Introduction
Thanksgiving in my house doesn’t officially start until the pie table is full. Turkey gets the glory on the day, but it’s the pies people talk about on the drive home — my mother-in-law still brings up the year I burned the pecan pie and served it anyway, slightly scorched, with extra whipped cream. These 21 Thanksgiving pie recipes are the ones I’ve actually baked, tweaked, and served over more than a decade of hosting, from the classic pumpkin pie my grandmother insisted on to the no-bake chocolate number I invented one year when my oven was already full of turkey. Thanksgiving pie recipes work best when you pick a mix: one classic, one showstopper, and one you can make ahead so you’re not rolling crust at midnight. That’s exactly how this list is built, and every pie here has earned its place by surviving a real holiday table.
1. Classic Pumpkin Pie with Brown Butter Crust
This is the pie I measure all other Thanksgiving pies against, and the brown butter crust is what makes it mine. I brown a stick of Kerrygold butter until it smells nutty, let it cool just enough to handle, and work it into King Arthur all-purpose flour with a pinch of salt and ice water. The crust bakes up with a toffee-like depth that plain butter never quite reaches. For the filling I whisk Libby’s pumpkin puree with eggs, heavy cream, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and a splash of Nielsen-Massey vanilla, then bake it low and slow so the center sets without cracking. My one hard lesson: pull the pie when the center still wobbles slightly, because it firms up as it cools, and an overbaked pumpkin pie is a dry one.
What you need
A 9-inch pie dish (my Nordic Ware one has survived a decade), a can of pumpkin puree, brown butter, and a pie shield or foil strips for the crust edges.
2. Salted Caramel Apple Pie
Apple pie is the safest bet on any Thanksgiving table, but salted caramel is what turns it into the pie people fight over. I slice Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples thin — a mix of tart and sweet keeps the filling from going one-note — and toss them with sugar, cinnamon, a little flour, and lemon juice. The caramel goes in two places: a drizzle over the apples before the top crust goes on, and a second drizzle over each slice at serving, because I learned the hard way that caramel baked inside mostly disappears into the juices. A lattice top looks impressive and lets steam escape, which keeps the bottom crust from going soggy. If lattice feels fussy, a full top crust with a few slashes works just as well.
3. Bourbon Maple Pecan Pie
Pecan pie divides rooms — some people find it too sweet — and the bourbon and maple version is my answer to that complaint. I swap half the corn syrup for real maple syrup and add two tablespoons of bourbon, which cuts the sweetness and adds a warm, almost smoky note that plays beautifully with toasted pecans. I toast the pecans in a dry skillet first, because untoasted pecans taste flat against all that syrup, and I arrange a ring of whole pecans on top for looks while chopped pecans go inside for texture. One caution from experience: let it cool completely before slicing, or the filling runs everywhere. I know it’s hard. It runs anyway the first time; by the third year you’ll wait.
4. Sweet Potato Pie with Toasted Marshmallow Top
Sweet potato pie is the quiet star of Southern Thanksgiving tables, and the toasted marshmallow top turns it into a conversation piece. I roast the sweet potatoes instead of boiling them — roasting concentrates the flavor and keeps the filling from turning watery — then mash them with butter, brown sugar, eggs, evaporated milk, and a good pinch of nutmeg. The pie bakes like a custard, and in the last five minutes I pile on mini marshmallows and run it under the broiler, watching it like a hawk because marshmallows go from golden to burnt in about thirty seconds. My kids now consider this their pie, which means I’m contractually obliged to make it every year, and honestly I don’t mind.
5. Cranberry Pear Lattice Pie
Fresh cranberries are Thanksgiving’s most underused pie ingredient, and pairing them with ripe Bartlett pears balances their tartness perfectly. I halve the cranberries so they burst and release their juices, toss them with sliced pears, sugar, orange zest, and a spoonful of cornstarch, and pile the whole thing into a crust with a lattice top. The cranberries stain the pear slices a gorgeous ruby color as they bake, so every slice looks like stained glass. I made this one year when I had a bag of cranberries left over from sauce-making, and it’s been on the table ever since. Serve it slightly warm with vanilla ice cream, and the tart-sweet contrast does all the talking.
How I styled it
I serve this one on a white cake stand with a few fresh cranberries and a sprig of rosemary scattered around the base. The red against the white looks like a holiday card.
