Recipe: Ginger Pumpkin Pie with Graham Cracker Crust

What's Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie, and it seems like most of you agree. Here's our gingery, creamy take on classic pumpkin pie - with one twist: a graham cracker pie crust. We love the nutty, buttery crunch of graham cracker crust under our pumpkin pie. Serve with whipped cream!

Ginger Pumpkin Pie with Graham Cracker Crust
Makes one 9-inch pie

1 15 ounce can pumpkin puree - or just under 2 cups homemade pumpkin puree
2 eggs
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons ginger puree or grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups half and half
1 graham cracker pie crust

Pre-bake the graham cracker crust for five minutes at 375°F.

Whisk the pumpkin puree with the eggs and brown sugar. Whisk in the ginger, cinnamon, salt and pepper. You can either use the ginger puree that comes in a jar (Trader Joe's is good) or grate ginger yourself. Use about a 4-inch piece and discard the tough fibers. Just use the milky juice and puree.

Whisk in the half and half and whisk until smooth. Pour into the graham cracker crust. Bake for about 50 minutes at 375°F, or just until set. The filling will continue to firm up after it comes out of the oven. Let cool for at least two hours before serving.

This is a great make-ahead dessert; it keeps well in the fridge and the flavors develop even more as they sit. In fact, the ginger kick will be distinctly stronger on the second day, so I do suggest making this at least a night ahead.

Updated and corrected 11.3.09. Originally published November 20, 2007.

Comments (14)

I am not a big fan of pumpkin pie, but I have to admit that this looks very good. The fresh ginger and graham cracker crust are a nice twist. i'll have to try it out. Thanks!

I am not a big fan of pumpkin pie...so this year, i am trying a recipe for apple-pear chardonnay pie. hope it's good.

If you make your own crust (link), don't use as much butter/water as called for and cover your edges with foil from the start to avoid burning.

I have to tell you that I was really excited to make this recipe, esp after realizing that I had all of the ingredients (including a fresh jar of the TJ's ginger spread!) in the house already. But. Despite adding some ground Ginger Snaps to the crust to boost the ginger level even more, I can't believe how UN-gingery this was! That's my only complaint. Other than that, I thought it was really easy to make and a great consistency--I'll just add a lot more ginger next time and/or make a ginger snap crust instead of a combo with the graham crackers.

I made this for my extended family and it was a disappointment. There was another "traditional" pumpkin pie at our Thanksgiving and folks all went to that for seconds and thirds and left this pie on their plates after tasting it. I had thought that it would be spicy and was even afraid that some of the older folks would complain about it. It was the exact opposite and had zero spice to it and was just bland and there was not even enough sugar to make it sweet. It was very easy to make and folks did like the idea of a graham cracker crust for a change. The ginger snaps in the crust would be a terrific addition. I would double all the spices and add a teaspoon of ground cloves.

agree with above comments. I made two of these pies to take to a church social this weekend - not nearly gingery enough; overall pretty bland. Also didn't end up liking the graham cracker crust - I miss the flakey pumpkin pie crusts that my mom makes. My search for the perfect pumpkin pie recipe continues.

I apologize to everyone who made this and found it bland. There is a definite error in this recipe; it should read "2 1/2 TABLESPOONS of ginger puree."

It's been corrected, and I upped it a bit, actually, since the last time I made this I used more like 3 tablespoons. This gives it a very distinct ginger kick. It's my husband's favorite pie.

I do apologize for the error and anyone who was disappointed by it!

"half and half" haha, had to google that. strange north americans.

Has anybody tried the proper recipe? I have not settled on a filling yet, but I'm making a crust with ginger snaps...similar.

I've just tried it with the 3 tablespoons of fresh ginger (pressed in a garlic press) and it's delicious. I did end up adding about a 1/2 teaspoon each of nutmeg and cloves because I'm crazy for them but I'm sure the pie didn't actually need them. Flavorful, delicious, spice-heavy yum.

yummy! delicious. my guests and i loved the pie. try it :)

I make cheesecakes all the time and, still, I don't get the fascination with graham cracker crusts -- and I never, ever use them.

For this recipe I'd use gingersnaps, like I did for the pumpkin cheesecake my guests will be eating in ... 8 hours! Yikes! I'd better get to work!

I made this one for Canadian Thanksgiving and everyone who tried it agreed that it was the best pumpkin pie they'd ever had! I didn't follow the recipe EXACTLY though - I kept tasting the filling as I went and added spices until it tasted the way I wanted.

no one could have made this with 1 1/2 c. half and half. I just wasted my time and money, should have poured it in little by little till I had the right consistency. Recipe Fail!!