Chef John's Buttermilk Pie

Name: Chef John's Buttermilk Pie
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: 1 (9-inch) pie
Ingredients: 1 prepared dough for 1 (9-inch) single crust pie; ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature; 1 ½ cups white sugar; 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour; ¼ teaspoon kosher salt; 3 large eggs; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; ⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg; Zest from 1 lemon; Juice from 1 lemon; 1 cup buttermilk

Rating: 4.43 stars

51 Ratings
41 Reviews
17 Photos

Not only is this buttermilk pie easy to make and beautiful to look at, it's also bursting with the kind of bright, tangy flavor that no other custard-style pie can touch. This is sort of like a vanilla custard, meets lemon meringue pie, meets very light cheesecake. Except better.

By Chef John

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Recipe Summary

prep:

20 mins

cook:

1 hr

total:

1 hr 20 mins

Servings:

Yield:

1 (9-inch) pie

Nutrition Info

Directions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

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Step 2

Roll out pie dough large enough to fit pie dish with just a bit of overhang. Transfer dough to pie dish and gently fit into dish. Trim excess dough hanging over the edge. Fold about 1/2 inch of the edge of the dough to the inside edge of the pie crust to reinforce it. Crimp the edge. Prick the bottom and sides of the crust with a fork about 10 times. Place a sheet of parchment paper gently into the crust and fill with pie weights or dried beans so pie crust doesn't bubble up with you bake it.
Step 3

Bake in preheated oven 15 minutes. Remove dish from oven; lift weights from pan with edges of parchment paper. Allow crust to cool completely.
Step 4

Place butter in mixing bowl; add sugar. Smear together until completely combined using a spatula, 4 or 5 minutes. Add flour and salt. Mix together until combined. Stir in 3 eggs; mix until slightly blended. Then using a whisk, whisk together until mixture is fairly smooth and creamy.
Step 5

Pour in vanilla extract. Add nutmeg, zest of lemon, lemon juice, and buttermilk. Whisk until thoroughly mixed, 2 or 3 minutes. Pour into pie shell.
Step 6

Bake in preheated oven until golden brown and just set, 45 to 55 minutes. Pie should have a slight wiggle, but not a soupy "jiggle." Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until chilled, 1 to 2 hours.

Chef's Notes:

You can use 1/2 of my Buttercrust Pastry Dough for this recipe--it would be perfect!

I've never had much trouble finding buttermilk, even in regular, non-fancy grocery stores, but depending on where you live in the world, apparently that's not the case. There are many "hacks" for making a substitute, usually using milk and lemon juice, or vinegar. I'll let you Google those at your leisure, but I'd be more inclined to try some yogurt, thinned out with some milk to be closer to the tanginess of buttermilk.

Once your pie is made, it can be served "as is," or topped with seasonal fruit. I went with raspberries, mostly for the pictures, but if you were going to do this for the holidays, some persimmons, and/or pomegranate seeds would also be very nice.

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving:

415 calories; protein 5.2g; carbohydrates 52.6g; fat 21.2g; cholesterol 101.5mg; sodium 237.1mg. Full Nutrition

Reviews (41)

Most helpful positive review

Pat Nugent

12/23/2017

If you want to make it just a little more light and fluffy, just separate the eggs and beat the whites with a hand mixer for a couple min. Then fold them in as part of the recipe suggests. Not much added time and this step really makes a difference. Read More

Helpful

(17)

Most helpful critical review

Gary Fodor

12/29/2017

It tasted like a lemon pie. And it was beautiful to look at but it was not accepted well by the dinner guests. No one was very enthused with it. I thought it was pretty good but not even close to a 5 star pie. Sorry. I used all fresh ingredients but it seemed a little too tart. I also had a very picky audience so I wouldn't take this vote as proof perfect. Wonder if it wouldn't be better with some other mix and match flavors? Read More

Helpful

(1)

51 Ratings

5 star values: 36
4 star values: 7
3 star values: 3
2 star values: 4
1 star values: 1

Reviews: Most Helpful

Most Helpful Most Positive Least Positive Newest

Pat Nugent

12/23/2017

Helpful

(17)

