If you’re looking for a homemade chocolate pie recipe that’s rich, silky, and made completely from scratch, well this one’s for you. No box-mixes or shortcuts, I’ll show you how to make a smooth, homemade chocolate pudding topped with a cloud of fresh whipped cream. It’s also a great make-ahead option that’s even better the next day. Recipe includes a how-to video!
Classic Chocolate Pie (From Scratch, No Box Mix!)
A true classic, I feel a good chocolate pie recipe is often overshadowed by holiday heavy-hitters like my pumpkin pie and my pecan pie recipe. But one bite, and you’ll wonder how anyone could overlook this masterpiece. It’s everything a great pie should be: rich, silky, decadent with a sliceable texture somewhere between a custard and a pudding.
Why This Chocolate Pie Recipe WORKS
- No box mixes or shortcuts. I’m sharing all my tips and tricks to make a real, indulgent and homemade chocolate pudding filling from scratch, and also link to my (favorite) flaky, buttery and homemade pie crust. When it’s done chilling, I suggest you take it a step further and serve with a dollop of homemade whipped cream!
- Sets perfectly so it’s sliceable (not scoopable!). The secret’s in just the right ratio of cream to milk, cooking low and slow until the filling til perfectly thickened, and chilling the pie for several hours to overnight.
- Real chocolate, not just cocoa. Melted chocolate adds body, stability, depth, and silky, melt-in-your-mouth finish that you just can’t get from cocoa powder.
- Perfect for making in advance. The pie will need to chill in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours before serving, making this an ideal dessert to prep a day ahead of time (I love doing this for Thanksgiving!).
Ingredients
- Chocolate. Opt for dark chocolate (my favorite, I love the slightly more bitter notes of a 60% or even 72% bar) or semisweet (for a sweeter pie). While chocolate chips will work in a pinch, for best flavor and texture I recommend using a quality chopped chocolate bar.
- Granulated sugar. This not only serves as a sweetener, but it also melts as the pudding filling cooks, ultimately thickening the pie and contributing to its silky smooth and sliceable texture.
- Cornstarch. While many chocolate pie recipes use flour as a thickener, cornstarch thickens without the pasty heaviness you can sometimes get from flour.
- Eggs. You’ll need five egg yolks for this recipe. Save the whites to make meringues, Oreo cake, a few batches of candied pecans, or put them towards an angel food cake!
- Milk & heavy cream. A blend of whole milk and richer, thicker cream 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.
- Butter. I use unsalted butter and add salt separately. We’ll add this along with the chocolate after cooking; it adds the final finishing touch and contributes to a glossy consistency and smooth texture.
This is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full chocolate pie recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Chocolate Pie
I recommend prepping all of your ingredients before you move over to the stovetop–things move pretty quickly after cooking! Chop your chocolate and butter, measure your vanilla, and place your strainer in your heatproof bowl before you even turn on the stove.
- Step 1: Cook the filling. Add the dry ingredients to a heavy-bottomed saucepan and whisk until combined. Whisk together the egg yolks, milk, and cream in a separate liquid measuring cup, then slowly pour into your cornstarch mixture. Whisk again until you have a smooth, lump-free consistency. Cook over medium heat, whisking frequently, until thickened.
- Step 2: Add the butter, chocolate, and vanilla. Remove from heat and whisk in the chocolate, butter, and vanilla until you have a smooth, glossy chocolate mixture.
- Step 3: Pour into the (cooled) crust. Pour the custard through a fine mesh strainer into a heatproof bowl. This will catch any lumps or any tiny bits of egg, ensuring your chocolate pie is smooth! After straining, pour the filling into your prepared crust.
- Step 4: Cover and chill. Smooth the top of your pie with the back of a spoon or spatula, then press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface (this prevents a skin from forming). Place in the fridge to chill for at least 6 hours before topping with whipped cream and serving.
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.
While both are incredibly rich and chocolatey (and even use similar ingredients), they’re actually quite different desserts. Traditional chocolate pie is thickened on the stovetop with egg yolks and cornstarch (or, sometimes, flour) and the resulting custard has a dense but creamy pudding-like texture. Alternatively, French silk pie has a lighter, silkier texture thanks to the fact it’s made with heavy cream that’s been whipped to stiff peaks. French silk pie is also often made with raw eggs, but in my French silk pie recipe I cook them so you can enjoy without worry.
Unfortunately I don’t recommend it. The chocolate pudding filling doesn’t always thaw nicely and can end up watery or grainy. I recommend keeping the pie refrigerated and enjoying within 3 days of preparing.
Tips & Troubleshooting
- Don’t rush it. Cooking the filling takes time. 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 or banana pudding). Have patience!
- Do use a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Or at least don’t use a thin, flimsy one. The thicker bottom helps keep the filling from over-heating and allows you to gently cook the eggs for a perfectly thick, silky, chocolate pie filling. I linked to one of the pans I often use in the recipe card, or an enameled cast iron saucepan is another good choice.
- Mise en place. Prepare/measure all of your ingredients before you begin. Have your heatproof bowl and fine mesh strainer ready to go. Once the chocolate pie filling thickens, you need to move quickly so the filling doesn’t overcook, so be ready!
- If your filling is too runny. It just needs more time to cook! Keep whisking until the mixture is thickened and starts to bubble. Exactly how long this takes will vary from kitchen to kitchen, but if it’s been over 15 minutes and nothing is happening, it’s OK and even advisable to turn up your heat a little bit!
