No corn syrup, no fuss. This easy pecan pie recipe will be your go-to dessert all holiday season long. With just pecans, pie crust, and a few pantry staples, it bakes up rich, gooey, and sliceable in four simple steps.
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Here’s What Makes This Recipe Awesome…
- The flavor of this pecan pie recipe is rich and buttery with a sweet, caramel-like filling.
- Made without corn syrup, instead butter and brown sugar create a natural caramel flavor.
- The filling comes together quickly, it’s easy to make, and the ratio is perfect for a sweet pie that’s not too heavy.
- Since the pecans are chopped, it’s easy to prepare, and you get toasted pecans in every bite.
Ingredient Tips
- Pecans: You can buy pre-chopped pecans to save time.
- Quick tip: My shortcut to chop nuts quickly is to place them into a freezer bag and tap them with the flat side of a meat tenderizer for less mess and quicker chopping.
- Filling: Skip the corn syrup. This rich filling comes together with eggs, butter, two sugars, a little flour, milk, and a splash of vanilla. No cooking ahead, just mix and pour.
- Crust: Use a pre-made crust to keep it quick and easy. If you prefer homemade, make your own pie crust and freeze half for a future pumpkin pie.
Variations
- Stir in some bourbon or rum extract for a Southern-inspired pecan pie.
- Add a handful of chocolate chips, butterscotch morsels, or chopped caramels in Step 2 for a fun flavor twist.
- Bump up the flavor with a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar or pumpkin spice.
How to Make Pecan Pie
- Combine the filling ingredients (full recipe below).
- Pour the mixture into an unbaked pie crust.
- Bake and let cool completely before serving.
Quick Tips
- Recommended Tools: A pie crust shield (or aluminum foil) prevents the delicate edges from browning too quickly.
- Time-Saving Tip: Save time on Thanksgiving and make a few days ahead or freeze until ready to serve.
How To Store
- Keep leftover pecan pie covered at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- Freeze a whole pecan pie once it’s fully cooled, or cut it into slices and freeze them individually. Wrap in plastic for up to 2 months and thaw in the fridge.
- Enjoy slices cold or reheated in the oven or microwave.
Perfect Holiday Pie Recipes
Did you make this Pecan Pie? Leave a rating and comment below!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 eggs room temperature
- ½ cup melted butter
- 1¼ cups chopped pecans
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 single pie crust unbaked
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F
- Whisk eggs in a large bowl and stir in butter. Add chopped pecans, brown sugar, granulated sugar, flour, milk, vanilla, and salt, and stir well until combined.
- Pour into the prepared pie shell and cover edges of pie crust with a pie shield or tinfoil to prevent them from over browning.
- Bake at 400°F for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 350°, and bake for an additional 35 minutes. Cool completely.
Video
Notes
- If desired, toast the pecans before baking. Place them in a dry pan and cook over medium heat, stirring until fragrant. This makes them extra crunchy and flavorful.
- Pecan pie is done baking if it’s a bit wiggly but not wet. It should be slightly set, but a bit of movement is ok, it’ll set more as it cools.
- Store leftover pecan pie in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Cover with plastic wrap & foil and freeze for up to 2 months.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 468 | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 275mg | Potassium: 151mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 427IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dessert, Party Food, Pie
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Hi there! Few questions. First time baking a pecan pie…
If I make the pie crust from scratch, do I have to chill it or pre-bake it before the filling goes in?
Does it matter what size pie dish I use? I have two that I think are the same size but one is deeper, probably by an inch, than the other one…is a deep dish better/necessary?
Thanks!
Hi Stephanie! There is no need to pre-bake the pie crust it will bake with the pie in step 4. We used a standard pie crust (not a deep dish) and it worked well for us. The pie does puff up a bit while baking but it will deflate as it cools. Happy Cooking!
Can not wait to fix some of these recipes!!
Hi, it does look easy and hope to try it. For the butter, do you use salted or unsalted? and if unsalted, do you use salt and if so how much? I’ll prob tweak it some w other flavorings but this was my main question.
thanks
For this recipe, we use unsalted butter (with not additional salt added).
My wife complains that I never leave a recipe alone and yet she asks me to doctor recipes the way I do. I used Mrs. Smith deep dish pie crusts. Instead of the pecans pieces, I purchased toffee coated pecans from HEB and used them instead. Watch your pie and check for doneness before the full time. The butter in the recipe will soak into the crust and it will turn brown more than you might expect it to. The recipe is great and will be my go to for all future Pecan Pies. Very good pie recipe with no corn syrup. Forget the Pennies, this is a millionaire recipe, that is one hundred million pennies by the way. Thank you Holly for posting your recipe!