6. Chocolate Chess Pie
Chess pie is an old-fashioned Southern pantry pie — no fancy ingredients, just pantry staples baked into something far better than the sum of its parts — and the chocolate version is my favorite of the family. Cocoa powder, sugar, butter, eggs, and evaporated milk whisk together in one bowl, and the filling bakes into a brownie-like center with a crackly top. I use Dutch-process cocoa for a deeper flavor, and I always add a pinch of salt because chocolate without salt tastes flat to me. This is the pie I make when I’m short on time, since there’s no fruit to peel and no custard to fuss over, and it keeps beautifully for two days, which makes it a genuine make-ahead option.
7. Maple Walnut Pie
If pecan pie is too sweet for your crowd, maple walnut pie is the grown-up alternative. Walnuts bring a slight bitterness that balances the maple syrup, and I add a handful of chopped walnuts into the filling plus whole halves arranged on top in concentric circles, which looks almost too pretty to cut. I use dark, robust maple syrup here — the lighter grades disappear into the filling — and a splash of cream to round it out. A friend who swore she hated nut pies asked for this recipe after one slice, and I now make two: one for the table and one that mysteriously disappears before dessert is served. If your family has a pecan allergy, this pie is also an easy swap that keeps the same spirit.
8. Pumpkin Chiffon Pie
After a heavy Thanksgiving dinner, a lighter pie feels like a kindness, and pumpkin chiffon is exactly that. The filling starts like classic pumpkin pie but gets folded with whipped cream and a little gelatin, so it sets into a mousse-like slice that’s cool, airy, and barely sweet. I bake the crust blind first and let it cool completely, then chill the filled pie for at least four hours — overnight is better. A dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top is all the decoration it needs. My aunt, who never eats dessert after turkey, eats two slices of this every year. That’s the whole review, and it’s the only one this pie needs.
9. Apple Cranberry Streusel Pie
Streusel topping is my shortcut when I want a beautiful pie without wrestling a top crust, and the apple-cranberry combination gives it a tart edge that plain apple pie lacks. I toss sliced apples with cranberries, sugar, cinnamon, and a little flour, then blanket the whole thing in a crumble of cold butter, brown sugar, oats, and flour. The trick I learned after one soggy attempt: bake it on the lowest oven rack so the bottom crust crisps, and tent the top with foil for the last twenty minutes so the streusel browns without burning. The oat crumble stays crunchy even the next day, which makes this one of the best leftover pies — if it survives the night, which in my house it rarely does.
10. Buttermilk Pie with Lemon Zest
Buttermilk pie sounds plain, and that’s precisely why I love it. The filling is just sugar, butter, eggs, buttermilk, flour, and vanilla, baked until the top turns golden and slightly crackled while the middle stays creamy, almost like crème brûlée. I add lemon zest because it lifts the whole pie and keeps it from tasting one-note, and I serve it at room temperature so the texture is at its best. This is the pie I recommend to nervous first-time bakers: no fruit to prep, no lattice to weave, and the ingredients cost almost nothing. My grandmother made this with a store-bought crust and nobody ever complained, so don’t let anyone tell you a homemade crust is mandatory here.
11. French Silk Chocolate Pie
French silk pie is the no-bake-adjacent showstopper that looks like it came from a bakery. The filling is a whipped chocolate buttercream — melted dark chocolate beaten with butter, sugar, and eggs until it’s impossibly smooth — poured into a baked crust and chilled until firm. I use good dark chocolate here, around 60 percent, because the chocolate is the whole point and cheap chocolate makes a grainy filling. A cloud of whipped cream and chocolate shavings on top hides any imperfections in the filling, which is a mercy for the rest of us. Make it the day before; it slices cleaner cold, and the flavor actually deepens overnight. If you love chocolate, this is the pie your Thanksgiving table has been missing.
12. Spiced Pear Ginger Pie
Pears make a softer, more fragrant pie than apples, and ginger gives this one a warm bite that suits a cold November evening. I use firm Bosc pears so they hold their shape, toss them with crystallized ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, and a squeeze of lemon, and bake them under a top crust with a few decorative leaf cutouts. The crystallized ginger is the secret — fresh ginger is too sharp, ground ginger too quiet, but the crystallized kind melts into little pockets of warmth throughout the filling. I first baked this for a Friendsgiving where someone was allergic to apples, and it ended up outshining the apple pie I’d also brought. Now both pies come every year, and the ginger pear one goes first.
