I Tried This Pumpkin Pie Shortcut, and I’m Never Going Back
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As a food producer in the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen & Cooking Lab and a longtime cook, I've made pumpkin pie from scratch and bought it from bakeries. I've also endured a wide spectrum of well-intentioned family renditions.
So when I tried Bonne Maman Pumpkin Pie Filling , I was equal parts curious and skeptical. We've long loved the brand's jams, but ready-to-use pumpkin pie filling still felt like the kind of shortcut my mom warned me about.
This one wasn't a typical pour-and-bake situation: The filling still needed eggs and evaporated milk. Even so, several teammates—who openly admitted they'd love to cut their Thanksgiving prep time in half—were rooting for this jar to be their holiday miracle.
We hoped it would be good. We did not expect it to be this good.It more than earned its win in the 2027 Good Housekeeping Kitchen Awards.
What's in Bonne Maman's pumpkin pie filling?
Bonne Maman is known for its charming, rustic French-market aesthetic, so it's no surprise the pumpkin pie filling comes in a jar that practically begs to be reused. (Let's be honest: How many of us have Bonne Maman jars holding an iced latte, homemade vinaigrette, or a lovingly curated assortment of flavored salts? Exactly.)
The ingredient list is refreshingly short: pumpkin (the first ingredient), sugar, spices, and salt, plus two clever additions: concentrated acerola juice and concentrated lemon juice.Acerola juice comes from acerola cherries, which are gently tart without tasting fruity. In concentrated form, it subtly enhances flavor, adding acidity that brightens the pumpkin, balances the sweetness, and makes the spices taste more defined. Paired with the lemon juice, it keeps the flavor lively and rounded without adding any noticeable "fruit" taste.
Before baking, the texture is velvety and smooth—pourable but not runny—with tiny flecks of spice visibly suspended throughout. It looks like something you'd mix yourself, if you had the time, the spices, and the patience.
How we put this filling to the test
When testing baking ingredients, we keep other factors consistent to minimize variables. For pie fillings, that means using the same tried-and-tested pie crust recipe and closely following the package instructions for added ingredients, oven temperature, and baking time.
The jar's directions called for two eggs and one 12-ounce can of evaporated milk. (Note: You'll need to buy these or have them on hand.) I baked the pie in a preheated 375°F oven for 45 minutes, as instructed.
The directions are simple, though I wish they included a little more guidance: a time range, for example, or a visual cue like "edges set with a slight wobble in the center." Ovens vary, so these clues matter—especially with custard-based pies.
Still—and this is key—you don't have to measure anything.There's no pulling out a lineup of spices or second-guessing the ratios.
Good Housekeeping/Tina Martinez
Taste test results
The baking experience matters, but we all know what really counts: Does it measure up? After the pie had cooled, I invited experts from the Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen and Kitchen Lab to taste it.
Flavor
Here's the shocker: It tastes like a homemade pie made by someone who really knows what they're doing. Pumpkin pie should be sweet, but not too sweet. It should taste distinctly of pumpkin—not metallic or flat—and be spiced without turning into a spice bomb. Bonne Maman gets the balance right.
The pumpkin tastes real and bright. The sweetness is gentle, supporting the pumpkin rather than overshadowing it. The spice blend is warm and complex, yet balanced enough that no single spice dominates.
Texture
Bonne Maman earned top marks for texture. The filling bakes into a smooth, custardy pie that sets evenly. The surface was impressively silky and crack-free—the kind of flawless finish that usually takes expert-level technique (or a small miracle). We didn't even chill the pie long enough, yet it sliced beautifully after just one hour of cooling. Many homemade pies can't claim the same.
There was no graininess, no separation, no odd lumps. Just velvety, consistent pumpkin custard. "The texture is quite nice and silky," said one analyst.
So, should you buy Bonne Maman's pumpkin pie filling?
Homemade pumpkin pies vary wildly from year to year. The brand of pumpkin puree, the freshness of the spices, and whether you remembered to save last year's recipe notes can make all the difference. If you haven't used your ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, or cloves in a while, they may have gone stale.
Bonne Maman's filling, by contrast, is consistent and perfectly balanced.It comes in a jar rather than a can, so you avoid the faint metallic flavor many canned pumpkins carry.
"I liked the convenience, but it also tastes very close to homemade. It also provides an easy alternative to home cooks likely using musty old spices when baking their annual pumpkin pie from scratch," said GH Senior Food Editor Susan Choung .
The downside: If you love customizing your filling—adding bourbon or maple syrup, dialing the cinnamon up or down—this isn't the ideal canvas for experimentation. It's already seasoned and ready to go.
For anyone who wants a reliably excellent pie without much fuss, this jar delivers—and in a fraction of the time it takes to make filling from scratch. My mother may never give up on homemade pie. But I have a feeling she'd ask for seconds.
Why trust Good Housekeeping?
Tina Martinez is a recipe developer and food producer in the Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen, where she leads taste tests. During her 15-year tenure in food, she has created hundreds of recipes and tasted too many grocery products to count. She has baked dozens of pies for magazine photo shoots and television segments. She is also a big pumpkin fan.
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