Thanks Mark! So happy you loved this recipe…and your alterations sound delicious. I can see why she asks you to doctor recipes!
Looks great
I’m looking to make mini pies in a muffin pan. Would you happen to know how long to cook? Thanks!
That sounds like a delicious idea Heather, unfortunately we have never tried this recipe in mini muffin tins. If you do, we would love to hear how they turn out!
I love this pie – was looking for one with no corn syrup and this one is perfect. I add some chocolate chips to it as well since I am a chocolate lover!
For a friendsgiving, I was thinking of making this recipe into pecan pie bars to serve more people and to easily cut up the pieces. Have you ever tried this? Do you think I would need to double the filling recipe to fill a 9×13 pan? Thank you in advance!
So happy you love the pie Alex. I’ve never tried that so can’t say for sure. You may want to check out the Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars for ideas to bake in a 9×13, or you may like Pecan Pie Cookies!
I just wanted to know if I could used pecan chips for this recipe! I didn’t have any at this time!
Hi Vanessa, we haven’t made this recipe with pecan chips but it should work just fine. Let us know how it turns out!
Hi Holly, I was curious if I reduce the amount of sugar By half if it will affect the pie at all.
Hi Karen,
While I follow this recipe as written, in many desserts you can reduce the sugar by about one quarter without affecting the taste or texture. I hope this helps!
Thank you Holly, can’t wait to try it!!!
I made this pie at Christmas and it was good, but I have a few questions.
1. Are you using a refrigerated pie crust that you then place into a glass pie dish, or are you using a frozen pie crust that comes in a metal tin? I made it in a frozen pie crust, but it was also deep dish, so I feel like there was not enough filling to fill it. Maybe I should not have used deep dish?
2. No matter what I do my pie always rises pretty high in the center. It does fall after it cools, but it creates a layered affect that is not appealing. Am I doing something wrong that is causing this? Does anyone else have this problem? Please help!
Yes, I generally purchase either a frozen or fresh pie crust and it can go in glass or stay in the metal tin. I didn’t use a deep dish pan. The pie will puff up a bit and then deflate as it cools. It does form sort of a crust but I haven’t had a layered effect so I can’t say for sure what went wrong. Are you using real butter?
Best pecan pie ever !! I’ve never been a big fan pecan pie cause I hated the taste of the Karo syrup in them and I stumbled across this recipe a year ago and started making them this way ! Now everyone requests this pie for any occasion .
I’m so glad you loved it Dixie!
Thank you for this recipe! It worked great for me. The only variation was a shorter time cooking – I am guessing that was because I had a 10″. not 9″ pie pan. I really appreciated the fact that I could use what I already had around the house (did not have to run out to buy corn syrup); used a splash of dark rum with the vanilla. I thought at first that the batter would not fill the 10″crust, but it puffed up and expanded during baking. I used the hints here and elsewhere (not too jiggly) to decide it was done about 8 minutes sooner than the recipe said, and the texture was perfect.
So happy it turned out Valerie! Dark rum sounds like a great addition!
This recipe has far transcended “pie” to become Food for the Gods !!!!!!!! Delectable, Delightful, DIVINE Other-Worldly, absolutely Heavenly !!! Bless you, Holly. Can’t praise you enough. God must have inspired this !!!!!
I’m so happy to hear that you love the pecan pie so much Molly :) We love it too!
OMG !!! This is the absolute best recipe EVER !!!!! I have not eaten sugar for many years, but this year I visited my son and his lovely wife for Thanksgiving and just couldn’t resist !!! I had a sliver last night with whipped cream, then a full piece for breakfast !!!!! Yes, it is that good. Make more than one and ENJOY !!!!!
SOOOOOO YUMMY!!! Thanks!!
So glad you loved it!
This is just like the recipe my mom used to make out of an old, old cookbook she had. She would have been in her late 80s. I’ve made it for over 40 years now. It comes out perfect every time!
I love the old recipe books, I have a bunch coming from my mother-in-law this week and I can’t wait!
This pie looks so good I can’t wait to make it! The question I have is the placing of the pie crusts. Oh the 1st one do you take it out of the pie pan it came in and place it upwards and the 2nd one is downward?
There is only one pie crust in this recipe. You line the bottom of your pie plate and then pour your filling in. Enjoy!
I must try this recipe.. Do you use dark brown packed sugar or light brown granule sugar?
Either will work in this recipe.
Did you use salted butter or unsalted butter?
I use unsalted butter.
If I make it today can it sit out for tomorrow or should I refrigerate it?
I usually lightly cover it and leave it out.