17 INCREDIBLE Thanksgiving Pie Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the most eaten pie on Thanksgiving? ›

While pumpkin pie reigns supreme in the majority of American households, sweet potato pie is still the quintessential Thanksgiving dessert in the South.

Pumpkin pie is a great make-ahead dessert to cross off your Thanksgiving to-do list. You can prepare and bake the pie up to two days in advance, and it will still taste great on the big day. Just make sure you store the pie in the refrigerator—not on the kitchen counter—until you are ready to serve it.

Apple pie is arguably one of the most popular pie flavors. A symbol of America, the apple pie was actually invented by the British.

(It's even said that Native Americans fed pumpkin to their horses.) Did you know that the FIRST pumpkin pies were actually WHOLE BAKED PUMPKINS stuffed with assorted spices and apples? Did you know 50 million pumpkin pies are baked every year? The LARGEST PUMPKIN PIE on record was five feet around.

A 1653 French cookbook contained one of the earliest recipes of a “pumpkin pie” where milk-boiled pumpkins were strained and baked in a crust. While recipes in the late 17th century in both England and New England described filling a hollowed-out pumpkin with sweetened milk or sliced apples and cooking it in a fire.

The clear winner for the United States as a whole was (not surprisingly) apple pie with more than 27% of sales going to the traditional flavor.

Pumpkin Pie

Pilgrims liked pumpkins. According to accounts, they used to hollow them out, fill them with milk and honey to make a custard, and then roast the orange orbs in hot ashes. But when it came to making pies, the Pilgrims were essentially out of luck.

Bring pie filling up to room temperature before adding it to the pie shell, firstly to make it easier to spread it evenly in the pie dish, and secondly because when puff pastry is placed over cold filling it cooks unevenly.

So you could make the pie on the morning of Christmas Eve and then bake it on Boxing Day. You could also assemble the pie and then freeze it (unbaked) up to a month in advance. The pie will need to be thatwed for 24 hours in the fridge before you bake it.

If a pie contains eggs or dairy products, it should be stored in the refrigerator and not left out at room temperature for more than two hours. Pies that do not contain dairy products, such as fruit pies can be stored, loosely covered at room temperature for up to two days.

What is the most expensive pie? ›

The Guinness world record for the most expensive pie cost customers to the Fence Gate Inn, Lancashire, UK £8,195 (then $14,260) or £1,024 (then $1,781) per slice when ordered by eight guests on 14 November 2005.

But the apple pie takes the cake when it comes to fiber and potassium, and it has less added sugar. So what's a pie aficionado to do? Well, if you want to consume fewer calories, go for the pumpkin—it almost always has fewer because of the single crust. You could also take a sliver of both pies.

Key Lime

Its no surprise key lime is the favorite in Florida. This pie originated in Key West, Florida during the 19th century. In Key West, you can buy a chocolate-dipped slice of key lime pie on a stick. Other Southern states have the meringue-topped pie as the favorite as well.

In general, pie reigns supreme as a Thanksgiving dessert. While some families have their nice selections of pie servings, tradition says apple, pumpkin pie, and a southern pecan pie are the go-tos, typically made with a buttery pastry pie crust.

1. Turkey. Thanksgiving wouldn't be the same without the turkey. The turkey is usually prepared whole, filled with fruit, vegetables or other stuffing (more on stuffing in #2!).

On Thanksgiving, pumpkin pie is a welcome sight for most Americans. In a 2022 survey, approximately 40 percent of respondents said that they would "Love it" to be served. Additionally, about 30 percent of respondents stated they like pumpkin pie to be served at a Thanksgiving meal.