The Best Gluten-Free Pecan Pie

close up picture of gluten-free pecan pie in white serving dish

Meaningful Eats

The Best Gluten-Free Pecan Pie

With a trusted homemade gluten-free crust and sweet caramelly filling, this gluten-free pecan pie is THE pie you should make for Thanksgiving or Christmas!

Be sure to watch the video tutorial to see how to make this pie!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Diet Gluten Free

Prep Time 2

Cook Time 1

Chill Time 4

Total Time 7

Author Erin Collins

Ingredients

FOR THE CRUST:

8 tablespoons butter 113 grams
3 tablespoons ice water
1 ½ tablespoons sour cream
1 ½ teaspoons white vinegar or rice vinegar
1 cup + 2 tablespoons gluten-free 1:1 baking flour 180 grams
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoons salt

FOR THE FILLING:

6 tablespoons butter cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup brown sugar 200 grams
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
¾ cup light corn syrup (see note for how to use maple syrup instead)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups whole pecans toasted and chopped into small pieces, 230 grams

Instructions

For the Crust:

Cut the butter into small ¼-inch pieces and freeze for 10-15 minutes.
Combine the ice water, sour cream, and vinegar in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth and set aside.
Process the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor until combined. Scatted the butter over top and pulse until the butter is the size of large peas, about 10 pulses.
Add the sour cream mixture and pulse until the mixture begins to clump around the blade, about 10 pulses. (If the mixture doesn't clump after 10 pulses no worries! Pour it into a bowl and smash together with your hands to form a ball.)
Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Gather into a a flat disc and wrap tightly in the plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 2 days.
Preheat the oven to 400F.
If you refrigerated the dough longer than 1 hour, let the dough sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before rolling. Roll the pie crust out between 2 large pieces of plastic wrap, to ¼ inch thickness.
After rolling, remove the top piece of plastic wrap and flip into a 9-inch pie plate. Gently ease the dough into the edges of the pan before removing the 2nd piece of plastic wrap. Trim any excess edges with scissors and shape the edges as desired.
Wrap the shaped pie crust loosely in plastic and place in the freezer for 15 minutes. Prick the sides and bottom with a fork and line entire shell with heavy-duty aluminum foil, pressing foil firmly against shell. Bake for 20 minutes, then carefully remove the foil and bake for another 5-10 minutes until the pie crust is golden. Reduce the oven temperature to 275F.
(Note: You want the pie crust to be warm when you add the filling, so I recommend making the filling while the pie crust cooks.)

For the Filling:

Make sure your pecans are toasted. You can toast the pecans at 350F for 4-6 minutes or until you start to smell them. Then chop into small pieces once they've cooled.
To make the filling you'll need a double boiler or glass bowl set over a pot of simmering water. This helps the filling not to overcook.
Melt the butter in medium heatproof bowl set on top of a pot of simmering water. The water should not touch the bowl. Remove the bowl and add the sugar, eggs, corn syrup and salt. Using a hand mixer, beat the ingredients, beat to combine then return the bowl to the hot water.
Stir until the mixture is shiny and warm to the touch, about 130 degrees. Remove from heat the heat and stir in the pecans and vanilla. (I use a candy thermometer to check this.)

For the Pie:

Pour the pecan mixture into the warm pie shell. Bake at 275F until center feels set yet soft, like gelatin, when gently pressed, 50 to 60 minutes.
Transfer pie to a wire rack and let cool completely, at least 4 hours. Serve topped with whipped cream or ice cream. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

Tips and tricks for the best gluten-free pecan pie

Pre-bake the pie crust for a golden and crispy crust
Toast the pecans for extra flavor
Cook the filling in a double boiler (or glass bowl over pot of boiling water) to keep it from curdling
Add the hot filling to a warm pie crust to keep the crust from getting soggy
Cool the pie on a wire rack at room temperature. Cooling the pie too fast (like in the fridge or freezer) can cause the filling to split.

Maple syrup: I don’t eat corn syrup everyday, but for pecan pie at Thanksgiving I think it’s worth it. It gives the pie the most delicious caramel-like flavor. However, you can use ¾ cup pure maple syrup mixed with 1 tablespoon of gluten-free 1:1 baking flour in place if the corn syrup if you prefer.

Vanilla extract: Use a really good quality vanilla extract. It makes all the difference in flavor with pecan pie.

Nutrition