Mini Pumpkin Pies
An easy recipe for mini pumpkin pies made in a muffin pan. The perfect dessert for Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving is next week and I’m wondering how in the world it’s already that time of year? It feels like just yesterday it was 100 degrees outside, but now I’m baking pies and cookies galore.
To be honest, this has been such a busy year for us and I’m ready for things to slow down a little. I have a post coming soon about what Josh and I have been up to all year and it’s pretty exciting. I can’t wait to share all the details with you!
In the meantime, can we talk about pie? If you’ve ever felt intimidated when it comes to making pies, these mini pumpkin pies are the perfect starting point.
These mini pies are made in a muffin pan, so you don’t have to worry about decorating the edges like a regular pie. The filling only takes about 5 minutes to mix together and all you have to do is pour it into the pie crusts, then bake them.
Plus, how cute would these be on your Thanksgiving table this year?
These adorable mini pumpkin pies start out with some pie crusts. You’ll need two pie crusts for this recipe, you either use store-bought pie crusts or you can use my homemade pie crust recipe.
You’ll also need a 3.5-inch cookie cutter to cut out circles for the pie crusts. If you don’t have a cookie cutter, then a cup or something similar will work just fine. Just be sure to measure whatever you’re using to cut the circles for your pie crusts and make sure it’s the correct size.
For the filling in these mini pies, you’ll be using some pumpkin puree, brown sugar, spices, an egg, and some evaporated milk. Once you mix up the filling, you’ll pour it evenly between all of the pie crusts. I suggest using a tablespoon to measure out the filling for each one, it should be about 2 tablespoons per pie.
Once you’ve prepared the pies, you’ll bake them for about 16-20 minutes. Since the pies need to cool and be refrigerated for a couple hours, I like to make these the night before I plan to serve them. Plus, I think they taste even better on the second day!
You can also leave the mini pumpkin pies plain or top them with some homemade whipped cream.
Baking Tips
- You’ll need two pie crusts for this recipe, you can either use my homemade pie crust recipe (linked in the recipe below) or use store-bought. You can use any leftover pie crust you have to decorate the tops of the pies too!
- Be sure to use the correct size muffin pan for this recipe. These are mini pies but you’ll be using two regular 12-count muffin pans, not a mini muffin pan.
- Make sure to use the correct size cookie cutter to cut out the pie crusts. You’ll need a 3.5-inch cookie cutter if you don’t have one them a cup or something similar will work just fine.
Mini Pumpkin Pies
Ingredients
- 2 pie crusts homemade or store-bought
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (250 grams) pumpkin puree
- 3/4 cup (180 ml) evaporated milk
- 1 egg lightly beaten
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the pie crusts out to ⅛" thickness. Using a 3.5-inch cookie cutter (or cup) cut out 18 circles from the pie crusts. Re-roll any scrap pieces of pie dough as needed to cut out the circles.
- Place each circle of pie crust in 18 cavities of 2 standard 12-count muffin pans. Gently press the dough down and around the sides, making sure the dough fits snuggly in each cavity. Transfer the muffin pans to the refrigerator while you make the filling.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt until well combined. Then whisk in the pumpkin puree, evaporated milk, and egg until fully combined.
- Remove the muffin pans with the pie crusts from the refrigerator. Spoon the pumpkin pie filling evenly between all 18 pie crusts in the muffin pans (about 2 tablespoons per pie crust).
- Bake at 400°F for 16-20 minutes or until the tops of the mini pumpkin pies are set and the crust is lightly golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes, carefully remove from the muffin pan, then place on the wire rack to finish cooling. Once cooled, place in an airtight container and transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least 3 hours or overnight.
- Once chilled, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
Adapted from my Pumpkin Pie Recipe
Even more mini pie recipes to try!
I LOVE mini pies so much! They’re just so much more simpler than regular full-sized pies. These pumpkin pie beauties are absolutely GORGEOUS, Danielle! I’d eat more than a few of these beauties!
They definitely are more simple! Thanks, Sarah!
