Do you know pumpkin pie was not a part of the first Thanksgiving feast?

Pumpkin pie is now a Thanksgiving favourite, but the 1621 harvest feast looked very different, with roasted game, seafood, vegetables and pumpkins prepared without a traditional pie crust

The first Thanksgiving featured roasted pumpkins, wild game and seafood, but pumpkin pie was nowhere

Pumpkin pie was missing from the first Thanksgiving Feast in 1621: Here's why

Updated on:

25 Oct 2026, 12:10 pm

2 min read

Thanksgiving without a pumpkin pie? Hard to imagine? But did you know the first Thanksgiving feast in 1621 was celebrated without any pumpkin pie? Despite the presence of pumpkins, the colonists from Plymouth probably did not have access to all the required components for baking pies. The three-day feast shared by the colonists and Wampanoag tribe members included food items made according to what was available to them back then.

Why was pumpkin pie missing from the first Thanksgiving menu?

All of the materials that would be needed to make a regular pie were not present in sufficient quantity. Flour, butter, sugar, and molasses were unavailable, and they did not have any ovens. This made it challenging for them to create a pie crust the conventional way.

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Pumpkins and squashes were boiled, stewed, and roasted back then. There was one preparation technique where the insides of the pumpkin were scooped out, filled with milk, honey, and spices, and then cooked over hot ashes.

The 1621 feast continued for three days. It symbolised a good harvest and the survival of the Plymouth Colony. They invited people from the Wampanoag tribe, which had helped them survive. The menu was different from what people eat on their Thanksgiving table now.

Pumpkins were likely roasted, boiled or stewed at the first Thanksgiving

The Plymouth colonists lacked the flour, butter, sugar and molasses needed to make a traditional pumpkin pie

The items reportedly consisted of wild turkey, duck, geese, venison, fish, eels, and shellfish such as clams, mussels, oysters, and lobster. Some vegetables that were eaten were beans, peas, corn, turnips, onions, carrots, and leeks.

The modern-day favourites were not found. The cranberry sauce that we love was nowhere to be found. The stuffing was not known then. The potato was not a staple of their diet. The choice of drink would have been water and not wine.

The first Thanksgiving menu likely included squash, beans, peas, corn, nuts and dried fruits

By the 18th century, pumpkin pie had become a popular holiday dish in New England

Printed pumpkin pie recipes appeared in England during the 1650s, featuring sliced pumpkin or savoury fillings prepared in crusts or inside pumpkin shells. The food had turned into a holiday tradition in New England by the 18th century.

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