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
Letโs bake together! Iโll 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 ยฝ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- 5 Tablespoons (40 g) cornstarch
- ยผ teaspoon salt
- 5 large egg yolksยฒ (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 barยณ finely chopped
- 4 Tablespoons (56.5 g) unsalted butter cut into pieces
- 1 ยฝ 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 ยฝ cups (300 g) granulated sugar, 5 Tablespoons (40 g) cornstarch, ยผ 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 yolksยฒ, 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 thickenโด (see note 4, this will take several minutes, do not crank up the heat or your filling may not thicken properly).ย ย
- 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 barยณ, 4 Tablespoons (56.5 g) unsalted butter, 1 ยฝ 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
ยนPie 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.ยยฒRecommendations 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!ยณChocolate
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.ยโดThickening 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.ยNutrition
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.
Becky
Made this last night. Woke up to a bad morning, so decided to have a piece for breakfast. Turned my whole day around. It is so good. Turned out beautifully. Used dark chocolate chunks and may have made it a little sweeter, but it seems perfect. Sliced up nice. Will definitely make it again and will pass the recipe along.
Sugar Spun Run
I am glad that this pie could brighten your day, Becky! Thank you so much for trying my recipe. I am happy that you enjoyed it! ๐
Lisa Doctrow
Hi, should the chocolate be unsweetened or would a Ghirardelli bittersweet bar work? It has sugar in it so Iโm afraid it would be too sweet.
Sam
Hi Lisa! It will be a little bit sweeter, but it won’t be over-bearing at all. My husband would probably actually prefer it that way. ๐
Lisa D
Ok, thanks. I canโt wait to make it!
Carole C
Rich and delicious! This was my first time trying a recipe where I made my own chocolate filling. (Always used the instant pudding). This recipe was fairly easy to make and turned out great. Iโll definitely make it again. Note to those trying it for the first time: make sure all your ingredients are ready before you start heating the mixture and do use the sieve. My mixture looked lump-free but ended up there were a few small lumps left in the sieve. This takes just 30 seconds and is worth the effort.
Sam
Thank you so much, Carole! I am glad you enjoyed the pie so much. ๐
Amy Mills
Delicious! This was my first attempt at a chocolate pie; I’ll definitely make this again. It was really easy, too. I did not run the pudding through a strainer, and I had no issues with lumps — velvety smooth!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy to hear that you really enjoyed the pie, Amy! Thank you for trying my recipe and for commenting. ๐
Morgan Capps
I made this for my family and my mom said it was too rich and my grandma said It was too thick. Could we substitute the heavy whipping cream for something else? Like more milk? To make it a bit more loose and not as sweet? It tastes great, just a bit too sweet for us. Its probably the heavy whipping cream, is there a way to thin it our just a bit, or to make it not as sweet?
Sam
Hi Morgan! Substituting some of the cream for milk would make it looser and less rich.
Jane Garcia
Have you tried using the egg whites to make a meringue for this pie?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Jane! Others have and have had success. ๐
Michael
Can you use chocolate chips?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Michael! I personally have never tried it, however, I have had other bakers use bittersweet chocolate chips which worked well. Let me know how your chocolate pie turns out. ๐
Marilyn
Does the recipe call for salted or unsalted butter?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Marilyn! I recommend using unsalted butter. I hope that you enjoy your chocolate pie. ๐
Kay
This was THE best chocolate cream pie I have EVER tasted! My husband’s grandma was famous for her chocolate pie, and I always enjoyed it….til NOW!! This is amazing!
My 16 yr old granddaughter brought it to our Thanksgiving meal and it was a definite HIT!
note: for Christmas she tried to replicate but did NOT use the dark chocolate and it was not even close to the same pie.
Sugar Spun Run
I am happy to hear that the pie was such a hit over the holidays, Kay! Thank you so much for trying my recipe and for commenting. ๐
Kristin
A winner! It beat out a store bought french silk pie this Thanksgiving. I got a request to try the banana cream pie next. Thanks so much!
Sue H
Good and easy. It was a little too fluffy.
Sugar Spun Run
I am glad that you enjoyed the chocolate pie, Sue! I’m sorry that it was too fluffy for your liking. Thanks for the feedback and for trying my recipe. ๐
Megan Iroler
I love the taste. I followed the directions exactly but it never set, I’m sure it was error on my part. I cooked over medium heat as directed and let it boil for a little over a minute whisking constantly but after refrigerating over night it’s more like pudding than pie filling. Should I let it boil longer or lower the heat a little? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Sam
Hi Megan! This chocolate pie does have a pudding-like consistency, but it’s thicker than your average pudding and should be stable enough that you can cut it into slices pretty easily. It sounds like the heat may have needed to be lowered just a tad, it should thicken before coming to a boil (though boiling a few seconds longer might help as well). I hope that helps and am glad you enjoyed the taste still!
Ira
Best chocolate pie ever! I tried a lot recepies, but this one is the best!
Sam
I’m so glad to hear it was such a success! Thank you for commenting, Ira!
Emily
I made this pie for thanksgiving and it was everything I was hoping for, I made mine without the whipped cream and was absolutely amazing. Itโs silky and is the perfect amount of sweetness.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the pie, Emily! ๐
Terri
The was awesome. I have never made pudding before but it was easy. I do recommend when you stir get the bottom of the pan in the corners really well. I will say that when it starts to thicken gets real thick real fast.
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Terri! I hope that you enjoy the pie! ๐