There is a pie or tart for every mood, and this collection gathers the easiest and most crowd-pleasing of them in one place. You will find the holiday classics alongside creamy chilled pies, fruity tarts and a few playful surprises.
Some are weeknight-simple with a handful of ingredients; others are proper showpieces, but none of them ask for professional skills. Where a pie needs long chilling or freezing, the active time is still short, so most of the work is hands-off.
Every recipe links through to the full method, with real times, serving sizes and a cook’s tip. Pick one to start, and you will likely be back for another.
Four Pies and Tarts to Start With
- Classic Pumpkin Pie: The silky, spiced classic no autumn table should be without.
- Pecan Pie: A gooey brown-sugar filling under a crunchy toasted pecan top.
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie: A rich, no-fuss crowd-pleaser that comes together in forty-five minutes.
- Chocolate Hazelnut Tart: A stunning, grown-up tart from just seven ingredients.
Why You Will Bake These Again and Again
- Something for every occasion. Holiday classics, summer coolers, dinner-party showpieces and easy weeknight treats all sit side by side here.
- Easy really means easy. Several are no-bake or built on a handful of ingredients, and even the fancier tarts need only simple steps.
- Make-ahead friendly. Cream and custard pies, frozen pies and curd tarts are happiest chilled in advance, so you can bake on your own schedule.
- Sweet range. From warm spiced fruit to deep chocolate and bright citrus, there is a flavour here for every table and every guest.
Easy Pie and Tart Recipes
1. Pumpkin Pie Recipe
The one no autumn table should be without, with a silky spiced custard set in a flaky crust. Nine simple ingredients and the kind of warm, nostalgic flavour everyone reaches for. Serves twelve, and it bakes in around an hour and a half.
Key ingredients: unbaked 9-inch deep-dish pie crust, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cloves, eggs, canned pumpkin puree
💡 Cook’s tip: unbaked 9-inch deep-dish pie crust. A homemade crust adds extra flavor but a good-quality store-bought crust works well too.
Total time: 95 min | Serves: 12 | Ingredients: 9
2. Pecan Pie Recipe
A classic for a reason, with a gooey brown-sugar filling and a crunchy toasted pecan top. It is rich, sweet and deeply satisfying, the slice people go quiet over. Just nine ingredients, ready in about an hour and a half.
Key ingredients: unbaked 9-inch pie crust, eggs, dark corn syrup, packed brown sugar, ground cinnamon
💡 Cook’s tip: unbaked 9-inch pie crust. A flaky crust works best to support the rich filling.
Total time: 90 min | Ingredients: 9
3. Cherry Pie with Flaky Crust Recipe
Bright, jammy cherries tucked under a buttery, properly flaky crust. It is the picture of a homemade fruit pie, and it works with fresh or frozen cherries. Serves eight, start to finish in around eighty minutes.
Key ingredients: fresh or frozen cherries, cornstarch, lemon juice, almond extract, pie crusts, egg
💡 Cook’s tip: cornstarch. Thickens the filling so it sets nicely once baked.
Total time: 80 min | Serves: 8 | Ingredients: 9
4. Maple Bourbon Brown Butter Peach Pie Recipe
Juicy peaches lifted with nutty brown butter, warm maple and a whisper of bourbon. It tastes far more special than the effort it asks for, perfect for late summer. Ready in about seventy minutes.
Key ingredients: ripe peaches, cornstarch, cinnamon, allspice, maple syrup, bourbon
💡 Cook’s tip: ripe peaches. Use fresh, in-season peaches for maximum sweetness and juiciness.
Total time: 70 min | Ingredients: 15
5. Snickerdoodle Cream Cheese Apple Pie Recipe
Spiced apples over a cream-cheese layer, finished with a cinnamon-sugar snickerdoodle top. It is two desserts in one, and it comes together faster than a traditional double-crust. Serves eight in just over an hour.
Key ingredients: snickerdoodle cookie mix, cream cheese, vanilla extract, egg, apple pie filling, cinnamon
💡 Cook’s tip: snickerdoodle cookie mix. The base of the crust and topping.
Total time: 65 min | Serves: 8 | Ingredients: 10
6. Salted Caramel Apple Pie Bars Recipe
All the comfort of apple pie in a handheld bar, with a shortbread base, spiced apples and a salted caramel drizzle. They slice cleanly and travel well, so they are ideal for a crowd. Sixteen ingredients, and worth every one.
Key ingredients: g unsalted butter, pure vanilla extract, apples, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, old-fashioned rolled oats
💡 Cook’s tip: g unsalted butter. Gives a rich, tender, and buttery base.
