Karo Pecan Pie Recipe: A Classic Southern Dessert

I totally meant to post this over the weekend. It was a part of my Father’s day series of recipes (I’ve been posting the favorite dessert recipes of all of the fathers in my life), but a couple of them were pushed aside last week to make room for 4th of July posts! I had planned to make them “bonus” posts for the weekend, but you know how plans go… Anyway, here it finally is — my absolute favorite karo pecan pie recipe, and I promise it’s worth the wait. This is hands-down the best pecan pie recipe in my back pocket, and once you make it, it’ll be in your favorite recipes rotation too!

Pecan Pie is my Grandpa Epps’s favorite dessert. In fact, he ended up with TWO pecan pies on Father’s day! Our recent move has landed us much closer to family, and it was so neat to be able to actually visit with my dad and his dad on the day we celebrate dads! We listened to Grandpa tell WWII stories and falling in love stories, and the bits and pieces I caught (in between mommy-ing and chatting with Dixie) were pretty special moments to hear about. I’m so grateful for the opportunities I have to learn about my Grandpa’s life as told by him.

I’m also grateful he loves pecan pie, because I’ll take any excuse I can to scarf down a slice! Honestly, this is one of those perfect pie recipes that shows up at every Thanksgiving dinner and somehow still gets rave reviews every single year.

This is a simple, classic pecan pie recipe. It’s golden, gooey, and delicious in the center with a crispy, crunchy pecan top. As with any pie, I love this best served warm or room temperature with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream!

What Makes This Karo Pecan Pie Recipe So Good

Let’s talk corn syrup for a second, because it’s a real debate in the pecan pie world! Light corn syrup gives you that classic, mellow sweetness, while dark corn syrup (or dark karo syrup) brings a deeper flavor that’s almost molasses-like. I usually mix corn syrup — a little of both — for the best of both worlds, but honestly, light karo syrup alone works beautifully too. It’s totally personal preference. Just please, for the love of pie, use real karo corn syrup and skip anything loaded with high fructose corn syrup that isn’t actually karo — the syrup mixture really is the backbone of this whole southern classic.

Whether you’re making your first pecan pie or your fiftieth, this one’s fool proof, I promise.

Tips For The Best Pecan Pie Recipe

Start with a large mixing bowl and whisk your beaten eggs, cup of corn syrup, cup sugar (I like dark brown sugar for extra depth), melted butter, and vanilla extract together until smooth — that’s your custard base. Pour it into a pie shell (homemade crust is amazing here, but a store-bought butter pie crust works in a pinch!) and scatter in your pecan halves or chopped pecans. Toasted pecans give you the best buttery pecans flavor, so don’t skip that step if you have a few extra minutes.

Bake on the center rack of oven at the correct oven temperature (an oven thermometer helps a ton here, since ovens lie!). If the top of the pie starts browning too fast, place cookie sheet underneath and tent with aluminum foil. Most pies need about 50-55 minutes, give or take, until the middle of the pie is just set.

How To Tell When Your Pecan Pie Is Done

This is the part that trips everyone up the first time! You want the edges set and the center just slightly jiggly — not soupy, but not firm either. A good trick: tap center surface of pie gently with the back of a spoon and give it a gentle shake. If it wobbles like Jell-O in the middle, it needs more time. If it barely moves, pull it! Let it cool completely on a wire rack before slicing, because the sugar mixture needs time to set up into that gorgeous, gooey custard base we all love so much.

Honestly, if you love nutty, buttery desserts like this one, you’ll also want to check out my Southern Pecan Pie and my Southern Pecan Praline Cake — be still my heart, they’re so good.

Storing And Freezing Your Homemade Pecan Pie

Leftover pecan pie (if you have any!) keeps great in an airtight container in the fridge for about 4-5 days. And good news: pecan pie freezes like an absolute dream! Wrap it tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. The great thing about this classic pecan pie recipe is that it tastes just as good, if not better, the next time around.

If you’re a pie-for-breakfast kind of person (no judgment, I literally can’t even with how good that sounds), this is the one. It’s an easy pecan pie recipe that never fails to impress, whether you’re serving it alongside apple pie at a holiday spread or just because it’s Tuesday and you deserve it.

A Few More Recipe Tips

If you want an extra-smooth filling, you can blitz your sugar mixture in a food processor before adding the eggs — totally optional, but a nice touch. And if maple syrup is more your jam than karo corn syrup, you can swap some in for a fun flavor twist, though it will change the classic pecan flavor just a bit. An electric mixer works fine for the filling too, though a whisk and a large bowl is really all you need. However you make it, I hope this becomes one of your favorite pies for every holiday to come!

 

Have you made a Something Swanky recipe? Post it on Instagram and tag me @somethingswanky. I’d love to re-post!

 

Be sure to also follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and in the Something Swanky Dessert Recipes Facebook group!

 

I think you’ll LOVE these related Pie recipes:

Pecan Pie Cake

Double Decker Pecan Brie Pie

Quick and Easy Caramel Pie

100 Pie Recipes

Chocolate Chess Oreo Pie

Peanut Butter Kandy Kakes Pie

Chocolate Ganache S’mores Pie

Key Lime Pie

Monster Cookie Cream Pie

   

Pecan Pie

Yield: 8

Print

Save this recipe for later: Save Pin Add to Google

Ingredients

• 1 refrigerated Pillsbury pie crust or favorite homemade pie crust, prepared
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups pecan halves

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Place rack on lowest position.
2. Unroll pie crust and press into a 9" baking dish. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, corn syrup, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, vanilla and salt. Mix in the pecan halves. Pour filling into the crust.
4. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until set around the edges and slightly jiggly in the middle.
5. Allow pie to cool completely before serving.

Notes

Recipe source: Martha Stewart