Every Thanksgiving table seems to come with at least one lively debate. In some homes it’s about how to make the stuffing or whether canned cranberry sauce counts as “homemade.” In ours, it’s always been about pie — specifically, apple or pumpkin.
My grandmother swore you could tell a person’s nature by their pie of choice. Apple pie lovers, she said, were grounded and loyal, the ones who liked a crisp fall day and a good walk after supper. Pumpkin pie fans were dreamers — people who preferred warmth, spice, and the comfort of something that felt like a hug. She baked both, of course, but never admitted which she liked best. “Why choose,” she’d grin, “when you can have a slice of each?”
The rivalry runs deeper than you might think — and it’s woven right into our country’s food story.
Apple pie came to Canada with settlers from England, Scotland, and France, who brought their recipes and orchards with them. Early Nova Scotians and Loyalist farmers planted apple trees that still bear fruit today, turning their harvest into pies sweetened with maple syrup or brown sugar. By the late 1800s, no church supper or fall fair was complete without one. It’s no wonder apple pie has become a fixture at nearly every holiday table — a simple, fragrant reminder of home.
Pumpkin pie, meanwhile, is pure harvest comfort. Indigenous peoples were baking and roasting pumpkins long before settlers arrived, often filling the hollowed shells with milk and honey — the earliest version of the silky custard we know now. By the time Thanksgiving became a national holiday in Canada in 1957, pumpkin pie had earned its rightful place beside the turkey and stuffing as a symbol of the season’s abundance.
And so every year, when dessert time rolls around, the same question hangs in the air: will it be the cinnamon-laced crunch of apple, or the velvety spice of pumpkin?
Every year, we make both, apple and pumpkin, one perfectly Canadian compromise. The family laughs, and every year the same lively and heated debate begins as soon as the last plate is cleared. Pumpkin or Apple, ice cream or whipped cream? “It’s not Thanksgiving without”: insert your pie. It’s all in fun and usually plates are served with a small slice of both. Thanksgiving isn’t about taking sides — it’s about sharing what we have and being grateful for it. And maybe, just maybe, it’s about realizing that when it comes to pie, we don’t have to choose at all.
Check out Dee’s amazing Apple pie recipe on this page and I’ve added an amazingly simple pumpkin to try out for the first time pie makers out there.
- 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust
- 1 (16 ounce) can pumpkin puree
- 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Combine pumpkin puree, condensed milk, eggs, and pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl; mix until combined.
Pour mixture into a pre-made pie shell and bake at 350 for 45 – 55 min until moisture is set.
Serve with whipped cream. Enjoy!
