Craving a gluten free pumpkin pie, but afraid to try making one? Never fear! This gluten free pumpkin pie recipe will please any crowd, is super easy, and uses whatever milk you like, dairy or non-dairy — and there’s no need for the canned stuff!
What could be easier than that? You probably have everything you need for this pie in your pantry & fridge already, assuming you keep a can of pumpkin puree on-hand like I do! You just never know when you’re going to need a homemade gluten free pumpkin pie!
I’ve used coconut, almond and soy milks, each with great results. Vanilla flavored non-dairy milks up the flavor profile on this pie even more, and the addition of a splash of bourbon or spiced cider is a secret ingredient that wakes up the taste buds in all the right ways!
I even have a video which walks you through every step with my famous homemade gluten free pie crust and shows just how easy it is to make a gluten free pumpkin pie everyone will rave about — I promise!
For the crust, follow my gluten-free pie crust baking tips and recipe for delicious and flaky pie crusts every time! Truly. This gluten free crust recipe is the one you’ve been searching for! Soft and light, but not soggy, certainly not rubbery or hard — just right.
I feel like Goldilocks every time I make it. Where has this crust been my whole gluten free life? And what are YOU waiting for?
Of course, this is your gluten free pumpkin pie, so feel free to opt for another delicious alternative and make a gluten free graham cracker crust! Or, if you’d prefer to whip up a gluten free pumpkin pie in minutes without bothering with a crust, I’ve got you covered with this crustless recipe, too!
Any way you make it, this gluten free dairy free pumpkin pie will be something you’ll want to find excuses to make. I even eat it for breakfast. No lie.
If you do choose to make the traditional pumpkin pie with crust version, there are a few tips that will help it be the MOST yummy!
One is to brush on an egg wash or your favorite milk or oil before baking. This will help the crust to brown, while also helping to keep it from drying out.
Then I always recommend baking with pie crust savers or covers. These will also prevent the crust edges from drying out or overbaking. No one wants a hard crust!
Finally, once it’s done baking, turn off the oven and open the oven door. Let the pie cool more slowly that way so that it won’t crack in the middle.
But even if it does, that’s nothing a dollop of whipped cream or even extra pie crust baked into fall shapes by using a cookie cutter can’t fix!
I often use extra gluten free pie dough to cut fall shapes to decorate, whether I have cracks on top of my pie or not. It’s just fun!
Happy gluten free pumpkin pie baking!
Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie Recipe
Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie Recipe (dairy-free)
The perfect, easy, allergen-free gluten free pumpkin pie with the perfect light and flaky homemade gluten free pie crust. Pretty much the perfect fall pie. But why wait? If you have a can of pumpkin puree, you probably have everything else you'd need to make this pie right now!
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs (or egg replacer)
- 15 oz. pumpkin purée (canned or fresh, cooked)
- 1 cup milk, not low fat (dairy or non-dairy vanilla flavor)
- 2 Tbs. melted butter or non-dairy substitute (e.g. Earth Balance Buttery® Sticks)
- 3 Tbs. bourbon or spiced apple cider
- 1 Tbs. lemon juice
- 2 Tbs. gfJules™ All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar OR coconut palm sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated cane sugar
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (or 1/2 tsp. nutmeg + 1/2 tsp. ginger + 1/8 tsp. cloves or allspice)
- one uncooked, prepared GF pie crust in a 10 inch pie plate (see recipe)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 450º F.
Prepare your pie crust in a 10 inch pie plate and butter or spray one additional ramekin.
Mix together all liquid ingredients in one bowl and whisk together the dry ingredients in another. Slowly pour the dry ingredients in to the liquid bowl while stirring. Beat until totally combined.
Pour into prepared pie plate, leaving at least 1/4 inch between the batter and the top of the pie crust. Pour any remaining batter into prepared ramekin(s). Smooth the top of the pie with a rubber spatula.
Brush crust with egg wash (full egg, mixed + 1 Tbs. water) or milk or oil (to help the crust brown), then cover with pie crust covers for at least the first 30 minutes of baking -- longer if you're using decorative pie crust cut-outs like some I've pictured here which are quite thin and delicate, and therefore would be prone to over-cooking/burning if not covered.
Bake at 450º F for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 375º F and bake for 15 more minutes.
Remove pie crust covers and brush the crust edges with egg wash, milk or oil again, then bake another 15 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the pie comes out clean. The middle should still be slightly jiggly, not totally firm. (~45 minutes total bake time)
Turn off the oven but leave the pie inside the oven with the door cracked open so that the pie cools slowly for 20 minutes more; this will help prevent the custard from cracking and minimize shrinking.
Notes
This recipe and 149 more easy, allergen-friendly recipes can be found in my latest book, Free for All Cooking.
