This pecan pie recipe uses a few basic ingredients and pecans. Pecan Pie is easy to make with simple ingredients and is the perfect combination of sweet and salty flavors, baked in buttery flaky pie crust.
It’s as simple as mixing together the ingredients with a whisk or an electric hand mixer and folding in the pecans.
Whether you prefer homemade pie crust or store-bought, this traditional old-fashioned dessert is the perfect pie recipe for Thanksgiving and Christmas!
This old-fashioned pecan pie recipe is straight from my grandma’s kitchen and has always a part of our holiday desserts. But, it’s delicious any time of year!
I’ve been fortunate to have a large collection of heirloom recipes from my grandmother and a few family farms. This is my grandmother’s classic pecan pie recipe. I love that I still have her handwritten recipe card. It’s such a wonderful memory of my French Canadian grandmother and everything she baked from scratch.
Why this recipe works
- Made with simple ingredients, readily available in your local grocery store.
- Simple to follow directions.
- Prep time is less than 10 minutes! This is one of the easiest pie recipes to make with simple ingredients all mixed in one bowl!
- No blind baking required – There is no need to prebake the pie crust with this pie recipe.
What you’ll need
- Pecans – Find the best value and the best pecans at BJ’s and other wholesale clubs.
- Eggs – We use large eggs in many of our baking recipes. Eggs help keep the pie filling together.
- Corn syrup – Helps to sweeten the pecan pie filling and change the invert sugar so it does not crystallize.
- Brown sugar – Sweetens the pie filling and adds a depth of flavor.
- Vanilla extract – Adds the best flavor to this classic pie recipe.
- Salt – We add salt to all of our sweet and baking recipes to help intensify the flavors.
How to make Pecan pie
Old fashioned Pecan Pie is an essential pie recipe for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
- Make the pie crust – Get it into the refrigerator to chill well. We love my pie crust recipe. But, you can also use store-bought.
- Roll out the pie crust – Roll out in a sphere shape about 12-inches in diameter. Here’s my favorite pie dish!
- Place pie crust into pie dish -Place the rolled out pie crust into a 9 ½-inch glass pie plate. Roll under the edges of the pie creating the crust. Pinch between your fingers to create a crimped edge.
- Combine the pie filling – Mix the eggs, brown sugar, light corn syrup, flour, melted butter, and vanilla with a whisk or an electric hand mixer until combined well.
- Stir in pecans – Stir the pecans into this mixture.
- Pour pecan mixture into unbaked pie shell – Pour the pecan pie mixture into the unbaked pie shell. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the mixture out of the bowl. Carefully brush the edges of the pie crust with egg wash.
- Bake -Bake in a preheated 425 degree F oven for 10 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees F and continue to bake for 40 more minutes.
(Egg wash is 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon water, and a pinch of salt beaten together with a fork)
Let the pie cool completely before slicing. You can make this pie a few days ahead of time and refrigerate until you are ready to serve.
Pie Crust Tips
If your pie crust is getting too warm, plop the entire pie in the fridge or into the freezer for a bit to get it really cold again before baking.
- Use the proper flour – All-purpose or pastry flour are the best for making pie crust. Choosing a lower-gluten flour is the first trick for getting your pie crust right. Bread flour has a high gluten content, while cake flour has the lowest content.
- Keep the pie dough chilled– always. If it gets to warm, plop it back into the fridge or even the freezer for a bit.
- Doesn’t have to be perfect! Working with pie dough and weaving a lattice crust takes practice. Don’t stress and remember it doesn’t have to be perfect. It will still taste amazing!
How to prep your Pie Crust ahead of time
Did you know you can prepare AHEAD of time and make your own frozen pie crust shells? Just follow the recipe for my pie crust, make your pie shells in disposable pie tins. Freeze individually.
Once frozen, carefully place parchment paper in between each pie shell and you can stack them. (Place the frozen pie shells into a large plastic bag and tie up tight) Frozen pie shells will last a month or so.
You can substitute maple syrup for corn syrup in this pecan pie recipe.
Shake the pie gently and if it jiggles a bit but the center is relatively stable, it it set. If the pecan pie filling shows too much movement, it is not done yet.
Now doesn’t this pecan pie look delicious? Old fashioned pecan pie is a reader favorite! We hope you love it as much as we do!
More Holiday recipes
- Molasses Cookies
- Apple Cobbler
- Apple Hand Pies
- Blueberry Pie
- Blackberry Cobbler
- Apple Crisp
- Apple Crumb Pie
- Apple Cider Donuts
- Cherry Crumb Pie
- Cherry Cobbler
I hope you enjoy this Southern Pecan Pie recipe as much as we do! Be sure and try my Banana Bread with pecans!
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Pecan Pie
Ingredients
Pecan Pie
- 3 large eggs (room temperature)
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups pecans, halves
- pie crust single (homemade or store-bought)
Instructions
Homemade Pie Crust
- Make the pie crust and refrigerate it.
- Roll out the pie crust to about 12-inches in diameter.
- Place the rolled out pie crust into a 9 ½-inch glass pie plate. Roll under the edges of the pie creating the crust. Pinch between your fingers to create a crimped edge.
- Refrigerate the pie shell while you prepare the pecan pie mixture.
Pecan Pie
- Mix the eggs, brown sugar, light corn syrup, flour, melted butter, and vanilla with a whisk or an electric hand mixer until combined well.
- Stir the pecans into this mixture.
- Pour the pecan pie mixture into the unbaked pie shell. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the bowl out.
