Old Fashioned Syrup Free Pecan Pie

I grew up making homemade pecan pie with my mom every Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was by far my favorite holiday treat.

These days, I enjoy baking pies with my own children. There’s nothing much more heartwarming than spending time in the kitchen baking and making memories with my kids.

Years ago, when we started eating healthier and avoiding things like corn syrup, I sadly gave up my beloved pecan pie. Don’t worry about me too much, I still had apple pie, pumpkin pie, all the other pies.

But still, I missed my old favorite….. pecan pie!

Old Fashioned Syrup Free Pecan Pie From Scratch

I confess that I have made pecan pie with organic corn syrup but it was just too sweet and I know that even though it was organic, corn syrup is definitely not the healthiest option.

What’s a girl to do when she just wants a HUGE little slice of her favorite pie? It may seem a bit dramatic but I REALLY wanted me some pecan pie! I was determined to figure this out.

That’s when I set out to find the perfect syrup free pecan pie recipe. I mean, HOW did they make it before corn syrup was invented? People have been enjoying pecan pie for hundreds of years. Long before corn syrup came about.

There must be a way.

I stumbled upon some recipes that used other syrups like agave, maple, or cane. I’m sure that they’re tasty but I just wanted one that used raw sugar instead of any kind of syrup. I just find that syrup makes pie way too sweet for my liking.

We did find a few syrup free pecan pie recipes along the way and tried them out. Then, I tweaked recipes and came up with “the one”! I’m pretty sure a beam of light came down from the heavens and angels sang.

Maybe not but it was just the right flavor and consistency without being so sicky sweet. Perfect in my opinion!

Now that I’ve done the work for you and HAD to test them out to save you the trouble. I’m just super nice like that, I’ll gladly share the recipe with you.

I was pleasantly surprised at how simple of a pie this is to make. If you’ve ever made pecan pie, you’ve probably found that they can be a bit finicky and not always set up well.

I’ve found that this recipe is pretty much fail proof. Now, my disclaimer here is that I’ve not had it fail on me. I hope you have the same amazing results that I do.

How to make the pie

You’ll want to preheat your oven to 375° F.

You will also want to have a 9″ pie rust ready to go. I prefer to make my own homemade crust but store bought will also suffice.

Melt your butter and set it aside to cool. You don’t want it scalding hot and risk cooking your eggs as you mix it.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, and salt.

Next, add add eggs and milk and mix well.

Stir in vinegar (this is key to cutting the sweetness just enough) and vanilla then add the melted butter. Now, add pecans and mix well.

Pour into your pie crust and bake for 45-50 minutes until set.

Check pie for doneness. When there is a 1 1/2″ center that is still a little jiggly but the rest is set, it is done. It will usually begin to crack on the top when it is done.

Allow to cool completely before cutting and serving.

Pro tip: Serve pie generously with generous amounts of whipped cream. Yeah, that’s super important!

I hope you’ll give this recipe a try and let me know what you think! Enjoy your pie.