12 Ways to Upgrade a Pumpkin Pie Recipe for Turning Plain Into Insane (2024)

Crumble on Some Streusel

A buttery, crumbled streusel topping makes a nice contrast with a pumpkin pie's smooth, creamy filling. To prepare a simple pecan streusel topping in a bowl, simply:

• Toss 1 cup toasted pecan pieces, 3/4 cup light brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup rolled oats, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl.
• Drizzle 6 tablespoons of melted butter over the top.
• Toss well to combine.
• Sprinkle the topping on the pie 10 minutes before the pumpkin pie is done.
• Bake for the remaining ten minutes.

Keep this topping combo on hand to use again as a topping for pumpkin bread and pumpkin muffins, too.

Decorate the Crust

Love your go-to pumpkin pie recipe but want to make it look a little prettier? Break out the cookie cutters and decorate with pie crust cutouts. Arrange small circles around the edge of the crust, or top the center of the pie with overlapping fall leaves.

This is a smart way to make good use of any extra pie crust, and no one will complain about having extra crust to eat. For extra credit, add food coloring to the crust dough to mimic fall colors or match your tablescape.

Sprinkle on Coconut

Coconut pairs wonderfully with the warm spices—cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg—in pumpkin pie. Here's how to take the coconut topping one step further:

• Swap out the vanilla for coconut extract.
• Add shredded sweetened coconut to a graham cracker pie crust.
• Top the pie with dollops of whipped cream topped with coconut.

Drizzle on Caramel Sauce

One of the easiest ways to upgrade a pumpkin pie is to give each slice a generous drizzle of sweet, buttery caramel sauce. There are many good-quality jarred caramel or salted caramel sauces available, but making caramel sauce from scratch is a fun project that uses pantry staples you probably have on hand.

Add a Cream Cheese Swirl

While this idea isn't exactly a topping, creating a more unique pumpkin pie filling is just as good as adding a dollop of whipped cream. A swirl of whipped cream cheese in pumpkin pie filling creates a striking marbled look—and tastes great, too. Here's how:

• In a bowl, beat 1 8-oz bar of cream cheese and 5 tablespoons of granulated sugar until creamy (on medium-high).
• Add 1 egg to the mix and beat until smooth.
• Prepare pumpkin pie as usual.
• Before baking, add dollops of the cream cheese mixture to the top of the pie.
• Use a spoon to swirl the two fillings together to create a marbled effect.
• Bake as usual.
  

But who needs a pie when you can have a bite-sized dessert instead? You can also make some pumpkin swirl cheesecake bars.

Line the Crust With Gingersnaps

This isn't so much a pumpkin pie topping as it is a crust topping. Everyone will ooh and ahh when they see that there are layers of hidden goodness at the bottom of their slice of pie. For this trick:

• Spread a thin layer of crushed gingersnaps and pecans on the top and bottom of the pie crust.
• Blind-bake the pie crust as usual.

Top With Meringue

A billowy, burnished meringue topping is an elegant way to top a classic pumpkin pie. Take it one step further with meringue made with clover honey. For a basic meringue recipe, use the one in our banana pudding pie bars recipe.

Top With Candied Nuts

Candied nuts are great pre-dinner snacks, and they make a pretty pie topper, too. Try sugared pecans, walnuts, or even peanuts to add a crunchy texture and nutty flavor to a plain pumpkin pie. To make candied nuts:

• Add nuts, granulated sugar, and butter to a skillet over low-to-medium heat.
• Stir until the butter and sugar melts into a caramel-like coating, about 5 minutes.

Isn't that easy?

Serve With Cranberry Sauce

Pumpkin and cranberry is a quintessential Thanksgiving combo rarely experienced in the same bite, but there's no reason they shouldn't be served together. Try topping your plain pumpkin pie with the sweet-tart sauce to brighten the pie's rich, warm spices and dense texture.

Pair With Chocolate

Pumpkin and chocolate are a match made in dessert heaven. Try one of these instant upgrades to chocolate-ify your pumpkin pie:

• Top your pie with piles of dark chocolate shavings.
• Drizzle the top with fudge sauce.
• Give your pie the Magic Shell treatment: Melt 2 parts chocolate with 1 part coconut oil, let it cool a bit, pour over a chilled pie, and serve when hardened.

Alternatively, cater to pumpkin pie and chocolate cake fans by making a dark chocolate-pumpkin dump cake.

Upgrade Your Whipped Topping

Leave the pie alone and direct your attention to your whipped topping for an upgraded topping. Start with a homemade whipped cream recipe—which is great on its own, by the way—and then branch out with these variations:

• Add cocoa powder for a chocolatey whip.
• Make an adults-only boozy rendition by adding a splash of amaretto, Frangelico, bourbon, or spiced rum.
• Whip in some maple syrup or a drop or two of maple extract to double down on fall flavors.
• Add a dash of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice to accentuate the pie's flavor.
  

Use Sweet Potatoes

Instead of the usual pumpkin pie, why not try an old-fashioned Southern favorite—the sweet potato pie—instead? While the two look identical, they taste quite different:

• Sweet potatoes lend their pie a sweeter flavor than pumpkin (as you might expect from its name) along with an earthy, nutty kick. It also has a lighter, fluffier texture.
• A pumpkin pie has milder notes, crediting most of its flavor from the addition of pumpkin pie spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and allspice. As for texture, pumpkin filling is usually denser yet creamier.