Gingerbread Cream Pie is like a delicious gingerbread cookie but in incredible pie form. This is the perfect holiday dessert to top off your Christmas dinner. A delectable combination of warm gingerbread spices in a sweet cream filling, and a buttery gingersnap crust. It's light and fluffy, and very delicious. A treat that will be enjoyed by your Holiday guests. This Christmas dessert is sure to make all of your Holiday gatherings memorable.
Holiday Gingerbread Pie
The Holidays are a special time of year, as we all know. I feel this gives us special permission to indulge in treats that we normally wouldn't the rest of the year.
So each season I plan out my favorites to make, and this pie is one of them! It's one of the creamiest pies, flavored with warm gingerbread spices, and it has a wonderful gingersnap crust!
What We Like About This Gingerbread Cream Pie
• This is an easy pie recipe to make.
• It's a great change of pace when you've been eating pumpkin pie all season.
• This is the perfect pie for Christmas time with a fantastic gingerbread flavor.
• You only need a handful of simple ingredients to make this beautiful creamy pie.
Is This a No-Bake Pie?
Sort of. I call it an almost-no-bake pie. The crust should be baked, unless you buy a prepared one at the store. But the filling is no-bake. And the crust only needs to bake for about 10 minutes.
Can I Make Gingerbread Cream Pie Ahead of Time?
- Yes, I make many of my desserts ahead during the busy Holiday season. This gingerbread cream pie can be made a day ahead of time.
- Bake the crust, cool it, and prepare the pie filling. Assemble it, cover, and refrigerate it. Chill for a few hours or overnight to allow the flavors to meld and the filling to set properly.
- Then add the whipped topping and garnish just before serving.
Ingredients for Gingerbread Pie
- Here's what you need to make this easy dessert. See exact measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Gingersnaps – (A sweet gingerbread cookie) This is the base of your pie crust with some melted butter and brown sugar. You could swap this out for graham crackers or Biscoff cookies.
- Brown Sugar – You can use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar, just make sure it's packed.
- Salted Butter – We need melted butter for the crust. You can melt the butter in the microwave or on the stove top. Use unsalted butter if desired, but make sure to add 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the crust dough.
- Vanilla Pudding Mix - Be sure to get the instant pudding mix, not the cook and serve mix. You could swap the vanilla pudding out for another flavor if desired. It'll change the whole creamy pie flavor though.
- Whole Milk – Cold milk helps the filling set up properly.
- Spices – You'll need ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and cloves. All of these spices are what make up the warm gingerbread flavoring.
- Molasses – This helps magnify the delicious gingerbread flavoring and pairs nicely with the spices.
- Whipped Topping – Such as Cool Whip®, or use fresh whipped cream.
How to Make Gingerbread Cream Pie
Make the crust first:
• Start by preheating the oven to 350°F and spray a pie plate with baking spray before setting it aside.
• Combine gingersnaps and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add in melted butter and mix it all together until you've reached a moist crumb texture.
TIP: Use a food processor to quickly crush the cookies into a fine crumb.
• Pour crust mixture into the prepared pie plate and press the crust down on the bottom of the pie plate and up the sides evenly.
• Blind Bake the Crust: Once crust is ready, place into the oven on the center rack and bake for 10 minutes until it is golden brown (you won't need pie weights). Then remove and let cool on a wire rack.
Then make the pie filling:
• Whisk together the instant pudding mix with the cold milk in a large bowl. Whisk until soft set, or about 2 minutes.
• Carefully whisk in the ginger, cinnamon, salt, cloves, and nutmeg, and molasses.
• Then use a rubber spatula to fold in the whipped topping. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to incorporate everything together well before spooning the pudding mixture into the cooled baked pie shell.
Then Chill it:
• Lightly cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to set for 4-6 hours (or overnight).
• Top with any remaining whipped cream and more crushed gingerbread cookies before serving, if desired.
Why is My Cream Pie too Soft?
- Usually, this happens if you use too much milk or liquid. Make sure that you whisk the pudding mix and milk together long enough for it to start setting up before you add the other ingredients.
- Always be sure you let your pie sit in the fridge for the required amount of time as well.
- If you're really struggling to get it to set up and firm up, you can add some more pudding mix or unflavored gelatin. A little less than a half packet should do the trick.
