Pecan Pie — If You Can Dump, Stir, and Pour, You Can Make This
Everyone Will Be Impressed. Only You and I Will Know.
This pecan pie is the easiest, most delicious one there ever was, and I mean that. Everything except the crust goes into one bowl, gets mixed with a hand mixer, and pours straight into the shell. There is no par-baking, no candy thermometer, no rolling anything out on a floured counter. It bakes up golden and gooey and looks like you spent your whole afternoon on it, and the only two people who will ever know the truth are you and me.
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Watch me make this pecan pie from start to finish — or scroll down for the full printable recipe card.
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Pecan Pie
Start CookingIngredients
- 1 9-inch pie crust deep dish, frozen, store-bought
- 1 ½ cups pecan pieces chopped small
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons salted butter softened
- ¾ cup white Karo syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- ½ teaspoon salt
Don’t Want to Plan? I Got You.Every Saturday I share a full week of dinners, sides, and a dessert — with the grocery list already done. Come grab this week’s Weekly Meal Plans!Equipment
Method Start Cooking
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Leave the frozen crust in its own pan and set it on a baking sheet — it makes the pie easy to move in and out of the oven.
- Chop the pecan pieces down a little smaller. For pie, I like them pretty small and bite-sized.
- Put the pecans, sugar, eggs, butter, corn syrup, vanilla, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Everything goes in at once — except the crust, of course.
- Mix well with a hand mixer until the filling is completely combined and the sugar has dissolved into the eggs.
- Pour the mixture into the pie shell and spread the pecans out evenly across the top.
- Bake at 350°F for 45 to 55 minutes, until the pie is golden brown and the center is set with just the slightest jiggle.
- Cool on the counter for at least 2 hours before slicing. The filling finishes setting as it cools, and cutting it warm will run.
Nutrition
Video
Notes
Four Weeks of Family-Friendly FoodWhen people gather, I cook. Four weeks of the dinners my crowd asks for — planned, tested, and shopped for. Come see what’s in the cookbook →Why This Pecan Pie Works
Pecan pie has a reputation it did not earn. People hear “pie” and think crust and lattice and chilling dough, and they put it on the list of things they will try someday. But a pecan pie filling is just sugar, eggs, butter, syrup, vanilla, and salt — six things that do not need any technique at all, only a bowl and a beater. Dump, stir, pour. That is the whole method, and it has never once failed me.
And yes, I use a store-bought crust. A frozen deep dish, the Walmart brand, straight from the freezer with no thawing and no blind baking. They are just as tasty and they save this busy mom a lot of time. It is still homemade pie and it is still absolutely delicious, and I have never had one person at my table ask about the crust. What they ask about is whether there is any left.
This is one of my family’s favorite Sunday desserts. Sunday lunch is the one day of the week when I make something sweet on purpose, and pecan pie sits right at the top of the list along with my brownie trifle. But the real reason to keep this recipe close is the holidays. When Thanksgiving comes and the oven is full and you have twelve other things going, you want a dessert you can put together in ten minutes with a bag of chopped pecans and a bowl.
A Few Things That Make Pecan Pie Even Easier
- Chop the pecans smaller than you think you need to. Even bags labeled “pieces” come with some big ones in there. I run my chef's knife through them a few times until they are bite-sized. Big pecan halves look pretty on top of a magazine pie, but small pieces mean every forkful gets some, and they slice cleanly instead of dragging.
- Set the crust on a baking sheet before you fill it. A full deep dish pie in a flimsy foil pan is a nerve-wracking thing to carry across the kitchen. Put the pan on a sheet first, fill it where it sits, and slide the whole thing in. It also catches anything that bubbles over.
- Everything goes in at once — except the crust, of course. There is no creaming step and no order to follow. Pecans, sugar, eggs, butter, syrup, vanilla, and salt all go into one mixing bowl together and you beat it until the sugar has dissolved into the eggs and it looks glossy. That is it.
- Let the butter actually soften. Two tablespoons of cold butter will stay in little chunks no matter how long you run the mixer, and you will find them in the baked pie. Set it on the counter while you chop the pecans and it will be ready by the time you need it.
