Which Pie Is Healthier: Apple or Pumpkin? (2024)

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Thanksgiving pie is arguably most people's favorite part of the meal: If it's Thanksgiving, there must be pie. And let's be clear: There is no need to skip your favorite dessert in the name of "eating healthy" on a holiday. Enjoy your pie, pumpkin or apple, and know that one day a year is not going to make or break a healthy eating pattern. All foods fit in moderation.

That said, you may be wondering if one pie has a nutritional leg up on another. Is apple the healthier choice? Or does pumpkin pie reign supreme? And are there any differences between the calories in pumpkin pie or apple pie? Here's what we found when we looked at the two side-by-side.

Apple Pie

Pictured Recipe: Cinnamon Swirl Apple Pie

Let's start with apple pie. It's made from fruit, so it must be good for you...right? While apples are healthy—they're loaded with fiber (about 4 grams in one medium apple, per the USDA), vitamin C and antioxidants—coating them with sugar and dumping them in a buttery crust does change things a bit. Plus, apple pies normally come with double crusts, which means more calories.

Pumpkin Pie

Pictured Recipe: Light and Luscious Pumpkin Pie

As for pumpkin pie, here we start with a vegetable. The pumpkin is loaded with fiber—7 g in 1 cup, per the USDA. And like all orange foods, pumpkins are packed with carotenoids, which can help tackle free radicals and decrease inflammation. Of course, to turn that vegetable into a pie, we add sugar and a crust, so the pumpkin's not quite as pure as it was in its original vegetable state.

Which Is Healthier?

Pictured Recipe: Butter Pastry Dough

The nutrition will vary depending on which pie you make, but here's the breakdown comparing our Deep-Dish Apple Pie and our Best Easy Pumpkin Pie:

Apple Pie

One serving of our Deep-Dish Apple Pie has the following nutrition:

• Calories: 345
• Carbohydrates: 62 g
• Fiber: 5 g
• Sugars: 33 g
• Added Sugars: 17 g
• Protein: 4 g
• Total Fat: 10 g
• Saturated Fat: 4 g
• Sodium: 147 mg
• Potassium: 213 mg

Pumpkin Pie

One serving of our Best Easy Pumpkin Pie has the following nutrition:

• Calories: 252
• Carbohydrates: 34 g
• Fiber: 1 g
• Sugars: 26 g
• Added Sugars: 19 g
• Protein: 6 g
• Total Fat: 9 g
• Saturated Fat: 5 g
• Sodium: 115 mg
• Potassium: 105 mg

In the pumpkin pie, calories, carbs and sodium are lower, while protein is higher. But the apple pie takes the cake when it comes to fiber and potassium, and it has less added sugar. So what's a pie aficionado to do? Well, if you want to consume fewer calories, go for the pumpkin—it almost always has fewer because of the single crust. You could also take a sliver of both pies.

The Bottom Line

The holidays often feature foods we might not get at other times of the year. So enjoy your favorites, including pie. Remember the big picture. A holiday is one day out of the year and won't make or break a healthy eating pattern, so go for whatever pie you like best—even if it's both.