If you love pumpkin pie and sweet potato pie, get ready for this easy recipe for Carrot Pie! Its sweet and silky filling is filled with warm spices that are perfect for fall.
You’ve probably had carrot cake before, but have you tried carrot pie?
Carrots are a simple, common vegetable that most of us enjoy cold and raw in salads and such. We also add carrots to soups and stews to add sweetness to these savory dishes. So it makes sense that we can also make carrots into a delicious and sweet pie!
Carrot pie is very similar to pumpkin pie, but it has subtle differences in flavor and a super smooth texture. If you didn’t tell anyone, they might not even know the difference!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Silky Smooth Filling – Carrots can be blended up much smoother than pumpkin or sweet potatoes can, so this pie has the most amazing texture. It’s smooth and rich but also sturdy from the eggs in the recipe.
- Delicious Fall Flavors – We’re adding cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger to the carrot pie filling to make it taste just like you’d expect a Thanksgiving pie to taste. The spices are perfect too – not too much, but just enough.
- Easy Recipe – This recipe will walk you through the whole process of making a homemade carrot pie, from blind baking the crust to mixing up the filling and then baking the pie to perfection.
Key Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make this delicious carrot pie:
- Pie Crust: You need a single pie crust for this recipe. I suggest that you try my all-butter pie crust recipe – it’s so buttery and easy to work with. You can also use your favorite pie crust recipe, or pick up a package of refrigerated crust.
- Carrots: You should have about two cups of carrots that you’ve washed, peeled, and sliced into ½ inch pieces. We will boil them quickly to make them soft enough to blend into the pie filling.
- Sugar: A combination of both regular white sugar and brown sugar gives carrot pie the best flavor.
- Eggs and Milk: This is technically a custard pie, where the eggs and milk help to create structure in the filling. When cooked and cooled, the filling will be firm and easy to slice.
- Spices: Along with a bit of vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger give carrot pie the most wonderful flavor. This pie smells so good while it’s baking!
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How to Blind Bake Pie Crust
If your pie crust is frozen, allow it to thaw completely. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C and lightly grease a 9-inch pie plate.
- Roll out the pie crust to fit into the dish. It should be about ¼ inch thick. Place it into the greased dish, trim, and crimp the edges. Put down a piece of parchment paper, then weigh down the paper with pie weights.
- Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Then remove the pie weights and parchment paper, and dock the dough with a fork, poking holes to let steam escape.
- Bake for 10 more minutes, or until the cost is lightly golden brown and can be lifted out of the pan. Allow the crust to cool while you prepare the carrot filling.
How To Make Carrot Pie
- Boil the Carrots: To a saucepan, add about an inch of water and sliced carrots. Cook for 15 minutes or until soft. Drain the boiled carrots well and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
- Puree: Place the cooked carrots in your food processor and blend for one minute.
- Mix the Filling: Then add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, milk, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt.
- Blend: Blend in the food processor until the carrots are completely smooth.
- Pour: Add the blended carrot pie filling to your pre-baked pie crust and spread it out evenly. Place the pie dish on a baking sheet to catch any drips.
- Bake: Transfer the pie carefully to the preheated oven and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until the filling is set in the center and the crust is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack, then chill for 2 hours before serving.
Tip!
Cool the pie first at room temperature to allow the carrot filling to set completely, then chill in the fridge before serving.
Recipe Tips
- I always make pies with my homemade all-butter pie crust recipe, but this pie can be made with your favorite pie crust recipe, or a refrigerated pie crust.
- Blind baking the crust is an important step. If you skip this part, the bottom of your pie will get soggy and soft.
- Try making a pecan topped pumpkin pie. Use my pumpkin pecan pie recipe as a starting point, and just replace the pumpkin with this carrot filling!
- If you don’t have a food processor, shred the carrots instead of slicing them. You can then boil them, or steam them in the microwave until tender, and mix up the filling with a whisk or a hand mixer. The shredded carrots will break down easily this way.
- Make it gluten-free. Use your favorite gluten-free pie crust recipe, or a pre-baked gluten-free pie shell for this recipe.
- Bake pies in the center rack of your oven to ensure even cooking.
- If your crust starts to brown too much, cover just the edges with foil so that they don’t burn.
Storing Tips
Store homemade carrot pie in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 4 days.
