The biggest pumpkins make for the best pie , ripe ?
Well … mayhap not .
Most cultivars are edible , and youcanmake Proto-Indo European out of yourgiant ‘ Jack - O - Lantern’or ‘ Howden ’ Halloween gourd , but the flesh tend to be watery , stringy , and not - so - dulcet .
Photo by Nikki Cervone.
So what are the good pumpkins for pies , puree , and other sweet treats ?
The short answer is this : those that have been cultivated specificallyfor use in cookingand bake .
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Photo by Nikki Cervone.
Carving squash have been maturate and hybridized to havethat classic , big Halloween look , while Proto-Indo European pumpkins are n’t there for look ( though they ’re often adorable . )
Instead , they live to delight your spit .
have ’s find out which cultivars you should plant in your garden this yr , so you could enjoy homegrown autumn pumpkin pie this fall .
11 of the Best Pie Pumpkins
1 . Baby Bear
2 . Cinderella
3.Dickinson
4 . former Sweet Sugar Pie
5 . Galeux d’Eysines
6 . Jarrahdale
7 . Musquee de Provence
8 . Orange Smoothie
9 . Small Sugar
10 . Spookie
11 . Triple Treat
The line between “ pumpkin ” and “ squelch ” is blurry at skilful and downright perplexing at worst .
I ’ll clear things up for you : pumpkin is a type ofwinter squash , Cucurbita pepo . Some pumpkins are cultivars ofC. maximaandC. moschata .
In this list , we ’ve selected the honorable pie pumpkins from each of these mintage .
A unspoilt pie gourd wo n’t be too large , especially if it ’s aC. pepovariety , as the braggy ones run to be thready and weak – not exactly Proto-Indo European textile .
If you ’ve ever film a massive field pumpkin and endeavor to turn it into puree , you ’ll know what I stand for .
The smallerC. pepocultivars have a mild , sweet-scented flavor with dense bod that ’s ideal for cooking .
C. maximaandC. moschatavarieties have thicker flesh with a bolder , often cherubic taste .
And if you have no idea how to turn your homegrown gourd vine into puree , never fear!Our sister site , Foodalhas the how - to clause you ’ve been waiting for .
Are you ready to originate the best baking pumpkins in your garden ?
Let ’s get go . Here are 11 of my favored cultivar :
With a name like ‘ Baby Bear , ’ you make out this variety is perfect for Kyd and for make the dainty they love most at Thanksgiving : Proto-Indo European , of course .
Or , you know , pumpkin spice ice pick , which you’re able to make with this formula fromour sister site , Foodal .
Each minuscule Cucurbita pepo weighs 1 1/2 to 2 pounds at due date , and is fill with tasty orange figure .
‘ Baby Bear ’
Frost tolerant and disease resistant , this is an excellentC. pepocultivar for gardeners in cool growing zones . Plus , the flora produce as many as 10 - 20 fruit each .
get seeds in a multifariousness of packet sizesfrom straight Leaf Market .
For a calabash that ’s both elegant and toothsome , try the brilliantly - coloredC. maxima‘Cinderella . ’
With a flattish physique and elegantly cryptical rib , ‘ Cinderella ’ start its journeying to celebrity years ago , as a French heirloom foretell ‘ Rouge Vif d’Etampes . ’
Long used in French cookery , legend has it that in an early version of the Cinderella tale – the one featured in Gallic writer Charles Perrault ’s 1697 book “ The Tales of Mother Goose ” – the pouf godmother would have pick a ‘ Rouge Vif d’Etampes ’ from the garden .
So , illustrators allegedly used the squash to help them make the pure Cinderella baby buggy .
And after the 1950 Disney movie titled “ Cinderella ” do to theaters , ‘ Rouge Vif d’Etampes ’ incur its forward-looking name .
‘ Cinderella ’
Thispowdery mould - resistant cultivarmatures in between 95 and 150 days , so pinpoint your estimated harvest home date can be a bit of a wild card .
fruit can grow up to 6 inch tall and 18 inch astray , with a weightiness range of 10 - 25 pounding . This type is big , but smaller than Cinderella ’s posture .
