Giada De Laurentiis' Pumpkin Pie Has a Unique Ingredient We Never Saw Coming

With Thanksgiving just weeks away, we can already practically taste our favorite holiday foods. And while, yes, bring on the turkey and all the yummy sides, what we’re really talking about here is a delicious slice (or three) of pumpkin pie. It’s the perfect end to a soul-warming day. Thankfully, our chef queen Giada De Laurentiis just shared her recipe for the dessert and it features a surprising ingredient that we honestly would never have thought to add, but makes total sense: persimmon.

On Sept 22, Giada shared a series of fall recipes on her Instagram, including the Persimmon Pumpkin Pie recipe. She said, “We’ve got that first day of fall feeling! ???? We’ve rounded up our favorite fall desserts to ring in the coziest season. Which desserts are you most excited to make this fall? Tap the link in our bio to see our full lineup of fall dessert recipes.”

TBH, this pumpkin pie looks mouthwateringly amazing, what with all of that luscious whipped cream. “Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and you bet our menu planning is well underway! For an easy but totally homemade pumpkin pie, we ❤️ this pumpkin persimmon slab pie – no rolling or fussing over pie crust required!” wrote De Laurentiis on her Giadzy Instagram account.

And while “homemade pumpkin pie” may sound intimidating — and time-consuming — this version has a prep time of just 15 minutes.

De Laurentiis adapted this historically complicated recipe into one that’s easy and crowd-friendly. Bonus: forget the crust. In this pumpkin concoction, there’s no finicky pie dough or rolling involved. Instead, the crust is a riff off of French pate sucree — which can be made in a food processor and then just requires a simple press down into a pan.

Similar to the crust, the filling is also made in a food processor. You’ll combine pumpkin and persimmon with sugar, mascarpone, cream, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt, and eggs.

So skip the store-bought this year and attempt an actually easy homemade pumpkin pie. Just don’t forget the whipped cream!

You can see the recipe for the Persimmon Pumpkin Pie HERE!

Before you go, check out our top foolproof holiday gifts for absolutely everyone on your list: