Chef John's Pecan Pie
This is my idea of the perfect pecan pie. It has the perfect ratio of crunchy nuts to the sweet, sticky goodness underneath. And thanks to the blind-baking, the crust is wonderfully crisp.
This is my idea of the perfect pecan pie. It has the perfect ratio of crunchy nuts to the sweet, sticky goodness underneath. And thanks to the blind-baking, the crust is wonderfully crisp.
First off... I absolutely love Chef John, and have never gone wrong with his video recipes! So I'm a little biased.. This was the first time I had ever made a pecan pie. I followed his recipe almost exactly, and was blown away! Amazing!! My only 'issue' was something that I brought on to myself- I didn't have the pie weights that Chef John used in the video, nor did I substitute with dried beans or rice. Instead, I followed the instructions on the ready-made crust packaging, which told me to use a fork to puncture the crust prior to baking. Not good! It totally messed with the integrity of the crust, and did nothing to prevent the crust from bubbling up. Next time, I will use pie weights, or beans, or rice, or whatever! The pie didn't slice quite as nicely as Chef John's, but that could be because I didn't let it cool completely. BUT- warm, gooey Pecan Pie from the oven totally trumps proper plating.
Read MoreI've made many pecan pies before but this recipe sounded really good. The taste was excellent, but the filling was runny! The crust stuck to the bottom and sides of the glass baking pan. I have been baking for 70 years, so I know I followed the recipe to the letter? Why did the filling not congeal?
Read MoreFirst off... I absolutely love Chef John, and have never gone wrong with his video recipes! So I'm a little biased.. This was the first time I had ever made a pecan pie. I followed his recipe almost exactly, and was blown away! Amazing!! My only 'issue' was something that I brought on to myself- I didn't have the pie weights that Chef John used in the video, nor did I substitute with dried beans or rice. Instead, I followed the instructions on the ready-made crust packaging, which told me to use a fork to puncture the crust prior to baking. Not good! It totally messed with the integrity of the crust, and did nothing to prevent the crust from bubbling up. Next time, I will use pie weights, or beans, or rice, or whatever! The pie didn't slice quite as nicely as Chef John's, but that could be because I didn't let it cool completely. BUT- warm, gooey Pecan Pie from the oven totally trumps proper plating.
I've made many pecan pies before but this recipe sounded really good. The taste was excellent, but the filling was runny! The crust stuck to the bottom and sides of the glass baking pan. I have been baking for 70 years, so I know I followed the recipe to the letter? Why did the filling not congeal?
This pie is good, but I found it disappointing. For years, I've been making a super simple pecan pie with a few ingredients. This was a lot more complicated - longer ingredient list, toasting the nuts, cooking the filling - and it didn't taste as good as my simple standby. You'll get a good pecan pie if you make this, but you can get the same flavors with less work.
Absolutely love Chef John's recipes. Made the pecan pie and it came out great. I didn't have bourbon so I substituted some red wine and it was just fine. I didn't blind bake the crusts as instructed but did not have any problems. I even made one with a layer of semi sweet chocolate chips on the bottom of the pie and it was heavenly.
This is definitely a 5 star recipe and should be a package deal with Chef John's pumpkin pie recipe if you're in charge of pies at Thanksgiving. I made both of these for a holiday dinner with 8 adults, 2 kids, and the pies were GONE!
Absolutely the best pecan pie we've ever eaten, including those from bakeries and restaurants! Just the right amount of sweetness and texture. I didn't use the bourbon, and I also didn't blind bake the piecrust first. Still came out divine! For those having problems, make sure there are no cracks or holes in your crust and make sure the filling doesn't cook over and get between your crust and the pie pan. Chef John hits a home run again!
Love this recipe. Roasting the pecans makes all the difference. My guests loved the taste. I followed the recipe exactly and would not suggest any changes.
It's pretty good recipe but in my opinion the sugar must be cut in about 30% easily. It just came up too sweet to my taste.
