This Salted Caramel Pumpkin Pie is seriously amazing and such a fun twist on a classic Thanksgiving staple! The salted caramel really sends this pie over the edge!
I love this time of year so much! One, because the weather is a nice reprieve from the hellish summers. Two, because I love Christmastime – it’s my fave! And three, because I LOVE coming up with recipes for you to possibly make for your families and friends for Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas. It brings me so much joy!
Up for your consideration now is a fun take on a traditional pumpkin pie with the untraditional twist of salted caramel. I mean, because who doesn’t love salted caramel? What doesn’t salted caramel improve? These are questions that keep me up at night.
This pie is seriously fabulous and perfect for those who want to jazz up a plain jane pumpkin pie with a little something special. The additional of buttery, gooey salted caramel really sends it over the edge! You can’t quite detect it so much inside the pie, but when it’s poured on top, it is a whole new level of deliciousness.
The Pie
The pie itself is an outstanding pumpkin pie with a few tweaks from the traditional pie recipe on the back of the Libby’s can that we’re so used to making. Those pies are good, but predictable. This has a few tricks up its proverbial sleeve to make it extra special, including using brown sugar instead of white sugar for more of those caramelly notes, heavy cream instead of evaporated milk for more rich and creaminess, and of course, salted caramel inside of the pie filling to really drive home the flavor. Again, the pie filling itself isn’t overwhelmingly caramel-flavored – the pumpkin definitely overpowers here – but there’s definitely a buttery hint that makes you go mmm, what is that? when you take a bite. Then, of course, the point is definitely driven home with the caramel topping you’ll pour on top of the baked pie.
I love the combination of the buttery, gooey salted caramel with the homey comfort of a classic pumpkin pie in this Salted Caramel Pumpkin Pie. I know it’s going to be a favorite, too!
*slightly adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod
Salted Caramel Pumpkin Pie
This Salted Caramel Pumpkin Pie is such a fun twist on a traditional pumpkin pie! With salted caramel both in the filling and as a topping, there’s plenty of deliciousness to go around in this flavorful pie.
Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients
- 1 9″ frozen deep dish pie crust or you may use your favorite homemade deep dish crust
- 1 (15 oz) can pure pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1¼ cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup salted caramel sauce, prepared or homemade, plus more for topping the pie for prepared, I like Smucker’s Simply Delights or Trader Joe’s Fleur de Sel
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425° degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and place the prepared frozen deep dish pie crust on top. This is an insurance policy in case your pie filling bubbles over so the baking sheet catches any spills. It’s also much easier to transport to and from the oven!
In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, eggs, light brown sugar, spices, vanilla extract, salt, heavy whipping cream and 1/2 cup salted caramel sauce together until fully combined and smooth. Pour the mixture into the pie crust until it is filled to the top. If you have some extra filling leftover, discard or save for another use. I recommend at this point using pie crust shields around your pie edges, or you may want to tent your pie crust edges with foil halfway through baking.
Bake at 425° degrees F for 15 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350° and bake for an additional 40-45 minutes or until the center appears set and is only slightly jiggly. The filling should not be sloshing in the pan. You can always test the center as well using a clean knife tip; it should come out relatively cleanly. Cool the pie completely, then before serving, sprinkle with flaky sea salt if desired and pour on the remaining caramel sauce to really bring out the salted caramel flavor.
Notes
I recommend using Smucker’s Simply Delights or Trader Joe’s Fleur de Sel prepared caramel sauces for this recipe. You need about 1 cup of caramel sauce – 1/2 cup for the pie filling, and about 1/2 cup to serve with the baked and cooled pie. For a true salted caramel flavor, I recommend garnishing the pie with the remaining salted caramel sauce tableside or pour the caramel sauce onto the finished pie before serving. If your caramel sauce is already pre-salted, omit the flaky sea salt topping. If your caramel sauce does not already have salt, flaky sea salt is a nice touch.
This pie is so delicious! The caramel sauce is just tremendous on it!
Have a super sweet day!
xo, Hayley
