A classic Chocolate Pie made with a buttery, flaky crust, real chocolate pudding, and fresh whipped cream. This recipe is entirely homemade and takes only 30 minutes to prep before chilling. This recipe includes a how-to video–keep scrolling to watch!
Classic Chocolate Pie–No Box Mix Necessary!
A true classic, chocolate pie is often overshadowed by more well-known pies, like pumpkin pie and key lime pie. It’s decadent and rich, essentially thickened chocolate pudding over pie crust, and it’s a refreshing alternative to other chocolate desserts. In fact, it’s my personal favorite pie on the blog!
My version of this chocolate pie recipe requires absolutely no box mixes or pre-made ingredients. You’re going to make everything from scratch, from the (super easy!) pie crust to the filling, and when it’s done chilling, I suggest you serve it with a dollop of homemade whipped cream.
I initially shared this chocolate pudding pie recipe a few years ago and it’s been one of my most popular recipes ever since, for good reason. I thought it was about due for a refresh with new photos and a video tutorial (in the recipe card!). Try it out for yourself this pie season and let me know what you think!
What You Need
Today’s ingredients are pretty standard, but let’s go over a few of them.
- Sugar. Granulated sugar not only serves as a sweetener, but it also melts as the pudding filling cooks and helps ultimately thicken the pie and contributes to its silky smooth texture.
- Cornstarch. Many recipes call for flour to thicken their chocolate pie, but I prefer to use cornstarch, which results in a smoother mouthfeel and better consistency overall.
- Eggs. You’ll need five egg yolks for this recipe. If you’d rather not toss out your egg whites, save them to make my meringues, Oreo cake, or put them towards an angel food cake!
- Milk & Heavy Cream. A blend of whole milk and richer, thicker cream results is another contributor to a silky smooth yet sturdy pie. Stick with whole milk and heavy cream, double cream, or heavy whipping cream for this recipe. My original chocolate pie recipe called for slightly less cream and slightly more milk, but I’ve adjusted these amounts slightly for a sturdier, more slice-able pie.
- Chocolate. I prefer to use a 60% cacao dark chocolate baking bar. Semisweet chocolate will also work, but the pie won’t have quite the depth of chocolate flavor. I do not recommend unsweetened chocolate, which will make your chocolate pie too bitter. Many people have asked me if they can use cocoa powder instead of a chocolate bar. I haven’t tried this myself, but I know it would take several other tweaks to work. I suggest you stick with the recipe as written for best results!
- Butter. Use unsalted butter since we add salt in ourselves. The butter is added at the end along with the chocolate and adds the final finishing touch, glossy consistency and smooth texture.
- Vanilla. If you have a batch of your own homemade vanilla extract, now is a great time to use it!
SAM’S TIP: Do yourself a favor and have all of your ingredients prepped and ready to go before you move over to the stovetop, because things move pretty quickly after cooking. I recommend you chop your chocolate and butter, measure your vanilla, and place your strainer in your heatproof bowl before you even turn on the stove.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Chocolate Pie
- Whisk together dry ingredients in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Keep in mind a cheap, thin saucepan can cause your ingredients to cook unevenly and leave you with a runny chocolate pie filling!
- Combine egg yolks, milk, and cream separately and slowly pour into your dry ingredients until you have a smooth, lump-free mixture.
- Whisk frequently while mixture cooks and slowly thickens. Do yourself a favor and have patience and do not crank up the heat!
- Immediately stir in chocolate, butter, and vanilla until you have a smooth, glossy chocolate mixture.
SAM’S TIP: Do not crank up your heat to speed up the cooking process! The sugar needs to melt slowly so that the pie sets properly, and cooking it too fast will end up cooking your eggs (similar to what can happen to pastry cream). Have patience! How long this process takes depends on your particular stove and pan.
- Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a heat-proof bowl. This will catch any lumps or any teeny tiny bits of egg that might have cooked (if you didn’t get all of the egg white proteins when you divided your whites and yolks, you will catch them here!)and will ensure your chocolate pie is smooth! While you could skip the bowl and pour the filling directly into your pie crust, I find it’s much easier to rest the strainer on the bowl and just do it this way, despite the extra dirty dish!
- Pour chocolate filling into prepared crust and cover with clear wrap, which will keep a skin from forming (and keep any odors from your fridge from getting to your pie!
All that’s left to do now is wait! The pie will need to chill in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, making this a great dessert for preparing a day in advance.
Frequently Asked Questions
This can happen for several reasons: if the cooking process was rushed, if the filling wasn’t carefully watched and stirred frequently, the filling was overcooked, the stovetop heat was too high, or if the pie isn’t given enough time to chill. Any ingredient substitutions could also result in a runny chocolate pie. To prevent this, make sure you go slow, stir often, keep a watchful eye, and always chill for at least six hours before serving.
