The Best Pecan Pie Recipe

The Best Pecan Pie Recipe | Sharing tips and tricks to make the best homemade pecan pie recipe with only six classic ingredients.  Recipes for homemade pie crust and homemade whipped cream included!

This homemade Pecan Pie Recipe post is long overdue.  I don't want to brag (too much) but I'm kind of famous for my pecan pie.  When I was 12 or 13, I entered in the county livestock show as a part of my 4H team and won Grand Champion for my pecan pie.  I sold that pie for several hundred dollars at the auction. 

A decade or so later I entered a cupcake contest in Dallas with a pecan pie cupcake and won that too.  Pecan Pie is my dad, my father-in-law, and my husband's favorite... our love for it runs deep.  What I'm saying is: you can trust me when it comes to making the best pecan pie recipe.  

And today, I'm finally going to give you that famous, top secret, Grand Champion recipe.

You can find it on the back of the Karo bottle.

Yep.  There's no secrets here.  Only six classic ingredients (please, no chocolate, ever) and a simple recipe.  Isn't it amazing the way we can all use the same exact recipe and end up with pies that taste and look completely different?

The Best Pecan Pie Recipe

That only highlights my point that there is definitely some technique when it comes to taking a classic recipe and making it the best ever.  I will share all of my tips and tricks in this post to help make sure your classic pecan pie is worthy of a trophy.  

Let's start with the pie crust.

Crust for Pecan Pie

I use this super simple all butter pie crust for pecan pie.  It's practically fool-proof and tastes delicious.  (Bonus: no rolling pin necessary.)  I love an all butter crust, but some prefer a shortening crust, so use whichever you prefer.  This is the Homemade Pie Crust Recipe that I use.  I highly recommend taking the extra step to make your own crust. 

Remember, making something that is "the best ever" is all about the little details, and homemade pie crust is always worth the effort.  

Ingredients for Pecan Pie

• Eggs
• Sugar
• Karo Syrup
• Butter
• Vanilla
• Pecans

How to Make Pecan Pie

The recipe on the back of the Karo bottle says to combine the first five ingredients all together.  I like to add mine in a specific order, mixing well after each addition.  Start with the eggs- you want to whisk those first before adding the other ingredients.  Next, add your sugar.  Cream the eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy.  After that, add in the Karo syrup (always light, never dark).  Once that is well combined, add your butter and vanilla.  

Note: all of this should be done by hand.  You do not need to get out your stand mixer for this recipe.  A whisk or fork is all you need.

You have two choices with the butter- add softened butter or add cooled, melted butter.  Either way will work fine, but it is imperative that if you melt the butter it must not be hot, otherwise you risk scrambling the eggs.  If you use softened butter, it won't fully incorporate and you may see chunks of butter in the mixture.  That's fine.  

Lastly, add in your pecans.  Halves- always halves.  Never pieces.  Add the pecans directly into the filling mixture and use a fork to coat them entirely.  You want them to caramelize while they bake.

I take the extra step to turn all of my pecan pieces right side up.  Again, little things.  Compare the picture on the left where they are just poured in to the image on the right when they've been flipped over.  It takes thirty seconds (use a fork) but yields a much prettier pie.

Tips for Baking Pecan Pie

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  You don't want to put your pie into a cold oven.   If you use my homemade pie crust recipe, you do not need to bake the pie crust beforehand.  (Purchase an inexpensive oven thermometer to know if your over runs hot or is not calibrated properly.)
• If you find the crust is browning too quickly, you can create a shield out of foil.  Cut a hole in the center and only loosely cover the crust.  
• Do not take the pie out too soon.  You want the filling to get gorgeously brown and caramelized.  If you under-bake, the color will remain pale and the flavors will not fully develop.  At 40 minutes remaining the pie will look eggy.  At 30 minutes remaining it will be starting to brown and thicken.  At 20 minutes remaining it will look like hot caramel.  And with only 5-10 minutes left it may even look like burnt caramel.  

Does Pecan Pie Need to be Refrigerated?

You will get mixed answers here.  Most will argue that anything with eggs or dairy should be refrigerated, some might argue that the heat or sugar is enough to stabilize the raw ingredients.  To be safe, I would refrigerate pecan pie to prevent bacteria growth.  Place it in the refrigerator when it is cool enough to handle (within 2 hours) and don't leave it out when serving for more than 2 hours.  

How to Freeze Pecan Pie

I would not recommend freezing a pecan pie prior to baking - the egg mixture would not freeze well.  However, you can freeze pecan pie after it has baked and cooled. 

To freeze: Wrap the baked, cooled pies tightly in a few layers of plastic wrap and then place it in a large resealable bag or wrap it in aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn.  Place the pie on a flat surface in the freezer for up to one month. 

To thaw: Let the pie thaw in the fridge for at least 12 hours or overnight. Thawing it at room temperature can cause the filling to weep and make for soggy crust.

There you have it - tips for making the Best Pecan Pie Recipe with a homemade pie crust.  We like to top ours with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream or a generous dollop of homemade whipped cream.

Find More Recipes

This recipe is part of my Traditional Thanksgiving Menu series. Check it out!