Paul Williams

02/22/2019

I used some cardamom seeds, crushed and steeped in a 1/4 cup of hot milk for a half hour to add some of my favorite flavor to this pie. It was a hit with everyone who tried it. I've made it repeatedly since. Read More

Helpful

(7)

Brian Burns

12/25/2017

No changes and absolute perfection just as Chef John made it. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night. Read More

Helpful

(6)

OdaMae

12/23/2017

Love love love anything by Chef John and this pie is no exception! I substituted plain organic yogurt & coconut milk for buttermilk per Chef's suggestion (I didn't want to go to the store) & lime for the lemon due to allergies. Decreased sugar to 1 1/4c and used salted butter omitting the salt OH MY WOW!!! Used to think "Grandma" made the best buttermilk pie but even she could take lessons from Chef John. The undetectable substitutions and fresh grated nutmeg made an authentic rich ample 9" deep dish buttermilk pie. There are more of your recipes than any other contributor in my favorites collection. I am NEVER disappointed! Gave pies away as Christmas gifts and all exclaimed this was better than a favorite at our local restaurant. Read More

Helpful

(5)

Kyla Duffy

02/03/2018

You can make this without the crust and it's still amazing! I found this recipe as I was trying to use up some ingredients I had around. I didn't have enough flour (or desire really) to make a crust so I skipped it. Also I substituted coconut oil for butter because I didn't have any butter and I cut the sugar by a half-cup. The pies still came out great. Next time however I'll reduce the sugar even more. It just wasn't necessary to use so much. Read More

Helpful

(4)

Sheila L. Blalock

09/08/2018

Made 2 of these for a family reunion and everyone raved! They even where racing to get the last piece. Read More

Helpful

(3)

Nancy

11/22/2018

I followed the instructions exactly as directed this pie was delicious family loved it The best part was 2 days later there was a piece left the lemon flavor was really delightful I recommend making this 2 days ahead before serving. I WILL MAKE THIS PIE AGAIN. THANKS CHEF JOHN Read More

Helpful

(2)

Nicholas K

03/12/2018

Delicious followed recipe and pie came out great. Thanks Chef John! Read More

Helpful

(2)

Amber Cox

03/21/2018

I fell in love with Buttermilk Pie 20 years ago. I have been trying different recipes for years. This is by far my favorite. my teenagers even loved it! Read More

Helpful

(2)

Gary Fodor

12/29/2017

Helpful

(1)

More Reviews

Back to Chef John's Buttermilk Pie

All Reviews for Chef John's Buttermilk Pie

- of Reviews

Chef John's Buttermilk Pie

Servings Per Recipe: 8
Calories: 414.7

% Daily Value *

protein: 11 %

carbohydrates: 17 %

dietary fiber: 4 %

sugars:

fat: 33 %

saturated fat: 50 %

cholesterol: 34 %

vitamin a iu: 9 %

niacin equivalents: 15 %

vitamin b6: 3 %

vitamin c: 10 %

folate: 9 %

calcium: 6 %

iron: 6 %

magnesium: 4 %

potassium: 3 %

sodium: 10 %

thiamin: 13 %

calories from fat:

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

**Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.

(-)Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.

Reviews for: Photos of Chef John's Buttermilk Pie

1 of 41

All Reviews

Pat Nugent

12/23/2017

Helpful

(17)

Paul Williams

02/22/2019

Helpful

(7)

Brian Burns

12/25/2017

No changes and absolute perfection just as Chef John made it. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Helpful

(6)

OdaMae

12/23/2017

Helpful

(5)

Kyla Duffy

02/03/2018

Helpful

(4)

Sheila L. Blalock

09/08/2018

Made 2 of these for a family reunion and everyone raved! They even where racing to get the last piece.

Helpful

(3)

Nancy

11/22/2018

Helpful

(2)

Nicholas K

03/12/2018

Delicious followed recipe and pie came out great. Thanks Chef John!

Helpful

(2)

Amber Cox

03/21/2018

I fell in love with Buttermilk Pie 20 years ago. I have been trying different recipes for years. This is by far my favorite. my teenagers even loved it!

Helpful

(2)

Gary Fodor