No.95 The 100 Most Popular Recipes Ever · October 2026

Classic Pecan Pie

Made famous by Karo

Photo: Kimberly Vardeman, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

From Karo corn syrup label, 1930s.

The recipe on the Karo bottle has been the American pecan pie since the 1930s, and the most made pie at Thanksgiving after pumpkin.

Ingredients

• 1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust (homemade or store-bought), chilled
• 1 cup (240 ml) light or dark corn syrup
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup (200 g) sugar (or packed brown sugar, for a deeper flavor)
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups (150 g) pecan halves

Steps

1. Heat the oven to 350F (175C) with a rack in the lower third. Fit the crust into a 9-inch pie plate and crimp the edge.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the corn syrup, eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla and salt until smooth.
3. Stir in the pecans.
4. Pour into the crust.
5. Bake 60 to 70 minutes, until the filling is set at the edges and puffed, and the center jiggles only slightly. Cover the crust edges with foil if they brown too fast.
6. Cool on a rack at least 2 hours, so it sets fully, before slicing.

Chef's tips

• Toast the pecans first (350F, 8 minutes) for a deeper, nuttier pie.
• A center thermometer reading of 200F (93C) means it's set.

← No. 94Key Lime Pie→ No. 96Pumpkin Pie