pumpkin pie: "Don’t forget salt. All desserts need salt within the pie crust and filling and/or a little sea salt sprinkled on top when serving. Salt gives flavorings, both sweet and savory, a pop and creates a more sophisticated layering of flavors,” Garrelts tells us.

Get creative with your spices and toppings.

We have nothing against conventional spices and aromatics associated with pumpkin pie, but expert chefs urge you to think outside the box.

“I suggest adding freshly cracked black pepper into the pie filling. The black pepper needs to be really fresh to impart the most noticeable flavor. The fresher the cracked black pepper, the less you need. A couple twists of your pepper grinder and you will be on your way to an unforgettable pumpkin pie,” says Lauren Furey, a Charleston-based private chef and TV host.

Jason La Iacona, chef at Miel in Nashville, “highly recommends branching out a bit and leaning away from the typical cinnamon, allspice flavors. Instead, explore more savory pairings such as turmeric, cardamom, curry, cumin, and coriander. A recipe can only be as good as the ingredients used to execute it, so seek out the best and most fresh that you can. Your guests and taste buds will thank you."

Plain whipped cream is a tried-and-true topping for pumpkin pie, but Bronwen Wyatt, the New Orleans baker behind the Bayou Saint Cake Instagram, likes the idea of "borrowing a page from my grandma and topping my pumpkin pie with my updated prune whip recipe, a classic 1950s throwback that’s making a resurgence online. Pureed prunes with a touch of brandy and espresso are swirled through a mascarpone-laced whipped cream to make a stable and delicious whipped topping. The prunes add a bright natural sweetness and pair gorgeously with the winter spices in pumpkin pie. It’s even perfect for elevating store-bought pumpkin pie into a special dessert guests won’t be able to forget.”