- Tent the edges if the crust browns first. Every oven is different, and a store-bought crust rim can get dark before the center is set. If that starts happening around the 35-minute mark, lay a strip of foil around the rim for the rest of the bake. The filling keeps cooking and the crust stops.
- Do not slice it warm. I know. The filling finishes setting as it cools, and a pie cut at thirty minutes will run all over the plate. Give it two hours on the counter and it slices in neat wedges.
Pecan Pie FAQ — The Questions I Get Every Time
What temperature and how long do I bake pecan pie?
Bake at 350°F for 45 to 55 minutes. The range is real — deep dish pans and ovens vary, so start checking at 45 minutes. The pie is done when the top is golden brown and puffed and the center has just the slightest jiggle when you nudge the pan. It will still look a little soft in the very middle, and that is correct.
How do I know when pecan pie is set?
Watch the center, not the edges. The outer two inches will firm up long before the middle does. Nudge the pan and look for a small wobble in a circle about the size of a silver dollar — that is set. If the whole surface ripples like water, give it another five minutes. If nothing moves at all, it has gone a touch past and will be firmer than custardy, which is still delicious but a different pie.
Do I have to use a homemade crust for pecan pie?
You do not, and I do not. I use a frozen deep dish crust from the store and it goes in straight from the freezer — no thawing, no blind baking, no pie weights. If you love making crust from scratch, by all means, and a homemade crust in a deep dish plate works exactly the same way. But a store-bought crust is not a lesser pie. It is a pie that actually gets made.
Can I make pecan pie ahead of time?
Yes, and for the holidays I almost always do. Bake it the day before, let it cool completely on the counter, then cover it loosely and refrigerate. Pull it out an hour or two before you serve so it comes back to room temperature. This is the dessert I get out of the way on Wednesday so Thursday’s oven belongs to the turkey.
Does pecan pie need to be refrigerated?
It does, once it has cooled. This is an egg custard, not a fruit filling, so it does not belong on the counter for days. The USDA’s egg safety guidance puts pumpkin and pecan pies at 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator. Let it cool all the way through first, then cover and chill. A few hours out on the table while people go back for seconds is fine.
Can I freeze pecan pie?
You can, and it freezes better than most pies. Bake and cool it completely, wrap the whole pie in plastic wrap and then foil, and freeze up to two months. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and warm it in a 275°F oven for about fifteen minutes if you want it to taste fresh out of the oven. Individual slices freeze well too if you wrap them separately.
What can I use instead of corn syrup?
I use light Karo syrup because that is what this recipe was built on and it gives you that clear, glossy filling. If you would rather not, an equal amount of pure maple syrup or honey will work — the pie will be darker, a little softer set, and it will taste like maple or honey, which some people love. Do not swap in dark corn syrup unless you want a much more molasses-forward pie.
How do I make pecan pie for a crowd?
Make two. Truly — that is the answer. The filling doubles perfectly in one bowl and two deep dish pies fit on a single baking sheet side by side, so it is the same ten minutes of work and the same oven. One 9-inch deep dish pie cuts into 8 generous slices, so for a table of sixteen or a potluck, two pies is the number. They bake in the same 45 to 55 minutes.
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Ingredients
Equipment
More Pies and Holiday Desserts You’ll Love
- Mama’s Apple Pie — the other pie that shows up on my holiday table, and the one my mama taught me.
- Fudgy Pie — brownie meets pie, and it is every bit as easy as this one.
- No-Bake Strawberry Pie — for the months when you want pie but not a hot oven.
- Southern Butter Pecan Pound Cake — if you bought the big bag of pecans, here is where the rest of it goes.
- Brownie Trifle — the other Sunday dessert my crowd asks for by name.
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Pecan Pie — About Stephanie’s Recipes
Stephanie Longstreth is the home cook, mom, and storyteller behind StephanieCooksForACrowd.com. She cooks for a family of seven in Florida — five kids, two cats, and one husband who appreciates a good meal. Four of her children came home through adoption, and family stories are woven into everything she makes and shares. Find her crowd-friendly recipes, weekly meal plans, and real family life on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest @stephaniecooksforacrowd.