Skip to Content

Crustless Pumpkin Pie with Streusel Topping

Updated 2022 to add a printable recipe card!

Pumpkin pie without a crust? Why would someone want such a thing??

crustless pumpkin pie slice.

Well, if you’re like me, and traditional pie crust really, really doesn’t blow your hair back, crustless pie is a gift from heaven.

I know pie crust is almost universally liked, but I am just not a fan, even when it’s a perfectly executed crust. To me, it never seems like it should go with a sweet filling and I usually end up leaving the crust on my plate (there’s no point in forcing down something with lots of calories and little nutritional value!).

Now, graham cracker and cookie crusts are an entirely different story…they’re sweet and I think they go very nicely with a sweet pie filling. To me, those are some calories worth eating.

pumpkin pie with whipped cream topping

A crustless pie might also be appealing to those of you who like crust but who hate to make it. Pie crust is a somewhat time-consuming part of pumpkin pie because it has to be made, baked, and cooled ahead of time, and this pie skips all of that.

Also, a crustless pie is definitely lower in calories. In fact, I originally found this recipe in a low-fat cookbook when I was in my teens, so calorie/fat savings were definitely the original reasons this recipe was devised.

The actual pie filling in this recipe has less sugar than a traditional pie filling (1/2 cup instead of 3/4 to 1 cup), but the 1/4 cup of sugar in the streusel kind of nullifies any sugar savings. Still, if you like a very sweet pie filling, you may want to add more than 1/2 cup of sugar when you make your filling.

Since a pie crust kind of holds a pie together, a crustless pie needs to be firmer. Otherwise, it would be impossible to slice and serve. Normal pumpkin pie recipes don’t include flour, but this one does for the sole purpose of firming up the pie.

Anyways, this is really, really easy to make. In fact, there are only two steps for the filling.

Dump everything together in a bowl:

and mix it all up until it’s smooth.

pumpkin pie batter

Pour the filling into a greased 9-inch pie plate.

That was easy.

Now for the streusel. To make this, simply combine quick-cooking oats and brown sugar and cut in two tablespoons of butter.

streusel for pumpkin pie

Sprinkle the streusel over top of the pie.

pumpkin pie streusel

Bake in a preheated 350° F oven for 50-55 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

baked pumpkin pie

I recommend placing a hefty dollop of whipped cream on each piece of pie, especially since you’re saving yourself so many calories by not eating pie crust. 😉

pumpkin pie with whipped cream

Because the streusel topping tends to absorb moisture from the pie, this pie is best the day you make it.

So, if you live by yourself and will be eating the pie for a week straight, I’d probably just skip the streusel and add a little more sugar to the filling.

A gluten-free note: Some readers have subbed gluten-free flour for the flour in the filling. And if you use certified gluten-free oats in the topping, that could be gluten-free as well.

Crustless Pumpkin Pie with Streusel Topping

(Scroll all the way down for the printable.)

1 can (16 oz.) pumpkin
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (I use 1 t. cinnamon, and 1/8 t. each of allspice, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger)
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup quick-cooking oats
2 tablespoons butter

Heat oven to 350 ° F. In a bowl, combine pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar, flour, spices, baking powder, and salt. Mix until smooth. Pour into greased 9-inch pie plate.

Combine brown sugar and oats, and cut in butter if desired. Sprinkle over pie filling.

Bake 50-55 minutes or until knife inserted into center of pie comes out clean.

Crustless Streusel-Topped Pumpkin Pie

Crustless Streusel-Topped Pumpkin Pie

Yield: 1 pie
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

For crust-haters like me (or just for people who want a super easy pie recipe!)

Ingredients

  • 1 can (16 oz.) pumpkin
  • 1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (I use 1 t. cinnamon, and 1/8 t. each of allspice, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger)
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping

  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup quick-cooking oats
  • 2 tablespoons butter

Instructions

    Heat oven to 350° F.

    In a bowl, combine pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar, flour, spices, baking powder, and salt. Mix until smooth. Pour into greased 9-inch pie plate.

    Combine brown sugar and oats, and cut in butter. Sprinkle over pie filling.

    Bake 50-55 minutes or until knife inserted into center of pie comes out clean.

Notes

The streusel topping is at its best on days 1-2.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Michelle H

Tuesday 8th of November 2022

Hmmm, I just went back and pulled my recipe card where I wrote down the recipe, and I don't have the 1/2 cup of flour written down. I also have 3/4 cup sugar instead of 1/2 cup.

I've been making it without the flour all this time, and it's been delicious, so maybe some of your gluten free readers might experiment without the flour and just keep checking it every 5 minutes after the first hour until the middle is set.

I know mine usually takes longer than the 50-55 minutes, more like an hour and 15 minutes, so maybe the missing flour is why?

And now I am craving pumpkin pie and whipped cream!

Michelle H

Tuesday 8th of November 2022

I make your recipe every Thanksgiving, Christmas, and again in February when we have a second Thanksgiving to use up the loss leaders I picked up during the holidays. I skip the streusel topping since my crew likes it plain. I went to make it once and realized I only had sweetened condensed milk, so I used it and skipped the sugar and it turned out same as always.

Beth H.

Monday 7th of November 2022

OOOOOHHHHH, I'm going to make that this weekend. That looks divine!

Tiana

Sunday 6th of November 2022

Yankees and their crustless pies! Being a bad southerner, I dislike how sweet the fillings of pies are though, so I've been contemplating rolling a pie crust on a cookie sheet and spreading a thin layer of pie filling on top. Cookie pies? Apple crusties? Do such things exist?

Jody S.

Monday 7th of November 2022

@Tiana, I am not sure I qualify as a Southerner (grew up in WV and live in MD, so kind of borderline--literally the Mason-Dixon is only a few hundred yards away), but I like pie crust, too. I used to be scared of it, but I found that practice (and real lard) makes perfect. And I don't pre-bake my pumpkin pie crusts; I just roll out the crust, pour in the filling, and bake.

So if you actually like pie crust, the key to conquering making pie crust is practice. I used to be quite scared of it, too.

Becca

Sunday 6th of November 2022

@Tiana,

Your description makes me think of pastries: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pastries

Vickie

Sunday 21st of November 2021

I am making this for Thanksgiving. Less calories than with a pie crust and that means I can have whipped cream on top!!! I think hubby will love it as he is not a big fan of pie crust.

Kristen

Sunday 21st of November 2021

Whipped cream is WAY better than pie crust, in my opinion. ;)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Skip to Recipe