Total time: 175 min | Ingredients: 16
7. No Bake Pumpkin Pie Recipe
Everything you love about pumpkin pie, with no oven required. A creamy spiced filling sets in the fridge over a buttery crust, so it is one less thing to juggle on a busy day. Serves eight, with just ten ingredients.
Key ingredients: cream cheese, whipped topping, inch pre-made graham cracker pie crust, instant vanilla pudding mix, milk, canned pumpkin puree
💡 Cook’s tip: cream cheese. Softened cream cheese blends smoothly and prevents lumps in the filling.
Total time: 190 min | Serves: 8 | Ingredients: 10
8. Lemon Meringue Pie Recipe
A showstopper of tangy lemon curd under clouds of toasted meringue. The contrast of sharp and sweet is what makes it, and the swirled top always draws a crowd. Give it time to chill fully before slicing.
Key ingredients: homemade 9-inch pie crust, egg yolks, cornstarch, fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, egg whites
💡 Cook’s tip: homemade 9-inch pie crust. A flaky base is best; homemade gives superior texture but store-bought works in a pinch.
Total time: 420 min | Ingredients: 13
9. Coconut Cream Pie Recipe
A dreamy pie of silky coconut custard piled high with whipped cream and toasted coconut. It is pure retro diner comfort, and it slices like a dream once chilled. Twelve ingredients for a real occasion dessert.
Key ingredients: pie crust, cornstarch, egg yolks, whole milk, coconut milk, vanilla extract
💡 Cook’s tip: pie crust. A fully baked crust keeps the base crisp and prevents sogginess under the creamy filling.
Total time: 240 min | Ingredients: 12
10. Vanilla Cream Pie Recipe
An old-fashioned vanilla custard pie, smooth and gently sweet under a cloud of fresh cream. It is the plainest kind of wonderful, the sort of slice that disappears first. Chill it well so each piece holds its shape.
Key ingredients: inch pie crust, cornstarch, milk, egg yolks, heavy whipping cream, vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
💡 Cook’s tip: cornstarch. Gives the filling that silky, pudding-like consistency.
Total time: 270 min | Ingredients: 13
11. Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie Recipe
A rich, no-fuss pie layering smooth peanut butter and deep chocolate in a crumb crust. It comes together in forty-five minutes and tastes like your favourite candy bar. Serves eight at 450 calories a slice.
Key ingredients: oreos, cream cheese, unsweetened cocoa powder, white granulated sugar, sour cream, pure vanilla extract
Total time: 45 min | Serves: 8 | Ingredients: 20 | Calories: 450
12. Chocolate Raspberry Cream Pie Recipe
Dark chocolate and tart raspberry in a lush, creamy pie that looks as good as it tastes. The fruit cuts the richness so every bite stays balanced. Worth the chilling time for a special occasion.
Key ingredients: sour cream, shortening, cold unsalted butter, semi-sweet chocolate, heavy cream, cream cheese
💡 Cook’s tip: sour cream. Keeps crust tender.
Total time: 405 min | Ingredients: 15
13. Lemon Raspberry Pie Recipe
Bright lemon and sweet-tart raspberries swirled into a creamy, refreshing pie. It is sunshine on a plate and a lovely change from heavier desserts. Serves eight at 320 calories, ready in around eighty minutes.
Key ingredients: quick cooking oats, all purpose flour, ground cinnamon, egg yolks, frozen raspberries, fresh lemon juice
Total time: 80 min | Serves: 8 | Ingredients: 16 | Calories: 320
14. Pink Lemonade Pie
A cool, fluffy summer pie with just four ingredients and a pretty pink blush. It is about as easy as dessert gets, and it is always a hit at a barbecue. Serves eight at 253 calories a slice.
Key ingredients: sweetened condensed milk, frozen pink lemonade concentrate, container frozen whipped topping, inch prepared graham cracker crust
💡 Cook’s tip: sweetened condensed milk. Provides rich sweetness and a creamy base that binds the filling.
Total time: 130 min | Serves: 8 | Ingredients: 4 | Calories: 253
15. Root Beer Float Pie
A playful frozen pie that tastes just like the classic soda-shop float. Creamy, fizzy-sweet and nostalgic, it is a guaranteed talking point. Seven ingredients, serves eight, with plenty of freezer time to plan around.
Key ingredients: milk, root beer extract, cool whip, prepared graham cracker crust, cherries and whipped cream
💡 Cook’s tip: root beer. Use regular root beer not diet, for the best flavor and creaminess.
Total time: 495 min | Serves: 8 | Ingredients: 7 | Calories: 263
16. Blueberry Lemon Curd Tart Recipe
Zesty lemon curd and fresh blueberries in a crisp tart shell, bright and not too sweet. It looks elegant but needs only nine ingredients and about an hour. A lovely finish to a spring or summer meal.
