The Best Pie Recipes, According to Eater Staff
Pumpkin pie, chocolate peanut butter pie, a caramelized onion tart, and more
Kat Thompson is the associate editor of Eater at Home, covering home cooking and baking, cookbooks, and kitchen gadgets.
You don’t really need an occasion like Pi Day to bake yourself a pie, but it doesn’t hurt to have a day specifically dedicated to crusts and filling (and math, I suppose). Whether you’re a fan of savory dishes, prefer fruit pies, or love the wobble of a perfectly set custard pie, there is a pie for everyone — including Eater staffers. Here are some of our favorite pie recipes to make at home.
Pumpkin Pie
Heidi Swanson, 101 Cookbooks
Of all the pie recipes I’ve made, Heidi Swanson’s pumpkin pie is the one I return to most frequently. I first made it for Thanksgiving several years ago, and then spent the subsequent 12 months dreaming of the day I’d make it again. This is in no small part because Swanson gives you the option to make a graham cracker crust, which is music to the ears of someone who makes traditional pie dough only under duress. Swanson has you add a layer of ground-up hazelnuts between the crust and filling, but I’ve also substituted walnuts, and sometimes skip it entirely. The filling is extremely simple and can be made with coconut milk, which I prefer over heavy cream. The result is exceptionally custardy; I’ve been known to bake up extra filling on its own and just eat it with a spoon. Every time I make this I’m reminded of how odd it is that pumpkin pie is shoehorned into the last part of the year, when really, we should be eating it as frequently as possible. — Rebecca Flint Marx, editor, Eater at Home
Curried Cauliflower and Cheese Filo Pie
Ottolenghi Test Kitchen
In my opinion, the most important thing you can do at a gathering full of sweets — say, a pie party – is be the person who provides the savory option. Consider the phyllo pie, which I’ve brought to many a potluck. My gateway was this Ottolenghi recipe, but it’s very malleable. I’ve run with the idea and used different cheeses, swapped out the curry powder, subbed in some miso, added melty leeks, mushrooms, or even beans and chickpeas, and topped it off with crumpled roses of more phyllo.
Phyllo sometimes has a reputation for being hard to work with, but in my experience, phyllo pie is quite forgiving, especially since you’re layering the sheets and you want ruffled messy edges to create crispy bits on the sides. To me, the hardest part is just making sure to thaw it out in advance. But it’s 100-percent worth it: This crispy golden pie is sure to get some oohs and ahhs, and it’s great fresh or at room temperature. — Bettina Makalintal, senior reporter at Eater.com
Buttermilk Pie
Tracy Mulder, Allrecipes
Since I grew up in Los Angeles and had never heard of buttermilk pie, it may come as a surprise that it’s one of my go-to pies to make. I discovered it seven years ago on a Twitter thread about unique, regional pies and was fascinated enough by this classic Southern dessert to attempt it, trying the first recipe that came up on my Google search. This is that recipe, and it has been consistently easy and perfect since that very first pie I made. The filling is smooth and velvety with subtle notes of nutmeg and a kiss of lemon. It reminds me of dan tat, or Chinese egg tarts, but it’s way less fussy. Yes, you can make your own pie crust, but storebought works well here, too, because the real star is the wobbly buttermilk custard. — Kat Thompson, associate editor, Eater at Home
Caramelized Onion & Butternut Squash Tart
Vanessa Larson, Food52
When fall comes around, I turn to this tried and true caramelized onion and butternut squash tart from Food 52 over and over again. It’s a perfect savory option to bring to Friendsgiving, Thanksgiving, or any autumnal get together. What I love most about it is that it highlights flavors and ingredients of the season while standing out from the plentiful pumpkin and pecan pies that you’re sure to find at any gathering. To make it heartier, I sometimes add crumbled sausage to the mix. — Terri Ciccone, deputy director of audience development
Chess Pie
T Knecht, Allrecipes
The only thing my mom and I love more than re-invigorating this incredibly simple chess pie recipe is telling the (most likely made up) story behind the name. Trying on my grandmother’s Texas twang, we explain how a server at a diner was once asked the flavor of the custard pie that day. She said, “It’s just pie,” but with her Southern accent that was mistaken as “chess pie.” And so we got this simple custard pie, which is filled with evaporated milk and set perfectly with cornmeal. My mom started experimenting with adding edible lavender oil to the recipe, which has became my favorite way to bake it, but she’s also added a tablespoon or two of my dad’s “Mexican mocha” (spiced hot chocolate) mix to make an incredible chocolate custard pie with a kick. But even plain, this pie recipe is always a big hit. — Emily Venezky, editorial associate
No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
Dorothy Kern, Crazy for Crust
I have nothing but the utmost respect for people who lovingly make intricately crafted, high-maintenance pies with lattice crusts and the whole shebang, but my personal tried-and-true, always-go-back pie recipe is one I’ve frequently revisited since high school: no-bake chocolate peanut butter pie. I do not know the true origin of the semi-homemade, Sandra Lee-esque creation, but if you stumble upon some version of the five-ingredient recipe that includes Cool Whip, like this one on the blog Crazy for Crust, that’s what I’m referring to. Rest assured that I generally have the taste of a very bougie person — I made a caviar spread with Champagne for watching the Oscars last weekend — but this extremely simple, absolutely-not-healthy recipe is just perfection. It’s sweet, salty, creamy, and simultaneously light, fluffy, rich, and decadent. Whenever I make it for a dinner party, holiday gathering, or potluck, it garners rave reviews (the word “orgasmic” has been used to describe it more than once). — Hilary Pollack, senior editor
