Best Pecan Pie Recipe

This easy pecan pie recipe is a classic Southern dessert. Sweet and salty pecan filling in a flaky pie crust makes this a family favorite for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and all year!

Looking for more pies for your Thanksgiving dessert table? I think you’ll also love my sweet potato pie, apple pie, and coconut cream pie!

This homemade pecan pie recipe comes from family recipes passed down from my husband’s grandmother and my own grandmother. It is so quick and easy to make that I remember my grandmother letting me help her make it when I was a child. I think once you try it, you’ll see why it is a must-make dessert recipe in my family.

Easy Homemade Pecan Pie

This pecan pie recipe is such an easy pie recipe that I turn to it not only during the holidays. It is quick and easy, can be mixed together in a single mixing bowl (no mixer required!), and has such incredible flavor and texture!

What We Love About this Recipe

• Flavor and Texture. Nutty pecans in a rich, buttery, caramel-like pie filling sit inside a perfect, flaky homemade pie crust. Yum!
• Simple Ingredients. With only seven ingredients in this pie filling, which include salt and vanilla extract, it’s easy to enjoy the pie’s simple, buttery, nutty goodness.
• Easy recipe. This recipe comes together quickly and easily. Stir the pecan pie filling together in a mixing bowl and pour into the pie crust and bake.

What is Pecan Pie?

Pecan Pie is classic old-fashioned Southern baking at its best. It is made with simple ingredients, including pecans, butter, sugar, and eggs.

This easy recipe is a great pie recipe for beginning bakers as well as the most skilled cooks!

How to Make Southern Pecan Pie

Making this pecan pie is so easy. You simply mix together your sugar, eggs, syrup (corn or maple), melted butter, vanilla extract, salt, and pecans.

Then, pour your pecan pie filling into an unbaked pie crust. I prefer to use my homemade pie crust for the flavor and flaky texture, but in a pinch, you can also use your favorite store-bought pie crust.

Notes about the Ingredients for Pecan Pie

• Granulated Sugar – I use a bit less sugar than the original recipe has, but with the syrup, the pie filling is sweet enough.
• Eggs – I use large eggs that I have allowed to reach room temperature for about 30 minutes. The room-temperature eggs blend more smoothly into the other ingredients in the pie filling. The eggs help hold the filling together and give it structure.
• Light Corn Syrup or Maple Syrup – You can use either one. The corn syrup is more neutral in flavor. Maple syrup gives the pie a distinct maple flavor that I find delicious. Our grandmothers’ recipes used corn syrup, but I love the flavor that all-natural maple syrup gives to this pie.
• Melted Butter – Get butter to just-melted, not boiling, so it won’t affect the eggs in the mixture.
• Vanilla extract – I use my homemade vanilla extract, but you can also use another pure vanilla extract.
• Salt – The bit of salt enhances the sweetness and the nutty pecans.
• Pecans – Use pecan halves or pieces based on what is available and your preference.

Serve with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or plain. It is delicious any way that you serve it!

How to Tell if Pecan Pie is Done

Internal Temperature – The center of the pie should register 200º F when checked with an instant-read thermometer.

Slightly Springy in Center – If you touch the center of the pie, it should slightly spring back to the touch. The more you make it, the more you’ll have an eye for when it is just right to remove from the oven and not overbaked or underbaked.

Note: It will continue to become more firm once removed from the oven and cools.

How to Store and Freeze Pecan Pie

To Store. Prepare the pecan pie and allow it to cool. Store it covered in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.

To freeze. Prepare the pecan pie and allow it to cool. Wrap the pie plate entirely in foil and place it into a freezer-safe zip-top bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.

To serve. Thaw the pie in the refrigerator overnight, then slice and serve as normal. It’s delicious cold from the refrigerator, but you can reheat it if you wish.

Common Questions

Should You Toast the Pecans?

No, there is no need, and I recommend that you do not toast the pecans! That is what makes this recipe such an easy pie recipe! As the pie bakes, the pecans rise through the filling and form a crispy, glistening, nutty topping for the pie. I’ve found that the pecans taste overcooked if toasted before making the pie.

How Do I Keep Edges from Over Browning?

You may place a loosely tented piece of foil over the top for the last few minutes of baking to prevent the edges of the crust from becoming too brown.

Does Pecan Pie Need to Be Refrigerated?

Yes. According to the USDA, the pie needs to be refrigerated for food safety because of the eggs in the recipe. Do not leave it out for over 2 hours without refrigerating it.

You may also enjoy our Pecan Pie Bars or Pecan Chewies if you love pecans as my family does! Delicious!

More Favorite Southern Desserts

Southern Caramel Cake

Easy Peach Cobbler

Southern Banana Pudding

Pumpkin Pie

Here’s my family’s easy Pecan Pie Recipe. It indeed makes the BEST Pecan Pie! I sure hope you love it as much as we do!

Enjoy!
Robyn xo