This pumpkin flan de calabaza recipe is creamy, decadent, and features all the fall flavors we love. Is also super easy to make and the ultimate pumpkin dessert for Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving celebrations!
Flan de Calabaza is like the cozy cousin of regular flan. It’s creamy, smooth, and covered in golden caramel, but with a fall twist: pumpkin and warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.
Imagine pumpkin pie and flan had a sweet little baby, that’s flan de calabaza! It’s a favorite in Mexico and across Latin America, where every family has their own take on flan.
Ingredients
- Store-bought pumpkin purée works great, or make your own if you’ve got fresh pumpkins.
- Medium eggs.
- Granulated sugar for the caramel.
- Sweetend ondensed milk.
- Evaporated milk (whole milk or coconut milk also work).
- Pumpkin spice (or just cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg).
- Go for real vanilla extract, not the imitation kind.
How To Make Flan de Calabaza
Place granulated sugar in a deep saucepan over medium heat. Swirl the pan from time to time (read notes) until it starts to bubble and change color to a golden brown.
As soon as it’s ready (and don’t wait too long or it can burn fast!), carefully pour it into the flan mold or round baking pan.
Tilt the mold so the caramel coats the bottom and even a bit up the sides.
Place pumpkin puree and eggs into a blender or food processor and blend for a few seconds until combined.
Top Tip: I always remind myself not to overblend, because too much air means a less creamy flan, and we want it silky smooth.
Now, add condensed milk, evaporated milk, vanilla extract, and pumpkin spices to the blender with the pumpkin mixture and pulse a few times to nicely combine all ingredients.
Pour the custard into the caramelized pan. Don’t worry, it won’t mix with the caramel as this will be hardened by now.
Take a large baking pan and place it inside the mold with the custard.
Pour hot water into the larger pan, enough to fill until halfway of the pan with the flan mixture.
This water bath (baño maría) keeps the flan cooking gently and evenly.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and bake flan for 1 hour or until nicely set on the sides but a bit giggly in the middle.
Remove the mold from the water bath and place it on a cooling rack. Allow to reach room temperature then chill in the fridge overnight.
When ready to serve, run a knife around the edges of the mold to loosen up the flan.
Take a serving plate with a slight lip over and place it over the pan.
Quickly flip them, then lift the mold. The flan de calabaza slides out like a dream, all covered in glossy caramel.
Slice and serve the flan with the caramel sauce spooned over each slice.
Tips & Notes For The Best Pumpkin Flan
- Let your ingredients come to room temperature. They’ll blend so much easier, no lumps, and it helps keep your flan from cracking.
- Don’t stir the caramel. I know, it’s tempting, but trust me, just let the sugar do its thing. Be patient and it’ll melt into that golden syrup we want.
- I know it’s hard to wait, but this pumpkin flan needs to set. First let it cool to room temp, then chill it in the fridge. That way, when you slice it, every piece comes out perfect.
- You can store your leftovers for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Make sure to transfer the remaining dessert to an airtight container before storing it.
- Making this flan recipe ahead is actually a good thing because it gives the flavors time to come together and the custard sets up beautifully. Just pop it in the fridge to keep it fresh until serving.
Ready For Serving
Pumpkin flan dessert is so delicious on its own with the simple caramel sauce drizzled on each slice before serving.
But if you want to serve it for your Thanksgiving dinner (along with or instead of your pumpkin pie!), I recommend serving with:
- Whipped cream.
- A pinch of pumpkin spice or freshly grated nutmeg.
- Cajeta sauce.
- Fresh berries on the side.
More Pumpkin Desserts
If you’re a pumpkin spice lover like I am, try also our favorite recipes for the fall season, I promise you will love them!
We hope you enjoyed this pumpkin flan de calabaza recipe, please don’t forget to leave your thoughts and rate the recipe below in the comments. And remember to follow this blog on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.
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Pumpkin Flan de Calabaza
Ingredients
- 1-15 oz can pumpkin puree
- 5 medium eggs
- 1-12 oz can evaporated milk
- 1-14 oz can condensed milk
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 tsp pumpkin spice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Place sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Swirl the pan from time to time (read notes) until it starts to bubble and change color to a golden brown.
- Carefully pour the caramel into a baking round pan or flan mold and swirl the mold so the caramel will coat also a bit on the sides.
- Add eggs and pumpkin puree to a blender and process for a few seconds until combined.
- Add condensed milk, evaporated milk, vanilla extract, and pumpkin spices.
- Pulse a few times to combine all ingredients.
- Pour the custard into the caramelized pan.
- Place the pan with the flan mixture inside a larger baking pan. Pour hot water into the larger pan, enough to fill until halfway of the pan with the flan mixture.
- Bake for 1 hour or until nicely set on the sides but a bit giggly in the middle.
- Remove the mold from the water bath and place it on a cooling rack. Allow to reach room temperature then chill in the fridge overnight.
- When ready to serve, run a knife around the edges of the mold to loosen up the flan.
- Take a serving plate with a slight lip over and place it over the pan. Quickly flip them, then lift the mold so the flan will easily slide out with the caramel covering it all.
- Slice and serve with the caramel sauce spooned over each slice.
Notes
- Let your ingredients come to room temperature, they’ll blend together easier and stay nice and smooth.
- Go easy on the mixing, too. If you whip it too much, you’ll get air bubbles and lose that creamy texture.
- And for the caramel, don’t stir the sugar. Just let it melt slowly on its own and turn that perfect golden brown.
Made this Pumpkin Flan last night and it turned out so good and creamy. The flavors are perfect, especially this Fall!
The water bath is life changer! My flan hasn’t come out this smooth and creamy! Thank you so much, this is my first time making Flan de Calabaza but they turned out so good!