This is the absolute best pecan pie recipe ever. Over the years, I've adapted recipes to just make a more flavorful, pie with the perfect balance of "gooeyness", amount of pecans, enough top shelf bourbon without being too boozy and the all important flaky crust. I had so many collected recipes with scribbled notes and changes all over them, yet none of them had hit the mark until I stumbled upon Chef John's. One pie was all it took. I loved it, and my Thanksgiving guests were going back for more, which is unusual for pecan pie, because most of the time it is too sweet. This is the perfectly balanced recipe. Don't panic if you can't get enough pecan halves for the entire pie. I have used pieces for the body of the pie, and placed the photogenic, perfect halves on the top where they stay for their close-up. Just hold back about 1/2 cup of the filling to mix with the halves & pour over the main filling with the pieces. I do serve with barely whipped cream, I like it to have more of a glaze consistency, and only add 1 TBSP of sugar during whipping, the pie is sweet enough. Thank you, Chef John.
I made this pie for Christmas and it was a hit! I left out the burban because I do not care for the flavor and the pie was delicious. I will be making it again.
This is a hit in our house! We have made this pie 7 times for different holiday parties. If you like pumpkin pie try chef johns pumpkin pie recipe, you'll love it as well!
I don't know what I did wrong, I followed the recipe but when cooled off it was very very chewy.
this and all your recipe's are delicious Chef John. Tank you for them.
Best pecan pie I've ever had. My loves it too, and she doesn't like anything outside ketchup and chicken tenders
First time making a pecan pie. The video helped to understand how to put things in, recipe was simple to follow. I used a 8" pie plate and 2 cups of pecans just didn't seem like enough. I wasn't sure what a typical pecan looks like when done... I added a handful of "un-toasted". In the end, it turned out super good and will make again for sure.
As a Southern boy, I know my pecan pie! This recipe is both simple to make, and, easily, the best I've ever eaten! Decadent in its richness, and balanced in perfect proportions!
Didn't change a thing, except added more than called for pecans just like chef John did in the video, and it was the perfect pecan pie.
This was even better after two days, so make ahead and save time. I just put the pecans in the filling and poured all in the pie and it turned out fine. Good with whipped topping. I did not prebake the crust as I just wanted to try the recipe and that worked.
I detest runny pecan pies. This recipe is not runny, probably due to the candy process of boiling sugars and bourbon together. takes a bit longer than most recipes, but so worth it. I made this at thanksgiving, thee were others pecan pie offerings at the party, this one won out. Do not rush the cooling period on the sugar mix. Now if I could just master the crust...
Excellent recipe. I appreciated the tips on how to bake the pie shell and served this at a family dinner to rave reviews.
Other then cutting down on the sugars I made this as recipe stated and it was so awesome! My guest raved about it and wanted the recipe which I gladly shared. It had a crunchy candy-like texture. Next time I plan to play with it a little and add some chocolate chips! Thanks Chef John....this goes in my "Keeper" file!!!
Made two on New Years Eve and everyone pronounced them the best Pecan Pies they had ever had! Now what do I do with the bottle of Bourbon minus 2 Tablespoons? LOL
Made this pie for a small gathering; I was told by the guests that it was the best they ever had. I will definitely make it again.
Loved it! We had a taste test and this recipe won. Followed the recipe without changes. Will make again.
I’ve never made a pie before and so I decided to finally give it a shot with this recipe. I nailed it. It was incredible. The problem is that it’s so good we ate all of it in two days and now I’m making another one. This could be a problem! Ha ha. Great recipe Chef John!
It was my first time making pecan pie, and I made it according to directions, with one tiny change... I threw a handful of chocolate chips on the crust when it came out of the pre-bake. This pie was part of a Thanksgiving Morning Pie Buffet, and of nine different pies , this was by far the favorite. It turned out beautiful!
