There are a million pumpkin pie recipes on the web. There’s even a perfectly good recipe on the back of every single can of pumpkin purée on the store shelves. So I didn’t want to make just another basic pumpkin pie. No one needs that. Instead, I made a couple simple swaps to fancy it up just enough to make you go “Oooh…” with that first bite, but not enough that it made what is normally a very easy pie into something complicated. Enter my Maple Brown Butter Pumpkin Pie.
See this recipe in my Easy Thanksgiving Dinner for Beginners meal plan.
What Makes this Pie Special?
Brown butter and maple syrup. A magical combination. If you don’t know, browned butter is a magical elixir that makes any baked good even better. It gives food a wonderfully rich and nutty flavor that is unparalleled. I also switched out some of the usual sugar in this pumpkin pie for maple syrup. The results are subtle but just enough to set this pie apart from our traditional pumpkin pie recipe.
What Kind of Pie Crust Should I Use?
I’m not going to lie, I used a store bought pie crust. Why? Because while pie crust may seem simple on the surface (flour, fat, water), it is a bit nuanced and it’s not something I’m not super confident with yet. Plus, you have to add steps to chill the dough etc., and when it comes to pumpkin pie, I just don’t have time for that. I NEED MY PUMPKIN PIE. Not having that extra work was worth the $0.85 cents I paid for the pre-made crust.
So, you can make your own pie crust or buy a frozen or refrigerated pie crust. Whatever works for you will work for this Maple Brown Butter Pumpkin Pie. Just make sure it’s unbaked and deep dish. If using a frozen pie crust, you can pour the filling into the crust frozen, without thawing first.
If you want to make a homemade crust, a site I really trust for baked goods is Sally’s Baking Addiction. She has a Buttery Flakey Pie Crust recipe or All Butter Pie Crust recipe, both of which look great.
Can I Make This Maple Brown Butter Pumpkin Pie Ahead?
Yes, in fact, I suggest you make this pie ahead of time. Pumpkin pie takes a while to cook (almost an hour) and then takes another hour to an hour and a half to cool. You’ll want it to be mostly cool before cutting into it, so the custard is well set. If you refrigerate it overnight, it sets even more, and is, IMHO, even better. Just make sure it’s completely cool before refrigerating to prevent condensation.
How Long Does Pumpkin Pie Last?
Because pumpkin pie is a custard (milk and eggs) you will need to refrigerate this pie. Make sure it’s completely cool before refrigerating, then it will last about 4 days in the refrigerator, if it’s not eaten by then!
Can I Make This Pumpkin Pie Dairy-Free or Vegan?
Unfortunately, there aren’t any easy swaps for this one to make it dairy-free or vegan. Custards can be quite finicky and swapping out the evaporated milk or eggs (or brown butter for that matter), will have a massive effect on the texture. There are vegan pumpkin pie recipes out there on the web, though. So if that’s what you’re looking for I suggest following a recipe from someone who has already tested and perfected that technique (I have not).
Maple Brown Butter Pumpkin Pie
Servings 8Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp butter ($0.39)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup ($1.20)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar ($0.16)
- 1 tsp cinnamon ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger ($0.05)
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 2 large eggs ($0.47)
- 1 15oz. can pumpkin purée ($0.79)
- 1 cup evaporated milk ($0.65)
- 1 unbaked 9-inch deep dish pie crust ($0.85)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Cut the butter into four tablespoon-sized chunks, then add them to a small skillet. Heat the butter over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the butter solids turn deep brown and develop a nutty aroma (it will first become foamy, then the solids will sink to the bottom and turn brown). Remove the butter from the heat immediately to prevent burning, and carefully pour it into a mixing bowl.
- Add the maple syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt to the bowl with the brown butter. Stir to combine.
- Add the eggs and pumpkin purée to the bowl with the butter and spices. Whisk until smooth. Lastly, add the evaporated milk, and whisk until smooth again.
- Place the pie dish with pie crust on a baking sheet for easy transport in and out of the oven. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the crust. Transfer the filled crust to the oven.
- Bake the pie for 15 minutes at 425ºF, then turn the heat down to 350ºF and continue to bake for 35-40 minutes more, or until the pie is slightly domed on top, lightly browned around the edges, and the center is no longer liquid, but jiggles just slightly when you shake the baking sheet. If the crust begins to brown too much as it bakes, you can cover the crust with foil to stop the browning.
- Remove the pie from the oven and let cool at room temperature for about one hour. Once cool, cut and serve, or cover with foil or plastic and transfer to the refrigerator for storage.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Scroll down to see the step by step photos!
Also check out my Mini Pumpkin Pies!
How to Make Maple Brown Butter Pumpkin Pie – Step by Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Cut the butter into four one-tablespoon chunks and add them to a small skillet. Heat the butter over medium heat, stirring continuously, until the butter solids sink to the bottom, turn deep brown, and take on a nutty aroma. The butter will become quite foamy before this happens, but eventually you’ll be able to see, as you stir, the browned solids on the bottom. Remove the butter from the heat immediately to prevent burning and pour the hot butter into a mixing bowl. For more detailed directions on how to brown butter, see my tutorial: How to Make Brown Butter.
