Food & Cooking Recipes Dessert & Treats Recipes Pie & Tarts Recipes Pecan Pie 4.1 (376) It's a classic for good reason—and a must-have for the Thanksgiving table. Prep Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 1 hr Total Time: 1 hr 25 mins Servings: 8 Jump to recipe Rich, buttery pecan pie has earned its place as a Thanksgiving mainstay. It's a wonderful choice to make ahead of time since it will need several hours to cool before serving. And as pecans are native to North America, it is fitting they appear on the Thanksgiving table along with our other native foodstuffs like turkey, pumpkin, and cranberries—and many adopted ones like apples and wheat. Pecan pie did not become popular for the Thanksgiving table until the 1930s when it was marketed by Karo to promote their syrup. Today, we use light corn syrup in the filling for our pecan pie, along with brown and granulated sugars. And we serve the pie with unsweetened or barely sweetened whipped cream to balance the intense flavor of the pie. 35 Thanksgiving Pies and Tarts Sure to Satisfy Every Sweet Tooth Credit: Brie Goldman Why Corn Syrup is Key for Pecan Pie Nearly all pecan pie recipes you'll come across call for the same key ingredient: corn syrup. It's responsible for pecan pie's signature "gooey" texture and helps the filling set. As its name implies, corn syrup is a syrupy sweetener made from corn starch. Unlike granulated and brown sugar, it's an invert sugar, which means it stays liquid at room temperature. It prevents sugars from crystallizing, keeping recipes that include it soft rather than grainy or hard. While it's possible to make pecan pie without corn starch, doing so would require utilizing a different sweetener like maple syrup or molasses in addition to a starch like flour to achieve a similar consistency. How to Make Pecan Pie Ahead Pecan pie is a make-ahead dessert, like most pies. This recipe needs five to six hours to cool completely, so we recommend you make it the day before you need it, cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate. Remove it from the refrigerator and allow the pie to come to room temperature before serving—if the pie is too cold, its flavor will be muted. Directions Credit: Brie Goldman Preheat oven and fit pie dough into pie plate: Preheat oven to 375°F, with rack set in lowest position. Roll out dough and fit to 9-inch pie plate. Using kitchen shears or a paring knife, trim dough to a 1-inch overhang. Credit: Brie Goldman Form rim and crimp crust: With floured fingers, fold overhang under itself to form a rim; pinch between thumb and forefinger to form a uniform edge around rim of pie plate. Crimp with fingertips. Transfer dough-lined pie plate to refrigerator. Credit: Brie Goldman Make filling: In a large bowl, whisk eggs, corn syrup, sugars, butter, vanilla, and salt until smooth; mix in pecans. Credit: Brie Goldman Credit: Brie Goldman Add filling to crust and bake: Pour mixture into chilled pie crust; place pie plate on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until filling jiggles slightly in the center when gently shaken, 50 to 60 minutes. Credit: Brie Goldman Cool completely before serving: Cool pie completely in pie plate, 5 to 6 hours. Serve with whipped cream, if desired. Credit: Brie Goldman How to Store Pecan Pie Pecan pie is an egg-rich pie and, like pumpkin, lemon meringue, and custard pies, must be refrigerated after baking and cooling to room temperature. Cover the pie loosely with plastic wrap and it will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator. Frequently Asked Questions What is the difference between light and dark corn syrup in pecan pie? The difference between using light and dark corn syrup in pecan pie comes down to flavor. Either syrup sweetens and thickens the filling of the pie. Our recipe uses light corn syrup, which has a more neutral flavor. You could use dark corn syrup, which has the same viscosity as light corn syrup, but it has a more pronounced caramel flavor, which you will notice in the pie. Why is my pecan pie always runny? A runny pecan pie indicates the filling did not bake long enough and is undercooked. The filling should be gooey, not liquidy, and should jiggle slightly when you move the pie. Keep in mind that the filling will set more as it cools. When should you blind bake a pie crust? You should typically blind bake a pie crust whenever you're working with a no-cook or quick-cooking fillings like custard, quiche, pumpkin, or pudding. It's also useful for whenever you desire an extra-crisp crust—particularly if you're working with a more liquidy filling. Since this pecan pie bakes for an hour and the filling isn't very liquid, and there's no need to blind bake. 5 More Pecan Pie Recipes to Try Brown-Butter Bourbon Pecan Pie Chocolate Pecan Pie Date-Pecan Pie Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie Pumpkin Pecan Crunch Pie Updated by Victoria Spencer Victoria Spencer Victoria Spencer is an experienced food editor, writer, and recipe developer. She manages the decorvow recipe archive and is always curious about new ingredients and the best techniques. She has been working in food media for over 20 years.