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The Best Pecan Pie Recipe has a silky, sliceable brown sugar filling that isn’t too sweet. An easy pecan filling baked inside a flaky all butter pie crust for the perfect pecan pie!
Pecan pie was a staple at all family gatherings growing up because it is my dad’s favorite! Also if you haven’t stacked a pecan pie on top of a pumpkin pie with a mound of homemade whipped cream or vanilla bean ice cream, then you have not lived. And that is my professional opinion.
I have a top secret method for cooking pecan pie that ensures a smooth, sliceable filling that is never runny! I happened upon this method by accident almost 15 years ago. This is how I make pecan pie and pecan pie bars in my pastry shop and at home. I have hundreds of customer reviews supporting the fact that this recipe makes the actual best pecan pie.
Table of Contents
Why This is the Best Pecan Pie Recipe
- Rich molasses flavor. Dark brown sugar gives the pie that rich molasses flavor without needing to add too much sugar. Brown sugar complements the pecans and keeps the pie from tasting just sweet.
- Toasted, chopped pecans. It is one more step but using lightly toasted pecans will round out the flavor of your pie. The pie is baked at a lower temperature to produce the perfect filling, so the nuts won’t toast like they would at 350°F.
- Thick, soft filling that I can guarantee won’t be runny. I cook the pie filling over a pot of simmering water before adding it to the par-baked pie crust. This ensures a thick, sliceable pecan pie and decreases the bake time by half!
- Developed & refined by a professional pastry chef. This is the exact recipe that I use for my pastry shop, which means that it is perfect to the 100th gram. I tested, refined and fine-tuned this recipe for perfection.
Professional Tips for Making Pecan Pie
- Partially bake the pie crust. I know a lot of recipes say you don’t have to but if you want to be guaranteed a flaky, crispy crust that stays that way after baking, you must par-bake the pie crust. This also frees you to bake the pie at the ideal temperature for the filling, which is 275°F. Read more about how to par-bake pie crust in this tutorial.
- Pre-cook the filling. This is my secret to a perfect filling. It’s hands-off, concentrates the flavors and cuts the bake time in half! You can also bake this pie 100% in the oven to the same effect but it will take longer.
- Whisk or immersion blend for the smoothest filling. I use a hand blender to ensure that all the ingredients are properly emulsified. You can also use a whisk, but be sure there are no stray streaks of eggs remaining.
- Let the pie cool completely before slicing. This is the worst part but the filling needs to cool completely to set.
Ingredients Needed
- Butter: I use unsalted butter in pies to ensure the perfect balance of flavors.
- Dark Brown Sugar: Using dark brown sugar adds sweetness along with a nice, rich molasses flavor.
- Kosher Salt: Kosher salt is less salty than table salt and a teaspoon weighs less than other finer ground varieties. It will keep your pie from tasting dull or flat and helps dampen the sweetness.
- Whole Egg: The egg in a baked custard like sweet potato pie or chocolate pie is integral to thickening the custard.
- Light Corn Syrup: The corn syrup is here to thicken the pie filling. You can substitute the light corn syrup with glucose, golden syrup, or omit it completely. If you omit the corn syrup, you run a greater risk of the pecan pie filling being runny.
- Vanilla Extract
- Pecans. I use toasted, chopped pecans. Toasting them heightens the nutty flavor and balances out the sweet filling. Chopping them (or buying them chopped) means you can slice the pie easier and the pecans are more evenly distributed.
- Pie Dough. You will either need a store-bought pie crust or enough dough to make a single crust pie. I love the flavors of this all butter pie crust or my vodka pie crust with this pie. The all butter crust balances the sweetness of the filling for the perfect bite. Plus the soft filling contrasts with the flaky pie crust on the bottom and the toasted pecans on the top. Perfection.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations & Substitutions
- Add chocolate or Bourbon: Add up to a ½ cup chopped chocolate or chocolate chips to the filling for a chocolate pecan pie! You can also add 2 tablespoons of Bourbon whiskey the recipe as written for a bourbon pecan pie.
- Light corn syrup: You can substitute glucose syrup or golden syrup for the light corn syrup in pecan pie. You can also omit the corn syrup entirely but your filling will be looser. Some people add a few tablespoons of flour or cornstarch to the filling as a thickener, but the problem is that pecan pie filling should not boil so you will absolutely taste the raw starch flavor and the real thickening power of the cornstarch will be lost.
- Try other nuts! Did you know that other nuts taste great in pie?! Try toasted walnuts, hazelnuts or macadamia nuts, or do a mix of your favorite! I do recommend chopping any and all other nuts for the best results.
How Serve Pecan Pie
Pecan pie can be served room temperature or slightly warm, but I prefer it at room temperature. When warmed the filling will soften slightly and be looser. Serve with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, a spoonful of vanilla crème anglaise, or chocolate fudge sauce for a fun twist.
