Our 10 Most Popular Thanksgiving Pies for Your Feast

It's just not Thanksgiving without pie. Culinary historians date the tradition of serving pie on Thanksgiving back to the 18th century and judging by modern search trends, pie is still the Thanksgiving dessert of choice today. We've crunched the numbers (and our fair share of pie) and have come up with a list of our 10 most popular Thanksgiving pies, as rated and reviewed by our passionate community of home cooks. Take a look to see if your favorites made the cut.

01 of 10

Apple Pie by Grandma Ople

a beautiful lattice-topped apple pie with a slice taken out of it
Holiday Baker

If you only make one pie this year — or if you've never made one before — there's no better place to start than here. With more than 11,000 five-star reviews, Apple Pie by Grandma Ople is the most celebrated pie recipe on Allrecipes. The secret is in the sauce you pour over and through the lattice topper.

02 of 10

Chef John's Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Pie with whipped cream and cinnamon on paper plate
Laura Kissel

Finally! A pumpkin pie recipe that solves the problem of the cracked surface you often get when you bake custard-based pies. Allrecipes home cook jcfrk01 agrees: "Just made this last night, and WOW!! My husband, who loves pumpkin pie, said it was the best he has ever had. Believe the 'no cracking' statement because mine came out flawless! The texture of the pie was spot on, smooth and creamy."

03 of 10

Sweet Potato Pie

Sweet Potato Pie on a black background
Deaih Felver

While pumpkin pie reigns supreme in the majority of American households, sweet potato pie is still the quintessential Thanksgiving dessert in the South. According to one theory, it was Henry VIII's love of sweet potato desserts that kicked off the popularity of yams in a pie. The dish eventually spread to the new world and firmly cemented itself in the soul cooking tradition. If sweet potato pie doesn't already have a place on your pie table, make this the year.

04 of 10

Pecan Pie Without Corn Syrup

Close up of pecan pie
lelly

It may be minutia for some, but pecan pie connoisseurs know about the dirty little secret of most recipes — added corn syrup. If a pecan pie without any corn syrup sounds good to you, this is a great recipe, and nobody complains about it not being sweet enough.

05 of 10

Grandma's Lemon Meringue Pie

Grandma's Lemon Meringue Pie
Dianne

This is one of those non-traditional pies that some of you might not have seen coming to the Thanksgiving dessert buffet, but the numbers don't lie: Lemon meringue pie shows a steep spike in popularity right at Thanksgiving.

06 of 10

Old-Fashioned Coconut Cream Pie

Old Fashioned Coconut Cream Pie
fcbowden

This old-fashioned coconut cream pie takes 20 minutes to assemble and only 30 minutes to bake — just be sure to leave enough time to chill before serving! You can treat the required chill time as a gift to a harried cook, though, as you'll be forced to plan ahead.

07 of 10

Cranberry Streusel Pie

slice of cranberry streusel pie
Allrecipes Magazine

Fresh cranberries make this gorgeous streusel-topped pie a bit more puckery-tart than you might like, but no worries — just bump up the sugar to taste like many reviewers did. Others simply served it with a side of ice cream to balance the tartness. The directions say to smash the berries, but you can give them a few quick whirls in your blender or food processor to speed things up (and contain the juice).

08 of 10

Chocolate Cream Pie I

Chocolate Cream Pie decorated with whipped cream
Carrie C.

This rich and creamy pudding-like pie will satisfy the chocolate lovers in your Thanksgiving crowd. Want to go over the top with it? Use a chocolate crust and top the pie with chocolate shavings for an extra decadent dessert.

09 of 10

Chef John's Buttermilk Pie

Buttermilk Pie in a ceramic pan
Chef John

Chef John's buttermilk pie is a great way to round out your dessert table and expand your offerings beyond the traditional. According to Chef John, this Thanksgiving pie is "bursting with the kind of bright, tangy flavor that no other custard-style pie can touch. This is sort of like vanilla custard meets lemon meringue pie meets very light cheesecake. Except better."

10 of 10

Grandma's Iron Skillet Apple Pie

top-down view of a golden brown crust of an apple pie in a cast iron skillet
Kim's Cooking Now

This list of most popular Thanksgiving pies starts and ends with apple pie, and this rustic skillet-baked beauty rounds it out nicely. Ready-made pie crust speeds up the prep, and the homey presentation gives your Thanksgiving dessert course a cozy feeling of tradition. Home cook CARTOONRCKR says, "This is still my go-to apple pie! It's demanded every Thanksgiving. I actually didn't bring it one year, and there were some bummed relatives."

Need a cast iron skillet? Check out our Best-Rated Cast Iron Skillets.

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