42 Thanksgiving Pies and Tarts Sure to Satisfy Every Sweet Tooth (and Level of Baking Expertise) (2024)

From Pie to Pandowdy, These Are Our 22 Most Fabulous Thanksgiving Dessert Recipes

Pear Tarte Tatin

The classic tarte tatin (an upside-down tart) is always welcome at the holiday table, especially when it's made with caramelized pear wedges. A time-saving shortcut: the buttery crust uses store-bought puff pastry, so the dessert comes together in a snap.

Vanilla Pudding Pie

Sinfully delicious, this knockout dessert pleases both chocolate and vanilla lovers. The crust is made from chocolate wafters while the vanilla bean filling unites cardamom and white chocolate, all embellished with vanilla whipped cream and cocoa powder.

Chocolate Mousse Tart With Hazelnuts

A heavenly combo of chocolate and hazelnuts, this standout dessert features a unique crust made from sugar cones. An added bonus for busy hosts: this Thanksgiving pie can be made up to two days in advance of the holiday.

Cherry-Cheese Strudel Pie

Puff pastry provides a light and airy frame for a creamy ricotta filling with tart cherries. To serve, cut down the center, then slice into rectangles.

Lemon-Cranberry Meringue Pie

A thin layer of cranberry gelée on top of a smooth lemon filling topped with a cloud of meringue brings a classic pie to new heights. It's guaranteed to put a smile on your guests' faces.

Five Spice Pumpkin Pie With Phyllo Crust

Shake things up this Thanksgiving with a novel take on a classic. A hint of Chinese five-spice powder and an impressive crown of paper-thin pastry made from phyllo dough steer pumpkin pie worlds away from tradition.

Chocolate Chess Pie

For guests who believe that chocolate desserts rise above all else, this sublime spin on the Southern chess pie (made with cocoa powder and espresso) will more than satisfy. The best part is that the whisk-and-pour filling requires just one bowl, coming together in a heartbeat.

Poached Pear Frangipane Tart

Pears are poached in mulled wine here, infusing the fruit with spices and giving the exteriors a deep crimson hue. When sliced and nestled into the rich frangipane filling, the pieces create a glorious ombré effect.

Apple Rose Tart

Granny Smith and Pink Lady apples artfully arranged in delicate layers bring a double dose of flavor and color to this sensational tart. Hands down, it's sure to be the prettiest temptation on the dessert table.

Date Pecan Pie

Dates replace some of the sugar, stepping up the intense caramel flavor of this pecan pie. The gooey, nutty filling is cradled in a flaky, golden shell made with our favorite buttery pâte brisée recipe, In a word: irresistible.

Diamond Apple Pie

The beautiful diamond pattern sets this Thanksgiving pie apart from other contenders on the dessert table. Spiced with cinnamon and sugar, and bursting with apples, the flavors lean classic.

Brown Sugar Butternut Squash Pie

The delicious, sweet flavor of freshly baked butternut squash fills this show-stopping pie. Break out your cutest cookie cutters for decorating the top, and see our step-by-step guide for cutting and braiding the dough.

Apple Crostata With Cheddar Crust

Cheddar cheese adds a deliciously savory note to the crust of this rustic apple crostata. It's a brilliant marriage of flavors, all wrapped up in a free-form dough finished with a hint of apricot preserves.

Marionberry Pie

No sweet tooth will be able to resist this cute-as-a-button polka dot pie. The flaky crust is made with a cream cheese dough and the jammy filling is a nod to Oregon, the only state where marionberries grow. Substitute another fruit preserve if you can't find this unique berry.

Butterscotch Pie with Pecan Shortbread Crust

This cheerful pie breaks out of the circle—it's baked in a rectangular pie tin, accentuating the patterned pecans on top. It’s also something of a nostalgia trip: The crumbly crust tastes just like Pecan Sandies and encloses a fluffy butterscotch filling reminiscent of eras past.

Sweet Potato Custard Pie

Pumpkin pie, the classic dessert of Thanksgiving, evolves to next-level deliciousness. The cinnamon and nutmeg spiced filling features roasted sweet potatoes instead of canned pumpkin, while the halved marshmallows, shingled in circles and toasted with a torch, turn it into an arresting pillow-top confection.

Quince Slab Pie

Prepare the filling for this pie by poaching quince in sweet dessert wine with cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla. Use store-bought puff pastry to form the quick and easy crust.

Panna Cotta Pie With Poached Fruit

Yogurt and cream sweetened with honey are set with just enough gelatin to make a cool, creamy filling, a delightful counterpoint to the gingersnap-walnut crust. This recipe uses dried plums for the poached fruit topping, but you could also swap in dried pears, apricots, cherries, cranberries, or peaches.

Pear Cranberry Slab Pie

Feeding a crowd? We have you covered. Prepared in a rimmed baking sheet, this fruit-filled pie boasts a crunchy oat-pecan crumb topping and a perfect crust-filling-topping ratio in each of its 24 slices.

