Meghan was the Food Editor for Kitchn's Skills content. She's a master of everyday baking, family cooking, and harnessing good light. Meghan approaches food with an eye towards budgeting — both time and money — and having fun. Meghan has a baking and pastry degree, and spent the first 10 years of her career as part of Alton Brown's culinary team. She co-hosts a weekly podcast about food and family called Didn't I Just Feed You.
published Nov 4, 2016
comments
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
I have a pretty hefty pie pan collection. And even with everything from ceramic to glass (and a few metal and aluminum pans as backups), every year around this time I find myself needing another pan for baking my annual pumpkin pie when the others are occupied with sweet potato pie, apple pie, and pot pie. Over the years, I’ve learned a few tricks for baking pumpkin pie in other baking pans because of this. Here are five other pans you can bake a pumpkin pie in when all your pie pans are busy.
1. Cake Pan
An eight- or nine-inch cake pan is an easy pie pan substitute, as it has the same shape and volume as a pie pan. Be sure to line the bottom with a piece of parchment paper before adding the pie crust and blind-baking to make removing after baking easier.
2. Tart Pan
A tart pan is my favorite substitute for a pie pan, especially if it has a removable bottom. The tart pan bakes up a pie almost exactly the same as a metal pie pan, but the fluted sides make for a prettier crust.
3. Springform Pan
I learned this hack from our recipe for deep-dish pumpkin pie. While that recipe makes a thicker pie, you can bake a regular pie recipe in this pan too. A springform pan makes for a pretty presentation, just like the tart pan.
Get the recipe: Deep-Dish Pumpkin Meringue Pie
4. 13×9 Pan
Slab pies are pies baked in a rimmed baking sheet or 13×9-inch pan, which makes a faster-baking pie that can be cut into squares. Slab pies are great if you’re baking for a crowd.
Get the recipe: Pumpkin Slab Pie
5. Muffin Pan
Mini pumpkin pies, you guys! Just use a round circle cutter to cut the pie crust into rounds, press these into a muffin pan, fill, and bake. The results are tiny pies that look like you spent tons of time and effort when actually, you saved time with this shortcut.