This sounded good, although a lot more involved than most pecan pie recipes. I was intrigued by the pastry treatment, and therein lies the problem... I didn't have pie weights, and my pastry is too tender to put paper & pressure on, so I just prebaked it for a bit... The pie looked gorgeous coming out of the oven, until I lifted it and could see that the bottom crust - well, actually I couldn't see because almost no crust showed. The syrup soaked through and down the sides, and I ended up making another pecan pie (just the one from the Karo bottle!) to take to my dinner with friends because this one couldn't be removed from the pan with a chisel... From other reviews, it seems I'm not the only one who had this same issue, so... I might try this again (the flavor was good) but without the crust treatment...
taste great!!! only thing no need to go threw all those unnecessary steps just mix everything poor it in a pie shell and cook. i cooked mine at 350 and it was done in about 30 35 min so anything over 30 min keep a check on it.
I love pecan pie overly sweet and this recipe was just on the verge of needing more sugar, so I know it’s perfect for everyone else. I followed the recommendations to add 1/4 cup of butter (melted) and combine it with 1 tablespoon of flour. I missed the step to cook it over the stove, but it turned out fine. FYI-I didn’t prebake my pie crust. I saw a reviewer poked holes in the pie crust, that should only be done for pies that don’t require baking. Great pie!
I over baked b/c the middle didn’t seem set and so baked a little too long (it was very chewy), but absolutely delishes . I did leave out 1/4 cup of sugar and this will be my go to pecan pie recipe. Thank you for sharing. Looked perfect.
Made it just how Chef John did! It will be wonderful treat for the whole family this thanksgiving. Plus it was super easy to make
I only gave this four stars because there is no reason to toast the nuts and prebake the shell—a waste of time. (My first one cracked when prebaking, so I scrapped that step second time around). I’m a a professional private chef (originally from the west coast), but not a baker, so I did a lot of research before baking my first pecan pie. It needs to be perfect for my first southern Thanksgiving with my boyfriend’s family in Alabama. I wanted to bake a test pie, since I don’t like pecan pie much—it’s usually WAY too sweet for me. I only had dark brown sugar and dark corn syrup, so I substituted those for the light versions specified in the recipe. I also didn’t have white flour because I normally bake gluten free (I’m sensitive to wheat), so I substituted two tablespoons of cornstarch for the flour. Another recipe I looked at called for adding bourbon and I wanted to add a bit of liquor so I added two tablespoons Canadian whiskey to the filling. I toasted the nuts and boiled l the filling exactly as specified in the recipe. The final result was that the filling mixture, after being cooled, tasted like the best caramel sauce I’ve ever had! The first prebaked shell I made cracked, so I decided to just use an unbaked pie.
I love Chef John’s videos but never made any of his recipes. So I decided to make this pecan pie for Christmas Eve. I followed the recipe to the letter…and it was a total bust! Much too chewy and waaaaaay, way too sweet. No one touched it. So it went directly in the garbage. Luckily I had a lemon merengue ready too. If you’re looking for a pecan pie recipe, look past this one.
Made this for Thanksgiving and everyone raved; it was so good! Mom made her own traditional crust (no pie weights, but I did precook it before putting it the filling), so I can't vouch for chef John's. In the filling, I used a tad less white sugar and a tad more bourbon. The toasted pecans gave a great flavor, and it was all very delicious.
Made for Easter family dinner exactly like the recipe (except store-bought crust - 'cause I'm lazy and Jim Beam vanilla whiskey). Wonderful results! Chef John never disappoints. When I tell my wife I'm going to make a Chef John recipe, she always says, "Go for it."
Excellent! My husband loves pecan pie and said, "Best pecan pie I have ever had."
Pie Candy! My doubled recipe made not only the pies. But also 2 dozen pecan candy "turtles".
Me and other family members found this too sweet. Followed recipe as written. As another reviewer said the pastry stuck to the pan. I don’t think I will try it again not sure how to make it less sweet and still have the right consistency.
All I can say is, fabulous!!!! Chef John, you did your thing with this pie, it came out great!!! This will become a family favorite.
Turned out great. Great flavor and firm but still moist and easy to cut.
Absolutely amazing! I followed the recipe exactly, except I didn’t have bourbon so I substituted dark rum. I will make this recipe again and again. Thank you, Chef John!!
