This freezer-friendly and make-ahead pecan praline pumpkin pie combines my tried-and-true flaky pie crust, smooth and spiced pumpkin pie filling, and a sweet/salty crunchy pecan topping. It’s salted pecan pie meets pumpkin pie—in the best way possible! Use my helpful video tutorial to walk you through each step.
As far as Thanksgiving desserts go, pumpkin pie is an icon. And this pecan praline pumpkin pie is a fun twist on my traditional pumpkin pie recipe. I won’t call this rendition an “upgrade” since you can’t mess with perfection, but the crunchy praline topping definitely adds a tasty contrast to the smooth and spiced filling below. If you ever craved a little crunch with your pie, this recipe is for you.
For another fun twist on the classic, try chai pumpkin meringue pie next!
3 Parts to Pecan Praline Pumpkin Pie
- Pie Crust
- Pumpkin Pie Filling
- Pecan Praline Topping
For the ultimate finishing touch, I recommend topping this pecan pumpkin pie with fresh whipped cream and a sprinkle of sea salt. The crunchy salt helps cut the praline’s sweetness and whipped cream is ALWAYS a good idea with pie. Agreed?
Partially Blind Bake the Pie Crust
Like my traditional pumpkin pie recipe, today’s version includes partially blind-baking the pie crust which means that we are pre-baking the crust before adding the filling. Do you know how to blind bake pie crust? Let’s review:
- Make pie dough ahead of time, then refrigerate or freeze until you’re ready to make the pie. Pie crust must chill for at least 2 hours before rolling out. You can use my favorite pie crust or my all butter pie crust recipe. I prefer the shortening/butter blend in my pie crust because the shortening promises that prized flaky texture. If needed, you can use a graham cracker crust or the gingersnap crust from this pumpkin swirl cheesecake instead. See recipe note.
- Roll the dough out, then fit into a 9-inch pie dish. Crimp or flute the edges. My trick to beautiful edges—don’t trim the excess pie dough. See step 2 in the recipe below and my full tutorial on how to crimp and flute pie crust.
- Chill the shaped pie crust for at least 30 minutes. This prevents shrinking. Remember that pie dough must be cold when it hits the oven. You can chill the shaped crust before or after you fill with pie weights (next step).
- Fill with pie weights. As the pie dough bakes, its fat will melt. The melting fat causes the pie crust to shrink down the sides of the pie dish. To prevent the pie dough from completely losing its shape, weigh it down with pie weights. Carefully line the pie dough with parchment paper first, then pour in pie weights or even dry beans. (Note: 2 packs of these pie weights are needed.)
- Bake until the edges are relatively set, about 10 minutes.
- Remove pie weights + parchment paper, then dock the crust, add a little egg wash around the edges, and bake for a little longer.
Some recipes, like my coconut cream pie and banana cream pie, require a fully blind baked pie crust because the filling doesn’t go into the oven. With this pecan pumpkin pie, however, we’re only partially pre-baking it. (Which is even easier!)
Pumpkin Pie Filling + Secret Ingredient
If you’ve made my beloved pumpkin pie recipe before, you know how good this filling is! To make room for the pecan praline topping, I reduced some of the ingredients so the filling doesn’t overflow. Instead of 3 eggs, we’ll use 2. I also reduced the sugar and liquids, too. This recipe uses an entire can of pumpkin, which is always convenient. I kept the spice amount the same, so we’re getting extra spice flavor in each bite. And you can use homemade pumpkin pie spice here—see recipe Note.
Speaking of spices, I add a pinch of fresh ground black pepper to pumpkin pie filling. I got this tip from King Arthur Baking and pumpkin pies are NEVER the same without it. The black pepper brings out the pumpkin pie spice flavors and no one ever realizes it’s hiding in there. (They’ll just ask you why your pie is so good!)
Don’t Forget the Egg Wash
You don’t have to wait for the partially blind baked pie crust to cool down before pouring in the filling—it can still be warm! To prevent a pale and lackluster crust, brush the partially blind baked pie crust with egg wash. Egg wash, a mixture of egg and milk, promises a golden sheen on the edges of your pie.
Pie Crust Shield: Do you notice the edges of your pie crust browning too quickly? Sometimes the crust edges are finished baking before the filling. A pie crust shield helps prevent over-browning. (I link to my favorite one in the recipe notes below.) You can also use aluminum foil. Fold a 12-inch piece of aluminum foil in half, then cut a semi-circle out from the folded edge. Unfold the foil to reveal a circle. Remove the cooking pie from the oven, then carefully place the foil on top so the center is exposed and edges are covered. Return pie to the oven.
