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[1] Pumpkin custard, a.k.a. pumpkin pie filling, baked in a pumpkin. The recipe is below (Gemini Photo).
[2] According to Tasting History, the first pumpkin pie—called pumpion pie—looked more like this. Here’s a recipe from 1670, interpreted for the modern table by Tasting History With Max Miller (photo © Tasting History | You Tube).
[3] This is pumpkin custard—with raisins. You could use it to fill a pie. Here’s the recipe (photo © American Egg Board).
[4] Here’s the pumpkin pie filling without the crust, i.e., a no-crust pumpkin pie. The recipe (photos #4, #5, #6, and #7 © Taste Of Home).
Now, some “different” takes on the modern classic:
[5] Streusel-top pumpkin pie. Here’s the recipe.
[6] Ginger-streusel-top pumpkin pie. Here’s the recipe.
[7] Pumpkin cheesecake pie. Here’s the recipe.
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Some time ago we found an article featuring a photo similar to photo #1, claiming to be a facsimile of “the first pumpkin pie.” It was published in a regarded news source.
However, don’t believe everything you read. No known recipes from the 1600s say “bake custard in a whole pumpkin.”
In fact, surviving English and early American cookbooks from the 17th century don’t have any recipe that features a hollowed-out pumpkin, filled with custard, and baked).
Pilgrims did cook pumpkin in ways that resemble the idea. Accounts from the period mention:
Hollowed pumpkins filled with milk and spices, then baked or roasted near the fire.
Pumpkins and other squash varieties used as cooking vessels.
But if you want to try what they did make, see the recipe link in photo #2.
To make the custard-filled pumpkin in photo #1, the recipe is below.
IT’S A FALSE NARRATIVE. HERE’S THE TRUTH.
Early “pumpkin pie” was not like modern pie. The early colonists’ “pompion pie” was pumpkin stewed with apples, spices, sometimes meat, and baked in a pastry crust.
When historical sources say that “the Pilgrims baked pumpkin with milk and spices in the shell,” usually refer to:
Hollowing the pumpkin.
Adding some combination of pumpkin flesh, liquid (water, milk, or beer), sometimes sweetener, and spices.
Cooking it in or near the fire.
This would yield a stewed or baked pumpkin dish with a flavored liquid—more like a rustic pumpkin stew/porridge than a set custard or modern pumpkin pie.
Historically, the egg-thickened custard inside a pumpkin is almost certainly an anachronism when applied strictly to the Pilgrims.
Pumpkin-as-vessel with dairy and spices is plausible, but it yields something closer to a sweet stewed pumpkin dish or spicy milk/pumpkin soup, unless eggs were added.
The smooth custard filling in the modern pumpkin pie evolved in the 18th–19th centuries, after better ovens and pastry traditions spread in America.
> The history of pumpkin pie.
> The history of pumpkins.
> The year’s 8 pumpkin holidays.
So why does the “Pilgrims baked pumpkin pie in a pumpkin shell” story persist?
It has narrative appeal: a vivid, simple image.
Writers in the 19th–20th centuries loved romantic colonial imagery and often reimagined older dishes using more modern techniques (e.g. baked custard).
The flavor profile (pumpkin + dairy + warming spices + sweetener) bridges a gap between early colonial pumpkin dishes and modern pumpkin pie.
RECIPE: PUMPKIN CUSTARD BAKED IN A PUMPKIN
The filling of a pumpkin pie is essentially a pumpkin custard: eggs, cream, pumpkin, sugar, and spices.
Avoid big carving pumpkins; they’re stringy and bland.
Ingredients For 4-6 Servings
1 small sugar pumpkin (about 2½–3 pounds / 1–1.4 kg)
Pinch salt
1–2 tsp sugar
For The Custard Filling
3 large eggs
2 cups (480 ml) half-and-half or 1 cup whole milk + 1 cup heavy cream
½–⅔ cup (100–135 g) sugar (adjust to taste)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1–1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
Optional: pinch of ground cloves or allspice
Pinch of salt
Garnish(es) (optional): chopped candied pecans (recipe), drizzle of maple syrup, ice cream, whipped cream
Preparation
1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Wash and dry the pumpkin. Carefully slice off the top (like a lid), about 2–3 inches across. Scoop out seeds and stringy pulp, leaving the flesh intact. (You can roast the seeds.)
2. LIGHTLY SPRINKLE the inside with a pinch of salt and the sugar. Place the pumpkin in a shallow baking dish that fits it snugly so it doesn’t tip.
3. PREPARE the custard. In a bowl, whisk the eggs until well blended. Add the sugar, salt, and all spices; whisk until smooth. Whisk in the half‑and‑half (or milk + cream) and vanilla until evenly combined. The mixture should be pourable and smooth, like pumpkin-pie custard without the pumpkin.
4. POUR into the hollow pumpkin, leaving at least ½ inch (1–1.5 cm) of headroom so it doesn’t overflow when baking. Note: If the pumpkin is very wobbly, you can wedge crumpled foil around it in the baking dish to stabilize it.
5. POUR hot water into the baking dish around the pumpkin to come about 1 inch (2–3 cm) up the sides (a water bath helps the custard cook gently).
6. BAKE for 60–90 minutes. Start checking at 60 minutes: The custard should be set around the edges but still slightly jiggly in the very center. A knife or skewer inserted near the center should come out mostly clean, with perhaps a bit of silky custard but not any liquid.
Timing will vary with pumpkin thickness and how full it is; a deeper custard can take closer to 90 minutes.
TIP: If the pumpkin skin browns too quickly, tent loosely with foil.
4. COOL. Carefully remove the baking dish from the oven and lift out the pumpkin (use big spatulas or thick oven mitts; it’s fragile when hot). Let cool on a rack at least 20–30 minutes. The custard will finish setting as it cools.
5. SERVE warm or at room temperature. Scoop down through the custard and include some baked pumpkin flesh in each serving. Garnish as desired.
Variations
Maple: Replace half of the sugar with maple syrup and reduce the liquid by 2–3 tablespoons.
Boozy: Add 1–2 tablespoons dark rum or bourbon to the custard.
Less sweet (for a side): Cut the sugar back to ⅓–½ cup and increase the spices and salt a touch.
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