Add 1/4 cup maple syrup, 1/4 brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/8 tsp ground cloves, and 1/4 tsp salt to the browned butter, then whisk until combined.
Add two large eggs and one 15 oz. can of pumpkin purée to the butter and sugar mixture, then whisk until smooth.
Lastly, add 1 cup evaporated milk, and whisk until smooth again.
Place your 9-inch deep dish pie plate with pie crust on a baking sheet for easy transport in and out of the oven. Pour the pumpkin pie filling into the crust, then transfer to the preheated oven.
Bake the pumpkin pie for 15 minutes at 425ºF, then turn the heat down to 350ºF and bake for an additional 35-40 minutes, or until it’s domed in the center, slightly browned on the edges, and the center is no longer liquid, but still jiggles just slightly when you shake the pan. If the crust begins to brown too much as it bakes, you can cover the crust with foil to stop the browning.
Although it may be hard, let the pie cool for at least one hour before slicing and serving so the custard can set. Once cooled, you can serve your Maple Brown Butter Pumpkin Pie or cover and refrigerate to serve the next day!
Another phenomenal success story from Budget Bytes. I’ve never made a pie before in my life, and the family easily said that this was the best pumpkin pie recipe they’ve ever had. The subtle flavor from the browned butter perfectly complemented the pumpkin filling, and baked to a perfect custard texture. The only step I did differently was blind bake the crust fully, then cover the edges with foil to avoid excess browning. I’m sure we’ll be making this pie many, many more times. Thanks Beth!
Hooray! Love this Zara!
I made this for Christmas this year instead of my usual “recipe on the back of the can.” It was amazing! Definitely my new go-to pumpkin pie. Thanks for sharing!
Happy to hear it Sheila!
This pie is delicious!! Much better than other recipes I’ve tried. My family loved it! I’ll be making this recipe every Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Love to hear it Millie! Thank you!
I ended up adding a whole can of sweetened condensed milk and half a can of evaporated milk—and it was delish! My husband raves about this pie. I really like the addition of brown butter and maple syrup.
Oh that’s a delicious swap/addition. I’ll have to try it thqt way!
The filling is delicious and will definitely replace my previous go-to filling.
My crust was still nearly raw on the bottom by the time the filling was cooked, so I think I will stick to my usual baking instructions of 60-70 minutes at 350.
Oh no sorry to hear it Nikki!
What type of maple syrup did you use and why? (I’ve never used anything outside of pancake syrup in my life lol)
You can just just any Grade A maple syrup. It’s with the other syrups, just check the ingredients. It should only list maple syrup. :)
I have two of these in my oven right now for Thanksgiving! It sounds delicious and just the extra oomph I was wanting for my pumpkin pie!
Happy to hear it Deborah!
Hi, why do you recommend using unbaked pie crust? I usually blind bake the pie crust when I make pumpkin pie to prevent it from getting soggy after I put in the filling. Wondering if I should avoid that for this recipe. Thanks!
I’ve never blind baked for pumpkin pies in the past, but if that’s what you’re used you, you can do that for this one as well. :) The filling for this pumpkin pie is not that different from a regular pumpkin pie, so it should turn out very similar to what you’re used to.
Excellent, many thanks! i’ll let you know how it turns out :)
This pumpkin pie is delicious, and worth the extra step of making the brown butter. I can’t have dairy, so I substituted a can of coconut evaporated milk in place of regular evaporated milk, and margarine instead of butter. The pie still set up great, even with having to make the substitutes. I will definitely be making this pie again for Thanksgiving dinner.
Thank you Brandi!
Could you use pumpkin pie mix instead of the pumpkin puree and separate spices? I ask because I make a cheesecake that I sub the pumpkin pie mix and it works great. Just curious!
Do you mean in the can? Yes you could use that.
Such a tasty filling! I’ll probably add more maple next time and blind bake the crust since I use a pretty thick homemade pie crust.
Made this last night and it turned out great! I made it again today because I had enough pumpkin for two pies. I used fresh sugar pie pumpkin puree and followed the recipe exactly. It took quite a bit longer to cook, but I just realized that it probably took much longer because my puree is not as thick as canned pumpkin… Will make this again with canned in the future. I just had a pumpkin that needed to be used… thank you once again for an excellent recipe!
Thank you Sara! Keep us posted.
So this recipe won’t work with a regular pie crust and regular pie pan? It doesn’t look deep dish in the pictures? It looks amazing!
You potentially can, but you may have trouble fitting it all in. I made sure the crust was standing straight up and it extended a bit above the edge of the pie plate when it was raw. Also, the filling itself shrinks back as it cools, so it looks less filled in those final photos. :)
I had 2 pie crusts, I didn’t notice this recipe called for deep dish, and it overfilled BOTH my regular size pie crusts. I have no idea how you got it all into one, I’m sure deep dish crusts aren’t more than twice the size of regular. I just used pilsbury frozen crusts. However, both pies taste delicious! For some reason, I always thought pumpkin pie was harder than this.
I make a sweet potato version of this! I based it on the maple-brown butter mashed sweet potato recipe you posted a few years back. It’s so good, and a friend of mine always asks me to bring it to Thanksgiving or Pi Day.
Love this Ruth!
Perfect ingredients, perfect photos ! Keeper definitely :-) Thank you !
Looks really good! I’m going to try it