How to know when a pumpkin pie is done baking? Should it jiggly or wet in the middle still or fully set? Let us answer your most pressing pumpkin pie baking questions.
Have you ever had this conversation with yourself or someone else?
Person A - Do you think it's done?
Person B - I don't know I am not sure. I don't want it to be raw in the middle.
Person A - But I think it might be done?
Person B - Yeah but can you imagine if we go to slice this pie up and it's runny in the middle.
Person A - What if we overcook it and it's too dry?
Person B - Oh no, I didn't think that. What should we do?
It can be hard to decide exactly when the right moment to pull a pie from the oven is. And since pumpkin pie recipes come in different sizes and use different ingredients, we can't just set a universal time for all pumpkin pies to be done.
So instead you need to be asking yourself this question - should my pumpkin pie be jiggly in the middle?
Jump to:
🥧 Should Pumpkin Pie Be Jiggly?
So you pull your pie out of the oven, because you think it's done. Your heart is then struck with terror, the center is still somewhat jiggly. Your fear over serving a raw pie to your guests, start to overcome you.
You reach to put that pie back into the oven. Then hopefully after reading this post you hear my voice inside your head telling you to stop! Instead of being fearful you should be rejoicing.
If your pumpkin pie is set on the edge, yet the center is still just a bit jiggly, then you have cooked your pie to perfection. If there is a best pumpkin pie contest you can enter into, you might want to start clearing off your trophy case. 🏆
While you are here let's address some other questions you might have now that your pie is done baking.
❓ Should It Firm Up?
As your pie cools, the center will firm up. You will avoid a dry overcooked filling that may crack on you - nobody wants to bring a cracked pie to Thanksgiving dinner.
You have to treat your pie like you would if you were baking cookies. If a cookie looks completely done in the oven, it will be burnt when it's cool enough to eat. This is because things don't immediately stop cooking when you remove them from an oven. There is carry over heat. This is especially true with large chunks of meat (prime rib, turkey, etc). Smaller things still do experience the carry over effect, just for a short period. But it's enough to burn cookies or overcook pie.
Also note that you should wait until the filling has completely firmed up before eating. Most people like to eat pumpkin pie at room temperature or cold. It's still possible to eat it warm just not immediately out of the oven. You will regret that.
RELATED - Should Sweet Potato Pie Be Jiggly in the Middle?
🍞 Should the Filling Rise?
If you are wondering while your pie is cooking does it actually rise? Yes it will be more puffy than when you put it in the oven to start with. However, it's not baking bread, it's only a small amount. I think saying that is puffs is a better term to use than it rises.
🥶 How Long Until You Can Put in the Fridge?
If you want to refrigerate your pie you should probably wait about 2 hours. It takes a while for a pie to cool down. If it has cooled to the touch, then it's ready to refrigerate. Make sure to cover your pie in the fridge with plastic wrap but not too tightly.
For your other Thanksgiving questions, check out our Thanksgiving Troubleshooting page.
🎃 Favorite Pumpkin Pie Recipe
As a little added bonus I will share with you my favorite pumpkin pie recipe. It has got to be Alton Brown's Pumpkin Pie. I love it with it's ginger snap crust. The texture is spot on and with a little additional spice (cinnamon and clove), the flavor is exactly what I want.
In recent years, I have a developed a Sous Vide Pumpkin Pie recipe that is inspired by Alton's recipe. If you own immersion circulator you should give it a try.
Share your pumpkin pie baking experiences in the comments below. Do you find that you most often undercook the pie or overcook it?
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