I Asked 4 Chefs To Name the Best Canned Pumpkin, and They All Said the Same Thing

When fall rolls around, I hoard canned pumpkin. If there's ever a widespread shortage, it's probably my fault. I put it in everything, sweet and savory alike, stirring it into my morning yogurt, thickening hearty chilis, blending it into silky soups, layering it into decadent tiramisu—everything. It's the easiest way to trick myself into eating more vegetables (it is squash, after all), and it's pure luxury in a can. 

That being said, canned pumpkin's true moment to shine is in pumpkin pie. There's a recipe for everyone, from vegan to chiffon, and no-bake to bourbon-spiked. After waiting all year for the chance to showcase the humble pumpkin in every possible way, I wanted to know which brand would deliver the absolute best pumpkin pie. I asked four chefs and bakers for their go-to pumpkin purée, and they all agreed: Libby's reigns supreme.

That being said, canned pumpkin's true moment to shine is in pumpkin pie. There's a recipe for everyone, from vegan to chiffon, and no-bake to bourbon-spiked. After waiting all year for the chance to showcase the humble pumpkin in every possible way, I wanted to know which brand would deliver the absolute best pumpkin pie. I asked four chefs and bakers for their go-to pumpkin purée, and they all agreed: Libby's reigns supreme.

Meet the Pros Behind the Pie

• Afton Cyrus: Senior recipe editor for Simply Recipes and former canning and preserving chef instructor at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts
• Sophie Frazier: Food stylist and pastry chef instructor at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education
• Kayla Tabb: Chef-in-residence at the Boston Public Library
• Haley Scarpino: Associate editor for Simply Recipes and recipe tester for Julia Turshen and Ambitious Kitchen 

The Pumpkin Everyone Agrees On

When asked for her favorite brand of pumpkin purée, Cyrus didn't hesitate: "All hail the queen! I'm a Libby's gal—any company that grows its own proprietary variety of pumpkin for its pie filling clearly knows their stuff. I love that Libby's is super consistent from can to can—I always know what I'm going to get." 

Consistency is key, but if there's no Libby's in sight (again, sorry about the hoarding), she "always flips the can over to look at the ingredient list, where there should only be one entry: pumpkin. If I see sweeteners, spices, or thickeners, I steer clear—I prefer to add those elements to a pumpkin bake myself." Beyond the timeless, all-star pie, Cyrus uses pumpkin purée in savory dishes, recommending pumpkin lasagna and pumpkin black bean tostadas.

Frazier, also seeking reliability in a can, loves Libby’s for the same reason: "When I open a can of Libby's, I know exactly what I'm going to be working with. That consistency is crucial for being able to replicate my recipes successfully time and time again."She praises its "nice orange color, thick, moist texture, and earthy-sweet pumpkin flavor," which allows her to create iconic pies with perfectly moist, rich fillings—never gritty and dry or loose and bland.

Tabb defends the value of the canned purée: "I don't think it's worth it to roast pumpkins to make purée from scratch for most things—go for the canned." She chooses Libby's pumpkin purée as her go-to, but her secret to deeper flavor? Roasting the canned pumpkin purée before using it. "It's my cheat code to getting that deep, roasted flavor without the full process of gutting a pumpkin, deseeding, and blending it." This technique creates a slightly drier purée, so add a touch of water as needed.

Scarpino agrees that Libby's "really is the best.” “I have tried many, and I always come back to it," she says. All too often, canned pumpkin can taste overly tinny, appear dull, or lack rich flavor, but Libby's delivers on all fronts. "It’s simple," she says. "I want canned pumpkin that tastes clearly of pumpkin and has a naturally bright orange color." If she has any leftover, she blends it into pumpkin milkshakes with vanilla ice cream, pumpkin pie spice, and a dollop of whipped cream.

A Century of Pumpkin Perfection

Libby’s has ruled the pie aisle as the undisputed queen of canned pumpkin for more than a century. Founded in 1869 as a meatpacking and general canned food company, Libby's became the pumpkin powerhouse we know today after being acquired by Dickinson & Co.'s pumpkin business in the 1920s.

Libby's still uses exclusively a proprietary strain of pumpkin, the Dickinson Pumpkin, grown in Morton, Illinois. Unlike typical carving pumpkins, Dickinsons have thick, dense, and sweet flesh with low water content and minimal stringy fibers, yielding the smooth, creamy purée chefs and bakers swear by.