Unlike in this pecan pie cheesecake where the topping is spooned over the finished dessert, we bake today’s topping right on the pie.
To start, let’s almost fully bake the pie before we add the praline topping. Why? First, the topping would burn if it’s in the oven that long and second, we could risk under-baking the filling if it’s hiding under the topping the whole time.
Pumpkin Pie Praline Topping Ingredients
As the pie bakes, make the 3 ingredient praline topping. You need:
- Chopped Pecans: This is a pecan praline topping, which is reminiscent of my favorite pecan pie filling and the topping on my sweet potato casserole. If you don’t like pecans, feel free to substitute with chopped walnuts or pistachios. Or instead of using 1 cup of chopped pecans, try 1/2 cup chopped pecans and 1/2 cup pepitas. Yum!
- Brown Sugar: Praline is the mixture of cooked sugar and nuts, so we can’t have a praline topping without sugar! I recommend brown sugar, which pairs with the brown sugar in the pumpkin pie filling.
- Honey: We need a sticky liquid sugar for this praline topping. The honey cooks and melts down, creating a delectable sticky crunch. If needed, you can substitute the honey with light corn syrup or even maple syrup.
Top the pie with the praline topping, then return to the oven for about 15 more minutes.
How to Make Ahead + Freeze Praline Pumpkin Pie
Pecan praline pumpkin pie is perfect for entertaining because (conveniently!) it needs to cool completely before serving. I always make pumpkin pie the day ahead of time, let it cool, cover it with aluminum foil, and refrigerate overnight. You can bring to room temperature before serving or serve cold. And with whipped cream, of course.
Freezing: You can also freeze the baked and cooled pie. If freezing, I recommend baking your pie in a disposable aluminum pie dish because its thin weight will help prevent ice crystals from forming on your pie. Cool the baked pie completely, then wrap the whole thing—pan included—in plastic wrap or Press & Seal, followed by a layer of aluminum foil. This is how to freeze cakes, too. Freeze for up to 3 months, then keep pie in the wrapping and thaw in the refrigerator before topping with whipped cream and serving.
- You can also freeze the semi-baked pie before adding the praline topping. To maintain the praline topping’s crisp texture, this is what I recommend. Follow the recipe below through step 7, cool the pie, follow the freezing and thawing instructions above, then bring the pie to room temperature. Continue with step 8 in the recipe below. This way your praline topping is fresh!
I honestly don’t know which is the best: the crunchy sweet/salty topping, the creamy pumpkin filling, or the flaky pie crust. But who has to pick favorites? If you’re looking for more inspiration for your Thanksgiving dessert table, here are all of my favorite Thanksgiving pies.
See Your Pecan Praline Pumpkin Pies!
So many of you have tried this recipe. Feel free to email or share your recipe photos on social media.
PrintPecan Praline Pumpkin Pie
- Prep Time: 50 minutes
- Cook Time: 70 minutes
- Total Time: 7 hours, 10 minutes (includes pie crust)
- Yield: one 9-inch pie
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This pecan praline pumpkin pie combines flaky pie crust, smooth and spiced pumpkin pie filling, and a sweet/salty crunchy pecan topping. For recipe success, read my recipe notes and watch the helpful video tutorial above before you begin.
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 unbaked Buttery Flaky Pie Crust (what I used) or All Butter Pie Crust*
- egg wash for pie crust: 1 large egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon milk or heavy cream
Filling
- one 15oz can (about 2 cups; 425g) pumpkin puree*
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup (200g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon (8g) cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger*
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg*
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves*
- 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 2/3 cup (160ml) heavy cream*
- 1/3 cup (80ml) whole milk*
Praline Topping
- 1 cup (130g) finely chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (43g) honey*
- for garnish: sea salt and whipped cream
Instructions
- For best success, read the recipe in full before beginning.
- Pie crust: I like to make sure my pie dough is prepared before I begin making pecan praline pumpkin pie. Make pie dough the night before because it needs to chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before rolling out and blind baking (next step).
- Roll out the chilled pie dough: On a floured work surface, roll out one of the disks of chilled dough (use the 2nd pie crust for another recipe!). Turn the dough about a quarter turn after every few rolls until you have a circle 12 inches in diameter. Carefully place the dough into a 9-inch pie dish. Tuck it in with your fingers, making sure it is completely smooth. To make a lovely thick edge, I do not trim excess dough around the edges. Instead, fold the excess dough back over the edge and use your hands to mold the edge into a nice thick rim around the pie. Crimp the edges with a fork or use your fingers to flute the edges. You can see me do this in the video tutorial above or in my detailed how to crimp and flute pie crust tutorial.