Or grab my comprehensive Gluten Free Thanksgiving e-book with recipes, tips, brands and timelines for you to follow for a stress-free, delicious holiday!
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Hi Jules. I’m trying your pumpkin pie recipe for the first time. So far the crust rolled out beautifully. My question is, can I make the pumpkin pie one day ahead and refrigerate or will the crust get soggy? Or should I just refrigerate the crust and fill/bake tomorrow?
Hi Carol, so glad the crust rolled out so well for you! I think it would be better to make the crust ahead of time and NOT fill it, rather than fill it and risk it getting soggy while it sits, unbaked, overnight. Just wrap the crust with plastic wrap really well so it doesn’t dry out. ENJOY!
~jules
Thank you for such a wonderful recipe. I followed it to a T and it turned out great! My first try at pumpkin pie and I’m super happy with how it and a few smaller ones turned out.
That is GORGEOUS, Julee!!! I love how you decorated this pie with the leaves — so pretty! Thanks for sharing your photo and also your results! Happy Thanksgiving!!
~jules
Pumpkin pie turned out great ! Smooth, firm, delicious. Center cracked pretty significantly when it cooled despite the slow cooling in the oven as suggested, but it certainly didn’t take anything from the taste.
I used 1/8th cup less than the 1 cup of milk in the recipe, since I was working with soy milk and thought it might be too thin vs regular full fat milk. Not sure if this contributed to the cracking of the custard.
I didn’t need a ramekin, whole recipe fit easily inside my 9” pie pan.
So glad you loved the recipe, Mark! I bake only with dairy-free milk, so go ahead and use the full amounts given in any recipe with confidence, even when using dairy-free ingredients. That may have contributed to the cracking, but with custards, they are pretty finicky, so temperature changes, humidity and even oven placement can have an effect. I save some extra pie crust sometimes and bake it off as decorations (leaves, apples, pumpkins …) and sprinkle them over any cracks if they are bothersome! 🙂 Enjoy the recipe for Thanksgiving!!
~jules
I would LOVE to make this, but I am allergic to eggs. I have read Jules substitute guide, but specifically, how do you substitute the egg with silken tofu ? What are the measurements ? Thank you so much.
Hi Sheila, I’m glad you’ve taken a look at my vegan egg substitutes guide already! If you’re wanting to use the silken tofu sub, here’s the info again:
¼ cup silken tofu, blended in a food processor or blender
½ teaspoon baking powder
Everything in the guide is to replace 1 egg unless otherwise noted.
Happy baking!
~jules
Last night I made pumpkin pie with the real pumpkin. I used Jules recipe and flour.
1 Bankin with real pumpkin
2 gf pumpkin pie recipe
Gf pie crust recipe
The success was DELICIOUS!!
Oh Miriam, this looks beautiful! I’m so glad you decided to go all-in with the REAL Pumpkin, too! Isn’t it amazing?! Your gluten free crust looks fantastic, too!!!!!
Congratulations on that gorgeous success!
~jules
I’m a bit confused by the baking times in the recipe. Is the total baking time 30 minutes or 45 minutes? In other words, do you bake at 450 for 15 minutes, 375 for 15 minutes, then do the wash and bake another 15 minutes? Or do you do the wash after baking at 450, and only bake 15 minutes at 375?
So sorry for any confusion, Barbara! The total bake time is 45 minutes, but be careful not to overbake, so keep testing by checking to see if it’s jiggly in the middle. It should be a total of around 45 minutes though. Enjoy!!!
~jules
Hi Barbara, sorry for any confusion; the total bake time is 45 minutes. The first 15 minutes are at 450 and the remaining 30 minutes are baked at 375. I hope that is more clear. ENJOY!
~jules
What have you had success with using in place of eggs? My kids are allergic.
Thanks
Hi Dana, you have a few options here. Definitely check out my egg substitutes article: https://gfjules.com/egg-free-vegan-baking-tips/ But I would look to aquafaba (50grams – 1 egg) or even vegan mayo, vegan yogurt or silken tofu as easy options for this pie. A combo works well, too! Let me know what you use and how it goes!
Enjoy!
~jules
Can irish whiskey be used instead of bourbon
Hi Sandra – absolutely! It will make the flavor more pronounced, as Irish whiskey is a bit stronger flavor-wise, but there’s not a lot in the whole pie, so I think you’ll enjoy it!
~jules
For Paula Doll and the rest of us celiacs-many distillers add mash back into their distilled liquors for color. I learned this from a local moonshine distiller. Hope this helps.
