This post may contain affiliate links. See our disclosure policy.
Island Pecan Pie is loaded with pineapple, coconut, and pecans in a delicious creamy filling. A tropical twist on a pecan pie classic!
Featured with this recipe
I love how this Island pecan pie is a tropical treat you can make for any occasion. I tried it a few years ago for Thanksgiving instead of our classic pecan pie and it was a smashing success. This recipe originally came from an Arkansas diner that I tracked down on Pinterest. And boy am I glad I did! This is definitely my new favorite pie.
This different take on a pecan pie recipe is creamy and flavorful with sweet chunks of pineapple and crunchy pecans and coconut flakes. I’ve served it at Easter dinner, Christmas, and on warm summer Sunday afternoons. It’s versatile and a perfect recipe for any time of year.
And if you love tropical flavors, try some of these other delicious desserts with an island flair, like this pina colada poke cake, or these tempting coconut lime cheesecake bars.
Tips for Island Pecan Pie
- Homemade pie crust. Find the perfect unbaked pie crust recipe for homemade pie crust to save on time, you can find delicious ready-to-bake pie crusts in the freezer section of your grocery store.
- Edges. Crimp the edges of the crust with a fork or your fingers for an extra decorative touch.
- Whipped topping. I topped this pie with homemade whipped cream. Make basic whipped topping with heavy cream, sugar and add a little almond extract. It really complements the tropical flavors of the pie. Of course, store bought whipped topping works in a pinch, but homemade whipped cream just adds another level of creaminess to this already extravagant pie.
- Coconut. For added flavor, I like to top each slice with toasted coconut. Just spread a thin layer of coconut on a cookie sheet and roast in the oven at 325 degrees for about 5-10 minutes. The golden color really pops on top of a dollop of whipped cream.
- Ice cream. Scoop vanilla ice cream on top of your pie too!
- Storing. Store the pie in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! It will alter the taste and some of the texture but feel free to try macadamia nuts or almonds for another island twist.
Place your island pecan pie into an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator. Cover the pie with plastic wrap or foil to keep it fresh longer. You can either reheat the pie or enjoy it cold.
Depending on how you store it, the pie can stay fresh for three to four days in the refrigerator.
We don’t always recommend freezing pies but this pie is a great dessert to store in the freezer. Tightly wrap the pie in plastic wrap or aluminum foil then store in an airtight bag. Freeze for two to three months. When ready to enjoy, thaw in the refrigerator.
We are always finding ways to make our recipes gluten-free. This is a great dessert to make gluten-free! Use or make a gluten-free pie crust. For other ingredients make sure that the labels and product are gluten-free.
To avoid the cracking on top make sure not to overbake the island pecan pie. Take it out of the oven once the center is set.
More Delicious Pie Recipes
- Coconut Cream Pie – Coconut Cream Pie is a dreamy island dessert with a flaky crust with coconut filling that is made from scratch and toasted coconut sprinkles.
- Creamy Lemon Pie – This Creamy Lemon Pie is packed full of tart, lemon flavor and creamy goodness. This recipe is super easy to make and is always a crowd-pleaser!
- Butterscotch Pie – This creamy butterscotch filling is spread into a flaky pie crust and drizzled with butterscotch topping then sprinkled with butterscotch chips. It’s a butterscotch lover’s dream.
- German Chocolate Pie – This pie recipe comes straight from Amish country. The rich, gooey, chocolate filling is to die for!
- Key Lime Pie – Straight from Savannah, Georgia, this pie is smooth and creamy with the perfect blend of tart and sweet.
- ALL OUR PIES
Island Pecan Pie
Video
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon corn meal
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 5 eggs
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup pecans coarsely chopped
- 1 cup crushed pineapple thoroughly drained
- 1 cup coconut sweetened
- ½ cup butter melted
- 1 pie crust unbaked
Homemade Almond Whipped Cream
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 3 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
Topping
- 1/2 cup coconut toasted
Instructions
- Beat the sugar, cornmeal, flour, eggs, and salt together.
- Gently stir in the pecans, pineapple, and coconut (don't beat it). Stir in the melted butter and mix well.
- Pour the mixture into an unbaked pie shell.
- Bake at 300 degrees for approximately 50 to 60 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven. Cover the crust edge with some aluminum foil to keep it from burning. Cook for 15 to 30 more minutes, or until the pie is set.
- Allow the pie to cool and then refrigerate until ready to serve.
Homemade Almond Whipped Cream
- With a mixer, whip heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add sugar and almond extract. Continue to whip until stiff peaks form or until it reaches your desired consistency.
- Top with toasted coconut.
Can you use a frozen pie crust?
Yes, that will work!
Could this pie be frozen?
I have not tried freezing this pie, but you can freeze pecan pie and I don’t think there would be much difference. Wait until the pie is completely cool. Cover it well with plastic wrap and then foil. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Thank you for asking!
Hi, I tried making this, and also found that I had enough filling for two pies. I think you may want to specify the size of eggs you used. I only ever have large or extra large in the house, so I used 4 instead of the 5 you state, just in case you use a smaller size. And I still had a LOT of filling. I love the idea of the filling, but with the amount of sugar you are using, unsweetened coconut may help cut the sweetness others have experienced.
My daughter has made this twice. First time followed exactly. Did not come out firm. 2nd time she increased baking time. Still not firm but very good. She did drain pineapple. Any reason as to it being runny?
