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This German Chocolate Pie recipe idea comes straight from Amish country. The rich, gooey, chocolate filling is to die for!
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While traveling through a small Amish town several years ago, we stopped at an authentic Amish restaurant that served German Chocolate Pie. It was so good, we ended up buying an entire pie to eat the next day. Ever since then, I have been dreaming about, drooling over, and seriously craving this pie.
After many attempts, I think I have finally perfected it! I knew I had it right when my family ate the entire pie out of the pan before it even had time to cool! If you are a fan of German chocolate cake, you will love this pie. Both have delicious flavors and texture of chocolate, pecans, and coconut.
Ingredients
Grab your pie plate and let’s get ready. Don’t let this list of ingredients scare you. These are all staple ingredients in your pantry.
- Unbaked pie crust – Store bought or homemade pie crust works for this recipe. Make it easier or homemade, either way will be delicious.
- Butter – Melt your butter in the microwave before adding to the chocolate chips. I like to use unsalted butter.
- Chocolate chips – I used semi-sweet chocolate chips, but milk or dark chocolate will work well too. The butter and chocolate chips will blend together and melt in unison in a small bowl. This works great to prevent lumps.
- Flour – I used all-purpose flour for the pie. This holds the ingredients together and helps bind the wet ingredients.
- Brown sugar and sugar – The sugars bring in the sweetness for the german pie and adds a bit of sugary texture. Mix sugar together with the flour to make a base for the chocolate mixture.
- Eggs – Whisk together the eggs with either a fork or small whisk.
- Vanilla extract – Adds an extra touch of flavor!
- Pecans and coconut – It is traditional to have pecans and coconut over top and occasionally in the german chocolate. Together, they make the best combination! If you need to change the pecans to another type of nuts, that will work too.
- Optional: top with some whipped topping, toasted coconut, and chocolate shavings or dust with a little cocoa powder.
How to Make German Chocolate Pie
Start with the crust: The pie crust is simply a basic pie crust. You can buy a frozen or refrigerated crust or make your own. Just don’t use a graham cracker crust for this one, you want a nice pastry like baked pie shell. Don’t cook the pie crust, it will cook along with the German Chocolate filling. For a perfectly flaky and tasty pie crust, see our Perfect Pie Crust Recipe.
Make the filling: Melt the butter and add chocolate chips. Stir until the mixture is completely smooth. Combine the flours and sugars in a separate bowl. Slowly add the melted chocolate into the dry ingredients. Add the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla. Gently fold in the remaining chocolate chips, pecans, and coconut. Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust.
Bake: Place the pie in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes until the pie is set. You don’t want to over bake the pie. After 35 minutes, check if it’s done by placing a toothpick into the center of the pie. If the toothpick comes out clean, remove the pie from the oven and cool. If the toothpick comes out with some batter on it, continue to bake and check it again in 5 minutes. Repeat, if necessary.
Serving the pie: After the pie is cooled, it’s ready to eat. The pie will have a similar texture to a brownie. Toppings aren’t necessary, but it can be topped with toasted coconut and/or chopped pecans. It is also good with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.
Frequently Asked Questions
German chocolate pie has all the pantry staples like sugar, vanilla, eggs, flour, plus the traditional german chocolate favorites like chocolate, pecans, and coconut. This pie has a caramel- coconut frosting that has a fudge and chocolatey filling.
Back in 1852, a man named Samuel German developed a type of dark baking chocolate for the chocolate company. He was known to be one of the best bakers back then. In honor of him, the company used his name for the Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate.
Chocolate is more semi-sweet chocolate and less fat compared German chocolate. German chocolate is known to be more sweet and has more flavorings with a mixture of chocolate liquor, sugar cocoa butter, and fat from egg yolks.
That will work too! It may be more work, but you can take one ounce of bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate plus ½ tablespoon sugar for each ounce of German chocolate in the recipe. You can also use baking chips for the amount of chocolate in this substitution too.
Yes! After the pie has cooled to room temperature, cover it tightly with a layer of cellophane wrap and then a layer of aluminum foil. To thaw, place it on the counter for a 3-4 hours before serving.