Made this pie. It was delicious
Hi Christine, so glad you loved the pumpkin pie!!! And yes, I’ve definitely heard that some small distillers have used this practice of adding mash back in for color, but not on a mass scale for most larger companies (more info). It’s not out of the realm of possibility, but it’s rare. It’s nice to see many liquor manufacturers starting to proactively label gluten free, but you can also go to their websites and find out whether they are claiming gluten free or not, or reach out directly to the companies. Thanks again for chiming in, Christine — info is always welcomed!
~jules
What egg substitute would you recommend?
Hi Laura, check out my article on the best egg substitutions and see which works for your dietary restrictions. In a recipe like this one, a tofu substitution would be my first choice, but look at my other ideas for subbing in custards and similar type recipes.
~jules
I made this pie and it was delicious. However, I have been dealing with a horrible rash because bourbon is not gluten free. Or at least the bourbon I used is not gluten free. I assumed a recipe titled gluten free would include only gluten free items or name specific brands of gluten free bourbon or other ingredients to use.
Unfortunately now I feel I need to double check every recipe may have gluten free recipe because I am now worried that listed ingredients may contain gluten.
Hi Paula, I’m so glad you loved the taste of this recipe but I’m sorry that you’re now feeling unsure of the ingredients. So you know, bourbon and any other alcohol that is distilled IS gluten-free. The only way it would not be gluten free is if the particular manufacturer added flavoring with gluten after distillation. Here’s more information on why distillation renders alcohols gluten free. If you have a sensitivity to a grain like wheat or barley or rye that’s different from a reaction to gluten (as in an allergy), then alcohol derived from one of those grains could obviously still bother you.
I’m not sure what your reason is for avoiding gluten, but at least know that any reaction you’re having isn’t because there is gluten left in the bourbon (with the caveat that a brand might add a flavoring after distillation, but that is rare).
Rest assured that ALL the recipes and ALL the ingredients I share and use ARE gluten free; I have celiac disease, so I have to eat that way myself anyway. 🙂 Of course, with any ingredient that you must purchase for a recipe, you must independently verify as gluten free before using.
I hope that helps you feel more confident about using my recipes and I hope you feel better soon!
~jules
This looks so delicious! Definitely a must make for the holidays! Love that it’s gluten free and dairy free!
I’ve made this a few times before this Fall……….Coconut milk seems to have the right consistency to make for perfect baking. Some of our grocery stores also carry a brand of “cool whip” that is made from coconut milk that is absolutely delicious.
So glad you are loving the recipe, Barb! Coconut milk is so creamy and yummy here, as is the CocoWhip – delicious!!! Hope you have a fantastic fall with lots of happy baking!
~jules
Hi Jules!
Hope you’re still checking responses on this.
What is the consistency like on this pie without a crust – does it firm up enough on the bottom for ease of slicing and serving? I want to bring a GF pie to our church’s potluck Thanksgiving, but I’d like it to be easy to serve. I actually came here looking to find a pumpkin pie recipe that uses the graham cracker and gingerbread mix since I have three bags! 
Hi Rene, if you want a crustless pumpkin pie that will really set up for slicing without the support of a crust, I would recommend my crustless pumpkin pie recipe. I think you’ll really be happy with it! That being said, a graham cracker or gingerbread crust would be really yummy, too!
~jules
If you use a graham cracker or gingerbread crust, do you bake them first or only after filling them with the pumpkin mixture?
Hi Ellen, great question! The way to make a graham cracker crust is to bake them a bit first, then fill them. Here’s a recipe for the graham cracker crust (https://gfjules.com/recipes/gluten-free-graham-cracker-pie-crust-recipe/) that helps with timing for the bake. In my gluten free pumpkin cheesecake recipe (https://gfjules.com/recipes/gluten-free-vegan-pumpkin-cheesecake/), I detail how to bake the crust for 10 minutes before baking with filling. Hope that helps!
~jules
You might want to try substituting soft silken tofu for any/all of the dairy. Whirl in Cuisinart first, or maybe a blender would work.
Great idea, Ali. Thanks for sharing!
The pumpkin pie looks fantastic! Easy to make and very delicious. And since it is completely dairy-free it fits right in my diet. I love it.
Great, Ria! So glad it fits right in for you! You’ll love the recipe, and it is easy, I promise!
I’ve only just cut out gluten from my diet and it’s made a huge difference to my health. I’ve lost 27lb in the last 3 months. Recipes like this pumpkin pie have been a huge help in opening my eyes to the wide range of possibilities for gluten free meals.
Chris – so glad my recipes have helped! Sounds like you’re already reaping many rewards from a gluten-free diet!
Can I use Soy milk instead of milk in this recipie?
Thanks.
Absolutely! I use soy, almond or coconut milk in all my baking, since I’m also dairy-free. Enjoy!