This Pumpkin Crisp is everything you want from a traditional pumpkin pie and more. A delicious creamy pumpkin filling that has a combination of granulated and brown sugar, plenty of vanilla, and warm spices, along with a crunchy topping made using buttery oats and nutty pecans, all baked until golden and crispy with bubbling edges. It's the perfect balance of flavors - sweet, buttery, nutty, savory - a great addition to any fall table. You won't miss the pie crust, promise.
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Ingredients
This recipe uses a lot of fall pantry staples making it easy to throw together at any time.
For the filling
- Pumpkin purée: Look for the can that says 100% pure pumpkin puree – this recipe uses the whole can by the way! Do NOT use canned pumpkin pie filling, that has added ingredients that we do not want here, we want control of our own added ingredients.
- Eggs: Large eggs, ideally room temperature. Pasture raised are the most nutrient dense, but ultimately you are baking so that doesn’t really matter.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar (white sugar) and light brown sugar. You could use dark brown sugar in place of light brown sugar.
- Heavy cream: Adds creaminess and overall lightens up the pumpkin mixture.
- Vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste: Rounds out the flavors and adds some warmth.
- Pumpkin pie spice: A blend of warm spices such as cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Sometimes it also includes allspice.
- Kosher salt: Balances the sweet and brings out the flavors.
For the topping
- Oats: Old-fashioned oats (thicker, more hearty). Quick oats will not work here because they are too flimsy and won't crisp up well.
- Flour: All purpose flour.
- Butter: Good, unsalted butter such as Kerrygold, Plugra, or other European butters with a high butterfat content.
- Brown sugar: Light brown sugar – it brings extra depth of flavor having the molasses.
- Pumpkin pie spice: Another hit of the warm spices
- Pecans: Raw pecans, they’ll toast as they bake. These add a nuttiness and crunch.
- Kosher salt
How to make pumpkin crisp
Make the filing
1. In a large mixing bowl whisk together eggs and cream until well combined.
2. Whisk in the pumpkin, sugar, vanilla, spices, and salt. Set aside
Make the topping
3. In a medium bowl mix together the oats, flour, brown sugar, spices, pecans, and salt.
4. Cube the butter and add it to the oat mixture. Using either your hands or a pastry cutter, work the butter into the oat mixture until well incorporated and the mixture can stick together when squeezed.
Assemble
5. Spoon the creamy pumpkin filling into your baking dish then scatter the crisp topping evenly over top.
Bake
6. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 50-60 minutes until the topping is deeply golden brown and the edges are bubbling.
Variations and substitutions
- Pumpkin puree: you can substitute butternut squash puree or sweet potato puree.
- Pumpkin pie spice: if you don’t have the premade blend you can use a mix of warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, etc.
- Fresh pumpkin puree: you can roast and puree your own pumpkin if you’d like, it’ll just be a little more textured than the stuff you buy in the can.
- Pecans: walnuts are a good substitute.
Tips and tricks
Use an oven thermometer
I say this with any baking recipe (and honestly any recipe that goes in the oven), using an oven thermometer is crucial so you know if your oven is at the right temperature. This will largely impact the baking time and output of whatever you are baking.
Serving recommendation
I recommend serving pumpkin crisp with a scoop of ice cream, drizzle of caramel sauce, dollop of whipped cream, or even some pure maple syrup.
Use your hands to make the crisp topping
This is really the only way to ensure that the butter is sufficiently incorporated with the oats and flour, the warmth of your fingers melting it together ever so slightly. When the pieces stick together better, you get chunkier crisp bits.
Bake in the dish you want to serve in
You can’t really (successfully) transfer the crisp from one baking dish to another, so make sure you bake it in the dish you want to serve it in.
To make ahead
Make the pumpkin filling and the crisp topping but store them separately. Then just assemble and bake before serving.
Storage and reheating
- You can store this in a few ways in the skillet or baking dish you baked it in if you can, wrapped tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap, OR transfer leftovers to an airtight container. However you store it, try to keep the filling on bottom and crisp on top.
- Reheat in the oven at 350 for 15-20 minutes until warmed through
FAQs
While I haven’t tried it, dairy free cream and butter substitutes would be your best bet.
A crisp and crumble are the most similar – a crisp topping is made with oats whereas a crumble topping is not. A cobbler on the other hand is more of a “batter” or dough.
Did you make this recipe? Leave a rating and review below and tag me on social!
📖 Recipe
Pumpkin Crisp
Ingredients
For the pumpkin filling
- 1 14oz can pumpkin puree
- 2 large eggs room temp
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
For the crisp topping
- 1.5 cups old fashioned oats
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 sticks unsalted butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ cup chopped raw pecans
Instructions
Make the filling
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together eggs and cream until well combined.
- Whisk in the pumpkin, sugar, vanilla, spices, and salt. Set aside.
Make the topping
- In a medium bowl mix together the oats, flour, brown sugar, spices, pecans, and salt.
- Cube the butter and add it to the oat mixture. Using either your hands or a pastry cutter, work the butter into the oat mixture until well incorporated and the mixture can stick together when squeezed.
Assemble
- Spoon the creamy pumpkin filling into your baking dish then scatter the crisp topping evenly over top.
Bake
- Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 50-60 minutes until the topping is deeply golden brown and the edges are bubbling.
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