Rave Review
“Well…I made this pie without the substitution and used the ingredients called for in the recipe and, OMG, this pie is totally awesome and had to come directly from a bakery off the golden streets in heaven…most likely the Pearly Gates bakery!! You are correct it is a very dense pie and so very rich. We could only eat a sliver at a time. We tried it room temp and straight from the fridge, but we found we like to microwave it for about 15 seconds, eat, or add a small scoop of ice cream or whipped cream. This will be a must have holiday pie from now on. I also plan to make some as gifts for the coming holidays. Thank you so much for sharing this, God Bless.”
– Scott
Read More: 33+ Easy Dessert Recipes
More Pie Recipes
We love to have a wide variety of pies for Thanksgiving and other special occasions. Try some more of our favorites!
German Chocolate Pie
Video
Ingredients
- 1 uncooked pie crust store bought or homemade
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips divided
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 3/4 cup flaked coconut
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place uncooked pie crust in pie tin.
- In small bowl, microwave butter until completely melted. Add 1 cup chocolate chips and stir until smooth.
- In separate bowl, stir together flour and sugars.
- Slowly add chocolate/butter mixture and stir until blended.
- Add eggs, one at a time, and vanilla.
- Fold in pecans, coconut, and ¼ cup chocolate chips.
- Pour into unbaked pie crust. Bake 35-40 minutes or until top is set. DON'T OVER BAKE!
- Allow to cool before serving.
- Optional: top with some whipped topping, toasted coconut, and chocolate shavings or dust with a little cocoa powder.
Notes
How to Store German Chocolate Pie
- Frozen or refrigerated, either way, you do need to place the pies in an airtight container and/or plastic wrap the whole pie or individual slices. Once the pie is baked, place it in an air tight container on the counter for 3 to 5 days.
- If you are making ahead of time and want to store it in the freezer, wrap it tightly and place in the freezer. When ready to thaw, place on the counter overnight or bake a little longer for a frozen pie.
I love coconut but my family does not. Can this be made without coconut and if so, should I adjust some of the other ingredients?
Hi Cathe, No problem! You can leave the coconut out. You don’t need to adjust any other ingredients unless you want to add more pecans.
I just made finished up making this pie. It was so fun and easy to make. I baked it a little less than 30 minutes and it came out great. I added homemade German Chocolate frosting on top once it cooled and then I’m going to drizzle a little chocolate on top. Wish I could send a picture.
I made one tonight and used all the same ingredients like it said and mine over flowed and broke the crust. I don’t know if it makes any difference or not but I used a frozen traditional pie crust. I also wanted to know if there was a way of making a sugar free version so I could make one for my family members who are diabetes. Thanks
Cammie, did you use a 9″ pie crust? If it was an 8″ or 8 1/2″ it wouldn’t hold all of the filling. This is a tough one for sugar free, but it is possible. You can get sugar free chocolate chips like these on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2fWnFPj. You can also use sugar substitutes for the brown sugar and white sugar in the recipe. I like using “Swerve” sugar replacement because you use the exact measurement in recipes as you would use for sugar. Here is a link to see what it looks like: http://amzn.to/2gitPNM
I hope this helps!
Is there a way to make one sugar free for diabetes. If so I would love to know so I can make one for my grandparents.
Just substitute sugar with stevia. Stevia is awesome
This pie was extra rich & perfectly gooey like your photo. (Baked 30 min as per “until top is set”)
My major mistake was already having all the ingredients in the cupboard and jonesing on making it asap, horrors! we didn’t have any vanilla ice cream!!
So glad you liked it.. but no vanilla ice cream?! NoooOOOoooo! haha well it gives you an excuse to make again, right? 😉
I made this the other evening and served it last night at my Bunco group. It was really, really good! But like some of the other comments, I noticed that mine wasn’t really gooey either, and it was difficult to cut because it was so dense (it had been refrigerated) . I really think the problem is that it just over baked. I only baked it for 35 minutes but next time I think I’ll only bake it for 30 minutes and try it that way. Since all ovens are different, it’s hard to judge what works best for everyone. Other than that, it was a wonderful recipe! Thanks for sharing! I will definitely make it again.
Thank you for sharing and letting us know– it can be so tricky with ovens sometimes! Sorry it turned out so dense. Let us know how it turns out next time!
Tried this recipe. Went over well for a holiday treat. Wondering if it would be less dense if the eggs were beaten longer ( like meringue ). Any thoughts ? ( I’m not the most experienced baker ????)
