Crustless Pumpkin Pie Cups
Classic pumpkin pie filling baked without the crust in six ramekins in a water bath, so it is in the oven in 10 minutes and ready in about 45, with the silky texture of the pie and none of the rolling.
This is pumpkin pie without the pastry, the way many home cooks make it on a weeknight. We take King Arthur Baking's pumpkin pie filling (our Classic American Pumpkin Pie recipe) as written and bake it the way Japan bakes purin (our Kabocha Purin recipe): in a hot water bath, which cooks small custards evenly and fast. No crust means no chilling, rolling or blind baking.
🇺🇸 This one is American
Classic pumpkin pie filling baked without the crust in six ramekins in a water bath, so it is in the oven in 10 minutes and ready in about 45, with the silky texture of the pie and none of the rolling.
🇬🇧 The original
The English original is a lidded pie of sliced pumpkin layered with apples, herbs and spice, a 1600s recipe from Hannah Woolley. See the Pumpion Pie (Hannah Woolley's 17th-Century English Pumpkin Pie) recipe.
📖 Myth check: Is Canned Pumpkin Really Squash? →
Why it works the kitchen science
Small cups in a water bath
Shallow portions surrounded by hot water cook through in about half the time of a whole pie, and the water keeps the edges from overcooking before the centers set.
The same filling as the pie
Nothing else changes, so the cups taste exactly like the center of a slice.
Step by step
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the middle and bring a kettle of water to a boil. Lightly butter six 6-oz ramekins and set them in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
- Step 2
Whisk all the filling ingredients in a large bowl until smooth, about 1 minute, and divide among the ramekins (a scant 3/4 cup each).
- Step 3
Set the baking dish on the oven rack and carefully pour boiling water into the dish to come halfway up the ramekins.
- Step 4
Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until the edges are set, the centers still wobble slightly and a thermometer in the center of one cup reads 170°F to 175°F.
- Step 5
Lift the ramekins out of the water with tongs and cool on a rack at least 30 minutes. Serve warm or chill 1 hour, topped with whipped cream and crushed cookies if you like. Refrigerate leftovers, covered, up to 3 days.
Crustless Pumpkin Pie Cups
Serves 6 · 6 (6-oz) custard cups · 45 min total
Filling
- 425 g (one 15-oz can) pumpkin puree, not pie filling
- 3 large eggs
- 237 g (1 cup) heavy cream
- 198 g (1 cup) sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp salt
To serve (optional)
- Whipped cream
- Crushed gingersnaps or graham crackers
Method
- Heat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the middle and bring a kettle of water to a boil. Lightly butter six 6-oz ramekins and set them in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
- Whisk all the filling ingredients in a large bowl until smooth, about 1 minute, and divide among the ramekins (a scant 3/4 cup each).
- Set the baking dish on the oven rack and carefully pour boiling water into the dish to come halfway up the ramekins.
- Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until the edges are set, the centers still wobble slightly and a thermometer in the center of one cup reads 170°F to 175°F.
- Lift the ramekins out of the water with tongs and cool on a rack at least 30 minutes. Serve warm or chill 1 hour, topped with whipped cream and crushed cookies if you like. Refrigerate leftovers, covered, up to 3 days.
Adapted from the filling of King Arthur Baking's "Pumpkin Pie" class recipe (July 2025), as written. The water-bath method and 350°F oven follow Japanese Cooking 101's kabocha purin. The ramekin size, baking time and serving count are ours; doneness follows the baseline above. King Arthur Baking. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- No ramekins? Use a buttered 8-inch square glass dish in a larger water bath; bake 40 to 50 minutes (our estimate) and check the temperature.
- Crushed cookies on top give back the crunch the crust would have.
- Mix the filling the night before and refrigerate it; King Arthur says a rested filling tastes smoother.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Crustless pumpkin pie is a "pie". Folklore: it is a baked custard; the name is about the flavor.
- It needs a water bath. Folklore: some crustless recipes bake directly in a pie plate (for example Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist's: a hot start at 400°F, then 325°F:); the water bath is our choice for small cups.
- Pull it at 175°F. Disputed: ATK says 175°F; King Arthur says at least 160°F, usually 170°F (see our Classic American Pumpkin Pie recipe).
