33 Showstopping Thanksgiving Pies and Tarts

Deck your dessert table with crave-inducing apple, chocolate, cranberry, pecan, pumpkin, and sweet potato pies and tarts.

By

Food & Wine Editors

Updated on October 23, 2023

Sweet Potato Pie with Praline Sauce — Photo: Photo by Adam Friedlander / Food Styling by Pearl Jones

Your Thanksgiving meal isn't complete without a pie ⁠— and Thanksgiving desserts don't have to be a hassle, especially with our best pie dough recipe. Most of these pies can be easily prepared ahead of time, plus we have some mix-and-match options for pie crusts and fillings to suit every taste and preference. From Bourbon Pumpkin Pie to a Fig and Caramel Nut Tart, here are our most delicious Thanksgiving pies and tarts to serve with your holiday spread.

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Pecan-Pumpkin Cream Pie

Joanne Chang's Pecan-Pumpkin Cream Pie — Tara Donne

This pie slices beautifully to reveal not one but two fillings: both pumpkin custard and gooey, syrupy pecan. Chef Joanne Chang's technique ensures the bottom of the pie shell is perfectly cooked and avoids sogginess. Cooling the blind-baked pie shell with weights keeps it hotter, and flatter, longer.

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Apple Cheddar Rye Pie

Apple Cheddar Rye Pie — Gerard + Belevender

Apple pie and cheddar cheese are already a match made in sweet and savory heaven. This recipe from Detroit bakery Sister Pie adds the nuttiness of rye flour into the crust to create the ultimate hearty fall dessert.

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Sweet Potato Honey Beer Pie

Sweet Potato Honey Beer Pie — Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Heather Chadduck Hillegas

The different components of this pie can be prepared on different days. Here's a suggested order of steps you might find useful, especially if you make this for Thanksgiving. Day 1: Roast sweet potatoes, reduce the beer, and prepare the pie crust, but don't blind (partially) bake yet. Day 2: Blind bake the pie crust, prepare the sweet potato custard, and bake the pie.

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Brandy Pecan Pie

Brandy Pecan Pie — Gerard + Belevender

A blend of turbinado sugar, maple syrup, and honey makes for a pecan pie with well-rounded sweetness. A dash of apple brandy adds a faint caramel apple flavor and brightens the nutty toasted pecans.

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Cranberry Crumble Pie

Cranberry Crumble Pie — Gerard + Belevender

The cranberry compote's jammy texture holds the fruity filling together for this dessert, which puts a classic cranberry crumble in pie form. Plenty of warm spices in the filling help to balance the tart fruit and buttery topping.

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Sweet Potato Pie

Sweet Potato Pie with Praline Sauce — Photo by Adam Friedlander / Food Styling by Pearl Jones

New Orleans chef Susan Spicer seasons this pie with cinnamon, allspice, and freshly grated nutmeg, but it's the bourbon-pecan praline topping poured on top that sets it apart.

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Chocolate Pecan Pie with Bourbon

Chocolate Pecan Pie with Bourbon — Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

Fragrant toasted pecans, rich chocolate, and caramel-y bourbon come together in harmony for a beautifully balanced dessert known as Kentucky Derby pie in the South.

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Chocolate Pie

Chocolate Pie Recipe — Julia Hartbeck

This simple, cozy pie can be dressed up for the occasion. While it's a fast and easy recipe, be sure to make this dessert a few hours in advance of when you want to serve it so the chocolate pie has time to cool to a rich, fudgy texture.

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Apple Flambé Pie

Apple Flambé Pie — Photo: Victor Protasio / Food Stylist Torie Cox /Prop Stylist Claire Spollen

Apple cider, fresh and dried apples join forces in this stovetop apple pie filling. The pie is topped with flaming apple brandy just before serving.

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Purple Sweet Potato Pie with Coconut and Five-Spice

Purple Sweet Potato Pie with Coconut and Five-Spice — Christopher Testani

Ube flavoring amps up the purple color of the pie, which is a showstopper on any holiday table with five-spice seasoning and toasted oats, pecans, and coconut.