How to Make Pecan Pie
Use these instructions to make the best pecan pie every time! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
Par-Bake your pie crust:
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350°F convection or 375°F conventional. If using homemade pie dough, roll out one portion of pie dough on a lightly floured surface until about 1/8th inch thick. Chill 30 minutes flat on a baking sheet.
Step 2: Place chilled dough on top of a 9 inch pie dish or tin. Allow to warm up just enough to be workable. Lift up the edges and allow it to settle on the bottom. Gently press the sides to fit the dish allowing the edges to overhang the dish. Start on one side and roll the edges under towards the dish. Roll until you reach the dish then gently press it down on the dish to seal. Repeat with the rest of the crust.
Step 3: Flute the edges by pressing one knuckle on the outside and two knuckles around it from the inside of the crust. Chill for 10-30 minutes depending on how warm it got.
I always crumple my parchment paper into a tight ball and then unroll it before lining my pie crusts for par baking. This softens the paper and allows it to form to the shape of the crust without poking it or allowing huge gaps.
Step 4: Line the inside of the chilled crust with parchment. Fill with pie weights, beans or rice. I find beans work best. Bake crust 15-20 minutes and then remove the weights and parchment. I remove the parchment and weights when the crust has just begun to brown and doesn’t look raw anymore. If you remove it too soon, the crust will still slide down the sides of the dish particularly if you are using a ceramic dish.
I prepare my pecan pie filling while my crust is baking. The crust can also be par-baked 3 days in advance.
Make & bake the pie:
Step 5: In a medium, heat-proof bowl positioned over a simmering double boiler, melt the butter. Remove the bowl from the heat and stir in the sugar and salt until they are completely absorbed into the butter. It will look like an emulsified bread batter.
Step 6: Whisk in eggs, then the corn syrup and vanilla until smooth.
Step 7: Return the bowl to the double boiler and stir until a thermometer reads 130°F or the mixture is shiny and hot to the touch. Remove from the heat and stir in pecans.
Remember that this step is optional. If you skip, pre-cooking the filling, then your final bake time will be closer to 1 ¼ hours.
Step 8: Pour pecan mixture into the partially baked crust. Bake until the filling looks set but yields like Jell-O when gently pressed with the back of the spoon or your fingers.
Step 9: Let pie cool complete on a wire rack before cutting.
How do you know when pecan pie is done?
Pecan pie is done when filling looks set but yields like Jell-O when gently pressed with the back of the spoon or your fingers. The pie should not be jiggly in the center and might be puffed slightly.
Chef Lindsey’s Recipe Tip
You can speed up the pie cooking by baking it at 300°F but I would not raise it any higher. I have made batches of hundreds of this exact recipe, so I can promise you that it works. Just trust the process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store pecan pie for up to 5 days at room temperature, 10 days in the refrigerator or 3 months frozen. It tastes good room temperature, refrigerated or even frozen!
I always wrap my pies for refrigeration. This keeps the crust from absorbing moisture from the refrigerator and also from taking on undesired flavors.
I prefer the flavor of dark brown sugar in pecan pie. It gives you the rich molasses flavor without having to take the extra sweetness from dark Karo syrup.
Pecan pie is actually a baked custard, so eggs are the only thickening agent. Using corn syrup helps achieve the perfect texture and consistency, but it doesn’t actually thicken pie.
Properly mixing and baking will keep a pecan pie from being runny. I guarantee a perfect filling by pre-cooking the filling slightly in a double boiler. This reduces the bake time and allows me to bake the pecan pie at a lower temperature. This produces the perfect filling texture without compromising the crust.
If you tried this recipe and loved it please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I love hearing from you; your comments make my day!
The Best Pecan Pie
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup dark brown sugar packed
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 whole eggs
- ¾ cup light corn syrup
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups pecans toasted and chopped coursely
- 1 Single Pie Crust store-bought or homemade
Instructions
Par-bake Pie Crust:
- Preheat oven to 350°F convection or 375°F conventional. If using homemade pie dough, roll out one portion of pie dough on a lightly floured surface until about 1/8th inch thick. Chill 30 minutes flat on a baking sheet.
- Place chilled dough on top of a 9 inch pie dish or tin. Allow to warm up just enough to be workable. Lift up the edges and allow it to settle on the bottom. Gently press the sides to fit the dish allowing the edges to overhang the dish. Start on one side and roll the edges under towards the dish. Roll until you reach the dish then gently press it down on the dish to seal. Repeat with the rest of the crust.
- Flute the edges by pressing one knuckle on the outside and two knuckles around it from the inside of the crust. Chill for 10-30 minutes depending on how warm it got.
- Line the inside of the chilled crust with parchment. Fill with pie weights, beans or rice. I find beans work best. Bake crust 15-20 minutes and then remove the weights and parchment. I remove the parchment and weights when the crust has just begun to brown and doesn’t look raw anymore. If you remove it too soon, the crust will still slide down the sides of the dish particularly if you are using a ceramic dish.