- Carefully brush the edges of the pie crust with egg wash. (Egg wash is 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon water, and a pinch of salt beaten together with a fork)
- Bake in a preheated 425 degree F oven for 10 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees F and continue to bake for 40 more minutes or until set.
- Let the pie cool completely on the counter or on a baking rack. Should you not let it cool completely before slicing, the filling will not set properly.
Recipe Notes
You can make homemade pie crust AHEAD of time and roll out into pie shells. Freeze individually. Once frozen, carefully place parchment paper in between each pie shell and you can stack them. (Place the frozen pie shells into a large plastic bag and tie up tight) Frozen pie shells will last a month or so. You are welcome to use store-bought pie crust. Every oven is different! Use an oven thermometer to check the temperature of your oven.
Nutrition
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Virginia Sosebee says
this pecan pie is outstanding very very good about the best I ever made.
Jessica Robinson says
Thank you so very much!! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe!
Mike Sr. says
I want to try this out. What’s your favorite pie crust recipe to make for it. If it’s not too much trouble could you add it to this recipe post or maybe send it to me? Pretty please! I think your pie should have your crust to complete it.
Jessica Robinson says
Just search for pie crust on our website, or should be a link in the post and recipe card.
Julie Foster says
Smells delicious!! Can’t wait to try it. Was relatively easy to prepare too.
Jessica Robinson says
Thank you so much!! Happy to hear it was easy to make and you enjoyed it!
Early says
I am wondering if it would work with chopped pecans. Some of my guests for Thanksgiving have a difficult time with the bigger pieces of nuts. Also would I increase the amount I would use?
Jessica Robinson says
Of course you can use chopped pecans. You can certainly add a few more pecans if needed. Probably a cup.
Tonya says
i give my pecan an few extra chops because my mom and mother inlaw love the pie but have trouble with the nuts so i chop them up smaller for them to make it easy for them , and i actually prefer it that way myself now
Jessica Robinson says
Yes you can absolutely do this!
Josh says
Made it a few times and it’s a pretty fail safe recipe. Love it!
Jessica Robinson says
We’re thrilled to hear you enjoyed it and had great success!
MariAnne says
I made 5 pies today for a friends wedding ( she wanted pie instead of cake)
I normally would not try something new without ever having tasted it but I did it because of all your great reviews and because it’s your grandma’s receipe, because we can’t go wrong with a grandma!!!
They look amazing!!! Thanks so much! I’m having a hard time not eating a piece … now I have to make one for me!
Jessica Robinson says
Oh that’s so neat!! Thanks for letting us know you enjoyed Grandma’s recipe!
Bonnie says
I’m 61 and this is the first pecan pie I’ve made…lol. It turned out Great and was a hit. Directions were easy to follow. Thank you for posting your recipe 👍❤️
Jessica Robinson says
Oh thank you Bonnie!! Very happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe!
Dre says
I made this pie for Thanksgiving this year and got so many compliments! I was told that usually pecan pie can be overly sweet and you can’t eat too much. My boyfriend told me this had more of a nutty flavor and he really liked it. Everyone kept saying it tasted great! Needless to say it was gone by the end of the night.
Jessica Robinson says
So happy to hear everyone enjoyed it!
Debra says
Do you think I could use maple syrup instead of karo?
Jessica Robinson says
Yes, you can certainly do that if you prefer.
Laci Weaver says
My husband’s favorite pie is pecan pie… in fact, I think it might be his favorite desert completely, and since he usually isn’t as big on sweets as I am, when he craves something, it’s a big deal. I was so excited to make this for his birthday, and he said it was the very best pecan pie he had ever eaten. He took some to his fire station and everyone was amazed, saying that it reminded them of the ones their grandmothers made that they hadn’t been able to find a match for! So thank you SO much for this special recipe… everyone I’ve known to taste it immediately knows that it’s special! It warms my heart when someone shares something like this from their family, because it’s so recognizable and takes everyone back to those favorite memories! This has already become an established tradition that I want to share with others every year now! Thank you!!!
Jessica Robinson says
Laci,
I’m thrilled to hear that you loved it!!
Dominique says
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I baked it today and am eating it right now. It takes just amazing!!!!!!!! I’ll use the home made pie crust recipe next time for sure. Thank you so much!
Jessica Robinson says
Thanks so much Dominique!!
Cathy says
Does this recipe have a mistake? It says NOT to let the pie cool before cutting. I believe it must be cooled or the filling will run.
Jessica Robinson says
It says “should you not let the pie filling cool completely before slicing, it will not set properly.”
Kelli says
This is the best pecan pie I’ve ever made, I can’t thank you enough. I’m going to go nose around your other recipes now. 😊
Jessica Robinson says
Kelli,
Thank you so much for writing to let me know!! So glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Christi says
Oh. My. Goodness. This pie was so delicious! It came out perfectly and was so easy to make. I just used my grandma’s pie crust recipe, but made your pecan filling exactly as you have stated. Can’t wait to make this again sometime soon. Thank you for this beautiful recipe.
Jessica Robinson says
Christi,
Thanks so much! So happy to hear you enjoyed it!
Laura says
This pie is gorgeous! It reminds me of my Grandmas pie recipe! It’s my dads favorite pie.
Lisa Hatfield says
I LOVE heirloom recipes, how sweet that this recipe came from your Grandmother! Looks absolutely perfect, can’t wait to make it!
Jessica Robinson says
Grandma’s recipes are the best!