Pumpkin Crisp tastes like pumpkin pie, only better. Creamy pumpkin pie filling bakes under a thick cinnamon crumb topping that turns golden and crunchy. Serve it warm with vanilla ice cream and it is GONE in minutes.
This is the original pumpkin crisp!
I first published this pumpkin crisp recipe back in 2018 and it has been a reader favorite since. It’s got the same pumpkin custard base as pumpkin pie, but with a cinnamon streusel topping and no crust to roll out.
I’ve watched a lot of similar versions pop up over the years, but most of them use a boxed cake mix for the topping. While still tasty, that turns it into a pumpkin dump cake, with a softer topping. The crisp cinnamon topping is what makes it a pumpkin crisp!
It takes just 15 minutes to throw together and the oven does the rest. Served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (cinnamon and caramel are also delicious options!) on top, it seriously can’t be beat!
— ♥︎ Jess —
Key Ingredient Notes
- Pumpkin: Grab a can of 100% pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling. The pie filling is already sweetened and spiced, which will throw off the other ratios. Homemade pumpkin puree works great too, just squeeze out any extra liquid.
- Heavy Cream: This is what makes the filling silky instead of dense. Half and half or evaporated milk works too, but it won’t be as rich. Full fat coconut milk is the swap readers use for dairy free.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: This carries the flavor in the pumpkin layer. No pumpkin pie spice on hand? Use 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, and 1/4 teaspoon cloves.
- Eggs: Three large eggs set the custard. Take them out of the fridge while the oven preheats so they whisk in smoothly.
- Melted Butter: Twelve tablespoons, which is one and a half sticks. It has to be melted, not softened, to create the crumb topping.
- Flour: All purpose flour is the base for the cinnamon streusel topping. Measure it correctly or the topping will be dry. Fluff the flour with a fork, spoon it into the cup, then level it off with a knife.
- Cinnamon: I tested this recipe using pumpkin pie spice in the topping, but found it to be too overwhelming. Using plain cinnamon balances it all perfectly!
How To Make Pumpkin Crisp
Visit the recipe card below for the ingredient amounts and full directions.
Prep. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter a 12-inch cast iron skillet or a 9×9 baking dish.
Make the pumpkin layer. Whisk the pumpkin, sugar, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and vanilla together. Whisk in the heavy cream until smooth, then pour it into the pan.
Make the cinnamon streusel. Whisk the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt together. Add the melted butter in a few pours, stirring with a fork after each one, until you have crumbs the size of little pebbles. You can also do this using your hands!
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. It’s ready once the top is golden and the edges are set. The center will still have a slight jiggle to it, just like pumpkin pie.
Rest, then serve. Let the pumpkin crisp sit for 10 minutes so the custard firms up. Then serve it warm with ice cream on top!
Jessica’s Tips
- Don’t over mix the topping. The cinnamon streusel is done when it holds together in little clumps. If it looks like cookie dough, you have gone too far. And if it looks like powder/sand, it needs more mixing or a touch more butter.
- Do not press the topping down. Sprinkle it loosely on top and leave it alone! If you press on it, it packs it down and you will end up with a soft layer instead of a crisp one.
- Tent it with foil if the top browns early. Every oven runs a little different. If the crumb is getting a little too dark, lay a piece of foil loosely over the top and keep baking.
- Pan size matters more than you think. A 12-inch cast iron skillet, 12-inch round casserole dish, or a 9×9 square baking dish gives you the right depth. That way the pumpkin pie filling cooks through at the same time as the topping.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, but I recommend baking it into two pans, unless you have a 10×15 baking dish. A 9×13 leaves it a little too thick in my opinion. If using two pans, you can bake them side by side for the same 40 to 45 minutes. For a 10×15, start checking in on it around 55 minutes.
Yes, for a true crisp topping, stir in up to 1 cup of old fashioned oats or quick oats. Some readers have also swapped the flour for oats entirely.
Of course! Fold up to 3/4 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts into the crumb topping before you sprinkle it over the filling.
Yes, you can reduce the sugar used in the topping from 1 1/2 cups to 1 cup.
Yes! Store the pumpkin layer in the pan (covered tightly) and the streusel topping in a separate container in the fridge for up to 48 hours. When ready, sprinkle on the topping and bake it as directed. For Thanksgiving, I bake it in the morning and reheat it right before dessert. It saves oven space when you need it most!
Storing and Freezing
This pumpkin crisp keeps really well and tastes almost as good on day two. The custard will firm up in the fridge and the crumb will soften some, but a quick reheat will bring it back.
