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Not only is this Pecan Pie recipe one of the easiest pies to make, it's absolutely fantastic with its rich caramel pecan filling paired with a flakey, buttery crust. It's one of our family's all-time favorites!
My grandmother was an excellent pie maker and pecan pie will always remind me of her. Don't miss my other traditional pie recipes including Pumpkin Pie, Apple Pie, and Lemon meringue pie.
I was tasked to make Pecan Pie each year for Thanksgiving from a very young age, because it was so easy to make that my mom could trust I wouldn't mess it up! I never truly appreciated its magic until I was an adult, and my “taste buds matured”, as my mom would say! I'm telling you, this pecan pie recipe is the absolute BEST!
Pecan pie is an old-fashioned pie made with pecans folded into a batter made of butter, sugar and eggs, that bakes into a delicious caramel, nutty pie filling. Be sure to check out my Pecan Pie Bars recipe too! If you want a fun twist on this classic, try my Chocolate Pecan Pie recipe!
What we LOVE about this Pecan Pie Recipe:
- EASY: Of all my pie recipes , this one is the fastest, easiest, and most basic recipe there is.
- Unbaked Pie Crust: Pecan pie is made with an unbaked pie crust, which is is just another reason it's so easy to make. Please do yourself a favor and pair it with my easy homemade pie crust, that tastes SO much better than store-bought!
- Basic Ingredients: You only need a few simple pantry ingredients: sugar, brown sugar, salt, corn syrup, vanilla, butter, eggs, pecans.
How to Make Pecan Pie:
Cream sugars, salt, corn syrup, and butter. Add eggs and beat well, then stir in the vanilla.
Add Pecans: Stir in the pecans (leave out a small handful to place on top later) until incorporated.
Pour the mixture into an unbaked 9 inch pie shell. Add a few of the reserved pecans on top of the pie in any empty spots, to make it look pretty. Use a small spoon to cover them with batter.
Bake the pie at 425 for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue to cook for 40 minutes. Check on it half way through cooking and tent a piece of aluminum foil over the crust if it's getting too browned–I spray the foil with non-stick cooking spray and try and tent it so it doesn't touch the pie filling, so that the filling doesn't stick to the foil.
How do I know when it's finished baking?
You will know your pecan pie is done cooking when you can gently shake the pie dish and see that the center of the pie is not overly jiggly and the outer edges are set. If the pie jiggles a lot when you gently shake the pan, continue cooking it until the center is a little more set. The cook time will vary and may take a bit longer than 60 minutes.
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:
To Make Ahead: Homemade Pecan Pie can be made 1-3 days in advance. Bake the pie, allow it to completely cool, then cover and store it in the refrigerator. I like to remove it from the fridge one hour before serving. You can also make the pecan pie filling (don't add the nuts to the batter) and pie crust ahead of time and store them separately, then assemble the pie and bake on the day you want to serve it.
To Freeze: Allow baked Pecan Pie to cool completely, then cover it with plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw completely in the fridge before serving.
More Pie Recipes:
- Chocolate Pecan Pie
- Chess Pie
- Cherry Pie
- Lemon Sour Cream Pie
- Pumpkin Pie with Caramel Pecan Topping
- Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake Pie
- Key Lime Pie
- Chocolate Cream Pie
- Oreo Cheesecake Pie
- Lemon Chiffon Pie
- Coconut Cream Pie
- Triple Berry Pie
Pecan Pie
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Homemade pie crust, , unbaked (my recipe makes 2 crusts, so you can freeze the other crust)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 Tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup salted butter, , softened or melted
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups pecan halves, (can chop the pecans or leave whole)
Instructions
- Prepare my perfect pie crust recipe and place pie dough in a deep dish pie plate. Refrigerate while you prepare the pecan pie filling.
- In a large bowl cream together sugar, brown sugar, salt, corn syrup, and softened (or melted) butter. Mix in the eggs and vanilla.
- Reserve a few pecans and stir the rest into the batter. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Add a few of the reserved pecans on top of the pie in any empty spots, to make it look pretty. Use a small spoon to cover them with batter.
- Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, then lower the oven temp to 350 degrees F and continue baking for about 50 minutes. Check the pie half way through cooking and tent a large piece of greased aluminum foil over the top of the pie. (I tent it high so it doesn't touch the pie filling). You will know your pecan pie is done when you can shake it gently and it is not overly jiggly. If it jiggles a lot when shaking, continue cooking until the center is more set, 5-10 more minutes, or longer if needed. Err on the side of cooking it longer rather than shorter to ensure that the middle has set.