Full of sweet flesh , with no string and very little water depicted object , this miscellany is perfect for Proto-Indo European - making .
you’re able to make a fate of puree with just one squash vine of this type , and each plant life typically produces three to five gourd .
you could find seeds in a miscellany of parcel sizesat True Leaf Market , and grow your own bright ( miniaturized ) Cinderella coach for both decoration and pie .
3. Dickinson
Here ’s something I did n’t cognise until today :
The can puree I ’ve been using for year – Libby ’s , which produces 85 percent of the world ’s canned autumn pumpkin – is made from aC. moschatacultivar , anticipate the ‘ Libby Select Dickinson Pumpkin . ’
This finicky cultivar is not available commercially , but home base grower can take the next best thing , ‘ Dickinson ’ squash .
Honestly , this explain why the organic puree I bribe at the store late savor different in my muffin than a can of Libby ’s .
rather of ingest that bright orange tree , autumnal face , the ‘ Dickinson ’ cultivar looks more like abutternut squash .
It actually tastes quite a lot like a white walnut squash , too , which make sense : they ’re bothC. moschatavarieties .
Because of this , some multitude do n’t consider ‘ Dickinson ’ a pumpkin at all . But as pumpkin vine are a case of squash , othersdosee ‘ Dickinson ’ as a autumn pumpkin , if not a particularly aesthetically pleasing one .
‘ Dickinson ’
Whichever side you clean , just sleep together that ‘ Dickinson ’ arrive at an excellent pie pick , and we would be derelict to give it out of a listing like this just because of its funny appearing .
If you ’re looking for a rich , deliciouspie , try growing ‘ Dickinson . ’ You wo n’t find the accurate same come as Libby ’s proprietary change , but these are nigh .
you may find ‘ Dickinson ’ seed in kind of sizesfrom genuine Leaf Market .
If a cultivar has ‘ pie ’ in its name , you know it ’ll make for fantabulous baking . This small yet flavorfulC. peposquash weighs about 6 - 7 pounds when ripe .
Even better , the 6- to 7 - in fruit mature in just 90 days , making it an idealistic cultivar for stale - weather gardener ( like me , here in Alaska ! ) .
As its name suggests , the orange flesh savour sweet and squash - like – a perfect combo for piddle pies . Or muffins . Or bread .
The industrial plant average out about three to five fruit per vine , so be sure to plant several seedsif you want a big harvest .
‘ Early Sweet Sugar Pie ’
After you scoop out the flesh , turn these babe into miniature Jack - o’-lanterns . The gourds are the idealistic size for tyke to work with , or for anyone who ca n’t get enough of declension decorations .
you’re able to find packets of 35 seedsavailable at Burpee .
With warty , peanut - carapace - esque cutis , it ’s no surprise that this 10- to 20 - poundC. maximacultivar is also lie with as the “ peanut pumpkin . ”
But do n’t let the unknown rind fool you : the inside is a gem trove of stringless golden - orange tree frame that ’s just waitress to be turned into a pie , bread , or soup .
Its soft flavor tastes a mo like the best trait of pumpkins , sweet potatoes , and apple were combined into one .
Can you imagine a expert filling for pie ?
‘ Galeux d’Eysines ’
It ’s clear from the name that this heirloom squash comes to us from France – Eysines , in southwest France , to be precise .
It made its agency to America in the mid-1990s after seed were introduced by Amy Goldman , generator of “ The Compleat Squash,”available on Amazon .
This variety matures in 100 mean solar day and you may finds seedsavailable at True Leaf Market .
We can thank the town of Jarrahdale in Western Australia for this enticing blueish - light-green - grayC. maximavariety .
With fruity , stringless , favorable soma , it get absolutely first-class pies . Each industrial plant bring on 4 - 6 gourds weigh in anywhere from 6 - 10 pounds each .
Fruits suppurate in 95 days and flora are well - become to growers in warmer climates . So to those of you in Zones 7 and up – wallow ! This is your pumpkin .
But those of us in insensate - weather garden can also enjoy this calabash , thanks to its curt farm season .
‘ Jarrahdale ’
‘ Jarrahdale ’ also keeps exceptionally well in memory board or displayed decoratively after picking .
you’re able to display these beaut alongside your bigger , more decorative pumpkins – and a couple of weeks subsequently , chop them up and roast the orange deliciousness inside for pies .
you may find packets of 25 seedsavailable at Burpee .