Store: Cover the pan tightly or move leftovers to an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Reheat: For one bowl, microwave for about 20 seconds until it’s warmed through. For a whole pan, cover it loosely with foil and warm it at 325°F for about 15 to 20 minutes. To re-crisp the topping, pull the foil off for the last 5 minutes.
Freeze: You can freeze pumpkin crisp after baking. The crumb topping will soften slightly, but the flavor holds up great. Cool completely, freeze until solid, then wrap in a layer of plastic wrap, then a layer of foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. To serve, thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat as directed above.
Pumpkin Crisp
Ingredients
Pumpkin Pie Layer
- 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup heavy cream
Cinnamon Streusel
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter a 12-inch cast iron skillet or a 9×9 baking dish. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, sugar, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and vanilla extract. Whisk in heavy cream until smooth. Pour into prepared skillet and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add melted butter in three pours, stirring with a fork (or pressing together with your fingers) until crumbly. Spread cinnamon streusel topping on top of pumpkin pie mixture in an even layer.
- Bake until filling is set and top is golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes. If the crumb topping happens to brown too quickly, you can lightly cover the top with foil to prevent it from browning any more.
- Let cool for 10 minutes, so the custard filling can firm up. Then serve warm topped with ice cream or whipped cream. My personal favorite combination is to serve this pumpkin crisp with cinnamon ice cream if you can find it!
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My daughter made this for my birthday and it was simply AMAZING!!! So delicious!! Thanks for a wonderful recipe 😊 Can’t wait to make it again already lol.
It looks perfect! Glad y’all enjoyed it Wendy!
I’m not even kidding when I say I’ve made this three times in the three months. It’s so good! It’s not overly sweet and it’s a perfect combination of soft from the pumpkin pie filling and crunchy from the crumble topping! I eat it as soon as it comes out the oven , sorry but no sorry ! Topped with some ice cream or a mix of hot and cold 🤤🤤 I highly recommend this recipe!!!!!!
Easy to make and tastes great! Made this and asked my boyfriend how it was and his exact words were “it’s frickin’ delicious!”
My daughter in law told me about this recipe. I made it tonight and it was ridiculously delicious! I made homemade cinnamon sugar to sprinkle over the ice cream and it looked and tasted AMAZING!!
Highly recommend this recipe. I made it alot last year and had to stop being I couldn’t find pumpkin puree anymore lol but now it’s going to be the fall season soon , there’s going to be pumpkin everywhere and I cannot wait because I’ve been craving this crisp!!! I cannot bake or cook but this recipe was simple and easy to make and sooo freaking delicious.
Hi! I LOVE this recipe and everyone I’ve served it to is obsessed with it. Especially my brother-in-law, which is what brings me to the comments today!
I don’t know if this has been asked and answered yet, but I want to make him and my sister-in-law some freezer meals and treats for after their baby arrives. I would love to figure out a way to give them individual portions of this recipe. Is there a way to freeze this? If so, how would the baking instructions change, especially if I split it up into smaller, single portion vessels?
Hi Kari! Thank you so much, and what a thoughtful gift for them! Yes, you can freeze it after baking – either the entire pan or individual portions. However, the crumb topping may lose some of its crispness and become slightly soft or moist once thawed due to the moisture in the pumpkin custard.
To freeze, cool it completely after baking, then freeze until solid and wrap in a layer of plastic wrap and then foil. (If you do individual sized portions, wrap each one individually as well.) Once frozen, it will keep for up to 2 to 3 months.
I recommend thawing it first, then reheating in the oven, uncovered, at 325°F until heated through. For a full size, expect about 20 to 25 minutes. For an individual size, it will probably be closer to 10 minutes.
Hope this helps!
Thank you SO MUCH! For the initial bake, if I put the dessert in mini pie pans (5″), would I change the bake time?
Yes! I don’t know the exact time, but I would start checking in probably around 18 minutes? The center can have a little jiggle and will set once cooled. I’d bake one by itself first to figure out your timing!
I would like to make this for my daughter in law, but she is a vegan. What do I substitute for the eggs?
There is a Bob’s Red Mill egg substitute that should work.
Hi Sharon, I’m definitely not a vegan baker so I can’t say for certain. Hoping another reader will see this and can help you out!
This recipe was delicious and perfectly balanced. It’s a great alternative to pie.
Can you make this ahead of time and freeze it to serve later? Would I bake, then freeze it OR assemble, freeze and then bake?
Hi Dana, I have never tried freezing this one, so I really am not sure. Hoping a reader has experience and can respond with how it went for them!