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Pre-bake the crust: Line the pie crust with parchment paper. Crunching up the parchment paper is helpful so that you can easily shape it into the crust. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. (Note that you will need at least 2 standard sets of pie weights to fit.) Make sure the weights/beans are evenly distributed around the pie dish. Par-bake the crust for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the parchment paper/pie weights. Brush edges lightly with egg wash. Prick the bottom of the crust all over with a fork to create steam vents and return crust (without weights) to the oven for 7–8 more minutes or until the bottom is *just* starting to brown. (Review this how to par-bake pie crust page if you need extra help with this par-baking step.)
- Whisk the pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, black pepper, cream, and milk together in a large bowl until completely combined and smooth. If desired, you can use an electric mixer for this step.
- Pour filling into warm crust. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until the center is no longer jiggly. It can still be a little sticky in the very center on top, just as long as it no longer jiggles when you lightly tap the pan. During bake time, if you find the edges of the pie crust are browning too quickly, apply a pie crust shield or a ring of aluminum foil to protect it.
- Topping: Remove pie from the oven and add the topping. I like to make the topping as the pie bakes so I have it ready. Using a fork, mix the pecans and brown sugar together. Drizzle in the honey and mix until combined. Spoon on top of the pie, then *very* gently press it down with a spoon or fork so it sticks on the filling.
- Return pie to the oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Use a pie crust shield to protect the crust from over-browning, if needed.
- Remove the pie from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely, at least 3-4 hours. If not serving right away, cover cooled pie and store at room temperature for 1 day or in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
- Serve room temperature or cold with a sprinkle of sea salt and whipped cream. I used Ateco 849 piping tip for the whipped cream, but you can just use a spoon to top each slice with a dollop.
- Cover and store leftover pie in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: See post above for detailed make-ahead and freezing instructions.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Rolling Pin | 9-inch Pie Dish | Parchment Paper | Pie Weights | Pastry Brush | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Pie Crust Shield | Cooling Rack | Piping Bag (Reusable or Disposable) | Ateco 849 Piping Tip
- Pie Crust: Both linked pie crust recipes make 2 crusts. You only need 1 crust for this pie, so freeze the 2nd half for another use. If using store-bought pie dough, you still need to pre-bake it. If needed, you can use a graham cracker crust or gingersnap crust instead of traditional pie crust. Pre-bake the cookie crust at 350°F (177°C) for 10 minutes. No need for pie weights if using a cookie crust.
- Pumpkin: Canned pumpkin is best in this pumpkin pie recipe. If using fresh pumpkin puree, lightly blot it before adding to remove some moisture. The bake time may be longer.
- Spices: Instead of ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and pepper, you can use 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. Be sure to still add 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon.
- Heavy Cream & Milk: Do not substitute a lower fat milk– the fat in whole milk is needed. Feel free to use 1 cup of half-and-half instead of heavy cream + whole milk.
- Honey: If needed, you can substitute the honey in the praline topping with light corn syrup or even maple syrup.
The best thanksgiving pie ever, and the half butter/shortening crust is awesome. First pie crust I’ve ever made that was flaky ( no soggy bottom, lol) the next day. The pecan topping on the pumpkin pie was amazing. I was skeptical about the black pepper, but everything I’ve made from you has amazing, so I added it. It really adds to the flavor of the Pie filling.
Sally, do you think I could bake this in a 10″ pie pan without any measurement changes? Or perhaps I could use the measurements from your original Great Pumpkin Pie recipe to have slightly more filling? I’m excited to try it!
Hi Valerie! You can use the filling for the great pumpkin pie, but I still think you’d have enough using the written recipe here. When you cut your pie dough in half, be a little more generous with the half you will use for this pie since it needs to be a little larger. (Roll out to 13 or 14 inches.)
This is such a delicious recipe and it has very easy to follow directions! I have only ever made fruit pies so blind baking was a new experience. Somehow, despite refridgerating the crust in the pie tin before baking, my crust shrunk while baking. Any ideas why or how to fix that? Is it because I didn’t crimp or press down the edges with a fork? Either way, I will definitely be making this more often!
Hi Lisa, This is usually a result of overworking the pie dough. Pie dough should only be mixed until the ingredients come together. Let it rest for at least 2 hours in the fridge– and if you can let it rest longer, awesome. Better yet, make the pie dough discs a few days in advance so they can rest during that time. Likewise, use gentle force when rolling out pie dough. Roll out very slowly and take your time. Keep the ingredients as cold as possible. You can even freeze the crust for 20 minutes before baking. That always always helps!