Every other pumpkin dessert
Pumpion Pie (Hannah Woolley's 17th-Century English Pumpkin Pie)
Before the custard there was this: slices of squash browned in butter and baked under a pastry lid with tart apples, raisins, currants, sugar, spice and a splash of sherry, adapted from a 1670s English recipe.
Calabaza en Tacha (Mexican Candied Pumpkin in Piloncillo)
Wedges of whole pumpkin, skin and all, simmered for two hours in a dark syrup of piloncillo, cinnamon and orange until they turn deep brown and glossy, the candied pumpkin of Mexico's Day of the Dead.
Doce de Abóbora em Calda (Brazilian Pumpkin Cubes in Syrup)
Neat cubes of pumpkin soaked briefly in limewater, then simmered for two hours in a light sugar syrup and left to steep overnight, so they turn glassy and sweet while staying firm, the Brazilian way.
Kabak Tatlısı (Turkish Candied Pumpkin with Tahini and Walnuts)
Thick blocks of pumpkin layered with sugar and left overnight to make their own syrup, then baked until candied and served cool with crushed walnuts and a drizzle of tahini, no water added.
Kabocha Purin (Japanese Kabocha Pudding with Caramel)
Japan's custard pudding made with sieved kabocha squash, baked in a water bath over dark caramel, chilled and turned out so the caramel runs down the sides.
Sangkhaya Fak Thong (Thai Coconut Custard Steamed in a Whole Squash)
A small kabocha hollowed out, filled with coconut cream, palm sugar and egg custard scented with pandan, steamed until set, chilled and cut into wedges that show a yellow custard heart in an orange shell.
Classic American Pumpkin Pie
The Thanksgiving pie: a smooth custard of pumpkin puree, eggs, heavy cream, sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg in a par-baked all-butter crust, pulled from the oven while the center still wobbles.
New England Squash Pie (Lydia Maria Child, 1832)
The old Yankee custard pie made with roasted winter squash instead of pumpkin, cooked with milk, sweetened with molasses and a little sugar, spiced with plenty of cinnamon and ginger, and baked in an open crust.
Southern Sweet Potato Pie
Silky sweet potato custard made with brown sugar, butter, sour cream, extra yolks, cinnamon, nutmeg and an optional splash of bourbon, baked in a crust lined with a thin layer of caramelized brown sugar.
Pumpkin Chiffon Pie
All the spice of pumpkin pie in a light, mousse-like filling: a cooked pumpkin custard set with gelatin and folded with whipped cream, piled into a toasted walnut and graham cracker crust and chilled, no baking of the filling.
Pumpkin Bread (Chocolate Chip Quick Bread)
King Arthur's super-moist oil-based pumpkin quick bread, made with canned pumpkin, nutmeg and vanilla, studded with chocolate chips and baked in one loaf pan.
Spiced Pumpkin Loaf with Pepitas, Inspired by Starbucks
A tender, heavily spiced pumpkin loaf sweetened with sugar and honey, scented with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger and topped with crunchy pepitas, in the style of the coffee-shop pumpkin loaf. Inspired by, not official.
Meatballs of the World
Italian-American Meatballs
Big, tender meatballs braised for an hour in red sauce over spaghetti. The one most Americans grew up with.
Pallottine (Abruzzo Meatballs)
Tiny meatballs, smaller than a marble, tossed right through square spaghetti alla chitarra. No bread at all.
Swedish Meatballs (Köttbullar)
Small, soft meatballs browned in butter, in a cream sauce made from the same pan, with lingonberry jam on the plate.
Danish Frikadeller
Pork meatballs shaped with a spoon and fried slowly in butter, crusty outside and soft in the middle.
Königsberger Klopse
German meatballs that are never fried: poached, then served in a creamy white sauce with capers.
Spanish Albóndigas in Almond Saffron Sauce
The tapas bar classic: small meatballs in a golden sauce thickened with fried almonds and bread.
Mexican Albóndigas with Chipotle and Mint
Soft meatballs with rice and fresh mint inside, simmered in a smoky tomato and chipotle broth.
Izgara Köfte (Turkish Grilled Meatballs)
Small, flat meatballs kneaded hard, rested cold, and charred on a hot grill pan.
Lion's Head Meatballs
Big, soft pork meatballs, stirred into a sticky paste, fried to set, then braised in a savory sauce.
Chicken Tsukune
Japan's chicken meatball: kneaded sticky, grilled on skewers, glazed with sweet soy tare, dipped in egg yolk.