Made this last night for my Thanksgiving dessert. It was amazing. I did find it super sweet so I may cut down the sugar somewhere but not sure. Eating it with some vanilla ice cream was perfect. Some people day their crumble didn’t crumble but I had no issues. I mixed all of the dry ingredients together and stirred it with a fork to get everything incorporated evenly. Then I slowly poured in my melted butter. I’d pour a little then stir with a fork and repeated that until the butter was gone. I think this helped so I could control how wet the dry ingredients came while incorporating the butter. Hope this helps others. 40mins was enough bake time for me but every oven is different so I just checked it at 20mins then again at 35mins so my crumble didn’t burn.
If I double the ingredients do I double the cooking time?
Hi Leah, if you double it, you will need to bake it in two separate dishes. So the bake time would be the same!
Can this be made gluten free?
I made this recipe but just swapped the 2 cups of flour for 2 cups of old fashioned oats and it was delicious. Oats are not gluten so it worked for my sister-in-law who is gluten free!
Hi Emanuella, I personally have not tried making it with a gluten free flour. Hopefully another reader can share their experience!
I can’t wait to make this! Company coming tomorrow and the reviews are great! Love it when a recipe has comments, and such good ones too!
This looks so delicious and I cannot wait to try it. Do you think it’s possible to use evaporated milk in place of the heavy cream?
Hi Karin! Yes, it should work just fine with evaporated milk!
Served this as part of an October birthday celebration. Perfect in a ceramic coated cast iron pan.
So good! I used df butter and full fat coconut milk since we are dairy free. My crumble topping also didn’t “crumble” but I don’t think it affected the taste at all. I also reduced the sugar to one cup for the topping but next time I’ll probably do even less, maybe 3/4 for both top and bottom portions. This was a hit at our house 🙂
Very good! I’ll be making it again!
This tastes great, I’ve made the recipe two years in a row now with my leftover pumpkin puree! Although, both times, the streusel did not come out crumbly at all, it was more like powdery sand that did not come together. I did mix by fork/hand, even tried pressing it together, but it seemed too dry despite following the recipe exactly. So when I baked it, I did have to increase the baking time, and the middle came out like raw cake batter! I have no idea what I’m doing wrong, but the flavour is so good that I really want to get it right!
Hi Kali! What size baking pan are you using? I recommend using a 12 inch round pan or a 9×13 casserole dish. It definitely should have been cooked through in the middle (to a texture similar to pumpkin pie). For the topping, are you using 12 tablespoons (one and a half sticks) of butter? You can always add a little more butter into the crumble if it’s too dry. One last tip just in case – make sure you are measuring your flour correctly. Fluff the flour (with a fork) before measuring it so it’s not densely packed in the bag. Then scrape a butter knife across the top of the measuring cup to level off the flour. Hope this helps!
I’m thinking about making this but using nonfat condensed milk instead of cream to lower the fat content. Classic pumpkin pie is made with that so I think it would be perfect. Looking forward to trying this.
Hi PJ, I would recommend using evaporated milk if you want to lower the fat content!
I made this today. It was super easy, but my crumb topping didn’t make crumbs. It turned out like a solid paste like consistency which has happened to me in another recipe with crumb topping made the same way. I guess I’m not mixing it correctly. It was still delicious though. I had to bake it longer than the recipe called for. I used a round casserole dish. I also added 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon for the topping. Will definitely make it again. Hopefully my topping turns out better next time.
Hey Whitney! So with a crumb topping, you want to mix it until it becomes crumbly, like little balls of wet sand is kind of the best way I could describe it. If you used an electric mixer, next time try using your fingers or a fork. You can use your fingers (or the fork tongs) and just rub it all together until it forms the little ball/crumbles. Hope this helps!
Hello, this looks like a great recipe! I plan on making it for Thanksgiving. How long do I bake for if I decide to make in individual pie tins?
Hi Adelene, it will honestly depend on how large you individual pie tins are. They vary pretty greatly in sizes. I would say to start checking in on it around 15 minutes, they may need a little more time, but it’s better to be early than too late!
I have never liked pumkin anything. However you have changed that I ..I love this recipe.
That’s quite the compliment! Glad you enjoyed it Pam!
I have made this twice now and I’m obsessed! I have a dairy allergy so I substituted plant butter for the regular butter, and I used full fat canned coconut milk in place of the cream. I don’t think anyone would notice the difference, it’s so good! I did reduce the sugar in the topping to just one cup the second time around and still felt it was plenty sweet and crumbly. Thanks for a delicious dessert that’s easy to throw together with pantry staples!
Can I double the recipe and use a 9×13?
Hi Renee! Yes you can, it will likely need a little longer to bake in the oven, so keep an eye on it!