Enjoy this twist on traditional pumpkin pie—swirled with creamy, thick Nutella and baked in a gingersnap crust!
A swirly twirly pumpkin pie to add to your fall baking list. This recipe is a lot of fun!
I usually bake a classic pumpkin pie a couple times each fall season, and certainly serve it at the Thanksgiving table with plenty of fresh whipped cream. And to spice things up recently, I swapped regular pie crust for a gingersnap cookie crust and threw in a lot of chocolate hazelnut spread.
You may never bake a regular pumpkin pie again!
The filling is a pretty standard pumpkin pie filling, similar to my plain pumpkin pie and this pecan praline pumpkin pie. You need eggs, heavy cream, pumpkin, brown sugar, and spices. Feel free to use homemade pumpkin pie spice here. I appreciate that this recipe uses an entire standard (15 ounce) can of pumpkin, just like my pumpkin bars recipe.
The smooth and creamy pie filling lies on a bed of spicy crushed gingersnaps binded with melted butter. For those of you who fear pie dough, this is an easy patted-down style crust, like a graham cracker crust, which means no rolling pin! It’s very easy and stays together nicely.
Feel free to use homemade gingersnaps for your crust, but make sure they are crunchy and sturdy enough for the heavy filling. Nabisco Ginger Snaps Cookies are my preferred choice.
Each bite of the crust had a complex sweet, spicy and sultry kick to it.
This was my first time trying pumpkin and Nutella together. Both items are almost always sitting in my pantry, but the thought never occurred to me to combine them. I truly feel that chocolate and pumpkin is an under-appreciated duo and I hope you try these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies next!
Tip: warm, melted Nutella works best for swirling.
There are so many wonderful pumpkin pie recipes out there, but I wanted something different to share this year. If you’re looking for more inspiration, here are all of my favorite Thanksgiving pies.
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Nutella Swirl Pumpkin Pie
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: one 9-inch pie; serves 8-10
- Category: Pie
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
A twist on traditional pumpkin pie, swirled with decadent Nutella and baked in a gingersnap crust.
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 1 and 1/2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
For the Filling:
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 15 ounce can pure pumpkin or 2 cups fresh pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger*
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves*
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg*
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup Nutella, warmed (or 4 oz melted high quality chocolate)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray 9-inch pie dish (or 8-inch pie dish) with nonstick spray. Set aside. Grind up gingersnap cookies into a fine crumb. Mix with melted butter, and sugar. Press into prepared pie dish. Do not press the crust far up the sides of the dish, or the cookies will end up burning. About halfway up the sides. Bake crust for 10 minutes and allow to slightly cool.
- In a large bowl, lightly whisk the eggs. Add the remaining ingredients (except for the Nutella) and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into pie crust. Drop spoonfuls of warmed Nutella (I usually just stick in the microwave for 30 seconds) onto pie, swirling gently with a knife. Do not swirl too much, just lightly.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Bake at for 40-45 minutes or until the filling is set. The center will still look wet but will not “jiggle” too much. Allow to cool completely at room temperature. Slice and serve.
- Cover and store leftover pie in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Pie freezes well, up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature, if desired, before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Pie Dish | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: You can replace the ginger, cloves, and nutmeg with store-bought or homemade pumpkin pie spice. You can also substitute pumpkin pie spice for the cinnamon, too.
And here is my classic pumpkin pie recipe.
This pie is delicious. My pie looked just like yours. I put a toothpick in several places, which came out totally clean, so I believed it was done. The piece I received came out soupy or verysoft. DDo you know what I did wrong? I love your recipes. Every time I see your cookie recipes, I want to make them.
Hi Marge, we’re glad you enjoyed the pie! Was it completely cooled before you cut and served? The filling will continue to set as it cools. Did you happen to make any ingredient substitutions? The heavy cream in particular is important here to ensure the filling sets properly. If needed, you can always add an additional minute or two to bake time to ensure it has baked through. Hope this helps for next time!
Can I sub heavy cream with half and half? Trying to cut the calories.
Hi Kersti! The texture and flavor just aren’t the same with a lower fat cream. We highly recommend sticking with heavy cream here.
Hello! Do you think it would work to make this with whole milk instead of cream?
Hi Marie! We recommend sticking with heavy cream for the pie to set up correctly.
Is this filling enough to make a regular sized cheesecake (like the size of a NY cheesecake)?
Hi Erik, This pie isn’t quite at tall/thick as a traditional cheesecake would be. We do have this pumpkin swirl cheesecake that you may be interested in.
Hi! Not sure what I did wrong, but I had way too much filling. Since the crust only goes halfway up the sides, I wasn’t sure whether to stop where the crust does or keep pouring. In your photos, it looks like the crust is going all the way up the sides? I may have messed this up. Any advice would be appreciated!
Hi Jena! You want the crust to go about half way up as directed, but you can push it up more if needed – all pie dishes are slightly different volumes. If this happens again, just stop pouring in the filling before you reach the edge of the crust. Thank you for giving this recipe a try!
Fantastic simple recipe! It just won me first prize in our neighborhood Fall Festival Pie Contest. Thank you!!!
Hi Sally, looks amazing. I plan on making this along with a traditional one (sans Nutella) for those more calorie conscious! 😉
Do you recommend the additional sugar for the ginger snap crust? Seems to me they are typically sweet enough. Thoughts?
Hi Diane, the sugar helps to hold the crust together, so we wouldn’t recommend removing it. Hope the pie is a hit!
Thanks for your prompt reply.
I noticed some differences in the pie filling recipe between this one and your traditional one, can the traditional pie filling be substituted in this recipe before the Nutella is added, since the amount of filling is enough for 2 pies?
Thank you.
Hi Diane, our regular pumpkin pie recipe is not enough for 2 full-sized pies. A couple readers have commented that– but it is, in fact, not enough unless you want 2 pumpkin pies with very thin layers of filling. You can use this filling without the Nutella swirl if desired though!
Could you add the fresh black pepper to this like in your classic pumpkin pie?
Yes, absolutely! Just a pinch.
Can you use a traditional pie crust for this recipe? I have an extra one laying around in our fridge.
Yes. I recommend pre-baking (with pie weights) for 10 minutes at 350F.
Can this pie be made ahead and frozen?
Yep! See the last step.
Could this be made in muffin tins for mini pies? Would I need cupcake liners, or just press crust straight into muffin tins? Would they crumble when taken it? Adjustments for baking times?
Hi Erica! Yes, absolutely. I would use cupcake liners. The bake time should be around 20 minutes, give or take. I would pre-bake the crusts for 5-8 minutes first.
can I use pumpkin pie spice instead? If so, what amount would you suggest.
Yep – 1 teaspoon.
I made this pie yesterday. Oh goodness!!!! It was the best thing I have ever done to our pumpkin pie. I loved the the Nutella, but amazingly what I loved the most was the Ginger Snap crust. Go figure. I, we love chocolate here in this household and I was boasting about the crust.
I haven’t tried it, but assuming they are nice and crunchy– they should work. Let me know how your pumpkin pie turns out!