Individual Crustless Pumpkin Pies (or Pumpkin Custards) – don’t wait for Thanksgiving to enjoy the best part of your favorite holiday dessert!
Individual Crustless Pumpkin Pies (or Pumpkin Custards)
This recipe was originally published on November 27, 2010, and was updated with new photos and a video on November 17, 2016.
I know I know I know… according to Rule #987539875 in the Food Bloggers Handbook, I was supposed to post pumpkin pie recipes at least 3 days prior to Thanksgiving. Well, I would have done that except for one little thing…
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OK, actually that sort of just an excuse. I didn’t actually get to making these till the day before Thanksgiving.
And I thought of making myself a birthday cake to post. But, between the gluten-free chocolate chip cookies I found in the freezer, the diner carrot cake for Thanksgiving, the one and a half ginormous cupcakes I ate in the couple days after Thanksgiving, the gluten-free pumpkin snack cake I made, and half of a Snickers pie that I managed to consume in just two sittings, I thought the towering pile of cake and frosting that I dream of would be a bit excessive and dangerous to have in my kitchen.
And this gives me the opportunity to tell you a little story. Because I like to let myself think that you are all interested in my silly little life. 🙂 For those of you that are – I love you! Let’s be friends!
Being born on November 27th, my birthday usually falls or within a day or two of Thanksgiving. This year is actually an unusual one, with it being so far from Thanksgiving. As a kid, since we were already getting together as a family on Thanksgiving, and often on the next day for consumption of leftovers, my family birthday celebration was usually done on Thanksgiving. So this meant my candles went in the pumpkin pie, since apple pie is not the best support system for birthday candles. One problem…
I hated pumpkin pie. I really just wanted a Fudgie the Whale, or something. Heck, a Funfetti ice cream cake would have been awesome. But I got pumpkin pie.
Sometime later in life, I actually started liking pumpkin pie. Not sure when, not sure why. By that time, my culinary skills were developing, so I’d no longer buy our Thanksgiving pumpkin pie. I would make it. So I began making it, and I went to Martha for her recipe. Her filling is always perfect, though I always seem to have to bake it longer than her directions call for.
In fact, the Hubby, who claimed to never really like pumpkin pie (yeah, like he is “not really a soup person“) happily eats it every year. Or he just wants to keep up the facade, since the first time he said he liked it was the first time he spent Thanksgiving with my family.
And he was trying to impress everyone, because he also did the dishes – first man to ever do that in our house. I’m going to keep convincing myself it is because I just make an exceptionally good pumpkin pie.
But I just could not master the crust. Crust is still a work in progress for me. And because I don’t like pie crust, I don’t work too hard at it. I tried a gingersnap crust one year, but it was just a little too much spice with the pumpkin pie filling. After I found out about my wheat allergy, I tried baking the filling in the pie pan, without a crust. It was just perfect for me!
So I decided to bake myself some individual crustless pumpkin pies!
If you want something crunchy with the pie, sprinkle some graham cracker or gingersnap crumbs under the filling, or over the top, to make it all fancy-like.
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Here’s the recipe for the individual crustless pumpkin pies:
Individual Crustless Pumpkin Pies (aka Pumpkin Custards)
Pumpkin Pie filling, baked in individual ramekins, for those that aren't crust-lovers.
Ingredients
- 1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
- 3/4 c packed light-brown sugar
- 1 T cornstarch
- 1/2 t kosher salt
- 2 t pumpkin pie spice
- 3 large eggs
- 1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Place 6-8 ramekins or custard cups in a large baking dish. Heat a pot or teapot of water to boiling, and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, brown sugar, cornstarch, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and eggs.
- Whisk to combine thoroughly.
- Add evaporated milk, and stir to combine.
- Fill the ramekins with the pumpkin mixture. Pour the hot water in the baking dish around the ramekins.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes (depending on how many you make and how full the ramekins are), or until set in the middle.
- Remove from the oven, and let cool in the pan until cool enough to handle.
- Remove the ramekins from the water bath. Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled in the refrigerator.
Enjoy!