Key ingredients: cornstarch, egg yolks, lemon juice, cold butter, grated lemon zest
💡 Cook’s tip: fresh blueberries. I always use fresh for the best flavor; frozen works too but drain excess liquid.
Total time: 60 min | Ingredients: 9
17. Strawberry Honey Custard Tarts with Lemon Curd Recipe
Individual tarts layering honey-sweet custard, lemon curd and fresh strawberries. They feel bakery-fancy yet come together in about seventy minutes. Makes six, perfect for serving one each at the table.
Key ingredients: vanilla extract, fresh strawberries, vanilla yogurt, honey, eggs, freshly squeezed lemon juice
💡 Cook’s tip: vanilla extract. Adds a warm aroma.
Total time: 70 min | Serves: 6 | Ingredients: 18
18. Peach Tarte Tatin Recipe
An upside-down caramel peach tart that turns out glossy and golden every time. Buttery, jammy and far simpler than it looks, it is a brilliant way to use ripe peaches. Serves eight at 350 calories.
Key ingredients: tbs unsalted butter, tbs powdered sugar, egg, cake flour, peaches, tbs water
Total time: 85 min | Serves: 8 | Ingredients: 14 | Calories: 350
19. Vegan Apple Tart Recipe
A rustic, free-from apple tart with thinly layered fruit on crisp pastry. It proves a dairy-free dessert can be every bit as good as the classic. Serves ten, with just eight ingredients.
Key ingredients: vegan block butter, cold water, apples, ground cinnamon, light-colored jam
💡 Cook’s tip: vegan block butter. I recommend cold butter for a flakier texture.
Total time: 100 min | Serves: 10 | Ingredients: 8
20. Chocolate Chip Salted Caramel Tart Recipe
A decadent tart of flowing salted caramel and chocolate chips in a biscuit base. Sweet, salty and seriously rich, a little slice goes a long way. One for the chocolate lovers at the table.
Key ingredients: extra flour, baking soda, brown sugar, vanilla extract, egg, semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
💡 Cook’s tip: extra flour. Helps the dough press neatly up the sides of the tart pan.
Total time: 90 min | Ingredients: 20
21. Chocolate Hazelnut Tart Recipe
A glossy, grown-up tart that tastes like the best chocolate-hazelnut spread you have ever had. Just seven ingredients, and it looks stunning with so little effort. Serves eight, ready in around eighty minutes.
Key ingredients: digestive biscuits, toasted hazelnuts, high-quality dark chocolate, heavy cream, hazelnut paste
💡 Cook’s tip: digestive biscuits. Provides a sweet, crunchy base.
Total time: 80 min | Serves: 8 | Ingredients: 7
22. Raspberry Chocolate Truffle Tart Recipe
A deeply fudgy chocolate truffle tart crowned with fresh raspberries. Only six ingredients, yet it eats like something from a patisserie window. Serves eight, and the fruit keeps every bite from feeling heavy.
Key ingredients: digestive biscuits or plain sweet biscuits, dark chocolate, double cream, fresh raspberries, icing sugar, cocoa powder or grated chocolate
Total time: 180 min | Serves: 8 | Ingredients: 6
Whether you need a reliable holiday pie, a make-ahead dessert or a quick tart for guests, there is a recipe here to fit the moment. Start with a classic, then branch out into the creamy pies and fruit tarts.
Save this collection for your next bake, and browse the related roundups below for more easy desserts and seasonal favourites.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a pie and a tart?
A pie usually has a deeper dish and often a top crust or lid, with the filling fully enclosed or mounded high. A tart is shallower, baked in a loose-bottomed tin with straight fluted sides, and is almost always open-topped to show off the filling.
Which of these pies are easiest for beginners?
The no-bake and few-ingredient options are the most forgiving, so start with the pink lemonade pie, the no-bake pumpkin pie or the chocolate peanut butter pie. They skip the trickier pastry work and still look and taste impressive.
Can I use a shop-bought crust?
Yes, a ready-made pastry case or crumb crust works well for most of these and saves a good deal of time. Homemade pastry gives the best flavour and texture, but a shop-bought base is a perfectly good shortcut on a busy day.
How far ahead can I make a pie or tart?
Cream, custard and curd pies are best made a day ahead so they have time to set, and frozen pies can be made several days in advance. Fruit pies with pastry are best within a day or two, and tarts topped with fresh fruit are nicest assembled close to serving.
How do I stop a soggy bottom?
Blind-bake the base before adding a wet filling, brush it with a little beaten egg or melted chocolate to seal it, and make sure the oven is fully heated. Letting the pie cool and set properly before slicing also helps keep the base crisp.