- Allow pie to cool completely for several hours before cutting and serving. Or refrigerate for 1-3 days, until ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I originally shared this recipe November 2018. Updated November 2022.
This recipe is AMAZING! This was my first time making a pie of any sort, and it came out amazingly. I did bump up the temp to 375 for 15-20 more minutes, and it was perfect! I’m going to be making this each holiday, and everyone loved it!
I have tried several pecan pie recipies and not one turned out right.
I decided to try this one and followed the directions to a “T”. It turned phenomenal!! My family raved about it and are begging me to make another one. lol
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe. This is definitely a keeper for my family.
I made this pecan pie recipe for Thanksgiving today and it was a hit! My brother said it was the best he has ever had. Love this recipe!
This was absolutely perfect, with a lovely caramel flavor and a nice consistency. I made this recipe exactly as written, except reducing the white sugar to 3/4 and roughly chopping some of the pecans. I can understand how people can have a bad experience with this terrific and easy recipe. Maybe they don’t know what Pecan Pie should be, or maybe some people just have trouble following instructions. This was great!!!
Well… first time I’ve ever made pecan pie. I guess 28 years in the bar restaurant industry finally paid off. I’ve always liked pecan pie right up until the bottom 2/3’s at which point it becomes corn syrup pie. That part i actually think is bad. Cha cha cha cha changes. I used a deep dish 9″, slightly more than doubled the pecans at 3 1/2 cups, oven roasted them, soaked them in brandy for 2 days, subbed dark brown sugar, subbed dark corn syrup, baked at 425 for 10, 375 for 10, tented with foil sprayed with baking fat, checked it after another 40 minutes, then gave it 10 more… so it’s basically same same. Topped with real heavy whipping cream whipped to order with Madagascar vanilla extract, confectioners sugar, and love… At least, that’s what she said. Have fun.
First off, I’m absolutely awful at making pecan pie and apple pie because they both normally turn into a swimming pool, no matter what I do. I had an extra pie shell for thanksgiving, so I decided to try again this year. I found this recipe, read the reviews, then said it’s probably going to be another swimming pool, but I’ll try it. Much to my surprise, this pie turned out delicious! Not only was the taste well balanced, but the texture was perfect! The only thing I had to do differently was to tent it with foil when I turned down the heat because the top started browning really quickly. Yum! I’ve bookmarked this recipe and it’ll now be my go-to. Lastly, I’m at around 4800 feet elevation in a dry climate. Thanks for the recipe.
Hello, if I want to make this less sweet, should I scale back on sugar or corn syrup, or both?
Thank you for the amazing recipe!
We haven’t tested it with less sugar, but cutting down on sugar or corn syrup may alter the texture. You could try cutting down the granulated sugar to 3/4 or 1/2 cup, but the corn syrup helps the structure more. I hope it works out for you!
This pie was a total hit with my family at Thanksgiving yesterday. I did make a few adjustments. First, I used an all butter crust recipe and I wrapped the top edge of the crust with a strip of foil while baking until the last 10 minutes. I found the crust perfectly baked with just the right amount of browning. Second, I replaced half of the white sugar with brown sugar. Last, I used melted butter instead of softened butter. I’m sure the recipe is perfect as written but I prefer the richness of brown sugar. Next time, I’ll use dark corn syrup. Great recipe!
I have not yet made this recipe – confused how it gets 5 stars from 4K votes yet so many (majority?) negative comments…
Hi Mary, have you scrolled through all the comments? The positive far outweigh the negative. Hope you get to try it.
My 12yr old tried this recipe and it turned out too sweet. I think only 1 cup sugar was enough. The 3 tbsp was extra and made it too sweet. I added orange zest to it for a twist.
Outrageously good with great texture. More caramelly than gooey and gelatinous, with a praline-like crunchy band around the edge. I used about 1/3 more pecans than the recipe called for because of using a deep pie crust and pre-toasted the pecans that I chopped and added to the filling. Dethrones what was otherwise the best pecan pie I’d ever had and is going to be a staple recipe in my repertoire.
I tried this recipe today and it was not good. It didnt taste sweet. I ended up throwing it out.
I made this recipe twice this week leading up to the holiday. Both times it worked out perfectly and got a ton of compliments on them. I even added bourbon to the filling and had no issues with it setting up.