Pecan Pie

Rich and sweet, this classic pecan pie is always a grand slam. Take the time to arrange the pecan halves decoratively on top for a beautiful presentation on the Thanksgiving table.

Traditional Pumpkin Pie with a Fluted Crust

Made with evaporated milk rather than cream, the filling of this classic Thanksgiving pumpkin pie is light with a concentrated pumpkin flavor, while the crust boasts whimsical fluted edges.

Mini Cranberry Meringue Pie

These mini pies feature a cranberry filling topped with billowy meringue. The recipe calls for the juice and zest of blood oranges, but if unavailable, navel or juice oranges will do the trick.

Maple Custard Pie

Pure maple syrup is the star of this luscious custard pie made with eggs and cream. A touch of nutmeg and a dash of vanilla add warm spice.

Old-Fashioned Apple Pie

A buttery crust is packed to bursting with Granny Smith apple slices tossed with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. This may be the ultimate recipe for apple pie.

Double-Coconut Cream Pie

Calling all coconut lovers. Shredded coconut is folded into a silky coconut milk custard for the filling of this indulgent pie, while whipped cream and toasted coconut complete the picture.

Milk Chocolate-Pistachio Tart

This rich chocolate tart showcases a triple dose of pistachios: in the chocolate pastry crust, in the bottom layer of pistachio paste, and sprinkled over the milk chocolate top layer. A time-saving step: Make then freeze the dough up to a month before Thanksgiving.

Citrus Chess Pie

Add a ray of sunshine to traditional Southern chess pie with the juice of tart lemons and sweet Cara Cara oranges. Dust the custard pie with powdered sugar before serving.

Apple-Pear Pie

Finely chopped walnuts replace a portion of the flour in the crust of this apple-pear pie. You can bake it up to one day in advance of Thanksgiving and take one baking task off your checklist.

Shaker Lemon Pie

Thinly sliced lemons are marinated in sugar overnight to start this classic pie. The lemon filling is thickened with six eggs, making it temptingly rich.

Virginia Peanut Pie

Roasted peanuts take center stage in this scrumptious pie. The filling is made with golden syrup and accented with a touch of cayenne pepper to balance out the sweetness.

Pumpkin Chiffon Pies

Small in size, and big on flavor, these individual pumpkin pies provide an adorable alternative to the traditional Thanksgiving pie. A silky, no-bake custard filling teams up with a gingersnap crust, garnished with ribbons of candied pumpkin.

Milk-Chocolate Pudding Pie

An easy press-in vanilla wafer crust surrounds a creamy, milk chocolate filling in this winner of a pie. Vanilla-bean whipped cream adds a decadent contrast.

Apple-Sour Cream Crumb Pie

A satisfying study in textures, this pie matches a delicious, rich apple filling with a browned crumb topping that cuts through the sweetness. Give it a long cooling time so the dense filling sets, making it easier to serve.

Rustic Meyer Lemon Tart

Celebrate the beginning of citrus season with this pure and simple tart. The curd filling showcases the brilliant color and sweet flavor of Meyer lemons, while the crust is enlivened with grated zest.

Sorghum-Sweetened Chocolate Pecan Pie

A filling of pecans and chocolate sweetened with sorghum syrup and spiked with bourbon? This rich pie is a Southerner at heart.

Deep-Dish Pumpkin-Meringue Pie

Twice as nice, that's this take on this deep-dish pie. The crust is traditional, the filling provides endless pumpkin satisfaction, and it's dressed up with a glorious mountain of meringue on top.

Chocolate-Sesame Tarte Soleil

The dazzling look of this tart belies its simplicity. The sesame frangipane filling is sprinkled with pieces of semisweet chocolate, then topped with a crust that's cut and twisted into "rays” of pastry, forming a beautiful pattern. Follow our step-by-step guide to learn the technique.

Lattice-Topped Vanilla Bean-Pineapple Tart

Slices of fresh pineapple are poached with rum and vanilla bean to form the exotic filling of this creative dessert. The secret to making the decorative lattice top is to start with very cold dough.

Pear Streusel Pie

With a pâte brisée crust on the bottom and crumbly oat streusel on top, this pie offers a delicious medley of textures and flavors. Pear wedges and homemade cranberry sauce create a sweet-tart filling that's in perfect harmony.

President Tyler's Pudding Pie

Serve this pie and show off your knowledge of historical trivia—or at least start some fun conversations. Upping the impressiveness factor, you'll cook the coconut in the oven until it cracks, before splitting it open and grating it yourself.

Honey-and-Pine-Nut Tart

Two types of honey give this tart a unique nectar-like taste. As the tart bakes, the pine nuts rise to the top and form a crunchy layer. Cut in to reveal the gooey interior.

Bird's-Nest Pudding Pie

Whole McIntosh apples are stuffed with cranberries and baked in cake batter inside a pie crust. You might consider this stunner the turducken of Thanksgiving dessert pies but we say it's just plain delicious.