32 New Ways to Upgrade Your Plain Ol' Pumpkin Pie Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you jazz up a pie? ›

They are the same product. Both canned pumpkin puree and pie filling are useful, shelf-stable ingredients that can help speed up your kitchen prep time. Just remember that puree is unsweetened, while pie filling contains sugar and spices. This will help you choose the right pumpkin product for your recipes.

If you don't have ground cinnamon, you can use ginger or allspice in place of pumpkin pie spice. Just use half of the amount called for since ginger and allspice have stronger flavors than cinnamon.

Just add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, and ¼ teaspoon each of ground cloves and ground nutmeg, and you'll be well on your way to making our pumpkin pie dip, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, and chocolate pumpkin cheesecake.

Add Fresh Ingredients: Incorporate fresh fruits or berries into the store-bought filling. For example, if you're using a canned cherry pie filling, add fresh pitted cherries to improve the texture and flavor. Enhance Flavor with Spices: Adjust the flavor with spices and seasonings.

If you meant to purchase pumpkin pie filling but accidentally grabbed a can of plain pumpkin, it's easy to sweeten and season the puree. Follow a good pumpkin pie recipe (there's usually a recipe printed right on the label) and add sugar and spices to the puree along with other ingredients like eggs before baking.

Yes, dogs can eat pumpkin and it is actually often added to dog foods. Check the label of some dog treats and you may find pumpkin on the ingredient list there too. However, if you are feeding fresh pumpkin, you will need to be careful about which part you're feeding as the stem and leaves are covered in prickly hairs.

Canned pumpkin (labeled as "100% pure pumpkin") is a purée of pumpkin that is sometimes mixed with other kinds of winter squash. It is unsweetened and does not contain any added spices. Canned pumpkin and pumpkin puree are the same thing, and you'll often see the terms used interchangeably in recipes and cookbooks.

What can I use in place of pumpkin pie spice? ›

Apple pie spice has many of the same ingredients as pumpkin pie spice, such as cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg, so it's a great pumpkin pie spice substitute. However, most apple pie spices don't contain the ginger and cloves that pumpkin pie spice has. So it won't be exactly the same, but it will be close!

Allspice

Allspice is a common ingredient in fall baked dishes, especially those involving apples, like pies, cakes or tarts. Use in a 1:1 ratio as a substitute for ground cloves.

While many recipes call for it, you can absolutely make an outstanding pumpkin pie without evaporated milk. If your recipe calls for one can of evaporated milk (as most do), you can substitute 1 ½ cups of cream or half and half, or a combination of the two. You can also use milk (any kind from whole to skim).

Add fresh fruit to cream pies.

You can liven up drab cream pies by topping them with chopped fresh fruit for added texture and color. "Find a fruit that would complement the type of cream pie you purchased," Lamagna said. "Cherries tend to go well with chocolate cream, and coconut works with banana cream."

Since store-bought pie crusts have a tendency to dry out, our experts suggest using a moistening agent to imbue the crust with texture and flavor. Wells ups the ante by adding crushed cookies: "My favorite way to upcycle store-bought pastry is to brush it with melted butter and sprinkle over crushed cookies.