You could definitely try it! We haven’t done it that way before so if you do it, let us know how it turns out!
Looks absolutely delish! Question: Would the consistency of the pie change if I used less sugar? Say 1/4 cup brown and 1/4 cup white?
I’m not sure how it would affect the consistency… It would affect the taste by having less sugar but we usually at the full amount so I can’t say for sure.
What are you thoughts on using white chocolate chips and also adding some dried cranberries in the mix. Would we need to use all white sugar..instead of half white half brown. I have a son who does not like chocolate..chocolate but will eat white chocolate. Certainly there is a white chocolate version of this pie somewhere??
We haven’t tried it that way before but it sounds delicious! Let us know how it goes if you do try it!
Does this pie have to be kept in the fridge???
I don’t know if it needs to be, but we usually do refrigerate it (that is, if we don’t polish it off before it needs to be refrigerated. Usually it is gone before we have to worry about storing).
I’ve been making a version of this pie for over 30 years and it’s always loved. I’ve always used Bakers German Chocolate, am looking forward to trying it with the semi-sweet chips.
Sometimes I add Kaluha instead of vanilla to the pie and to the homemade whipped cream. If you add it to the whipping cream then you probably won’t need much (if any) sugar since the pie is plenty sweet.
Thank you for your comment and for the suggestions! 😀
Delicious! Even better with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Everything is better with a scoop of ice cream!
Can you substitute splenda white and brown sugar for the sugars in the recipe. I am asking because something sometimes the sugars helps the consistency!
We haven’t tried it that way, so I can’t definitively say how it would affect the recipe. Let me know how it turns out if you do try it!
Well…I made this pie without the substitution and used the ingredients called for in the recipe….and …OMG… this pie is totally awesome and had to come directly from a bakery off the golden streets in heaven…most likely the Pearly Gates bakery!! You are correct it is a very dense pie and so very rich….we could only eat a sliver at a time. We tried it room temp and straight from the fridge….but we found we like to microwave it for about 15 sec..eat …or at a small scoop of ice cream or whipped cream. This will be a must have holiday pie from now on,..I also plan to make some as gifts for the coming holidays. Thank you so much for sharing this,…God Bless
Found this on pinterest and made it today. To.Die.For. I baked it 35 minutes and 40 probably would have been better but still yummy. Chilled it in fridge and just had a slice with some vanilla ice cream! Thank you!
So glad you liked it!
Hi!! I made this pie for thanksgiving and all though it was delicious, it was near impossible to cut, it was so thick and dense. I was really looking forward to something gooier like the picture. You say “DO NOT OVERBAKE” but how do I know if I did? And should I have refrigerated? I really want to try again for Christmas–any help would be greatly appreciated!!!
How long did you bake it for the first time? It sounds like it may have been overbaked… it should have the consistency of a thick, gooey brownie.
Sounds like it would be delicious with vanilla ice cream!
Hey Perryn, I wonder if you could use a bar of German chocolate instead of cc drops? It looks yummy!
Tried this pie last night and it turned out very thick (had to spread in pan). Then after it baked it was like fudge. Is this normal?
Yes, it is pretty thick and fudge-y (why we love it so much)!
Tasted wonderful, but the pic shows it much more gooey and less fudge like. I want it more gooey. Should I add some milk or another egg. Just doesn’t seem like it’s wet enough.
Any chance you could post some step by step pictures, so I know I’m doing it right?
You cooked it too long just a thought 🙂
Y’all had one recipe on one of your Baker’s German chocolate baking bars, can I use that chocolate instead of chocolate chips.
I’m not sure what you are referring to, but you can email us and we can try to help you find the answer!
Does this taste like German Chocolate Cake at all? I haven’t made it yet.
Yes, the pie is rich and delicious with all the flavors of a German Chocolate Cake.
do you need to use a deep dish pie crust or a regular one thanks!
Just a regular crust
My Dad LOVE’s this pie we made it for him on his B-Day
ok, i made this last night and it was really amazing!! so much yummy chocolate.
it took me more than 40 minutes to bake mine though.
(AND i was right, my mother in law loved it!)
Thanks!
My mother in law is going to love this! Thanks!
Hi I’m loving your blog and the not overly intricate recipes. This recipe sounds like a chocolate lovers heaven. I am new to blogging and also feature good tasty family recipes at Fabfood4all.co.uk here in England.