Yes! This pie needs to be refrigerated before and after serving. It will last for about a week in the fridge. I recommend covering tightly to keep the pie from absorbing any odors from other foods in your refrigerator.
While I typically serve this pie in a traditional pie crust, it would also be great on my graham cracker crust or my Oreo crust! Simply prepare the crust and let it sit while you make the filling, then follow the recipe as instructed. If you like a crispier crust, you can always bake the crust it and let it cool before filling.
Note that if you are using a store-bought crust, the filling may not all fit in and you may have some filling left over. Just enjoy it with a spoon!
Enjoy!
More Recipes You Might Like
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Chocolate Pie
Ingredients
- 1 prepared (baked) 9" pie crust click the link for my homemade recipe, see note 1
- 1 ½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- 5 Tablespoons (40 g) cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 5 large egg yolks² (see note 2 for recipes that you can make with your leftover egg whites)
- 2 cups (473 ml) whole milk
- 1 cup (236 ml) heavy cream
- 6 oz (170 g) dark chocolate bar³ finely chopped
- 4 Tablespoons (56.5 g) unsalted butter cut into pieces
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 batch homemade whipped cream for topping. Optional but recommended. click the link for my recipe
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- In a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk together sugar, cornstarch and salt.1 ½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar, 5 Tablespoons (40 g) cornstarch, ¼ teaspoon salt
- In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together egg yolks, milk, and heavy cream until well-combined and egg yolks are well broken up.5 large egg yolks², 2 cups (473 ml) whole milk, 1 cup (236 ml) heavy cream
- While whisking the dry ingredients, drizzle the egg yolk mixture into the dry ingredients until completely combined.
- Transfer saucepan to stovetop over medium heat and whisk frequently until ingredients begin to thicken⁴ (see note 4, this will take several minutes, do not crank up the heat or your filling may not thicken properly).
- Once mixture has thickened (it should have a pudding-like consistency) whisk constantly, remove from heat and immediately add chopped chocolate, butter, and vanilla extract. Stir until chocolate and butter are completely melted and mixture is smooth.6 oz (170 g) dark chocolate bar³, 4 Tablespoons (56.5 g) unsalted butter, 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pour pie filling through a fine mesh strainer into a medium-sized heatproof bowl.
- Pour filling over prepared pie crust and place a piece of clear wrap or parchment paper directly against the surface of the chocolate to prevent a skin from forming on the surface of the pie as it cools. Allow to chill in the refrigerator at least 6 hours or overnight before slicing and serving.1 prepared (baked) 9" pie crust
- Top with whipped cream just before serving. I like to use an Ateco 848 or Wilton 2D tip to decorate the pie slices in the photo, but a big mound of whipped cream right on top of the pie works just as well!1 batch homemade whipped cream
Notes
¹Pie crust
This recipe was written to be made with my prepared (blind-baked) homemade pie crust in a 9 or 9.5″ pie plate. You may instead make this recipe using my graham cracker crust or Oreo crust or use a store-bought crust but keep in mind they are often smaller and may not fit all of the filling. You can pour the excess into mini tart shells or just enjoy as a pudding.²Recommendations for leftover egg whites
If you don’t want to waste your egg whites, store them in a clean, completely dry and grease-free container and use them to make meringue cookies, white cake, or coconut macaroons!³Chocolate
A 60 or 70% cacao bar works great and is my preference, I often use Ghirardelli which is available right next to the cocoa powder in the baking section. While chocolate chips will work in a pinch, I really recommend using a quality chocolate bar that you enjoy the taste of. Semisweet chocolate will yield a pie that’s sweeter and not as richly chocolate. I don’t recommend using unsweetened chocolate, which could make the pie too bitter. This recipe has not been tested using cocoa powder instead of chocolate.⁴Thickening the pie filling
It’s important that you have patience for this step, slowly thickening over medium heat is key to allow the sugars to melt properly and the filling to thicken properly. The filling should be clearly thickened before moving on to the next step and should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon or spatula. I demonstrate this above in the post and in my video.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Kat
Can I use Soy milk instead of whole milk?
Sam
I haven’t tried with Soy but I would be concerned that it wouldn’t thicken properly, sorry Kat!
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Kat! I have not tried it, so, unfortunately, I can not advise. If you do try it, let me know how it works out. 🙂
S L
This recipe didn’t set for me at all. It’s more like chocolate milk.
Sam
Unfortunately that means it wasn’t cooked long enough or the mixture was heated too quickly (see notes in steps 3 & 4).