What To Serve With Carrot Pie
This is the perfect Thanksgiving Pie! If you enjoy Pumpkin Pie or Sweet Potato Pie, then you’ll love carrot pie just as much.
It fits in well with Apple Pie and Pumpkin Cookies on a holiday dessert spread.
Recipe FAQs
Cracks on top of a carrot pie can happen if the pie was baked for too long. Cracks indicate that the filling has gotten a bit too dry. Don’t worry though! Even if the top of the pie has a few cracks, it will still be wonderful. Cover the cracks with some whipped cream and enjoy!
Yes, this pie should be stored in the fridge until you’re ready to serve it. I enjoy it cold, but if you prefer it room temperature you can set it out about an hour or so before you plan to eat it.
Yes, you can freeze carrot pie. Make it up to 3 months ahead of time. Allow the pie to cool, then wrap it tightly with plastic wrap or foil and place the whole pie in a freezer bag or container. When you’re ready to serve, allow the pie to thaw overnight in the fridge.
Try making carrot pie for Thanksgiving this year instead of pumpkin pie (or in addition to it! Don’t forget to Pin this recipe so you can easily find it again too.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Carrot Pie
Recipe Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch pie crust store-bought or homemade
- 2 cups carrots sliced into ½ inch pieces
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar
- ¾ cup (180 ml) whole milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream optional, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C, fan oven 180°C. Lightly grease a 9-inch pie dish.
- Roll out the pie crust and fit it into the pie dish. Trim any excess dough and crimp the edges.
- Place parchment paper in the middle of the pie dish and fill with dried beans or pie weights and make sure the weights are evenly distributed around the pie crust. Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Then remove the pie weights, foil, and parchment paper, and dock the pie with a fork, then bake for 10 more minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Turn the oven down to 350°F/180°C, 160°C fan oven.
- To a saucepan, add about an inch of water and sliced carrots and cook for 15 minutes or until soft. Drain well and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
- Place the cooked carrots in a food processor and blend for 1 minute. Then add granulated sugar, brown sugar, milk, eggs, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground ginger, and salt. Blend until the carrots are completely smooth and the mixture is well blended.
- Pour the carrot mixture into the prepared pie crust, spreading it out evenly.
- Place the pie dish on a baking sheet to catch any drips, and then transfer it to the preheated oven.
- Bake for about 50-60 minutes, or until the filling is set and the crust is golden brown.
- Remove the pie from the oven and let it cool completely on a wire rack. This will allow the filling to set further. Transfer to the fridge, and chill for at least 2 hours before serving.
- Once cooled, you can optionally serve the carrot pie with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Notes:
- I always make pies with my homemade all-butter pie crust recipe, but this pie can be made with your favorite pie crust recipe or a refrigerated pie crust.
- Blind baking the crust is an important step. If you skip this part, the bottom of your pie will get soggy and soft.
- If you don’t have pie weights, try using dry beans instead!
- Try making a pecan topped pumpkin pie. Use my pumpkin pecan pie recipe as a starting point, and just replace the pumpkin with this carrot filling!
- If you don’t have a food processor, shred the carrots instead of slicing them. You can then boil them, or steam them in the microwave until tender, and mix up the filling with a whisk or a hand mixer. The shredded carrots will break down easily this way.
- Make it gluten-free. Use your favorite gluten-free pie crust recipe, or a pre-baked gluten-free pie shell for this recipe.
- Bake pies in the center rack of your oven to ensure even cooking.
- If your crust starts to brown too much, cover just the edges with foil so that they don’t burn.
- To Store: Store homemade carrot pie in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 4 days. You can also freeze this pie for up to 4 months.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
Toni says
Such an amazing carrot pie! Thanks for the recipe!
Little Sunny Kitchen says
You’re welcome, Toni! I’m glad you like it!
Jade says
So delicious! The optional whipped cream or vanilla ice cream takes it to a whole new level of yum. Highly recommended 🙂
Little Sunny Kitchen says
Thank you for the kind review, Jade! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed this pie!
Sharina says
My father is addicted to this carrot pie! He loves having it as an afternoon snack served with tea. Such a great combo!
Little Sunny Kitchen says
Thank you for sharing, Sharina! I’m so glad to hear your father loves this carrot pie!