When I made the pie I used maple syrup instead of the honey and it was pretty crystallized after baking even making it hard to slice. I was wondering if the honey did the same thing or even the Karo syrup? Just trying to figure out how to avoid that! It taste amazing though!!!
Hi Stacy! You’ll get that texture with any liquid sugar you use, but it does sound like the praline topping was over-baked. A few test pies were harder to slice because the praline topping crystalized– still delicious!– so I reduced the time the praline was on top in the oven. Cook the pie (without the topping) longer before adding it.
Delicious. Excellent pairing of pumpkin pie and pecan pie.
Loved the pie, easy to follow steps. Added whipped cream to each slice instead of whole pie.
Oh my land! This was so delicious. I made it for a bake off and won first prize! Everyone raved about the crisp (not soggy) bottom, rich creamy filling, and crunchy top. A definitely delightful variation on a true classic.
I can’t rate the crust because I had to make a gluten free dairy free version, but the pie itself was so amazing. It’s going to be my new go to pie in Thanksgiving and beyond. Simple enough to make gluten/dairy free. Used canned coconut milk for the heavy cream and for the whole milk I did half almond milk/half dairy free half&half. The pie was gone within a day between me and my two friends. Don’t judge, it’s that good!
I made this pie over the weekend for friendsgiving, and it was such a hit! It’s definitely going to be the pie I make for Thanksgiving as well, and possibly for 2020 Thanksgiving and 2021 Thanksgiving.. It’s that good. The pecan praline on the top adds a delicious and perfect crunch to the pumpkin pie. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Made it! It was more steps than this store-bought pie dough baker is used to, but I feel accomplished! And my pumpkin pie loving dad and hubs are in heaven!
Oh this is an awesome recipe! Not too sweet, well spiced, and the crunch and flavor of the praline topping is a delightful complement. Hoping to convert someone who hates pumpkin pie into a believer with a slice. Subbed golden syrup for the honey and did an all-butter crust. This pie really does take hours and hours to cool down, though it holds its structure surprisingly well if you, like me, cannot resist slicing it open while warm.
Wow! Delicious pie and easy precise directions. Loved this pie. Best of both pies. Pecan and pumpkins delicious and Great recipe.
Hi Sally,
Forgot to mention in my comment review earlier when I checked against my own pumpkin can (and doubled checked online) – a standard 15oz can (pumpkin or otherwise) equals 425g not 450g. Thanks a lot for putting grams on all your posts, real time saver for us who use grams more often!
Thanks for catching that! Just updated the recipe 🙂
This Pie = Perfection…5 Ps ~ Pecan Praline Pumpkin Pie Perfection! Try it everyone!!
Sally, I made this pie this weekend for the Nov #Sallysbakingchallenge.
Honestly when it was first posted I was hesitant if I really liked Pumpkin Pie (only ever eaten 2 small slices before but I do love pecan pie) and my Mum especially loves Pecan Pie so I knew I should give it a go for a family afternoon tea! We all so loved it!
Thank you for your wonderful recipe and video – I successfully halved all the ingredients for a 6 inch pie plate and had a little leftover mixture which I put in 4 silicone cupcake liners (first I par baked with a Biscoff cookie crumbs + melted butter crust) and just estimated reducing the baking time, and I added maple flavored Golden Syrup instead of Honey to the Pecan Praline topping …so happy both pie and mini pies turned out well!
It was a fun Baking challenge – not super easy nor too challenging or frustrating either 😉
How long did you bake the 6” pies?
Hi, sorry to late reply I baked my crust at 190°C/375°F for 8 minutes blind baking, then 40 minutes for the filled pumpkin pie* ( *but advise checking the pie around 36 mins mark as my pie got just a bit over baked) then 9-10 mins for the praline topping.
Hello Sally, so excited to try and make this pie for thanksgiving….Is it possible to add dark chocolate to your praline pecan topping? Am I crazy for wanting some chocolate in there too? How much should I add? Or will it melt and mess up the pie? or should I do a chocolate ganache or melted chocolate on top of the crust before baking the pumpkin filling?
Please let me know, this recipe will save me from making 3 pie flavors for each of the 2 family get togethers we have this year now to just making 2 🙂 And I’m just looking for your expert pie making opinion because I am far from expert. Thank you!!!!
Hi Justeen, it’s definitely worth a try. I recommend 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips in the praline topping. Should be delicious!
Would it be possible to use buttermilk instead of heavy cream? Have some extra lying around
Hi Steve, no I don’t recommend buttermilk in this filling. Here are 80+ recipes using buttermilk if you’re interested.