Prepare & bake pie filling
- Reduce oven temperature to 275℉ once crust is baked.
- In a medium, heat-proof bowl positioned over a simmering double boiler, melt the butter. Remove the bowl from the heat and stir in the sugar and salt until they are completely absorbed into the butter. It will look like an emulsified bread batter.
- Whisk in eggs, then the corn syrup and vanilla until smooth.
- Return the bowl to the double boiler and stir until a thermometer reads 130°F or the mixture is shiny and hot to the touch. Remove from the heat and stir in pecans. Remember that this step is optional. If you skip, pre-cooking the filling, then your final bake time will be closer to 1 ¼ hours.
- Pour pecan mixture into the partially baked crust. Bake until the filling looks set but yields like Jell-O when gently pressed with the back of the spoon or your fingers.
- Let pie cool complete on a wire rack before cutting.
Video
Notes
Variations – Try adding 2 tablespoons of Bourbon or up to ½ cup of chocolate chips to the filling!
Storage – Store pecan pie for up to 5 days at room temperature, 10 days in the refrigerator or 3 months frozen.
Nutrition
Before You Go
Check out our other delicious, chef-developed pie recipes or see the the rest of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner menu!
This pie always results in arm wrestling for the last piece! All these years after you first posted it, my extended family and I won’t make anything else. This year was no different! Pure decadence!
Hi Julia! That’s high praise, I’m so thrilled you and your family have enjoyed this pie so much! Thank you for coming back and letting me know, it made my day.
My pie looked amazing, but it was runny. Sad sad day as it was my Thanksgiving desert that I qas really looking forward to having. I too had trouble with timing due to no specific time given on the pre cook or the baking process. I pre-cooked for what I though was a long long time then baked for about 40 minutes. The pecans were hard to touch and not too much movement so I for sure thought it was done. Guess not, because when I cut into it Surprise! runny I about cried. I still tasted it and flavor was amazing just wish it was not runny and pecans were super hard. I dont know what I did wrong.
Hi Theresa, That is incredibly frustrating. Trust me, I understand. There is no time on the pre-cook process because it really depends on how high your heat is in your double boiler. That is why I have a temperature listed. I always cook it to 130-135* F. It is also possible to bake it without the pre-cook but the cook time will be closer to an hour and a half.
I also baked this pie for Thanksgiving this year (It was actually a whole epic drama and I had to pivot several times and actually ended up baking one pie and one slab pie. Both worked but they take the time they take to bake. The full pie actually baked about 20 minutes longer than the slab pie. It baked about an hour even though I precooked the filling FOREVER because I had to parbake the crust for the slab pie and it was already made.) Every oven is different. The bake times are drastically different for this pie in particular with convection vs standard bake. The center of the pie will actually puff slightly and feel like jello. It also won’t move like liquid anymore and will move in one mass. It can be tricky to tell if it is the firmness of the pecans or the filling. Again, I am sorry you had a sad liquid pie. That is the worst. And the flavor of this pie is phenomenal. When I sold it in my bakery online it had a cult following. I’ll try to add more details about the pre-cook and cook times. ~Lindsey
I am shocked that this pecan pie recipe doesn’t give a cook time. 10 minutes? 20? 60? I have no idea. A ballpark would at least keep me from opening the oven door constantly wondering. And I can’t really tell if it’s Jell-O like beneath the pecans. So I have no clue when to pull this thing out of the oven.
Oh Jen, I’m sorry to have let you down. It really depends on the oven but usually around 30. The trick to telling if it’s done is to touch the center like you would a cake and when it provides a little resistance then that means it is done!
Going to try!
Hooray!
Yum! I haven’t enjoyed pecan pie for years, (dental issues) but this year, finally!!!! I was wondering, I have had some pies in the past that have such bland fillings, some pretty good, and some quite deliciously strong. I love the really strong ones, do you know what makes them that way?
I have more than one family member whose favorite dessert is pecan pie. I’ve always used the recipe that is on the Karo Syrup bottle. It is so easy to do and they love it. It also freezes well so I go ahead and make several to have during the holidays.
I’ll have to try freezing it next time! I almost made the one on the Karo Syrup bottle but then this one had more butter and vanilla and I couldn’t resist! 😉
ps – is the fruitcake done yet?!
Wow..so cool that you discovered something awesome through a disaster. That’s how most brilliant discoveries are made…unexpectedly. The pie really does look stupid good lol. I want some! I love your passion for perfect pie crusts.
I really do think I am going to make this filling at least 5 hours before baking the pie. It was just so much better than any other pecan pie I’ve ever had! I wish I could give you some!
ugh isn’t that always the case?! Just when you need to impress people, something just doesn’t work for some reason! I’m glad you managed to pull it through and make SUCH a delicious pie!
I know!!! It really does. But all’s well that end’s well, right? I know you must have had some fabulous pie at your Thanksgiving!