Here are some more pumpkin pie alternatives (that happen to be gluten free) for you…
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- Pumpkin Pie Pudding
- Greek Yogurt Pumpkin Cheesecake Tart with Maple Walnut Crust
- Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cheesecake Pastries
And some from my friends…
- Flourless Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake from Chelsea’s Messy Apron
- No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse from Snixy Kitchen
- Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie from Love From the Oven
Want to see lots more yummy food from me and my friends, and cute pictures of my kids?
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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. I earn a small percentage from any purchases you may make if you click on them. These companies have not contacted me. I use the stuff because I love it.
I looooooove these and what a perfect way to celebrate your birthday with some deliciousness!!!!
Thank you, Isabel!
Happy Birthday to yooooou! These crustless pies look phenom!
Thank you so much!
Hey now, It’s your Birthday (party) and you can cry… I mean have cool whip if you want to, have cool whip if you want too. lol. I don’t normally care for the crust on anything, so I love these!
It is so funny how strongly people feel either for or against crust 🙂
You are so missing out not using real whipping cream! Hmm can’t rate it from my phone. 4 stars!
Oh I love real whipped cream, but for some reason I love the fake stuff with my pumpkin pie!
I tried to print this recipe out several times by clicking on the button, and I keep getting “Oops! This link appears to be broken!”
Margaret, what browser are you using? I am on Firefox on my Mac, and it is working fine. If you let me know, I can follow up with the maker of the recipe plugin. Thanks for letting me know!
OK, Brianne, here is where my stupidity shines through…I’m not sure what browser I’m using! I click on the blue e on my desktop which brings me to MSN. I originally found you in Facebook. So…did I answer your question? I’m sorry for my lack of knowledge!
Sorry for the delay. Sounds like Internet Explorer. I am waiting on a response to see if it is something on my end or your end. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
What a great idea! I eat gluten free and have never thought to try this. So excited!!
Thanks! I have never been one for crust anyway, so making these little custards is perfect for me.
You are my new BFF!! Oh my gosh. I LOVE pumpkin pie but I hate the crust. The family always laughs at me because I eat the filling out of the pie and leave all the crust. I am definitely trying this!!! Yum! Thanks for sharing!! 🙂
Haha! There are the crust people and the filling people. I guess we are on the same team 🙂
Eating this right now. GREAT RECIPE. I have never liked crust, and we need to be gluten free. Perfect!
So glad you like them! The easiest way to make gluten free pie is to skip the crust altogether 🙂
Can’t wait to bake my Pie in a custard cup….makes sense to me.
Question – How did you get the “pie” out of the cup and have it look so perfect.
PS….wish you had a box to click to have “them” let me know when there is an answer.
Oh but you will (or should) get an answer :-). I cooled them in the fridge and they slid right out!
Hi! I really want to make these for my son who loves pumpkin pie and is also gluten intolerant! Unfortunately he’s also dairy intolerant, so do you think these would work with almond milk or coconut milk? Thanks!!
I asked one of my vegan bloggy friends and this is what she said “The better option is almond, soy, or coconut milk creamer. I replace 12 ounces of evaporated milk with 8 ounces of coconut milk creamer + 1 tbsp white flour.” Now I know flour is an issue, so perhaps a bit more cornstarch?
This looks yummy! Perfect solution for gf-ers and those who don’t like the crust anyway.
Yep! Exactly!!
Where has this recipe been all my life?! For several years I’ve been looking for this exact same recipe. My kids never liked the crust of pumpkin pies. They would eat the filling and leave the crust. I made this for Thanksgiving and everyone loved it! It’s very similar to the recipe I use for my pumpkin pies. I used the spices from my pumpkin pie recipe, instead of store bought or the one linked to this recipe.
These spices are enough to make 2 recipes of Pumpkin Custard. I don’t use store bought pumpkin pie spices. You can divide this spice mix in half if you like.
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
First of all, advance Happy Birthday. I am not good with remembering dates, and I may miss it in future.
As far as pumpkin is concerned, I am not a big fan of it. For me, eating pumpkin is like “it’s end of the world”. I never liked it. However, this looks different and delicious. It could be due to the magical effect of these photos ( which you have added to the post) that invites me to give this recipe a try.
Bharat Sharma recently posted…12 Wonderful Beauty Benefits of Lychee For Skin And Hair
Thank you so much, Bharat!
Those look heavenly and I also love “individual” because I don’t have to SHARE! he he he!