The Best Chocolate Pecan Pie
This is the Best Chocolate Pecan Pie you will ever eat! The rich chocolate filling, buttery pecans, and flaky crust will make this pie the star of your dessert table. It’s won pie baking contests and has been perfected by our family over the years. It’s a showstopper during the holidays!
Pecan Pie is a classic dessert for the holidays, but if you’ve never had chocolate pecan pie, I urge you to drop whatever you’re doing and make it right now!
This recipe has been in my family for many years and is a staple at Thanksgiving and Christmas. My mom has tweaked it here and there from my Grandma’s original recipe, and this version is the BEST. I’ve won two pie baking contests with this recipe; it’s that good!
How to Make Chocolate Pecan Pie – Step by Step
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a double boiler (If you don’t own a double boiler, see notes below for how to make one from items already in your kitchen): fill the bottom saucepan with a few inches of water and bring to a boil. Nestle the topmost saucepan on top and add 3 Tablespoons of butter and the chocolate. Stir constantly until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat.
- In a separate small saucepan, combine the remaining 4 Tablespoons of butter, corn syrup, and sugar, and stir together over low heat until butter is melted and ingredients are blended. Add to the melted chocolate, then stir in the beaten eggs and vanilla.
- Pour the chopped pecans into the pie shell. Pour the filling over the top and spread evenly across the pecans.
- Lightly cover the edges of the pie crust with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes. The filling will be slightly jiggly and the top should spring back lightly when tapped in the center. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before cutting. Serve with whipped cream on top.
What can I use if I don’t have a double boiler?
If you don’t have a double boiler, no worries! All you need is a sauce pan and a metal mixing bowl. Make sure you use a mixing bowl that DOES NOT have a nonslip rubber bottom. That kind of bowl will not work. Fill the saucepan with a few inches of water and bring to a boil, place the bowl on top and carry on with melting the butter and chocolate together.
Tips for making Chocolate Pecan Pie
- If you don’t own a double boiler, check out my tip above on what to use instead.
- Using half light corn syrup and half dark corn syrup is one of my favorite tips. The dark corn syrup adds a beautiful color to the pie and gives a hint of rich caramel flavor. If you only have one kind, I would use the light corn syrup.
- My family prefers chopped pecans over halved pecans in this recipe. Halved pecans make for a pretty presentation, and that’s what we used for many years. However, we’ve found that chopped pecans create the optimal texture and “eating experience.” It just tastes better, haha!
- Place the nuts into the crust and then pour the chocolate filling over the top. Do this instead of mixing the pecans into the filling first.
- Make sure to cover the edges of your crust with foil before baking to prevent them from browning too quickly. Also, if you notice your pie itself is browning too quickly, you can tent some foil loosely over the top.
More amazing Holiday desserts
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Recipe: The Best Chocolate Pecan Pie
Ingredients
- 1 (9 inch) deep dish pie shell, (frozen, homemade, or refrigerated roll-out dough is fine)
- 1 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, (2 small squares)
- 7 Tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 1/2 cup dark corn syrup
- 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Prepare a double boiler (If you don't own a double boiler, see notes below for how to make one from items already in your kitchen): fill the bottom saucepan with a few inches of water and bring to a boil. Nestle the topmost saucepan on top and add 3 Tablespoons of butter and the chocolate. Stir constantly until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat.
- In a separate small saucepan, combine the remaining 4 Tablespoons of butter, corn syrup, and sugar, and stir together over low heat until butter is melted and ingredients are blended. Add to the melted chocolate, then stir in the beaten eggs and vanilla.
- Pour the chopped pecans into the pie shell. Spread them evenly in the shell. Pour the filling over the top and spread evenly across the pecans. Lightly cover the edges of the pie crust with foil and bake in the center of the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes. The pie will be very slightly jiggly, and the top should spring back lightly when tapped in the center. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before cutting. Serve with whipped cream on top.
Notes
- If you don't have a double boiler, no worries! All you need is sauce pan and a metal mixing bowl. Make sure you use a mixing bowl that DOES NOT have a nonslip rubber bottom. That kind of bowl will not work. Fill the saucepan with a few inches of water and bring to a boil, place the bowl on top and carry on with melting the butter and chocolate together.
If you like this recipe, then you might also like:
Caramel Pecan Slab Pie
Pumpkin Spice Coffee Cake
Happy Thanksgiving, this pie turned out great. I had to improvise and use semi sweet chocolate chips and I didn’t have the dark Karo. It tasted delicious and was super easy. Thank you for a user friendly recipe.
Just an FYI – I used Baker’s unsweetened chocolate and 4 squares = 1 oz. I used 2 squares like your directions state and didn’t think to confirm the ounces. It was okay but had to make a new pie to enjoy the chocolate flavor!
Hi Sarah, Baker’s makes theirs into rectangles so you’re correct that you would need 4 of those to make two total squares (or 1 oz.)
When do you add the pecans that are on top of pie?
Hi Aimee, those are the ones that you pour into the unbaked pie shell. They just move to the top of the pie as it bakes.
I misplaced my tried and true chocolate pecan pie recipe so when looking around I came across yours. I’ll be making it next week… looks wonderful! I also have to say I love your pie plate!!!! Very pretty… where did you find it? Thanks! Happy Thanksgiving.
Hi Dorothy! I hope you enjoy it! And I got that pie plate from Magnolia Market. I love it so much!
I tried cooking the pie at your recommended cooking time .The pie still needed more cooking time. Wasn’t done even after I let it cool completely. Checked my oven temp. spot on. Maybe an hour would do it .
I followed the notes and recipe as written. Easiest pecan pie ever and so delicious! Thank you.