Southern Pecan Pie Recipe

This Southern Pecan Pie is the best classic pie that you can prepare in no time. Nutty, sweet and oh so buttery, this pie was made to be on your holiday table especially when served a la mode with vanilla ice cream!  Add the filling to my perfect pie crust, and get ready for the perfect pie!!  If you love this pie, definitely try this Pecan Pie Upside Down Cake, Sheet Pan Pie with 3 flavors in 1, Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie, Butter Pecan Cheesecake, Pie Trifle, Sweet Potato Pecan Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Buttermilk Pie, Chess Pie , Caramel Pie , Pecan Pie Bars, and Sweet Potato Pie recipes too!

Disclosure: I partnered with Land O’Lakes for this post, but all opinions expressed here are my own. I am grateful for authentic partnerships like this.

When I was a little girl, I would watch my grandmother make pies with such ease. She’d roll out her dough on a dining room table coated with flour and stir spiced fillings in what seemed like the biggest pots ever.

Big Mama moved around the kitchen like a butterfly, floating from one space to the other but never landing for too long. She worked efficiently, made very little mess (unless I was helping) and her fingers never doubted what they had to do next.

On brisk Fall days or at Holiday dinners, I crave any one of her pies. But, there is one that sits above the rest for me: Big Mama’s Pecan Pie. Her recipe for this nut-filled pie is a classic, no-frills kinda pie, and it’s the ONLY ONE YOU’LL EVER NEED. Bold Statement but the complete truth!

What is Pecan Pie?

This pie is an American creation because the nut itself is native to North America. For a long time, pecans grew along areas watered by the Mississippi River, spreading a bit to the east into Alabama.

Following the Civil War, commercial developers brought in a few varieties of pecans to grow in Georgia. Grafted pecan trees were also brought to Louisiana in the mid to late 1800s. Some believe the French invented the pecan pie after settling in New Orleans.

The earliest printed pecan recipes began popping up in Texas cookbooks in the 1870s and 1880s so it indeed has Southern roots.

By the beginning of the 20th century, recipes for it had started appearing outside of Texas, but the pie didn’t become popular until the mid-1920s. Since then, pecan pie has truly taken on a life of its own.

It’s a staple in almost every home in America come holiday season. I mean, who can blame us? It’s just that good.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• It’s the ideal mix of gooey, extra buttery and caramelized taste!
• Plenty of filling to fill up a buttery, flaky and not too crumbly crust.
• It’s flavorful but not sickly sweet allowing the pecans to really shine because that flavor is something to go “nuts” for. Too corny?

Ingredients

Let’s take a look at the key ingredients you need to gather to make the filling for southern pecan pie. These are easy to find and you may actually have many of them on-hand.

• Butter: I’ve got a secret ya’ll. It’s the one ingredient I rely on every single time I bust out my pie dish: Land O Lakes® Butter with Canola Oil.Made with only sweet cream, canola oil and salt, Land O Lakes® Butter with Canola Oil gives you the fresh butter taste you love without anything unnecessary.
• Sugar: I use two different sugars, granulated (white) sugar and brown sugar here because it helps round out the flavor. I didn’t want to go with all brown sugar since it can sometimes take over with its undertones of molasses.
• Corn Syrup: Corn syrup is a crucial ingredient in pecan pie recipes. You will find it in almost every traditional recipe.
• Eggs: The stabilizers in the recipe and room temperature eggs are best.
• Vanilla: Adds additional mellow, sweet flavors to the pie filling.
• Flour: A little bit of all-purpose flour helps to set the pie even more. Don’t worry! You will mix this ingredient in thoroughly and won’t taste it at all after the filling sets up.
• Pecans: I use pecan halves but if you want them smaller, you can use chopped or a mix of both for different textures. This is where you can make a preference call.

How to Make Southern Pecan Pie

The best part about making the filling for this recipe is it is a quick one-bowl whisk and stir method. A lot of the ingredients are in liquid form and allow this process to happen easily. Here’s an overview of making this recipe! Check the recipe card for more details.

1. Whisk together both of the sugars in a medium sized bowl until combined.
2. Add the corn syrup, melted Land O Lakes® Butter with Canola Oil, beaten eggs and vanilla and mix with the whisk until the mixture is smooth. 

3. Add the flour and pinch of salt and quickly whisk until mixture is smooth but somewhat thickened.
4. Add the pecan halves and use a spatula to combine.

5. Pour the pecan filling into the pie shell. 

TOP TIP: If using my pie crust recipe, roll one of the disks out into the pie plate then use a fork to poke holes along the sides and bottom of the pie crust. Line the pie crust with parchment paper. Fill with pie weights, making sure the weights are evenly distributed around the pie dish.

Pre-bake the crust for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the parchment paper/pie weights then add the filling.  If you would like, you can brush some egg wash (one egg whisked with one teaspoon of water) on the outside of the crust.

6. Bake the pie in the preheated oven for fifteen minutes and then lower the temperature to 350˚F and bake for 30-40 minutes or until the center of the pie jiggles only slightly. If it shakes too much, leave it in the oven to bake longer. You want the pie to be mostly stable.
7. If you find that the crust is browning too quickly, add a pie shield or some foil on the outside halfway through the bake.

8. Remove the pie from the oven and allow it to cool to room temperature, then serve.

If there was one thing I loved more than watching my Big Mama make her pies, it was seeing her share them. For her, the best part of baking was being able to share what she’d made with people she loved. Or sometimes just with strangers.

So today, I share this recipe with you all in the hopes that you’ll do the same this holiday season. Eat a slice, share a slice.

Expert Tips

• Don’t forget that the crust is essential as well! Make sure that you begin with a homemade crust if you have the time. Here is my favorite recipe for pie crust. ALL BUTTER!
• Make sure your eggs are at room temperature! It will help to set your pie. Necessary!
• Once you add your flour and pecans, you will want to be a bit more careful with your stirring to combine.
• Make sure you truly stir your flour into the mixture, making sure no pieces are left not combined.
• Serve it up with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream!
• Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to one week or in the freezer for up to three months.
• Spray inside of measuring cup with nonstick spray when measuring corn syrup so it slides out easier.

FAQs

More Southern Pie Recipes

• Pumpkin Pie
• Southern Egg Pie
• Chocolate Chess Pie
• Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie
• Caramel Pie

*Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating and leave comments below!* Post a photo of how your version of the recipe came out on Instagram (using #grandbabycakes)!!

This post was originally published in October 2019. It has been updated with new content and more images.