A favor gourd with chefs in the US and Europe , C. moschata‘Musquee de Provence ’ change state from green to a beautiful specter brown when good , with deep orange flesh inside .
Like ‘ Galeux d’Eysines , ’ this squash come to us from France .
This heirloom variety bring out deep lobed pumpkins that develop up to 20 pounds in weight .
So , if you need to makelotsof scrumptious homemade kickshaw this drop , it ’s a fantastic idea to spring up ‘ Musquee de Provence . ’
‘ Musquee de Provence ’
This pumpkin takes a lilliputian longer to mature than some cultivar – around 110 to 120 days . But its sweet-scented , crackers flavor wo n’t disappoint you ( or your guests ) .
Find packets of 10 seedsavailable at Burpee .
For a pumpkin vine that ’s perfect for painting and then eating , try ‘ Orange Smoothie , ’ aC. pepohybrid .
Each gourd weighs just 5 - 8 quid , and its flesh is dulcet and almost creamy .
With slim ribbing and a gorgeous orange colouration , these small fruits make delicious fall decorations before you chop them up for that soup or Proto-Indo European pick .
‘ Orange Smoothie ’
rise these with the kidsin your aliveness . They wo n’t be disappointed with the bright orange canvas to display their artistic workplace – or with the tasty intellectual nourishment that ’ll fare later .
retrieve your seeds in a variety of packet size fromHometown Seeds via Amazon .
A classic gourd for Proto-Indo European - devising , C. pepo‘Small Sugar ’ is a smaller and more flavorful cultivar of the bombastic ‘ Connecticut Field . ’
With fine - grained flesh that is delicately sweet , ‘ Small Sugar ’ is less overtly flavorful than itsC. maximaorC. moschatacousins , which some Proto-Indo European - eaters may prefer .
‘ Small Sugar ’
W. Atlee Burpee innovate this cultivar in 1887 , and it ’s still democratic today .
The fruit each matter 5 - 8 pounds and mature in 100 - 105 days .
With shining orangish cutis and scarcely any tease , ‘ Small Sugar ’ also makes a nice canvass for a petite artist to create Halloween decorations .
Check out our guide to learn more about ourfavorite varieties of Halloween pumpkins .
you’re able to obtain ‘ Small Sugar ’ ejaculate in a miscellany of packet sizesavailable at Eden Brothers .
Do n’t be spook by the name . ‘ Spookie ’ is a hybridC. pepocultivar – a crisscross between ‘ Sugar Pie ’ and ‘ Jack O’Lantern . ’
‘ Spookie ’
fruit weigh about six Ezra Loomis Pound and are seven inches in diam , with bright orange frame that name a tasty , very well - textured puree .
If you need a break from broil but fancy a perfectly - pumpkiny kickshaw , try out this pumpkin pie smoothy recipe , also from Foodal , at any time of the yr .
Well , after you ’ve wait the 90 days for those ‘ Spookies ’ of yours to mature , that is …
you could find seeds in a variety of packet sizing , available at Eden Brothers .
With a name like ‘ Triple Treat , ’ you know there ’s something triply extra about this pumpkin .
Here ’s what that particular thing is : the Cordell Hull - less seed are perfect for roasting , the shield is excellent for carving , and the flesh is scrumptious for eat .
‘ Triple Treat ’
But here ’s a wind : for the sweetest flavor , harvest your ‘ Triple Treats ’ when they are a little smaller than their 8 - pound mature size .
This variety matures in 110 days , less if you pick them early .
you could find packets of 100 seedsavailable at Burpee .
A Gourd for Every Belly
No matter which of the above squash you take , you ’re certain to enjoy their creamy orange flesh in any pie , bake good , soup , or smoothie .
Happy growing ! Formore entropy about growing pumpkins , you ’ll demand these guides next :
Photos by Nikki Cervone and Meghan Yager © Ask the Experts , LLC . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.See our TOSfor more inside information . in the beginning published June 9th , 2020 . Last update May 15 , 2025 . merchandise Photos via Burpee , Eden Brothers , Hometown Seeds , and rightful Leaf Market . Uncredited photos : Shutterstock .
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Laura Ojeda Melchor
