Pumpkin Pie, Your Way (2025)

Table of Contents

The Pumpkin Pie Challenge Rules Vallery Lomas' Marbled Chocolate Pumpkin Pie Kim Shupe's Pumpkin Tahini Pie Jesse Szewczyk's Pumpkin Pie with Maple Mascarpone Swirl Michelle Lopez's Pumpkin Pie with Vanilla Meringue Yossy Arefi's Espresso Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie References

Ready to take your Thanksgiving pie to the next level? We challenged 5 of our favorite bakers to riff on our basic pumpkin pie recipe with just 5 additional ingredients. You'll want to gobble, gobble them all up.

Ariel Knutson

Arie is the Senior Editorial Director, Features & Community for Allrecipes. Before joining Dotdash Meredith in 2021, Arie spent eight years working at Kitchn where she launched and led their news and features program. In addition to editing, Arie has worked as a writer, recipe developer, social media editor, and was once the maître d' at a three-star Michelin restaurant in New York. She's also a graduate of the culinary techniques program at the International Culinary Center. As an editor, Arie is passionate about the food and cooking stories that center people, place, and culture. She's currently working on perfecting her cardamom bun recipe, and will never say no to a scoop of ice cream.

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Published on November 14, 2022

Pumpkin pie rules the Thanksgiving dessert table. Those warming spices! That creamy pumpkin! That buttery crust! Plain pumpkin pie is clearly a classic for a reason, but it's also a great base for getting creative. That's why for Thanksgiving this year, Allrecipes challenged five of our favorite bakers with leveling up our simple pumpkin pie recipe. Developed by BobAltman in 2019, the recipe only has five ingredients: an unbaked pie crust, pumpkin puree, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, and pumpkin pie spice. It's as basic as it comes. So with a blank canvas, what did our bakers come up with? First, we need the rules.

The Pumpkin Pie Challenge Rules

The bakers couldn't get rid of any of the ingredients listed in the recipe, but they could alter the amount of the ingredient used. They were also only allowed to use an additional five ingredients in their riff.

Vallery Lomas' Marbled Chocolate Pumpkin Pie

Cookbook author and TV personality Vallery Lomas was inspired by a chocolate pumpkin loaf cake for her riff on our simple pumpkin pie. She only added one extra ingredient: 2 ounces of semisweet chocolate, and then she upped the amount of egg and pumpkin pie spice. The result is beautifully marbled pumpkin pie that feels extra luxurious.

Get the recipe: Marbled Chocolate Pumpkin Pie

Kim Shupe's Pumpkin Tahini Pie

Allrecipes Allstar and pro baker Kim Shupe was inspired by an unlikely source for her pumpkin pie riff: soup! With the addition of tahini, vanilla extract, heavy cream, salt, and the optional sesame seed sprinkle, this savory addition to the traditional pumpkin pie would be a welcome addition to your Thanksgiving dessert table.

Get the Recipe: Pumpkin Tahini Pie

Jesse Szewczyk's Pumpkin Pie with Maple Mascarpone Swirl

Cookbook author, writer, and food stylist Jesse Szewczyk was inspired by the classic combination of pumpkin and cream cheese for his riff. But instead of using actual cream cheese in this recipe, he opted for mascarpone because it's "a tad sweeter and has a luscious, dairy-forward flavor." The addition of maple syrup also adds just a touch of caramel-like flavor. "It's a simple addition that takes traditional pumpkin pie to a whole new level, adding a complex, autumnal flavor," Szewczyk writes.

Get the recipe: Pumpkin Pie with Maple Mascarpone Swirl

Michelle Lopez's Pumpkin Pie with Vanilla Meringue

Cookbook author and blogger Michelle Lopez didn't change a thing about the base of our pumpkin pie, and opted for a dramatic topping instead. The vanilla meringue requires 5 additional ingredients: granulated sugar, egg whites, cream of tartar, kosher salt, and vanilla extract. "Think of it like next-level whipped cream," Lopez writes. We're sold.

Get the Recipe: Pumpkin Pie with Vanilla Meringue

Yossy Arefi's Espresso Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie

Cookbook author, photographer, and stylist Yossy Arefi turned to the perennial Pumpkin Spice Latte for her pie riff. She upped the amount of pumpkin pie spice, added an additional egg yolk, and then combined it all with espresso powder, vanilla extract, cream cheese, sugar, and salt. "The extra spice in the pie and the slightly bitter coffee complement each other so well," Arefi explains. Coffee and dessert all in one? Genius.

Get the Recipe: Espresso Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie