Warm chai spices and pumpkin blend beautifully together in this new fall classic – a pumpkin chai pie! You’ll love the subtle tea notes in the pie filling. This easy, unique pumpkin pie may even earn a permanent spot on the holiday dessert table!
By late summer, I start to long for all things fall. I see pumpkin décor in the shops, the kids are back in school, and cooler weather sounds refreshing. Despite the blistering temps outside, I’m ready to cozy up with my favorite fall drink – a pumpkin chai – even if it means I have to blast the AC to do it!
This feeling also inspires all the pumpkin chai everything! Allow me to introduce you to this gem. Darlings, meet Pumpkin Chai Pie! Prepare to have your knitted fall socks blown off!
There is something simply delightful about pumpkin chai-influenced fall treats. I mean, we have everything from pumpkin chai macarons to tiramisu, and even pumpkin chai ice cream on the blog! It’s definitely a thing.
Only this year did I realize I don’t have a pumpkin pie recipe on the blog. I usually follow Libby’s pumpkin pie recipe, and it didn’t seem like a thing to repost. But add Chai, and voila! Fall magic.
Warm chai spices blended with the smooth, luscious pumpkin filling in a buttery crust just sounds right. Add some fluffy whipped cream and this is a match perfectly made!
Break out the blue ribbons, because this recipe is a crowd-pleasing winner.
Let’s get to the technical details, yes?
Recipe Notes…
In this recipe, you will steep your chai in the evaporated milk. Adding the chai flavor by infusing it into the milk allows you to control the level of chai flavor in your recipe. This is especially helpful if you are serving pie to people who might find a very bold chai flavor overwhelming.
The Godfather is one of these people, and he found the balance of chai to pumpkin in the pie just right!
Brew your milk tea a little stronger than you would for drinking. Your favorite chai tea blend is perfect. You’ll need to steep it a little stronger and longer to make sure the flavor holds through baking!
If you are baking for chai aficionados, you can cheat a bit and skip the infusion. Dump a teaspoon of chai tea spices into your pie filling and skip the brew! Just understand that you will end up with a bold tea flavor.
For the crust, I used my flaky all-butter pie crust recipe. We are team butter crust here.
Don’t feel up to a homemade crust or already have a recipe you love? No worries! Use your favorite recipe or pick up a store-bought crust. Pumpkin pie should not be stressful!
Mix up your pie filling as usual, but with chai. The savory pumpkin, warm spices, and sweet notes give all the holiday vibes to your tastebuds! It’s nostalgic, but with a twist.
The best way to top off this pie, in my opinion, is with a dollop of fluffy whipped cream. I stabilized the whipped cream for this pie, and promise a post with video will be up before the holidays if you’d like to do the same!
In the meantime, you can try the mascarpone whipped cream already posted! It’s so perfectly creamy and not overly sweet.
You can also skip stabilization and add whipped cream when you serve. Or, you can leave this beauty as is and enjoy it sans any cream!
How to make pumpkin pie in advance
Along with nostalgia and warm-fuzzies, the holidays also bring to-do lists and events. Holidays can be crazy busy, can’t they? Thankfully, I have a little secret for you…
You can freeze this magical treat and save yourself a little time the day you plan to serve!
Did you know you can freeze pumpkin pie for up to a month? Your future self will thank you!
To freeze, bake the pie and allow it to cool completely. I even suggest chilling it in the refrigerator. The colder your pie is when it goes into the freezer, the faster it freezes. The faster it freezes, the better for thawed texture and flavor.
Once your pie has completely cooled or chilled, double wrap in plastic wrap and freeze! Feel free to add a layer of aluminum foil on top of the plastic if you’d like for extra protection.
The hardest part about freezing is resisting the urge to slice and devour your creation! (Hey, I won’t judge!) Better yet, bake two. 😉
To thaw, place the pie overnight in the refrigerator. This slow thaw will give you a fresh-tasting pie when you’re ready to serve! Please don’t thaw at room temperature.
Room temperature thawing could cause the pie to weep. Weeping is when condensation forms on the filling and it separates from the crust. That could cause you to weep also, and we don’t want that! The reason this happens is that your custard-like crust and your pie will thaw at different rates at room temperature. This is today’s science lesson, darlings.
Go on, blast that air conditioner, and let’s usher in the new season. From my pumpkin chai-loving heart to yours, happy (almost) fall, darlings! Happy baking!
Pumpkin Chai Pie
Warm chai spices and pumpkin blend beautifully together in this new fall classic - a pumpkin chai pie!
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch pie shell or a single pie crust rolled into a 9-inch pie dish
- 1 15-ounce can of pumpkin puree (see notes)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
- 3 bags chai tea
- Optional: whipped cream topping and extra chai tea (see notes)
Instructions
- Transfer the evaporated milk to a small saucepan or a microwave-safe container. Warm on the stovetop over medium heat, or in the microwave for 1-2 minutes at 70% power until hot but not boiling. Place 3 bags of chai tea into the milk and allow to steep for 10 minutes.
- Roll your pie crust into a 9-inch pie dish and place it in the refrigerator while you mix the ingredients.
- Preheat your oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with foil and place in the oven during heating.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, spices, salt, and sugar.
- Whisk in the eggs one at a time until the mixture is smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Remove the bags of chai tea from the evaporated milk and discard. Pour the chai-infused evaporated milk into the pumpkin mixture.
- Remove the pie crust from the refrigerator and pour the pumpkin pie filling into your pie crust.
- Carefully place the pie on the heated baking sheet and bake at 425 F for 15 minutes.
- Without opening the oven door, reduce the temperature to 350 F and bake an additional 30-40 minutes until the filling in the center has just set, but still jiggles slightly. It will fully set while cooling.
- Remove the pie from the oven and place it on a rack to cool. Wait for the pie to be completely cool before slicing for the prettiest presentation.
- If desired, top the pie with whipped cream and an additional sprinkle of chai tea mix for decoration just before serving.
Notes
- For this recipe, be sure you get pumpkin puree, which is unsweetened and unflavored, and not pumpkin pie filling.
- To differentiate this pie from a classic pumpkin pie, I cut open a fourth bag of tea and lightly sprinkled the chai spices over the outer edge of whipped cream. This is an easy way to help people differentiate between classic and chai pumpkin pie at a glance.
- Pumpkin pie can be baked up to 2 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator, loosely covered, once it's completely cool. You can also wrap a completely cooled pie in plastic and foil and freeze it for up to a month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 667Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 61mgSodium: 554mgCarbohydrates: 97gFiber: 5gSugar: 51gProtein: 10g
These nutrition values are estimates. Exact values will vary depending on the ingredients, brands, and quantities used.