Pumpkin Pie (Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie Recipe) - Life's Little Sweets (2024)

FAQs

Is Libby's pumpkin pie mix the same as pumpkin puree? ›

They are the same product. Both canned pumpkin puree and pie filling are useful, shelf-stable ingredients that can help speed up your kitchen prep time. Just remember that puree is unsweetened, while pie filling contains sugar and spices. This will help you choose the right pumpkin product for your recipes.

Is canned pumpkin cooked? Yes, it's already been cooked via steaming. It's safe to eat canned pumpkin straight from the can, but it's infinitely better baked into a pan of pumpkin bars.

Libby's, the quintessential canned pumpkin brand, uses a proprietary strain of the Dickinson pumpkin variety in their product, which is also often called a Dickinson squash. On Libby's website, it states that their product is 100 percent pumpkin.

I think if you added regular milk to pumpkin, you would not achieve the desired texture. My guess it that it wouldn't 'set' properly, giving it the firm texture you'd expect. Evaporated milk will be much thicker than regular milk, providing that rich, creamy texture without the unwanted water.

Pumpkin pie mix can be used as a substitute for pure canned pumpkin in some recipes. However, since it is already sweetened and flavored, you'll need to make some adjustments. In most dessert recipes, leave out the pumpkin pie spice and cut down on the sugar since the pumpkin pie mix includes it.

Pumpkin pie filling shouldn't be used in place of pumpkin puree since the finished dish will be too sweet. You can always set the can aside to make a quick pumpkin pie another day.

Most shelf-stable foods are safe indefinitely. In fact, canned goods will last for years, as long as the can itself is in good condition (no rust, dents, or swelling). Packaged foods (cereal, pasta, cookies) will be safe past the 'best by' date, although they may eventually become stale or develop an off flavor.

The egg proteins in pumpkin pie filling form a loose net that traps moisture. As the egg proteins are heated, they begin to contract. Cook them hot enough, and they'll contract so much that they separate from each other into curds, giving your pie filling that grainy, wet texture.

So if your unopened can of pumpkin puree looks spotless, it should be safe to eat regardless of its expiration date. Keep in mind: this doesn't mean that the taste, texture or nutrition will be the same as a non-expired can, as these are qualities that decline over time.

The Best Overall: Libby's 100% Pure Canned Pumpkin

There is a reason that Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin has been the go-to brand for so many people for so long.

Why is my pumpkin yellow inside? ›

Certain heirloom and unique pumpkins, for instance, could contain flesh that is tinted yellow or another hue. Accordingly, the flesh of a pumpkin may be orange, yellow, or even a different hue depending on the variety.

"Around this time, there was, what was referred to as, an abundance of Midwestern agriculture. As a result, the company did purchase Dickinson & Co." The purchase included the pumpkin-packing plant in Morton, which is where Libby's Pumpkin is still produced to this day.

As the name suggests, sweetened condensed milk makes the pie sweeter and gives it a denser, creamier texture. Evaporated milk, on the other hand, yields a lighter, airier result. Evaporated milk isn't sweetened either, which is why you can't simply swap one thickener for the other.

During my testing of pumpkin pies, I tried lots of different milk options – heavy whipping cream, regular milk (I used 2% in my testing), sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk. Ultimately, I found heavy whipping cream to be the best. It produced the creamiest pie in my opinion.

Pies with too much evaporated milk formed blisters on top.

Though the interior of the filling had a great, creamy texture. The flavor was ever-so-slightly muted and had a hint of milkiness to it.

You probably shouldn't

In contrast, Fine Dining Lovers explains that pumpkin pie filling will often contain pumpkin, in addition to a host of other ingredients like added sugar and seasonings like cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves.

You can substitute almost any roasted and puréed squash for canned pumpkin. Frozen butternut cubes are a shortcut we think you should always have on hand.

Canned pumpkin and pumpkin puree are the same thing. These terms are often used interchangeably in recipes, though you may also see the term solid-pack pumpkin. All these terms mean 100% steamed and pureed pumpkin—no extras, no add-ins—not even in the canned variety.

Solid pack pumpkin is exactly that: just pumpkin, and nothing else (despite the misleading pumpkin pie that is often on the label). It's sometimes called pumpkin puree or "100% pure pumpkin" to distinguish it from the similarly named pumpkin pie filling, which contains sugar and spices.