I have a 12 count muffin tin, could I use this recipe for the regular muffin tin?
Hi, Dawn. You’ll need a standard muffin tin (not a mini muffin tin), but the recipe makes more than 12 pies. If you only have 1 pan, you’ll need to bake them in two separate batches.
How early can I make these? Can I freeze them? They look wonderful!
Hi, Taylor! They will freeze well for up to 3 months, you can just thaw them overnight in the refrigerator.
Is the condensed milk sweetened?
Hi, Jessica! This recipe calls for evaporated milk, not condensed milk.
These were awesome, thank you so much!!!!
So glad you liked the mini pumpkin pies, Christie!
look perfect for a Xmas dessert buffet. I usually pre-bake my pumpkin pie crusts for a few minutes so they don’t get soggy. Could I do that with these too, or not necessary?
Thanks
I usually blind bake the crust when I make a full pumpkin pie, but it’s not necessary with these mini pies. I haven’t had any issues with the crust turning out too soggy.
I like to use the already made pumpkin pie spice mix. How much of that do you think I need to use for this recipe?
I would start with 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice and then add a little more if you think it needs it.
Thank you! Just made these tonight and doubled the batch. 2 tsp was the right amount of pumpkin pie spice for this! I have to say that I only got 30 out of this. I had more pie crust cups than I did pie filling. I used 2 tbsp per cup. Had I had more pie filling, I could have had 36 mini pies. My house now smells delicious because of this recipe!
Glad the pies turned out well for you! Not quite sure why you got so many pies though, did you use a regular muffin pan or did you happen to use a mini muffin pan?
I used a regular muffin pan. I’m making these again today and think I’ll make extra of the pie filling so I’ll have enough if I have more cups to fill.
Hi Danielle,
Can i use a mini muffin pan for this recipe?
Yes, that would be fine. You would need to use a smaller cutter and reduce the baking time.
Hi. Im not a fan of evaporated milk. Could I use cream instead for the mini pumpkin pies?
I think that would be fine, a light cream would probably be best.
Hi! Can coconut sugar be used in place of brown sugar?
That should be fine!
I will be making these tomorrow for Thanksgiving, how thin or thick can the crust be so that they don’t come out soggy? Would I be able to leave them in the fridge overnight without it getting soggy?
I have a note in the recipe, the crust should be about 1/8-inch thick. As long as they’re fully baked it’s fine to leave them in the refrigerator overnight.
I made these for a Halloween gathering, and they were a hit! I added a dash of vanilla to the filling—the extent of my baking experimentation—and it turned out really well! My pre-rolled dough was a pain to work with, so I’ll have to make my own or try other brands next time, but your recipe was stellar. Do you think I could make these with your graham cracker crust recipe?
I think that would be fine. You may want to pre-bake the crust for about 5 minutes though.
These look precious! I am thinking of making two or three pie recipes (2 of each recipe) -this Pumpkin Pie recipe and maybe a cherry and pecan pie recipe. I want to give a few to a new neighbor as a welcome treat. I would like to make them in an individual pie pan -about 5 inch pie pans. Would I just need to adjust the baking time and use this recipe? I don’t want to over cook or under cook them.
Thank you very much!
To be honest, I’ve never tried it. You would probably need to increase the baking time slightly, but I’m not sure how much.
Easy and delicious! Perfect ratio of spices.
Can I substitute pumpkin pie spice for the cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger? If so, how much should I use? Making these today and my grocery store doesn’t have ground cloves in!
Thank you!
Yes, absolutely! I would probably use about 1 teaspoon, then add a little more if it needs it.
I made these tonight for a bonfire cookout. I used my mini muffin tin. I used a medium muffin cutter for the pie crust.
Everything turned out perfect. Will be making them again for sure. Served them on my pedistool cake plate. They were a big hit.
I have made these twice in one week and I absolutely love them…and so do my family and friends! The pumpkin filling is the best ive found ever! I used premade pie crust to save time but looking forward to trying your recipe.
I noticed that the recipe does not mention to spray the muffin tins with oil. Is this necessary?