13. Toasted Coconut Cream Pie
Coconut cream pie is the wildcard that regulars don’t expect and then can’t stop eating. The filling is a stovetop custard — milk, cream, egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and a generous handful of shredded coconut — cooked until thick, poured into a blind-baked crust, and chilled. Toasted coconut on top of the whipped cream adds crunch and a nutty note that plain coconut never manages, and I toast it in a dry skillet while the custard cools because the oven is usually busy by then. A splash of coconut extract is optional; I skip it, since real coconut and vanilla give plenty of flavor. This pie needs a full night in the fridge, so it’s a perfect make-ahead choice when oven space is tight.
14. Cranberry Orange Meringue Pie
Think lemon meringue pie’s bolder, redder cousin. I cook fresh cranberries with sugar and orange juice into a thick curd, pour it into a baked crust, and top it with a billowy meringue that I torch or broil until the peaks turn golden. The cranberry curd is tart enough to cut through the sweet meringue, and the color is stunning — deep ruby under white peaks, like a winter sunset. The meringue rule I live by: spread it all the way to the crust edges so it seals, or it weeps and slides off by serving time. This pie is best eaten the day it’s made, so I bake it Thanksgiving morning while the turkey rests, which is also when the kitchen smells its best.
15. Pumpkin Praline Pie
Pumpkin praline pie is classic pumpkin pie dressed up for company: a layer of brown sugar and pecan praline goes into the bottom of the crust before the pumpkin filling, so every slice has a crunchy, caramelized base. I make the praline by cooking brown sugar and butter with chopped pecans until bubbling, then spreading it in the crust and letting it set for ten minutes before pouring in the filling. The contrast is the whole point — silky pumpkin against crunchy praline — and it solves the classic pumpkin pie problem of a boring bottom crust. My sister-in-law calls this “the fancy one” and requests it by that name, which tells you everything about how it lands on a holiday table.
16. No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie
When the oven is full of turkey and sides, a no-bake pie is a gift. This one is a peanut butter mousse — cream cheese, peanut butter, powdered sugar, and whipped cream beaten together — piled into a chocolate cookie crust and topped with a chocolate ganache drizzle. I use a store-bought chocolate crust without shame here, because the filling is the star and the crust is just the vehicle. It sets in the fridge in about four hours, slices like a dream, and tastes like a peanut butter cup in pie form. The kids in my family treat this as their personal pie, and I’ve learned to make it in a deep-dish pan because a standard one never has enough filling for the crowd it draws.
17. Apple Butter Pie
Apple butter pie tastes like fall concentrated into a slice. I whisk a jar of good apple butter — Trader Joe’s pumpkin butter works too, in a pinch — with eggs, cream, brown sugar, and spices, and bake it like a custard pie. The apple butter gives it a deep, cooked-down apple flavor without any peeling or slicing, which makes this the fastest fruit pie on the list. A streusel topping adds crunch, but a plain top with a dusting of cinnamon is just as good. I discovered this pie during a year when I had three jars of apple butter from a farmers’ market haul and no plan for them; it’s now my go-to when I want a fruit pie without the fruit prep, and it pairs beautifully with sharp cheddar, if you’re the kind of person who puts cheese on apple pie.
18. Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Raisin Pie
Sour cream raisin pie is the old-fashioned oddball that converts skeptics, and I include it because every Thanksgiving table needs one conversation starter. Plump raisins simmer in sour cream with sugar, egg yolks, and cinnamon until thick, then the mixture goes into a baked crust and gets topped with a soft meringue. The flavor is tangy, warm, and a little like bread pudding, and the texture is silky in a way that surprises people who expect raisin pie to be dry. My grandmother’s recipe card for this one is stained and barely legible, and I’ve transcribed it twice now. If your family has a pie traditionalist, this is the one that gets them talking about the pies their own grandparents made.
19. Mini Hand Pies in Three Flavors
Mini hand pies solve the hardest Thanksgiving dessert problem: everyone wants a little of everything. I cut rounds of pie dough, fill them with apple, pecan, or pumpkin filling, crimp the edges with a fork, and bake them on a sheet pan until golden. They’re portable, portion-controlled, and they let guests sample three pies without committing to a slice of each. The apple version gets a cinnamon-sugar sprinkle, the pecan one a drizzle of maple, and the pumpkin one a tiny dollop of whipped cream at serving. I make a double batch because they vanish from the dessert table faster than any full-size pie — people grab them like appetizers, and honestly, that’s part of the charm. For more on building a dessert spread around small bites, my Thanksgiving charcuterie board ideas pair beautifully with these.