Leslie Bleau
Dark chocolate like Bakers unsweetened or like Hershey chocolate candy bar?
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Leslie! A 60 or 70% cacao bar works great, I often use Ghirardelli which is available right next to the cocoa powder in the baking section. 🙂
Sheryl
Hello, do I have to use dark chocolate? Does milk chocolate or semi sweet work?
Thank you🤗
Sugar Spun Run
Hi Sheryl! Semisweet would work but the pie wouldn’t have quite the depth of chocolate flavor that using dark chocolate would.
Sheryl Ross
Thank you!
Rebecca
Can you use an oreo crust instead of the pie crust?
Kate
The pie tastes amazing, thank you so much for the recipe! <3 I have a question though, do you think the filling would work in a roll cake? Or would it be too runny for it?
Sam
Hi Kate! I think this wouldn’t make for a great cake roll filling, it’s just too soft (like a pudding). How about my chocolate frosting or chocolate cream cheese frosting instead? Or even ganache?
I am glad you enjoyed the pie!
Angel
do you add the milk, egg yolks, and heavy cream in the same saucepan as the sugar?
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Angel. Yes, you do. I hope that you enjoy the pie! 🙂
Janet P.
Hey again! I hope you and your husband are able to get some sleep with a new baby in the house. Sleep is so important right? I’m going to make this pie for Thanksgiving. I was wondering if you got any clumps when you made the pie. I just wanted to save a little time by skipping the step of pouring the pie filling through a fine mesh sieve. If it’s vital that I should I will. Ghirardelli is my favorite chocolate also. I’m definitely going to make the ganache to pour over the top because it looks amazing in the picture that you took. I hope you and your family has a great Thanksgiving and Christmas. Thank you for all of the wonderful recipes.
Sam
Hi Janet! So generally I don’t have any clumps but I make this pie quite a bit. I think it’s worth the effort just in case you end up getting a bit of cooked egg white in the filling, that would be a bit unpleasant in the otherwise silky-smooth texture of the pie.
Thank you so much for your kind words!
Cheryl
I noticed a drizzle of chocolate over the pie in some pics. Die you just melt semisweet chocolate or?
Sam
This was just chocolate sauce I happened to have in my fridge, but a drizzle of semisweet chocolate or even ganache (maybe especially ganache) would be a great addition!
Alex
Do you know if this could be Frozen? I want to make it ahead for Thanksgiving.
Sam
I’m not sure, Alex, I’m sorry! I’m a little worried that the texture would deteriorate in the freezer, unfortunately 🙁
Jodi Mueller
Can you useCocoa powder in it?
Sam
Hi Jodi, I haven’t tried with cocoa powder. I think a little more tweaking of the recipe would be necessary to get the texture just right.
barb donovan
it didn’t turn out for me, i let it boil one minute then added chocolate, butter and vanilla, going to try it again now, it’s runny
Sam
Hi Barb! I’m sorry that happened. Make sure it thickens before it comes to a boil. If it didn’t thicken before it comes to a boil it would be runny. I hope it turns out better next time. 🙂
Telena Keillor
Once I poured the filling in the crust I scraped the side of the sauce pan with my spatula just to try the filling and OMG!!!!!! This is so delicious! I followed the recipe and instructions with the exception of using the chocolate I had on hand: 4.3 oz of mini semi-sweet chips, 1 oz of a 100% cocoa baking bar and 7 oz of milk chocolate chips.
Thank you for sharing this yummy recipe! Will be making again soon:)
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Telena! I am so glad that you enjoyed the chocolate pie. 🙂
Ann Watson
What kind of dark chocolate? Unsweetened? Semi-sweet?
Sam
Hi Ann! I like to use Ghirardelli 60% cacao baking bars. Semisweet would work but the pie wouldn’t have quite the depth of chocolate flavor that using dark chocolate would, and unsweetened chocolate would make it too bitter.
Moriah
Hello! I haven’t made this recipe yet, but i want to make it as something special for my boyfriend. But! I wanted to consider adding candied pineapple to it. Only because his favourite fruit is pineapple and i want to do something really special – not because i think the recipe needs any editing at all. So, first, i have no idea if this would even be good. And second, if i were to do this, i think a good way would be to use dark chocolate so it’s bitter mixed with sweet and bright. And id want to really crush the pieces up so it’s smooth. I hope you don’t mind my idea, but I’ve put it through to ask for your opinion on my idea’s success. Thank you!
Sam
Hi Moriah! It sounds interesting and a little adventurous. I’m not sure how it would turn out if you incorporated them into the chocolate pie. My best recommendation would be to put them on top as a garnish. 🙂