You can if you want to, but it’s not necessary. Pie crust has enough fat in it so it won’t stick to the pan.
Hey, I’m going to be making these for thanksgiving tommorow and I was wondering if I use pumpkin pie spice how much should I use? And I got premade pie crust so will baking times change?
So for the delayed response, Kelly. I would probably use 1 – 1.5 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice. The baking time will just depend on the size of the pre-made crust. If they’re similar to the size of these, the baking time should be similar.
I was wondering if I can pre-make the filling the night before and bake the next day? Have you ever made your own evaporated milk? Or do you have a good substitute? And last…lol… any other suggestions on toppings other then whipped cream, I was thinking like chopped walnuts or pecans?
Yes, you can mix up the filling the night before, cover it tightly, and refrigerate it. You can also make your own evaporated milk (there are quite a few tutorials online for how to do that) or you can replace the evaporated milk with half and half. You can leave off the whipped cream and top them with chopped walnuts or pecans too.
These look awesome! Can I substitute coconut cream for the evaporated milk to make them dairy free?
You could probably replace it with canned coconut milk.
Would these turn out with my own pumpkin pie filling: pumpkin, condensed milk, egg? How does the evaporated milk change the consistency?
You can certainly try them with your own filling, but you may need to adjust the amount, baking time, etc. Sweetened condensed milk will usually give you a denser pie than evaporated milk.
I have not made made these yet, but I am planning to make them for thanksgiving. When using the muffin pan, is the depth of the tin ok, or will it be to deep? They look adorable!
I’m not quite sure what you mean? As long as you use a standard 12-count muffin pan, they should turn out just fine.
Thank you!
I like these but the crust recipe you have is really crumbly
Hi, Johanna! Did you use my homemade pie crust recipe? If so, it may have just needed a little extra water to come together.
I made mini pecan pies and they we re hard to get out of pan, about 1/2 tore up. Any suggestions
Hi, Sandra! You may have added a bit too much filling to them. I’ve done that before with that recipe and the filling overflows and causes them to stick. If you make them again, I would cut your pie crust out a little larger or add less filling and that should help.
How do you know if the mini pumpkin pies are done? I incert a toothpick and it’s not clean.
A toothpick inserted into the center won’t come out very clean. They are done when the center looks set, they will continue to set and firm up as they cool and once they are chilled.
Hello, I will be making these but using Keebler mini pie crusts which come in their very own aluminum tin each. How much of this mix do I add per pie? Do I fill it only about 3/4 of the pie? And since I’m sitting these on a cookie sheet do I still bake the same amount of time as your recipe calls?
Hi, Claudia. I’ve never tried it so it’s hard to say. They are a little bigger than the pie crust you use in this recipe, so you will likely end up with less mini pies and need to bake them longer.
Hi I want to make this recipe but I have to use a recipe for gluten free pastry, could you tell me how much pastry I will need in weight to follow the rest of your yummy looking mini pumpkin pies
Thanks Antonia
Hi, Antonia! I’m unsure of the weight of the pastry, but you will need the equivalent of about 2 regular pie crusts.
This was a delicious recipe. I made your pie crust recipe and it was quite easy to do. Definitely a keeper.
Hello, there.
Step 6 indicates after removing the pies from the oven, allow to cool (while still in pans) ‘on wire rack for 30 minutes, carefully remove from the muffin pan.’ I understand this to mean we should remove the pies from the pan and ‘place them on the wire rack to finish cooling.’ Correct? With that said, Step 7 says ‘Once chilled, carefully remove from the pans’. I thought they were already removed from pans in Step 6. Please advise. Thank you
Hi, Lori! Just fixed that. You want to remove them from the pan after they’ve cooled for 30 minutes.
I made these – delicious! I used pre-made pie crust and 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice. The recipe made 18 mini pies in a regular sized muffin tin. They turned out perfect. Thank you!
when you use the premade crust do you leave the original thickness or still roll it out a bit?
You can leave it the original thickness, you want it to be about 1/8-inch thick.