German Chocolate Pie

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This German chocolate pie recipe includes a rich and creamy chocolate filling inside a flaky buttery pie crust with toasted coconut and pecans on top.

Slice of German Chocolate Pie

This is a decadent German chocolate pie recipe that is really simple to make. It is perfect for any holiday dinner (how good would it look on your Thanksgiving table?), but it also makes an ordinary family dinner extra special. Once again, I have Mama to thank for passing this pie recipe down to me. If you’ve ever had German chocolate cake (a very popular dessert in the Amish community), this pie is very similar. I’ve included more information about its origin below, but spoiler: it’s an American dessert and has nothing to do with Germany!

I promise this is an easy German chocolate pie to make. First, we melt the deliciously decadent chocolate with butter and then stir in the evaporated milk. Together, this ensures our pie filling is extra rich and moist, like a fudge brownie batter. I bet that caught your attention 😉.

Then we stir together the dry ingredients (sugar, cornstarch, and salt), stir in eggs and vanilla, then add the melted chocolate. This then gets poured into our flaky pie crust. The final piece of the puzzle is to mix together the chopped pecans and coconut flakes and add that on top before baking the pie in the oven.

The texture of this German chocolate pie is mouthwateringly good. You’ve got the toasted coconut and pecans, the flaky buttery pie shell, and the rich and creamy chocolate pie filling. Altogether, it’s a chocolate dessert recipe that the chocolate lover in your household is going to lose their minds over!

German Chocolate Pie ingredients

Recipe Ingredients

  • German chocolate
  • Unsalted butter
  • Evaporated milk
  • Sugar
  • Cornstarch
  • Salt
  • Eggs
  • Vanilla extract
  • Chopped pecans
  • Sweetened flaked coconut
  • An unbaked deep dish pie shell

How to Make German Chocolate Pie

Melt butter and chocolate over low heat.

In a small saucepan (or whichever pot jumps out of the cabinet first), melt chocolate and butter over low heat, stirring constantly.

Take off heat and stir in the evaporated milk.

Once they are melted and well blended, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the evaporated milk. Set aside.

Whisk together dry ingredients in mixing bowl.

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients: sugar, cornstarch, and salt.

I just used a whisk because I have fifty million whisks in my kitchen. I love those things, almost as much as I love tongs. Y’all, I probably have sixty million pairs of tongs – but anytime I see a good whisk or set of tongs I still buy them! Because I am quite sure I always need just one more.

Stir in eggs and vanilla.

Stir in eggs and vanilla.

Gradually stir in the chocolate mixture.

Gradually stir in the chocolate mixture.

Pie filling mixed together.

It’ll look like this and smell like a little chocolate heaven.

Pour filling into pie crust.

Pour this into your unbaked pie crust. 

Quickly mix together coconut and pecans.

Mix your coconut and pecans together a little bit. You can just use a spoon or toss it with your fingers.

Add coconut/pecan mixture to the top of the pie and bake.

Sprinkle on top of the pie.

Bake at 375 for 45-50 minutes until puffed and brown. But check it after 30 minutes and if the coconut looks like it might burn, cover it with aluminum foil for the remainder of the cooking time.

German Chocolate Pie

Allow the pie to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Note that some have reported mandatory cooling times of over an hour (up to four hours), so see what works best for you. Personally, I’m digging in after 30 minutes!

Refrigerate any leftovers and serve reheated or cold.

German Chocolate Pie

Enjoy!

Storage

  • Store leftover pie in an airtight container or covered in plastic wrap in the fridge for up to 1 week. As mentioned above, you can briefly reheat in the oven or air fryer or serve cold.
  • You can also freeze the pie for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge before reheating as above or serving cold.

Recipe Notes

  • You’ll find German chocolate in the baking aisle of most grocery stores. If you can’t find it, don’t stress. Any dark baking chocolate will do. German chocolate is sweeter than semi-sweet chocolate, but you can use that in a pinch as well.
  • Instead of vanilla, add almond extract.
  • Another easy substitution is brown sugar for white sugar or a combination of both.
  • You can use either evaporated milk or sweetened condensed milk.
  • If you’d prefer to use a homemade pie crust, here’s my recipe.

Recipe FAQs

How do you serve German chocolate pie?

Serve your slice of German chocolate pie with a dollop of whipped cream (here’s my homemade recipe) or a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some chocolate shavings.

Why is it called German chocolate pie?

The first thing to know is that German chocolate pie has nothing to do with Germany. It’s named after Samuel German, who made German’s Sweet Chocolate (a dark baking chocolate) in 1852. It’s most commonly used in German chocolate cake, which is basically this pie in layer cake form. It was first prepared in the US in the 1920s but then went nationwide thanks to a Dallas newspaper in the 1950s. The pie was a spin-off and the rest, as they say, is history.

I think you’ll also like these delectable pie recipes:

Chocolate Brownie Pie

Chocolate Fried Pies

Maple Pecan Pie Recipe

Chocolate Pecan Pie Recipe

Chocolate Chess Pie

German Chocolate Pie

German Chocolate Pie

This German chocolate pie recipe includes a rich and creamy chocolate filling inside a flaky pie crust with toasted coconut and pecans on top.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chocolate, pie
Servings: 8
Calories: 549kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 4-ounce package German chocolate
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
  • 1.5 cups granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 unbaked deep dish pie shell
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • 1 1/3 cups sweetened flaked coconut

Instructions

  • In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate and butter over low heat, stirring to mix well. Remove from heat and blend in evaporated milk. Set aside.
    1 4-ounce package German chocolate, 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
  • In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (sugar, cornstarch, and salt). Stir in eggs and vanilla until well blended. Gradually stir in the chocolate mixture. Pour into the pie crust.
    1.5 cups granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons cornstarch, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 unbaked deep dish pie shell
  • Combine the pecans and coconut and sprinkle over the top. Bake at 375 for 45-50 minutes, until puffed and brown. Check the pie after 30 minutes of baking and if the coconut is very brown, cover it with aluminum foil for the remaining cook time to prevent burning.
    1/2 cup chopped pecans, 1 1/3 cups sweetened flaked coconut
  • Cool for at least 30 minutes (or longer) before serving. Refrigerate any leftovers and serve reheated or cold.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 549kcal
Tried this recipe?Mention @southernplate or tag #southernplate!

This recipe was originally published in 2013. I updated the post and photos in 2020.

 “Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

~Abraham Lincoln

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50 Comments

  1. This pie is the best! Everyone that I have made it for just raves!!!!!!! As if it isn’t decadent enough, you could top it with vanilla ice cream!

  2. Hello, I made this stellar pie a few days ago for company. Excellent taste and quality. However, all the coconut and pecan topping sunk into the pie! The pie looked rather like a dry creek bed on top. Hahaha. So, I quickly called my husband and had him pick up whipped cream in a can. No one was any the wiser and we all loved the pie. Maybe next time I’ll wait 10 minutes or so to top the pie.

  3. I live in New Zealand, and we don’t have German Chocolate available here. What is an equivalent? Thanks!

  4. German chocolate pie – I may faint! I love the stories. Today’s youngsters cannot relate to the hard lives many of our parents & grands endured, and may they never have to experience such times. Yes, cooking for others is much better than just for oneself. Take care.

  5. Made this pie for Thanksgving…D-E-L-I-S-H!!!! Made it last night and put it in the fridge(being a nurse we had our Turkey day today) .That will definitely be THE Thanksgiving pie we will go back to…I microwaved each piece to take the chill off.FANTASTIC!

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