These creamy and irresistible little Pumpkin Pie Bites make a fantastic Thanksgiving dessert idea. You get the sweet pumpkin pie filling, a buttery flaky crust, and a little whipped cream in every bite. These are great make-ahead desserts, can be prepped in 30 minutes, and each batch makes 32 mini pies!
We are coming up on pumpkin season, which means it’s time to bake! Serve these at your Thanksgiving dinner or any holiday season get-together you are planning, they are a real hit! Before we get started, know that you will not be using the full can of pumpkin puree, so you can use the rest to make homemade pumpkin spice lattes or pumpkin cinnamon rolls.
Before you sink your teeth into these bites of goodness, load up on the comfort food like brown sugar glazed ham, candied yams with marshmallows, and carrot souffle! For more classic dessert ideas to fill your table, try making chess pie, hot milk cake, or a batch of old-fashioned oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
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Why You’ll Love These Little Pumpkin Pie Bites
- Adorable mini pumpkin pies taste just like the traditional pumpkin pie, maybe even a little better!
- The perfect size and feeds a crowd with just one batch.
- Only takes 30 minutes worth of prep work.
- Uses pantry staples.
- They are just so cute! (isn’t everything cuter when it’s smaller?)
🎃 Ingredients:
- All-purpose flour – for the homemade pie crust
- Salt – enhances the flavors
- Unsalted butter – make sure to keep the butter cold before using it
- Ice cold water
- Pure pumpkin puree – do not substitute for pumpkin pie filling, it’s not the same. This needs to be canned pumpkin or fresh pumpkin.
- Evaporated milk – for the pie filling, note this is not sweetened, condensed milk
- Granulated sugar – to sweeten the pie
- Light brown sugar – when measuring, be sure to pack it into the measuring cup
- Egg – binds and thickens the pie filling
- Ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground ginger – all the delicious holiday seasonings, you can use your favorite combo of warming spices, or substitute pumpkin pie spice
- Heavy cream and powdered sugar – to make the whipped topping
For a full list of ingredients and their measurements, 📋 please view my printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Substitutions and Variations
- To save time, you can purchase puff pastry or pre-made pie crust from the grocery store and just make the pumpkin filling.
- This is delicious with some chocolate shavings on top too!!
- Substitute ¾ teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice for the cinnamon, cloves, and ginger if needed.
- If desired, use Cool Whip or canned whipped topping instead of homemade fresh whipped cream.
- This would also be quite yummy with a homemade cream cheese buttercream frosting!
🔪 Instructions:
PREP: Preheat the oven and grease the mini muffin tin.
Step 1: Mix together the flour and salt in the food processor. Add the cold butter and pulse until crumbly. Slowly add the water until the dough begins to form.
Step 2: Transfer the dough to plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
Pro Tip: By keeping the butter cold and using ice water, the crust is much flakier! I like to cube the butter and freeze it until I am ready to use it.
Step 3: Use a rolling pin to flatten the dough on a floured surface. Use a round cookie cutter to make 32 crusts.
Step 4: Press the pie dough into the muffin pan so it’s against the bottom and a little over the sides.
Step 5: Combine all the pie filling ingredients in a large bowl and whisk or mix with an electric mixer on low speed, just until incorporated.
Step 6: Spoon the creamy pumpkin filling into the crusts leaving a little room at the top.
Step 7: Bake until the pies are set and golden brown on the crust (about 18-22 minutes). Allow the mini pies to cool in the pan before transferring them to a wire rack.
Step 8: Beat the powdered sugar and cream together and add a dollop to each pumpkin pie. Add a sprinkle of cinnamon or chopped nuts and serve!
GARNISH/SLICE/SERVE: Serve this pumpkin pie bites recipe on a platter for all to devour!!
Recipe Tips for Mini Pumpkin Pie Bites:
- You will have leftover evaporated milk and pumpkin puree.
- You will notice the pies puffing up while baking, but once cooled they will settle back down.
- Do not add the whipped cream until they have cooled completely. It will melt.
Fun Fact
The largest pumpkin pie on record used 80 pounds of pumpkin, was 5 feet around, and took 6 hours to bake!
Recipe FAQs
Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If you did not add whipped cream to it, it will last a little longer.
Yes as long as it’s stored properly. Allow it to cool completely. Wrap it in a double layer of plastic wrap and one layer of aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 2 months. To thaw, place it in the fridge overnight. Do not let it thaw at room temperature. It will weep and make the crust soggy and start to separate.
More Pumpkin Recipes For Pumpkin Lovers
If you tried this Pumpkin Pie Bites Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the 📝 comments below.
Pumpkin Pie Bites
Ingredients
Pie Crust Ingredients:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter cold, cut into cubes
- ⅓ cup ice cold water
Filling Ingredients:
- 1 cup of pure pumpkin puree
- ¾ cup evaporated milk
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 cup heavy cream for topping
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar for topping
Instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor, mix together the flour and ¾ teaspoon salt. Add the cubes of cold butter. Pulse several times until the butter is broken up into small pea-size pieces and is mixed throughout the flour. Slowly drizzle the ice water into the flour mixture while pulsing the food processor, just the until the mixture begins to pull together.
- Turn the crumbly dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap and gather the dough into one mound with your hands. Wrap the dough in the plastic wrap and pat to form a disc. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before proceeding with the recipe.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray mini muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- Roll out pie crust (working with ½ the recipe at a time) on a lightly floured surface or on parchment paper/plastic wrap. Use a 2 ½” biscuit cutter to make rounds from the pie crust. Gather the leftover scraps of crust, reroll, and continue cutting out small rounds.
- Press each round into the mini muffin tins, ensuring that it is pressed all the way to the bottom of the cavity and reaches to the top of the sides – it does not need to rise up over the sides, but a bit above the top to allow for shrinking.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin pie filling ingredients. Whisk to combine completely.
- Spoon one tablespoon of pumpkin pie filling into each mini crust.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the pies are set.
- Cool mini pumpkin pies before removing from the muffin tin.
- Whip heavy cream and powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Pipe or dollop on top of the pumpkin pies just before serving and sprinkle with a dash of cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice.)
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Notes
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- You will have leftover evaporated milk and pumpkin puree.
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- You will notice the pies puffing up while baking, but once cooled they will settle.
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- Do not add the whipped cream until they have cooled completely. It will melt.
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Lesia Butler says
Absolutely yummy! I rarely make my own crust but I did with this recipe. Tasty and flaky!
Lesia Butler says
Absolutely delicious. Very flakey pie crust. I just had to cut mine out with a knife because I couldn’t find the right size cutter, they were rustic looking but still cute!