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Roasted Spiced Cranberry Pie

Roasted Spiced Cranberry Pie — Photo: Victor Protasio / Food Stylist Torie Cox / Prop Stylist Claire Spollen

Tart cranberries are roasted with lemongrass and gochugaru (Korean chile flakes) to give this vibrant pie its fruity and fragrant kick.

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Dark Cherry Crumble Pie

Dark-Cherry Crumble Pie — Christopher Testani

The only thing better than a slice of good cherry pie is a slice of great cherry pie. This version is made with a traditional pie crust on the bottom and sugary oat clusters on top, so you get all the best parts of a pie and a crumble. Frozen cherries work well here.

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Peanut Butter Chai Pie

Peanut Butter Chai Pie — Photo: Victor Protasio / Food Stylist Torie Cox /Prop Stylist Claire Spollen

This no-bake spiced peanut butter pie comes together in minutes, and delivers big flavors.

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Nutty Baklava Pie

Nutty Baklava Pie — Photo: Victor Protasio / Food Stylist Torie Cox / Prop Stylist Claire Spollen

This pie combines the best aspects of pecan pie and baklava. It's topped with crispy phyllo bursts, which add crispy flare.

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Fig and Caramel Nut Tart

Fig and Caramel Nut Tart — Photo by Caitlin Bensel / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

Rich, barely bitter caramel, deeply toasted nuts, and chewy figs combine in a buttery crust for this dessert designed for pairing with Madeira. A pinch of flaky sea salt makes it the perfect end to a big holiday meal.

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Chocolate Granola Pie

Chocolate Granola Pie — Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Shell Royster

If you have a bag of granola and a chocolate bar, you are well on your way to making this easy, fast granola chocolate pie. Customize your combination of nuts, grains, and dried fruit to add complexity of the pie.

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Chocolate Cardamom Cream Tart with Pistachio-Sesame Brittle

Chocolate Cardamom Tart with Pistachio Sesame Brittle — Anna Stockwell

This cousin to a chocolate cream pie gets complexity from a combination of bittersweet and milk chocolate, and plenty of richness from heavy cream. A touch of cardamom plus the contrasting crunch of homemade nut brittle elevate this dessert far above the ordinary.

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Sweet Potato Pie with Honeycrisp-Kabocha Salad

Sweet Potato Pie with Honeycrisp Kabocha Salad Recipe — Marcus Nilsson

Rich with a creamy texture, this pie uses more eggs than a traditional pumpkin pie and can be made ahead.

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Black Sesame Pumpkin Pie

Black Sesame Pumpkin Pie — Photo: Victor Protasio /Food Stylist Torie Cox /Prop Stylist Claire Spollen

A silky stovetop pumpkin custard sits on top of a layer of nutty black sesame paste in this delicious twist on a classic pumpkin pie.

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Peanut Butter–Chocolate Pie

Peanut ButterâChocolate Pie — Antonis Achilleos

With a smooth, nutty peanut butter filling, glistening ganache, and salty roasted peanuts on top, this pie evokes all the sweetness of a childhood memory in an elegant, nuanced dessert that adults will want to savor.

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Sour Cherry Tart with Almond Frangipane

Cherry Tart — Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Heather Chadduck Hillegas

This irresistible tart takes full advantage of pairing tangy sour cherries with rich, nutty frangipane. It's essential to seek out sour cherries for this tart, whether they're fresh, frozen, or jarred. A sprinkle of toasted almonds on top adds a welcome crunch.

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Banana Pudding Pie

Banana pudding pie — Photo by Will Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey

Cool, creamy, and nostalgic, banana pudding gets an upgrade thanks to buttery roasted macadamia nuts in a classic vanilla wafer crust. The pie receives an additional lift from an easy homemade pudding made from rich whole milk, egg yolks, and flecks of flavorful vanilla bean seeds. Two layers of sliced banana and a billowy crown of fresh whipped cream take this make-ahead dessert over the top.