I’ve made this one several times and I think Chef John is awesome! I did a little variation..I used 1/4 light Karo and 1/4 dark Karo, 1 tbsp of Molasses and the tbsp of Makers Mark Burbon. Everything else is the same. Turned out beautifully!!
Just left the bourbon out. Spot on perfect! I'm reminded every Thanksgiving and Christmas to bring this pie. Thanks Chef John!
This pecan pie is excellent. As soon as I saw from the recipe that Chef John instructs to toast the pecans first I knew this was going to take this up a notch. Of course toasted/roasted nuts taste better than untoasted ones! I love how custardy this one turned out for me. I used chopped pecans only cuz I'm not a huge fan of pecans.
This was a huge hit! I served this at Thanksgiving and got so many compliments. FYI I used a little less of the sugar mixture than I needed to avoid the filling being too runny and I'm glad I did.
Big disappointment! I’ll stick to my basic pecan pie recipe any day!
EXCELLENT pecan pie. My son made two for Thanksgiving and said that they were easy to make. Keeper.
Everyone loved this!!! Thank you, Chef John, for another fantastic recipe! My husband and I have enjoyed every recipe we have made by you - when in doubt, we check out your recipes and know we will have a winner!
It was one of the easiest pies I ever made. Husband loved it and its going on the menu for thanksgiving.
It really helps if you use quality ingredients. Don't use cheap bourbon!!! Be sure to use pure vanilla extract and use fresh pecans. Use sea salt or Himalayan salt. This will take this recipe to a whole new level. Enjoy!
This is my GoTo recipe for Pecan Pie! Delish every time and I stick with the recipe. Easy crowd pleaser.
Excellent! Although, I should have kept an eye on it and baked for less time, due to my oven temp. Thanks chef John!
Didn't have time to make homemade crust but still fantastic!!!
Great Recipe! I absolutely love Chef John. This was my first attempt at a pecan pie and it turned out deliciously! Will defiantly be making this again. :)
I made this pie for Thanksgiving. I ate the whole pie!!!! Over a few days of course. This pie is absolutely delicious.
I've made this recipe 3 times now! It is always a big hit! Wonderfully delicious and simple enough for anyone to enjoy baking this treat.
This is the BEST pecan pie. My daughter pulled up a different recipe for thanksgiving and we made that. It was just bland. The combination of different sugars plus the bourbon gives this filling a wonderful flavor. Since joining Allrecipes I’ve learned that you can’t go wrong with any of Chef John’s recipes. Just make it!
The recipe, the flavors are spot on. In my opinion the best I’ve come across. Well done chef John, bravo!!!
A few more steps than my regular peacan pie. Hopefully it tastes as good as it looks.
This was awesome!!! My husband loves it even more frozen. I used the homemade butter flaky pie crust and it was a great addition to the Thanksgiving table.
first time making pecan pie this recipe is so easy I made three for Christmas!!!
This recipe is outstanding. My husband loves pecan pie and I was a failure at making it until now. Thank You Chef John!!
I made it and it is the best pecan pie ever! Don't bother to make any other recipe. Thank you, Chef John.
This recipe is a keeper. Everyone said it was my best pecan pie ever!
This was so good, but don't even think about cutting in to it for at least 3-4 hours unless you prefer a runny pecan pie. For a perfect pie, chill for 12 hours.
Originally made this pie because it had the right amount of bourbon I do enjoy this recipe, but have made this enough times to decide I like more corn syrup and less molasses. This is especially a hit with Southern friends and some relatives who spent time in the South.
This is the second time I’ve made this pie recipe! I also made Chef John’s pie crust for this. This year I used a chocolate bourbon I had recently purchased! I don’t understand the negative reviews but it’s obvious that some cannot follow directions! If you did, you would have an amazing pie!
This pecan pie is amazing. Made it precisely as it calls for. The result is to die for. Chef John’s recipes are always excellent, a bit of work but it’s worth it.
Made this for Thanksgiving 2020 and the pecan pie lovers in my family loved it.; rating it as one of the best they had ever eaten. (Note: I did not use the bourbon.)
