Originally published November 18, 2018
I put cream cheese in pumpkin pie, with flaky cream cheese crust. The best brown sugar pumpkin pie ever, with homemade whipped cream on top.
THIS one is one of my favorites because I use brown sugar, vanilla, and cream cheese in the pie! It's amazing, especially with a Cream Cheese Pie Crust! During Thanksgiving I usually love to make a nice pie on the tart side like Caramel Apple Pie or Baked Banana Pie if I'm in the mood for a sweet, creamy pie.
There's nothing like a homemade pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving morning for breakfast (how my husband prefers it). We like other pumpkin desserts like Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls or quick ones like Pumpkin Cream Cheese Dip if we're in a hurry, but nothing quite beats a good, easy cream cheese pumpkin pie...especially generously with dolloped vanilla cream cheese whipped cream on top!
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What To Expect
- Taste: Creamy pumpkin, pumpkin spice, and extra tangy flavor from the cream cheese!
- Ease: Theres a couple of extra steps in this recipe that are not in a regular pumpkin pie recipe, but they are simple. I rate this as a medium level difficulty.
- Time: It only takes a few minutes to whip up the pie, about an hour to bake, and at least 3-4 hours to cool to serve.
🛒 Key Ingredients
- Pumpkin Puree - make sure to get the 100% canned pumpkin puree, NOT the pumpkin pie mix!
- Cream Cheese - I use regular full fat cream cheese for this recipe, but ⅓ fat or fat free can also be used.
- Spices - cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves are all hallmark pumpkin pie spices.
- Eggs - acts as a thickener, used to make the pumpkin pie into a baked custard with a silky texture.
- Brown sugar - makes a nice subtle flavor change, and makes the pie taste a little more rich and luxurious.
- Milk - I use regular whole milk for this recipe, it doesn't necessarily need to be canned milk or cream since the cream cheese makes it taste more rich.
- Vanilla - a beautiful addition to pumpkin pie! I'm not sure why it's not on the canned recipes, it makes the pie taste SO much better!
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
✏️ Substitutions & Variations
- Spices - you can use 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice in places of all of the spices.
- Milk - you can use canned evaporated milk, half and half, or even cream in place of the whole milk. I haven't tried eggnog but have heard it's delicious in pumpkin pie!
- Brown Sugar - can be swapped with white granulated sugar or coconut sugar.
🧑🍳 Instructions
Don't forget to preheat the oven to 400 ℉ and prepare your pie crust and chill it ahead of time.
- Step 1. To a mixing bowl, add room temperature cream cheese, and brown sugar, beating until creamy and there are no lumps left. It's okay to warm up the cream cheese in the microwave for 10-20 seconds in the microwave to bring it to room temp. You can mix these with either an electric mixer or whisk.
- Step 2. Add in eggs one at a time, mixing (or whisking) in between each egg until they are fully mixed in before adding the next one. This will help prevent the mixture from separating.
- Step 3. Gently fold in pumpkin puree, vanilla, and spices: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.
- Step 4. Whisk in milk (or cream) last, make sure there are no pockets of cinnamon left.
- Step 5. Roll out your pie crust and transfer it into your favorite 9 inch pie pan. Pour the pumpkin pie filling into pie crust.
- Step 6. Crimp the edges of the crust with fingers in "V" shapes, pressing the dough in between them to form points in the dough.
- Step 7. Bake at 400℉ for 15 minutes on the metal baking sheet, then reduce oven temperature to 350 ℉for 45-50 minutes.
- Step 8. When 3-4 inches of the outside of the pie are set, remove from oven. The center will be slightly jiggly and continue to cook as it cools. Cool to room temp before serving, at least 4 hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Top with whipped cream and enjoy!
📌 Top Tips & Hacks
- Make sure the cream cheese is room temperature before mixing into the pie. It's much harder to get it smooth if it's cold.
- Add vanilla! This boosts all the good spice flavors and is a no brainer. It also isn't listed on any can recipe that I've seen.
- Use a cream cheese pie crust! This pie crust recipe takes any pie to new heights of deliciousness.
- Pull the pie out of the oven when 3-4 inches of the outside are set, and the middle is slightly jiggly. The pie will continue to cook as it cools, and will set completely.
❓Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, since it is a custard pie filled with dairy and eggs it needs to be refrigerated after cooling.
Refrigerated, up to 4 days. It can't be left at room temperature for more than 3-4 hours due to the dairy and eggs - it is a custard pie.
Yes, make sure you wait until it's completely cooled before wrapping in plastic wrap and freezing. Once it's frozen solid you can stack multiple pies.
Yes! It will be more rich, but will work just fine in place of milk or evaporated milk. Substitute 1.5 cups of cream in place of the can of milk.
🥧 More Easy Pie Filling Recipes
Did You Try This Recipe? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Make sure to leave a star rating and a comment below the recipe card. I love hearing from you, and it is so helpful to other readers! Better yet, share it with family and friends. Thank you!!
📝 Printable Recipe
Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie
Equipment
Ingredients
- 9 inch pie crust, unbaked
- 4 oz cream cheese, room temperature.
- 1¼ cup brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 (15 oz) can 100% pure pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup milk or heavy cream
- whipped cream topping (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 ℉ and place a baking sheet in the oven. To a mixing bowl, add room temperature cream cheese, and brown sugar, beating until creamy and there are no lumps left.
- Add in eggs one at a time, mixing in between each egg until they are fully mixed in before adding the next one. This will help prevent the mixture from separating.
- Gently fold in pumpkin puree, vanilla, and spices: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.
- Stir in milk or cream last, making sure there are no cinnamon pockets left.
- Roll out your pie crust and transfer it into your favorite 9 inch pie pan. Pour the pumpkin pie filling into pie crust.
- Crimp the edges of the crust with fingers in "V" shapes, pressing the dough in between them to form points in the dough.
- Bake at 400℉ for 15 minutes on the metal baking sheet, then reduce oven temperature to 350 ℉for 45-50 minutes. When 3-4 inches of the outside of the pie are set, remove from oven. The center will be slightly jiggly and continue to cook as it cools. Cool completely before serving, at least 4 hours or overnight. Top with whipped cream and enjoy!
Kyson Smith says
One of my favorites if my wife would let me I would eat a whole pie for breakfast!
Hannah Flack says
Breakfast for dinner is always fun with the kids and we do pizza a lot too. They are getting to be the age that I can allow them to use the cook top, it makes cooking/baking fun!
Donna Gates says
Absolutely delicious! I made one change BUT ONLY because it’s an old, old family tradition. My Mom and Grandma always, always, always doubled the eggs for pumpkin pie. It was a texture thing for them so we grew up assuming all pumpkin pie was to be very firm. The day after T-giving it most often became a hand-pie…..no plate needed. It was our “norm” and we find “outsider” PP pies to be rather squishy and unappealing. To this day we all add at least one or two extra eggs regardless of what the recipe calls for. I added one extra egg for this recipe and it was fabulous. The cream cheese and the brown sugar make for a great pie. Thanks for this!
Sara says
That’s interesting! My husband loves a good sturdy slice of “to-go” pie too. So glad you enjoyed it!
Hannah Flack says
This is pretty similar to the way I make my alfredo, and it’s probably my favorite dinner that I have ever posted! I haven’t done it without scraping the cooked squash though–I will definitely have to give it a try!