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Free-Form Apple Tart

Free-Form Apple Tart. Photo © Quentin Bacon — © Quentin Bacon

San Francisco pastry chef Anne Walker usually makes this dessert with heirloom Arkansas Black apples. Dense and tart, these apples are harvested late in the season, making them a good Thanksgiving choice. Granny Smiths are an easier-to-find alternative.

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Deep-Dish All-American Cinnamon Apple Pie

Deep-Dish All-American Cinnamon Apple Pie — Greg DuPree

Pastry queen Rose Levy Beranbaum's deep-dish pie gets its intense apple flavor from macerating the fruit in sugar for an hour. The liquid drained from the apples is simmered with a hit of butter until a rich syrup forms, then is mixed with the apples, piled into the crust, and baked until tender and delicious.

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Salted Caramel Pie

Salted Caramel Pie — Dana Gallagher

This super-easy caramel lovers' dream pie is made with sweetened condensed milk sprinkled lightly with sea salt and baked until thick and gooey, then chilled in a simple graham cracker crust and topped with a cloud of fresh whipped cream.

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Chocolate-Bourbon Tart

Chocolate-Bourbon Tart — © CEDRIC ANGELES

Chef Michael Glissman's tart is like a dark chocolate truffle in a crisp, flaky cocoa crust. Bourbon adds a wonderful smokiness; be sure to heat it carefully with the sugar so it doesn't ignite.

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Brown Sugar-Cranberry Tart

Brown Sugar-Cranberry Tart — © FREDRIKA STJÄRNE

Since one dessert is never enough at Thanksgiving, chef and food writer David Tanis bakes a buttery French-American tart to complement his classic apple pie. The sweet-tart berries in the creamy custard pop when you take a bite.

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Butterscotch Pudding Pie

Butterscotch Pudding PIe — Abby Hocking

Top Chef judge Gail Simmons likes to keep her butterscotch pudding homey, focusing on the buttery flavor and lingering finish of real Scotch. For this impressive pie, she thickens the pudding more than usual and pours it into a fully cooled pie crust flecked with golden pecans. The contrasting textures of rich pudding and nutty, flaky dough make this a grown-up ode to the comforting childhood classic.

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Pumpkin Cheesecake Tart with Cranberry Gelée

Pumpkin Cheesecake Tart with Cranberry Gelée — © Anna Williams

This pumpkin cheesecake tart started its life as a petit four at New York City's Gotham Bar and Grill, where the restaurant's then-pastry chef Deborah Racicot tested new creations before turning them into stand-alone desserts. With its creamy pumpkin filling and ruby-red cranberry gelée topping, it clearly deserved a spot on the menu.

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Sweet Potato Meringue Pie

Sweet potato meringue pie — © TINA RUPP

2000 F&W Best New Chef Andrew Carmellini's dessert may look like a pumpkin pie, but the filling is actually made with sweet potato. It's nestled inside a spiced graham cracker-pecan crust and topped with marshmallow-y swirls of brûléed meringue.

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Black-Bottom Banana Cream Pie

Black-Bottom Banana Cream Pie — © Dana Gallagher

Valeri Lucks, the co-owner and self-titled "chief people wrangler" and "pie master" at Milwaukee's Honeypie Cafe, says this pie marries two of her bestselling pies: chocolate cream and banana cream.

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Pear and Almond Cream Tart

Pear and Almond Cream Tart — © William Meppem

This classic dessert from Tartine pastry chef Elisabeth Prueitt features a buttery almond custard that perfectly envelops Bartlett pear slices as the tart bakes up into a golden brown beauty. To serve, top with vanilla ice cream. Note: This recipe yields two 12-inch tarts.

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Caramel-Pecan Hand Pies

Caramel-Pecan Hand Pies — © DANA GALLAGHER

At Seattle's High 5 Pie, owner Dani Cone has responded to popular demand by making these adorable, portable pies (she calls them "flipsides"), available not just in the fall but year-round. When she tries to take them out of the rotation, customers get angry; one time, she says, a woman even cried.

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