Cheaper to Make or Buy a Pumpkin Pie?
Pumpkin Pie is a very traditional dessert served during holiday meals like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Our extended family has a lot of get togethers that involve food, and there are always tons of volunteers to bring a pumpkin pie.
In reality, making a homemade pumpkin pie is not very difficult but it does take time. This made me wonder if buying an already made or frozen pumpkin pie would be cheaper than making it myself. Let’s breakdown the costs and find out!
How much does a homemade pumpkin pie cost?
Now you may be assuming that I am going to recommend starting with a whole pumpkin and to make pie crust from scratch, but let’s be realistic. Most people will start with a can of pureed pumpkin.
The basic pumpkin pie recipe I am going to do a cost breakdown on is from Pillsbury. For the full recipe, click here.
| Homemade Pumpkin Pie Ingredients | Cost |
| 3/4 cup sugar | $0.16 |
| 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice | $0.24 |
| 1/2 tsp salt | $0.01 |
| 1 can (15oz) pumpkin puree | $2.47 |
| 1 1/4 cups evaporated milk (about a 12oz can) | $1.32 |
| 2 eggs | $0.50 |
| 1 pie shell | $1.09 |
| Total Cost of Homemade Pumpkin Pie: $5.79 (makes 8 servings) | Cost per Serving: $0.72 |
The total cost of a semi-homemade pumpkin pie will be about $5.79. This comes out to $0.72 per slice.
I priced this recipe at my local Walmart, so depending on where you shop your prices may vary.
We could make this a little cheaper if we processed our own pumpkin and made our own pie crust from scratch, but that honestly takes a lot of time.
How much does a pumpkin pie cost at the grocery store?
Now let’s head to the grocery store and check out the prices on fresh and frozen pumpkin pies.
| Premade Pumpkin Pie & Number of Servings | Store & Price | Cost per Serving |
| Freshness Guaranteed 10-inch pie, (8 servings) | Walmart, $5.94 | $0.74 |
| Kroger Pumpkin 8-inch Pie (8 servings) | Kroger, $6.49 | $0.81 |
| Bakeshop 8-inch pie (8 servings) | Aldi, $4.95 | $0.61 |
| Albertsons 9-inch pie (8 servings) | Albertsons, $13.79 | $1.72 |
| Kirkland 58oz pie (12 servings) | Costco, $7.45 | $0.62 |
| Jessie Lord 22oz pie (8 servings) | Save A Lot, $6.59 | $0.82 |
| Sara Lee 34oz pie (8 servings) **needs to be baked** | Brookshire’s, $9.04 | $1.13 |
| Mrs Smith’s 37oz pie (8 servings) **needs to be baked** | Market Street, $6.89 | $0.86 |
| Marie Callendar’s 36oz pie (8 servings) **needs to be baked** | Target, $8.49 | $1.06 |
| Average Cost of Premade Pumpkin Pie: $7.73 | Average Cost per Serving: $0.93 |
The cost of premade and frozen pumpkin pies ranged as low as $4.95 to as high as $13.79. This made the average pumpkin pie from the grocery store cost about $7.73. The average cost per slice/serving was about $0.93.
Compared to a homemade pumpkin pie, the average cost per pie was more expensive. In some cases, you may find a pumpkin pie on sale for less than $6.00 and then it may come out very close on which way is cheaper.
Is homemade pumpkin pie worth it?
The cost difference between buying and making a pumpkin pie were not that extreme. So, I would then take into account your time and oven space.
If you make a homemade pumpkin pie or buy a frozen pie, you will need oven space to bake them. Usually during the holidays, we already have so many other items that need oven space, so it may be worth it to just buy a pre-made pumpkin pie.
Also keep in mind that it takes time to bake a homemade or frozen pumpkin pie. Making a huge dinner can take a long time, and saving yourself 30 minutes to an hour, just might be worth spending an extra dollar or two.
To be honest, I have not noticed a huge taste difference between homemade pumpkin pie, bakery pies, and the frozen/bake at home pies. They all pretty much taste like pumpkin pie.
This one really comes down to time and oven space, and if you can find a pumpkin pie on sale at a reasonable price.
For more cost breakdowns of making versus buying, check out “Is it Cheaper to make or buy Coleslaw Dressing?” and “Is it Cheaper to Make or Buy Garlic Bread?“
