Delicious Chocolate Pie Recipe

I've been making desserts for church bake sales and family dinners for 22 years now, and I can tell you that a good chocolate pie doesn't need fancy stuff or hard steps. This isn't one of those desserts that looks pretty but tastes like cardboard. I've made this recipe about 80 times, changing little things here and there until we got something that's rich, creamy, and makes people go "mmm" with their eyes closed.

Why You'll Love This Chocolate Pie Recipe

Making this pie for tons of potlucks and watching Emma's friends actually beg for seconds has shown me exactly what makes this recipe work. It's rich without making you feel sick, sweet without hurting your teeth, and you can actually taste chocolate instead of just sugar. Emma has helped me make this so many times that she knows when the filling is ready just by looking at how it bubbles on the stove.

Whether you're making it for regular Sunday dinner or taking it to one of those places where you want people to remember what you brought, this chocolate pie always gets people talking. The best part? Even folks who say they don't like chocolate pie end up wanting the recipe.

Jump to:

• Why You'll Love This Chocolate Pie Recipe
• What You Need for Chocolate Pie Recipe
• How To Make Chocolate Pie Recipe Step By Step
• Storage Tips
• Chocolate Pie Recipe Variations
• Equipment For Chocolate Pie Recipe
• Swaps When You're Missing Stuff
• Why This Chocolate Pie Recipe Works
• Top Tip
• The Dish My Grandmother Taught Me to Love
• FAQ
• Time to Make Some Really Good Chocolate Pie!
• Related
• Pairing
• Chocolate Pie

What You Need for Chocolate Pie Recipe

For the Filling:

• Cocoa powder
• Sugar
• Cornstarch
• Whole milk
• Egg yolks
• Butter
• Vanilla
• Salt

For the Crust:

• Pre-baked pie crust
• Graham cracker crust works too

For the Top:

• Vanilla
• Heavy cream
• Powdered sugar

See recipe card for quantities.

How To Make Chocolate Pie Recipe Step By Step

Make the Filling:

• Mix cocoa, sugar, and cornstarch in your pot
• Slowly add milk while whisking so you don't get lumps
• Cook on medium heat, stirring the whole time
• It'll get thick - keep stirring until it bubbles for about 2 minutes

Add the Good Stuff:

• Take it off the heat
• Whisk in egg yolks one at a time
• Add butter and vanilla
• Push it through a strainer to get any lumps out

Put It Together:

• Pour hot filling into your pie crust
• Press plastic wrap right on top so it doesn't get a gross skin
• Put it in the fridge for at least 4 hours

Make the Whipped Cream:

• Beat until it holds peaks but don't overdo it or you'll make butter
• Beat heavy cream until it starts getting thick
• Add powdered sugar and vanilla

Storage Tips

In the Fridge (3-4 days):

• Keep it covered so it doesn't pick up weird fridge smells
• The whipped cream might get a little watery but it's still okay
• Don't leave it out on the counter or the filling gets runny

Freezing (Not Worth It):

• You can freeze it but the texture gets all weird
• The whipped cream separates when it thaws
• If you have to freeze it, leave off the whipped cream and add it later

Best Way:

• Make it the day you want to eat it
• Or make the filling ahead and add whipped cream right before serving
• Tastes way better when it's not old

Chocolate Pie Recipe Variations

Chocolate Peanut Butter:

• Add peanut butter to the filling while it's hot
• Crush up some Reese's cups on top
• Emma's favorite version for sure

Mocha Style:

• Add instant coffee to the cocoa
• Makes it taste grown-up
• Still sweet enough for kids

Extra Chocolate:

• Throw in some chocolate chips
• Use chocolate graham crackers for the crust
• Top with chocolate shavings

Banana Chocolate:

• Layer sliced bananas in the crust before adding filling
• Tastes like banana cream pie but with chocolate
• Goes brown fast so eat it the same day

Equipment For Chocolate Pie Recipe

• Medium pot
• Whisk
• Strainer
• Electric mixer

Swaps When You're Missing Stuff

Milk Options:

• Whole milk → 2% milk
• Regular → 1% milk (not as creamy)
• Dairy → Don't use skim milk
• Fresh → Canned milk (watered down)

Thickener Stuff:

• Cornstarch → Flour (use more)
• Regular → Pudding mix
• Standard → Arrowroot powder
• Normal → Tapioca stuff

Egg Swaps:

• Egg yolks → Whole eggs (use less)
• Fresh → Egg whites (use twice as many)
• Regular → That fake egg stuff
• Standard → More cornstarch

Sugar Types:

• White sugar → Brown sugar
• Regular → Coconut sugar
• Normal → Honey (use less liquid)
• Standard → Don't use fake sugar

Cocoa Options:

• Standard → Cacao powder
• Regular cocoa → Dutch cocoa
• Normal → Don't use hot chocolate mix
• Powder → Melted chocolate (less liquid)

Why This Chocolate Pie Recipe Works

I've been making this for years, and here's why it's better than other chocolate pie recipes. First off, cooking the filling on the stove instead of baking it means you get smooth, creamy stuff without any lumps or chunky bits. Plus, putting the egg yolks in at the end keeps them from getting all scrambled and nasty.

Emma has eaten this so many times that she knows exactly what good chocolate pie should taste like. The cornstarch is what makes it thick enough to cut but still creamy, and pushing it through a strainer gets rid of any lumps that got in there. Most importantly, don't hurry the cooking part - if you try to cook it too fast, it'll get all gross and you'll have to start over.

The Dish My Grandmother Taught Me to Love

My grandmother made the best chocolate pie around, but she had this one trick that took me forever to figure out. Every time she made it, she'd throw in a tiny bit of instant coffee with the cocoa - just a little pinch, not enough to taste like coffee, but enough to make the chocolate taste way better. I had no idea she was doing it until I found her old recipe card stuck inside her cookbook.

The other thing she did was let the filling sit for exactly 20 minutes before putting it in the pie crust. Not 15, not 25 - exactly 20. She said it had to be "cool enough not to mess up the crust, but still warm enough to go in smooth." Now when I make this chocolate pie, I set the timer for 20 minutes just like she did. Emma thinks I'm being weird about it, but she always says mine tastes just like great-grandma's.

FAQ

Time to Make Some Really Good Chocolate Pie!

Now you know how to make chocolate pie that actually tastes like chocolate - from cooking it right to adding that little bit of coffee like my grandmother did. This creamy dessert shows that sometimes the good stuff really is worth the extra work.

Want more desserts that wow people? Try our Healthy Strawberry Spinach Salad that's sweet enough to be dessert but has good stuff in it too. Want something tropical? Our Easy Mango Mousse Recipe tastes like summer in a bowl. Or get fancy with The Best Panna Cotta Recipe that looks like restaurant food but you can totally make it at home!

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Related

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Pairing

These are my favorite dishes to serve with chocolate pie