Just took my first bite of my homemade Pecan Praline Pumpkin Pie and it was delicious! Definitely a perfect pie for Thanksgiving. I used Sally’s Flaky Pie Crust recipe and it was perfect. She mentions in the video that once you make homemade pie crust, it’s hard to go back to store bought, and I totally agree! I’ve never been one who likes eating the crust on a piece of pie (I usually leave the top part of the crust leftover on my plate, but I ate the whole thing, crust and all, with this piece of pie. The crust definitely beats anything store bought. Overall, it was delicious! Also, I don’t have pie weights so I used uncooked rice instead and it worked well. However, I will be asking for pie weights for Christmas this year, because now I can see myself making more homemade pie crusts in the future. 🙂
it was very very good
I used this recipe in making mini pumpkin pies. It was amazing! I brought my mini pecan praline pies into work and everyone raved about them! Everyone was asking for the recipe so of course I sent them a link to the recipe on your site 🙂 I will definitely make this recipe again!
This pie is perfection! I’ve made your regular pumpkin pie before (although the word “regular” doesn’t do it justice!) and this is an amazing upgrade. I loved the combination of the slightly salty and flaky crust, the smooth spiced filling, the sweet crunchy topping and the creamy whipped cream. All of those textures and flavors pair together wonderfully! Because I love maple syrup, I used that instead of honey. I also sweetened the whipped cream with maple syrup. Delicious!
Hi Sally! I am excited to try this recipe. Is this recipe for a deep dish pie plate? Thanks!
Hi Christine! I recommend a 1.5 – 2 inch deep pie dish. (2 inch is best.)
Everything about this (pumpkin + pecan, make ahead) pie makes it the perfect addition to my Thanksgiving table! I cannot wait to try this mashup recipe! One pie crust question: after I form my pie crust to be perfectly aligned along the edges of the pie plate, it always seems to slump down while baking, leaving me with uneven edges and filling that flows over the crust. It is so frustrating! Do you have a solution to this problem? Thanks Sally!
Hi Mercedes, the two best tips to avoid pie crust shrinkage are to make sure the pie crust is VERY cold when it goes in the oven, and use pie weights! See steps 3 and 4 in the section “Partially Blind Bake the Pie Crust” above. This should help!
Thank you for this great pie recipe! This is my second baking challenge and both times I’ve baked things that I had always been too scared to tackle. This was my first run at homemade pie crust. It didn’t look perfect, but my husband and I can confirm that it was very delicious. He said it was one of the best desserts I’ve made. I honestly had only thought pumpkin pie was okay before this recipe, but this proved me wrong. Thank you so much for these challenges and your guidance – It’s rewarding, fun, and delicious to bake new things.
This is good. It combines my husband and my favorite pies. I used your crust recipe as well which also turned out well. I decided to make pumpkin spice whipped cream as well…because why not? 🙂 I had to wait until it cooled to eat it, but really my favorite is cold pumpkin pie….so..I may or may not have another piece later after its been in the fridge. 😉
Hi Sally, just curious, can you explain why it has to be whole milk+heavy cream? What would happen if you use all whole milk or even skim milk? Just trying to understand. Thanks for always sharing great recipes!
Hi Emily! You need the fat in whole milk + heavy cream (or the half-and-half substitution) in order for this filling to set. The filling won’t set with only whole milk or lower fat milk.
Sally this pie is delicious, but I kick it up a notch by adding a streusel to the pecan topping.
Success! I made this yesterday and the combination is brilliant! Pumpkin pie generally is nice, but can get a bit dull after a few bites, and pecan pie is amazing, but can get too rich. So this pie is the perfect! I’m not sure why, but my pumpkin filling took FOREVER to set, and unfortunately I already added the topping so it browned a bit more than I would have liked. Any idea where I went wrong there? Either way, the end result was delicious, and when I make it for Thanksgiving I’ll just be a bit more careful with timing when I add the topping. I confess, I had a small slice for breakfast with my coffee this morning and I have no regrets!
Hi Millie! I’m so glad you love this pie! I wonder if your oven’s temperature was going up and down as you checked the pie for doneness/opened the oven? (Assuming you did so!) Either way, a pie crust shield helps OR tenting a piece of foil on top of the pie as it cooks will help too. Thank you so much for trying it!
Could you use sweet potatoes instead of pumpkin? I have a family member highly allergic to pumpkin.
Hi Susan! Yes, using sweet potato in place of pumpkin would be just fine. You’ll want to boil and mash them as I do with my sweet potato pie.
Really appreciated the video. Thank you.
This praline pumpkin pie looks so delicious! I love the idea of combining praline with pumpkin – sounds so good!