Custard Pie is rich and luscious and tastes overwhelmingly of vanilla with a hint of spice, making a perfect dessert for any holiday meal! 

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Growing up, this was a family favorite. We all loved it and requested it every Thanksgiving and Easter, and it never lasted more than 24 hours in the house. 

It was only when I got married that I realized that custard pie isn’t universally beloved in the States. Even my creme brulee-loving husband thinks it’s weird to make a sweet egg dessert. 

More pie for me, then!

Custard Pie done right is a thing of beauty. Plus, it’s essentially a stir-and-bake recipe, meaning you can pull this together even when there are 4739 things to do for a holiday meal. 

Custard Pie

Ingredients:

• 6 egg yolks
• 2 cups milk (at least 2%, whole is better)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Steps: 

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Sort your pie crust. I’m a big believer in homemade crust; you can absolutely tell a difference. Find an easy recipe here.
2. Place the crust in a 9-inch pie pan. Poke holes in the crust dough with a fork to keep it from forming air pockets, or use pie weights. Usually, I like pie weights, but for custard pie I find it simpler to skip them and poke tons of holes instead. Blind bake the crust for 10 minutes. 
3. While it’s baking, combine the ingredients: beat the yolks a bit with a fork, then combine them with milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Give it an additional stir just before pouring into the crust to ensure everything’s well combined. 
4. When the crust is done, pull the oven rack out so you can pour the custard mix straight into the crust, grate on a bit of nutmeg, then gently push the rack back in. This minimizes the chance that the liquid sloshes underneath the crust. 
5. Turn the oven temperature down to 325°F and bake for about 32-40 minutes. It’s done when there’s just a slight wobble in the custard, which in my oven usually happens at the 36-minute mark.
6. Let it rest a few minutes before diving in. It’s delicious served hot, cold, or room temperature, so often this gets made the day before and stored in the fridge until we’re ready to eat. 

That’s all it takes! As long as you pay attention that final five minutes in the oven, it comes out lovely every time.  

What else do you love serving for holiday dinners? If you need some inspiration, try these brussels sprouts, green beans, pumpkin oat chocolate chip cookies or apple crisp.