If you are making the classic American pumpkin pie using Libby’s pumpkin puree (or any other brand of pumpkin puree) and the grocery is out of evaporated milk (it happens during the Holidays), you may want to substitute half-and-half or cream. The question is can you and, if so, how much should you use?
Quick answer: Not only can you substitute half and half for evaporated milk in pumpkin pie but I’ve done so with great results. Many recipes call for half and half instead of evaporated milk.
See also: How to Substitute Evaporated Milk for Regular Milk
How Much Half and Half to Replace Evaporated Milk?
Use 1 and 1/2 cups of half and half to replace one 12 fluid ounce can of evaporated milk in your recipe. In other words, use the exact same amount of half and half as evaporated milk. There is no adjustment necessary.
Using Cream Instead of Evaporated Milk
I would not recommend using straight cream, heavy or otherwise, to replace evaporated milk as the fat content may be too heavy. Instead, mix milk with the cream first. The amounts you need will depend on the type of cream you have:
- Light cream: 1 part cream to 1 part milk (1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup cream)
- Heavy cream: 3 parts milk to 1 part cream (3/4 cup milk and 1/4 cup heavy cream)
If you don’t have whole milk but instead have any kind of low-fat milk then use a 2/1 ratio, 2 parts milk to 1 part heavy cream (2/3 cup low-fat milk and 1/3 cup heavy cream). The idea here is not to perfectly replicate half and half. You are simply adjusting the fat level to make it somewhat closer. Close enough is good enough. The pie will be delicious.
Read more about the difference between light cream and heavy cream.