Can I Use a Store Bought Crust?
Yes you can. If you rather use a store-bought crust than make your own, you may need to settle on a graham cracker crust. I have never seen a gingersnap premade crust at my local grocery store. You shouldn't need to bake it, so that saves you some time!
What Other Pie Crust Can I Use?
- Instead of the ginger snaps crust (which really makes this pie), you make an Oreo crust from cookie crumbs, a golden Oreo crust, or a graham cracker crust.
- Whichever crust you use, make sure you use your 9-inch pie plate. If you use a smaller one, you'll end up with too much filling.
Tips and Variations
- Save some whole gingersnap cookies and put one on top of each slice of pie when serving. Or crumbled them up and sprinkle on the delicious cookies as you serve.
- Instead of using store-bought whipped topping, you can whip together some homemade whipped cream using heavy whipping cream (heavy cream) whipped into stiff peaks, and add powdered sugar, to use for the filling of this creamy gingerbread pie.
- When not serving, you must refrigerate this pie. Leaving it at room temperature will cause the whipped topping to start to deflate in the filling of this easy gingerbread pie.
- Drizzle some fresh maple syrup on top of the pie before serving.
- Make a thicker filling by adding some cream cheese. It'll add some tanginess to your pie too.
- If using a stand mixer, be sure to use low speed so as not to over mix (use whisk attachment).
Pie Storage
Wrap this pie with plastic wrap or an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. Keep in mind that the longer it is stored, you may lose some of the original texture.
How Long Does No Bake Gingerbread Pie Last?
• Gingerbread Pie is best eaten within 24-48 hours of when you make it.
• The whipped topping may start to change texture and start to run after that.
• If you really need to keep this pie longer, you can plan to add some gelatin to the whipped topping filling to help prevent deflation and wait to add additional whipped topping until ready to serve.
Can You Freeze this Gingerbread No Bake Pie?
- Sure thing! You can make this pie as usual then wrap it with plastic wrap and place in a freezer-safe container or a freezer safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Freezing the pie is actually really helpful for slicing it later. It's easier to cut the frozen or slightly thawing pie than it is the fresh made pie.
- Thaw in the refrigerator for best results.
- This easy Gingerbread Cream Pie is a beautiful Thanksgiving dessert, during a festive Christmas party or served as a wonderful holiday pie! It's great for bake sales, gatherings, potlucks, and more!
Tasty Sweet Desserts
Classic Dump Cake
Banana Cake Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
Graham Cracker Brownies
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Pumpkin Desserts
Easy Cake Mix Baked Pumpkin Donuts
Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Delicious Pie Recipes
Pumpkin Chiffon Pie Recipe
Lemon Meringue Pie
Easy Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Easy Blueberry Pie Recipe
If you make this yummy Holiday cream pie recipe, please leave me a comment below with a star rating!
Gingerbread Cream Pie
Equipment
- 9” Pie Pan
- Rubber Spatula (or Silicone)
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 ½ cups Crushed Gingersnaps Crumbs
- ¼ cup Brown Sugar
- ¾ cup Salted Butter melted
Filling
- 1 3.4-oz box Instant Vanilla Pudding
- 2 cups Whole Milk cold
- 1 teaspoon Ginger (powder)
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ⅛ teaspoon Cloves
- 3 Tablespoons Molasses* (or Honey, Maple Syrup)
- 2 cups Whipped Topping (such as Cool Whip®)
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9” pie pan with baking spray, then set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine gingersnap crumbs and brown sugar. Add in the melted butter and mix well, until the texture is a moist crumb.
- Transfer the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pie pan and press down evenly.
- Place into the preheated oven on the center rack and bake for 8-10 minutes. Once baked, remove from the oven and place onto a wire cooling rack to let cool completely before adding in the filling.
Filling
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together pudding and cold milk. Whisk for 2 minutes, until soft-set.
- Whisk in the ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and cloves. Next, mix in the molasses.
- Fold in the whipped topping using a rubber spatula. Spoon the mixture into the cooled crust and lightly cover with plastic wrap.
- Place into the fridge to chill for 4-6 hours, or overnight.
- To serve, you can top with additional whipped topping and crushed gingersnap pieces.
Emily says
I made this for our early Friendsgiving and everyone loved it! It was easy to make.