It’s awesome. Taste is great. It is not a runny pie when you cut it and easy to make. Love it. Saved it to My Favs and make it all the time especially during pecan harvesting.
Substituted honey for corn syrup and was awesome! Cooking filling and pecans took additional time but was definitely worth it. My new favorite pecan pie recipe!
I found myself without a regular oven and needed to make pecan pie. Due to the precooked crust, filling, and toasting the pecans, this recipe worked wonderfully in my toaster oven!! It was better than any pecan pie I've ever had and I will never go back to the 'old' way. Well worth the effort.
No changes other than checking it after 30 minutes and glad I didn't wait any longer. It was definitely done. My pecan pie eaters raved about it and were no longer upset that I changed my regular recipe.
My guests love this beautiful pie. Never successfully made a pecan pie before. This recipe was easy and did not disappoint.
Mine was a bit chewy also. The crust stuck to the sides and about 1/3 down the pan.
This was a big hit at Thanksgiving. Probably the best pecan pie I ever made. Chef John's instructions are wonderful!
Do not precook a store-bought crust. I did and it was disintegrated by the time the pie was baked and stuck to the glass pan. Could hardly peel it off. Filling was good.
Directions do NIT say to spray the pie plate. Follow the directions!!! My crust shrunk even tho I had weights in it. Don’t do what I did. Follow the directions!!!!!
My family loves pecan pie so I have tried several recipes. This is their hands-down favorite. The bourbon brings about such a wonderful flavor but it doesn’t overpower it or cause it to taste boozy at all. This is a keeper for sure.
Wow! My review is premature but couldn’t resist. Because if this heavenly pie tastes half as good as it smells, this will be in the permanent rotation. Having compared SO many pecan pie recipes, the technique and ingredient list of this one caught my eye. Caramel being my favorite flavor, that is what this smells like. I liked that you cook/boil the filling, that it contains flour as a thickener and binder, that it has a reasonable — not crazy — amount of sugars, that it calls for a blind baked shell, that it uses a lot of pecans, that those pecans are lightly toasted to heighten the flavor and there is some bourbon in there that rounds everything out. The only correction that I would offer is that my bake time was closer to an hour. Will update after we taste tomorrow. Thank you Chef John!
Oh. My. Goodness, this is a fantastic Pecan Pie. Even my husband, who doesn't like pecan pie and only tried a bite to be polite because I was so ecstatic about it, loved it!
Living in NZ and making this for dessert at a friend's barbecue gave everyone a true taste of deliciousness!! Perfect recipe, we have Queen brand of glucose syrup which is from corn and it worked perfectly. I used Edmonds sweet short crust pastry, blind baked the crust for about 12 minutes at 180C. Will be using this recipe from now on, thank you Chef John!! :)
I thought I'd give this a try just for a change from my old stand-by recipe on the Karo Syrup bottle. The taste was all right although no big improvement but it was definitely too runny. I'll go back to my stand-by.
It was fantastic. I love the directions from Chef John. He makes things easy and they taste wonderful. I tell all my friends about his recipes.
This is hands-down the best pecan pie I’ve ever eaten. My husband is obsessed with it! Definitely toast the pecans like the recipe instructs, and use the right kind of whiskey/bourbon. It’s only a tablespoon but it adds a lot of flavor. I used Wild Turkey Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey. The only suggestion I have is to add the pecans directly into the sauce pan to coat them in the mixture before pouring it into the pie crust. It’s so much easier to coat them that way than gently trying to do so in the crust. You won’t be disappointed by this recipe!
I made without preparing the empty crust. Filled the raw dough, then baked. I wish the eggs a lot so there's lots of bubbles. SECRET INGREDIENT: sub almond extract at half the rate of vanilla extract. Everyone raves and asks what is that subtle, special flavor. Do the same substitution in cookies, cakes, etc. I used American Honey bourbon by Wild Turkey. I always have room in the filling for more pecans so I add more like the video suggests.
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