This deliciously rich and gooey chocolate pecan pie is everything you’re craving in a holiday dessert! Perfect with a big scoop of coconut vanilla ice cream on top, this family favorite is gluten-free, paleo, and dairy-free but no one will know.
I just had to sneak in another pie recipe before Thanksgiving! This one was absolutely worth the wait. I actually based it on the pecan pie that’s in my new cook book (pre-order here!) but tweaked it to make it chocolate.
So, you get the gooey sweet texture of a pecan pie with dark chocolate added to the filling. Holy moly – I was so impressed with how delicious this pie turned out! Perfect for any celebration – not just the holidays – especially if you’re a pecan lover OR can’t get enough of the chocolate-nut combo.
Crunchy toasty pecans, gooey chocolate filling, and a flaky crust that you won’t believe is paleo. I can’t wait for you to try this pie!
What You Need to Make Chocolate Pecan Pie
The ingredients are simple, with no refined sweeteners, grains, and the option to avoid dairy completely. Here’s what you’ll need:
Crust:
- Blanched almond flour
- Coconut flour
- Tapioca flour
- Organic palm shortening, or grass fed butter
- Coconut sugar, or maple sugar
- Sea salt
- Egg
Filling:
- Pecan halves
- Dark chocolate (Hu dark chocolate bars are free of refined sugar)
- Coconut oil or ghee
- Vanilla extract
- Tapioca flour
- Eggs
- Maple syrup
- Coconut sugar or maple sugar
- Sea salt
How to Make Chocolate Pecan Pie
This pie is very straightforward. First, prepare the pie dough and crust. The dough will need to chill for at least an hour, so you’ll need to make it a little bit ahead of time. You can also prepare the dough a day or two in advance to save time.
Roll out the dough and transfer it to your pie dish (tips on working with the dough are below). Bake the crust for about 10 minutes before adding your filling. During this time, prepare the filling.
The filling is super easy – just whisk everything together in a bowl! Place the pecans inside your baked pie crust, then pour all the filling over the top. And then it’s time to bake! Pecan pies are one of my favorites to bake since they don’t take much work.
Tips for Working with Paleo Pie Dough
Paleo pie dough can sometimes be difficult to work with, since it’s slightly stickier and also breaks more easily than traditional dough due to the lack of gluten.
Luckily, because you’re not working with gluten, you can’t damage the texture of the dough by overworking it the way you can with gluten pie dough.
Once you get the hang of it, the dough is very manageable and creates delicious, flaky pie crusts! Here are a few tips for working with paleo pie dough:
- Chill until very firm, then allow the dough to sit at room temperature before rolling it out.
- Tapioca or arrowroot flour won’t dry out the dough, so liberally sprinkling your parchment paper and dough with it to prevent sticking it totally fine.
- Roll out the dough between two sheets of parchment paper, checking for sticking and periodically flipping it and/or adding more tapioca, if necessary.
- Repair broken dough by tapping it back together lightly.
- Re-chill at any point that the dough is too sticky, greasy, or hard to work with.
- Chill the unbaked pie crust again before baking if it has softened up a lot while working with it.
Tips for Baking Pecan Pie
Luckily there are no fancy steps needed to bake a pecan pie! After you pre-bake the crust for about 10 minutes, just fill it with the pecan mixture and pop it in the oven.
After about 20 minutes, I like to cover the top of the pie with aluminum foil to prevent the crust from browning too much. A paleo crust is a bit too delicate for a pie shield, and I find it works really well to just cover the entire pie.
After covering the top, it should bake for another 15-25 minutes or so undisturbed. Once the center is mostly set (it can jiggle just slightly) you know it’s ready. After baking, the pie will still need to cool for a couple of hours so the filling can fully set.
I hope you’re ready for a seriously delicious, dreamy, chocolatey gooey pecan pie! Let’s get started with the dough – I can’t wait for you to try this one!
Chocolate Pecan Pie {Paleo, GF, DF}
Chocolate Pecan Pie {Paleo, GF, DF}
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 cup blanched almond flour
- 2 Tbsp coconut flour
- 2/3 cup tapioca flour
- 1/2 cup palm oil shortening or grass-fed butter, or a combination of both
- 1 Tbsp maple sugar or coconut sugar
- 1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt
- 1 large egg
Filling:
- 2 1/2 cups pecans
- 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate
- 1/4 cup coconut oil (refined) or ghee, melted and slightly cooled
- 1/2 cup maple sugar or coconut sugar
- 1 1/2 Tbsp tapioca flour or arrowroot
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- 3/4 cup pure maple syrup
Instructions
Crust:
- In a food processor, pulse together all ingredients except for the egg to form a crumbly mixture. Pulse in the egg to form a sticky dough. Tightly wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour or up to overnight.
- Preheat your oven to 375° F. Lay out a sheet of parchment paper and sprinkle generously with tapioca flour. Place the chilled dough on the parchment and sprinkle with more tapioca. Cover with another piece of parchment paper and gently roll into a circular shape. This dough breaks easily but it can also be easily repaired. You cannot “overwork” the dough, so you can always start over if needed.
- Once rolled out, remove the top piece of parchment paper. Place your pie dish upside down over the dough and slide your hand underneath the parchment to flip the dough into the pie dish. Once flipped, slowly remove the parchment paper and gently press the dough into the dish.
- If it’s sticky, chill until it’s easier to work with. You can crimp the ends, or press with a fork if desired. Use a fork to prick the crust several times so it doesn’t puff while baking. Place crust in the freezer before baking to avoid shrinking. Bake crust for 10 mins, then allow it to partially cool while you make the filling. Lower the oven temperature to 350° F
Filling:
- Spread the pecans inside the warm pie crust and set aside. Place the chocolate chips or chopped chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave in 30-second increments, stirring between each, until melted.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the melted ghee, maple sugar, and tapioca in a large bowl until smooth. Whisk in the vanilla extract, salt, eggs, maple syrup, and melted chocolate until combined. Pour the mixture evenly over the pecans.
- Bake the pie in the preheated oven for 35-45 minutes or until set. After about 20 minutes, cover the top of the pie with a sheet of aluminum foil to prevent the crust from browning too much.
- Allow the pie to cool at room temperature to continue setting. You can also refrigerate the pie to speed up the cooling time. Serve at room temperature. Store leftovers tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Shop Products and Ingredients:
Want More Paleo Pie Recipes? Try One of These!
Classic Pumpkin Pie with Crust Recipe
Classic Double Crust Apple Pie
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What size pie plate did you use?
Do you put the pecans down first? The picture looks like it would be after the chocolate but the recipe says before?
Just pulled this out of the oven! Can’t cut into it until Friday? I had to use a hand mixer instead of a whisk to mix the filling ingredients, is that ok?
Do you put the pecans down first? The picture looks like it would be after the chocolate but the recipe says before?
Could I use lard instead of palm shortening? Thanks!
What paleo icecream do you use?
Michele, do you suggest to roast a little bit pecans that you put on the bottom? And no roasting of pecans that will go on top I assume
Should the butter be cold for the crust or room temp?