- If your filling turned grainy or is too thick. Unfortunately the filling was likely cooked too much or on a heat that was too high, causing the eggs to cook. Next time keep the heat lower and stir frequently to keep the chocolate pie filling from getting too hot.
- Crust options. I love my classic pie crust, but you can swap this for a sourdough pie crust or make things easier with a graham cracker crust or an Oreo crust. 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!
More Indulgent Chocolate Recipes
Check out my full collection of pie recipes for more incredible slices!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! Watch my step-by-step pie recipe below 💜
Chocolate Pie Recipe (Blue Ribbon Winner!)
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.Storing
Cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. I don’t recommend freezing, as the filling can turn grainy or watery once it thaws.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.
Jamie
This turned out amazing! Only changes: I used a frozen Pillsbury crust to save time and I had only semi-sweet chocolate chips to work with. It set up beautifully and the family devoured it. Thank you for sharing.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Wonderful! We’re happy you enjoyed it so much, Jamie ❤️
MzSleepe1
The best recipe of chocolate pie ever! Thank you! I only changed half of the chocolate, 1 bar (4 oz) Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet & 1 bar 60% Cacao. So yummy!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for using our recipe! Enjoy 🥰
Sandra
Hi
Has anyone experienced a bit of grittiness in the consistency of the filling ? I did strain the pudding and noticed it was very greasy. I think it might be the butter that has cooled down as the grit seems to melt away as soon as you start eating it. It is very yummy regardless- I might just try it again with a little less butter.
Sam
Hi Sandra! It sounds like the mixture may have been heated a bit too quickly, I would just use a lower setting on your stovetop next time and I think it will turn out perfectly. I hope that helps! 🙂
Sandra
Thanks Sam! I did try heating it slowly as I had read your tips but I will try again with much lower heat to see if that helps. Either way it’s a great recipe! Thank you for doing what you do 🙂
Walter B
I’m usually pretty good at holding down my consumption of cakes and pies. Been working for watching my weight for a long time. The pie gets raves from friends and family. I make small pies about 4” and the recipe makes enough filling for about 5 pies with a little leftover. I have to plan out who is going to get the pies. Any filling/pudding and pies not given out disappear within 24 hours then I have to go into hard diet mode for about a week. I use the whipped cream recipe and make the crust from scratch. Dangerous recipe
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoys it so much, Walter! 🙂
Sarah H
Delicious recipe! I used 71% cocoa for my chocolate and it turned out really rich and lovely. I recommend adding a raspberry on top of the whip cream (it compliments it well, and makes you feel fancy 🙂 ).
Sara Strother
I absolutely love this pie. It’s always a favorite anytime I make it. I have a question …. Have you ever doubled the recipe? I usually just do the process two times because I wasn’t sure how it would turn out if I doubled it. I sure don’t want to run the risk of having a failed pie 😳. Please let me know your thoughts. Thank you ahead of time.
Sam
Hi Sara! I have not tried just doubling the recipe, although I don’t see any reason it wouldn’t work here. 🙂
Carol
Thanks for responding..I made the pie and it is a beautiful filling I did use only 1C of sugar. Everyone loved it This filling is the perfect texture, it set up beautful and was delicious thank you.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for letting us know how it turned out for you with less sugar, Carol! Enjoy the pie 🙂
Nikki
I did not heed the warnings and used semisweet chocolate and no surprise it’s too sweet. However that is my error and the recipe is well written and easy to follow, It had a perfect consistency and I can’t wait to try it again
Carol
Hi I was wondering if you have to use so much sugar could you use less like 3/4 or 1 cup thank you
Sam
Hi Carol! I haven’t tried it myself, but if you do let me know how it turns out. 🙂
katherine dela cruz
Hi! Can I omit the sugar and use milk chocolate chips instead? Thanks!
Sam
Hi Katherine! I’m not sure exactly how it would turn out, but I wouldn’t recommend it. 🙁
Peppa
I made this delicious Chocolate Chess Pie for Thanksgiving. It was extremely easy to prepare without any problems (just follow the directions). My family devoured the pie so terribly fast and only left me crumbs. For Christmas I plan to bake at least two of them if not more.
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Frances Fuller
I love this pie so much that I come back to it every Thanksgiving to take to our family’s meal! <3
Jessica McGee
This pie is amazing and addicting! I cannot stop eating it lol another fantastic recipe by Sam 🙂
Marcy
Made this recipe on Thursday, finally got to serve it on Saturday—huge success!!!! Pie tasted delicious and held up really well. I made a graham cracker crust instead and used 1 cup of heavy cream instead of 3/4 cup for the whipped cream and spread it over the whole pie. My family loved it—my dad said it’s the best chocolate pudding pie he ever tasted and my mom loved it as well (and she has very high standards for chocolate pudding pie). Recipe was easy to follow and directions were clear. Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes and for always getting back so quickly with answers to questions. I know I will definitely be making this recipe again.
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Marcy! 🙂
Marcy
Hey Sam, have a few more questions regarding storing this pie. After the 6 hours, does the pie still need to have the plastic wrap or can it be stored in the refrigerator without it? And how do I store chocolate pudding pie once the whipped cream is on it (does it still need to be covered with plastic wrap or aluminum foil)?
Sam
Hi Marcy! I typically store mine in the refrigerator without the plastic wrap after those 6 hours have passed. I do the same once adding the whipped cream, but of course I hope everyone enjoys it so much you don’t have to store it long. 🙂