I’m not sure why, my suggestion would be to cut the amount of pineapple next time. Maybe try doing 3/4 of what you would normally do.
Can you use another fruit besides pineapple I would love to make this but have a daughter with severe pineapple allergy?
hmmm that is a good question… I am guessing Mango would be the closest substitute that would still taste “island-y”
Hello.
I have a question. A lot of the recipes on this site call for flaked coconut. Are these recipes using sweetened flaked coconut?
Yes, all of them are sweetened unless otherwise noted. Hope this helps!
This looks so delicious! Going to try this very soon. Can’t help but wonder if chocolate chips would be a tasty addition?! Thanks for sharing this!
You can definitely add chocolate chips if you need your chocolate fix! We haven’t done it that way before but I don’t see why not!
Love the pie. I prebaked the pie crust.poked holes in the crust all over the bottom when it thawed out.then put the filling in. The pie crust did not burn it was a light brown even after cooking the pie for over an hour
Pie has been in the oven for almost an hour and a half and it’s still very loose. What did I do wrong? I can’t see two tablespoons of thickener
( flour and cornmeal) making all those eggs set up.
I’m not sure, I’ve made it numerous times and it has always turned out. Did you drain the pineapple?
I saw your comment and wanted to email to see if you ever fixed your problem? Same thing happened to me. I took it out after 1.5 hour, left it to set and when cut it, was shocked, it was all watery. I threw it away. I followed the recipe to a T, drained pineapple, all that.
I want to try again but kind of scared now. Ho do you test it if it’s ready? By poking it from time to time? Should it maybe stay 2 hours in the oven? How would one know it’s time for it to come out, to avoid the ‘loose pie’ problem?
I’m so sorry, it’s hard to say what went wrong. Maybe next time try just dicing up some fresh pineapple instead of using the crushed pineapple, then don’t pull it out of the oven until you can lightly press the center and it doesn’t feel runny underneath.
Has anyone tried this with no pie crust? I’, thinking there are many eggs in this recipe and makes it similar to a quiche. I routinely make quiche with no crust since the eggs set up beautifully without a pie crust. Wondering what would happen with no crust. Any thoughts?
Hi emily,
Thanks for sharing the recipe! It came out really good i think! If I made it tonight for tomorrow should I put it in the frog over night?
Thanks so much!
Carissa 🙂
Yes, I always keep it in the fridge.
Hope the frog isn’t too full.
Lol….
HAHA HAHA !! I LITERALLY JUST GOT FINISHED QUIETLY CRACKING UP FROM THAT ADORABLE TYPO UNTIL I SAW NANCYS RESPONSE! ! You’ll never know how badly I need the pie and chuckle! Impossible without carissa..thank you and I mean no disrespect❤
OMG!! HAHA!! I LOVE PEOPLE!!
thanks for sharing recipe, would you also have a recipe for a hawaiian fruitcake, yellow, not dark.it has pineapple,coconut, macadamia nuts?
No, we have a Hawaiian wedding cake though.
Delicious! I made for a euchre game and every body ask for the recipe.
Great job. Tkanks.
Thank you for the feedback! We are so glad it was a hit!
I made this pie two days ago. My husband is not big on pies, but he loved this one!
Don’t you hate when people make substitutions? Sorry! I didn’t have pecans, so I put in chopped walnuts. Still delicious, but I will use pecans next time.
Also, as some of the others said, I had enough filling to make two pies! Surprise! I wonder if I just mixed it too much (as you said you didn’t want the eggs to fluff) or if it is possible to cut the recipe in half next time?
I used sugar and I wonder about using the Splenda Baking Blend next time. I liked the idea of subbing in some apple sauce for some of the sugar as suggested above, too.
Oh, I thought the crust would get too soggy with the filling, so I put it in the oven for about 5 minutes before adding the filling. It didn’t really bake it, but it firmed up the bottom just a bit. Maybe next time I will try it as you advised since the comments don’t seem to criticise the crust for getting soggy.
Great recipe!
Haha! No, we don’t hate it when people make substitutions. It’s fun to try new things and you’ve got to use what you have on hand. I’ll do just about anything to save myself a trip to the grocery store to get just one thing.
It also makes great little tart size pies, just have to watch them closer while baking. Great for big gatherings or bake sells
What a good idea! Thanks!
Got this recipe from my husbands Aunt, about 20 yrs ago ( minus the pecans). Lost my recipe book it was in & Aunt passed away. Asked everyone in the family & no one knew what I was talking about. Recipe book was found & have enjoyed the pie. Will make note of adding pecans. I also cut coconut in 1/2 (not a real big fan) & up the crushed pineapple by same amount. Still very very good!!
Hi Emily, I’ve had this saved to try for a while. We are having my Dad’s 90th birthday party soon and I’d like to try this for part of the three day menu. However, there are going to be so many people that will want to try it–this is what I’m wondering???? What do you think about doubling the recipe and putting it into a 13 x 9 dish without a crust? Will it be too hard to cut this method? If it absolutely needs a crust, what about a shortbread type crust???
Thanks, Barbara
I’m not sure, I have never tried that! I would probably do some sort of crust along the bottom of the pan. If it were me, I would probably just make 2 pies.
No one in my family particularly likes pue crust. But they do like graham cracker crust. Do u think I can make this recipe for them using a graham cracker crust and also using a 9 ×13 baking dish?
If that is what your family would prefer, I would say: “Go for it”! Let us know how it turns out!