20. Gluten-Free Almond Crust Pumpkin Pie
A gluten-free guest shouldn’t have to skip pie, and an almond crust means they don’t have to. I pulse Bob’s Red Mill almond flour with cold butter, a little sugar, and salt until it holds together, press it into the pan — no rolling required, which is a blessing — and bake it until golden before adding the classic pumpkin filling. The crust tastes nutty and buttery, almost like a shortbread, and nobody at my table has ever guessed it’s gluten-free until I mention it. One practical note: almond crusts brown faster than wheat crusts, so check it five minutes early and tent the edges with foil. If you’re planning the whole menu around dietary needs, my Thanksgiving side dish recipes include plenty of naturally gluten-free options too.
21. Gingersnap-Crust Pumpkin Pie
Ending with a twist on the classic: this pumpkin pie swaps the pastry crust for a crushed gingersnap crust, and the spiced cookies amplify the ginger and cinnamon in the filling. I crush the gingersnaps with melted butter and a pinch of sugar, press the crumbs firmly into the pan, and bake the crust for ten minutes before pouring in a slightly less sweet pumpkin filling — the cookies bring their own sweetness, so I cut the sugar by a quarter cup. The result tastes like pumpkin pie and gingerbread had a very good idea together. This is the pie I bring to Friendsgiving now, because it travels well, slices cleanly from a disposable pan, and always prompts someone to ask for the recipe. For the rest of the dessert table, my Thanksgiving dessert recipes round out the spread, and my fall baking recipes will keep your oven busy all season.
Styling Tips
- Serve three pies, not ten: one classic, one chocolate or nut, and one make-ahead, so guests can sample without a dessert-table traffic jam.
- Bake the crusts a day ahead and fill them Thanksgiving morning — pie dough keeps beautifully wrapped in the fridge overnight.
- Put pies on a raised stand or cake plate at the end of the table so they read as a display, not an afterthought.
- Label each pie with a small card, especially when you have nut pies or a gluten-free option — guests with allergies will thank you.
- Serve slices slightly warm with one topping choice, not five: whipped cream or vanilla ice cream is enough.
- Save one whole pie untouched for the next day, because Thanksgiving pie for breakfast is a tradition worth protecting.
Frequently Asked Questions
What pies should I make for Thanksgiving? The classic trio is pumpkin, apple, and pecan — they cover the traditionalists, the fruit lovers, and the nut fans in one sweep. If your crowd is larger than ten, add a fourth: a no-bake chocolate or a lighter chiffon pie for variety. Pick pies that fit your schedule, not just your taste: at least one should be fully make-ahead so Thanksgiving day isn’t a baking marathon.
Can you make Thanksgiving pies ahead of time? Yes, and most pies are better for it. Fruit pies and chess pies keep two to three days wrapped in the fridge, and no-bake pies like French silk and peanut butter chocolate actually need the chilling time. Custard pies such as pumpkin and sweet potato can be baked a day ahead and refrigerated, then brought to room temperature before serving. Meringue-topped pies are the exception — make those the day you serve them so the meringue stays crisp.
How do you keep a pie crust from getting soggy? Three things help more than anything else: blind-bake the crust for custard fillings, bake fruit pies on the lowest oven rack so the bottom gets direct heat, and brush the crust with a beaten egg white before filling to create a moisture barrier. Let fruit fillings cool slightly before they go in, and never slice a hot pie — the juices need time to set, and a runny slice usually means it was cut too soon, not that the crust failed.
What is the most popular Thanksgiving pie? Pumpkin pie wins nationally year after year, followed by apple and then pecan, according to holiday baking surveys and grocery sales data. That said, regional favorites run strong: sweet potato pie dominates in the South, and apple pie leads in parts of the Northeast. The safest table is one that offers pumpkin plus one other favorite, since someone always has a strong opinion about which pie matters most.
Final Thoughts
Here’s what years of Thanksgiving baking taught me: the best pie table isn’t the biggest one, it’s the one where every pie got made with a little care and at least one made you slow down for a second bite. Pick your classic, try one new pie from this list, and make one ahead so the day itself stays relaxed. And once the pies are cooling on the counter, turn your attention to the table itself — my Thanksgiving table decor ideas will help the setting live up to the dessert. Happy baking, and save me a slice of the pecan.
