This super easy, no-bake German Chocolate pie recipe has everything you love about German Chocolate cake in a creamy, rich pie. It goes together quickly because of a buttery crumb crust and after just a few hours in the fridge it's ready to wow your family, impress your guests, or give you serious brownie points at the next church potluck.
Shopping list
For this recipe you'll need:
- Prepared crumb crust
- German's Sweet Chocolate (German Chocolate)
- Heavy cream
- Butter
- Sugar
- Brown sugar - I prefer the light brown sugar for this but either is fine.
- Evaporated milk - make sure you get evaporated and not sweetened condensed!
- Egg - I use large eggs
- Vanilla
- Pecans
- Sweetened flaked coconut
What is German chocolate pie?
If you've ever eaten German chocolate cake you've got a pretty good idea of what this pie is! At its most basic it's a chocolate pie with a pecan and coconut topping or pecans and coconut stirred in to the chocolate pudding.
The thing that I didn't like about that recipe was that the pudding was too soft for the topping.
It was a weird texture combination for me - and I didn't remember it being that soft, pudding like texture back in the day. So, I tried a baked chocolate custard - and that didn't make the grade, either.
Finally I tried this extra rich chocolate ganache and, like Goldilocks, found that it was just right!
How to toast pecans
Toasting the pecans (and coconut) for this German Chocolate pie topping makes ALL the difference. You can skip this step if you must but... it's SO much better with them toasted!
- Preheat the oven to 350F
- Chop Pecans -You don't have to always chop the pecans before toasting but for this recipe it's necessary. Just chop them coarsely while the oven is preheating.
- Toast Pecans - Add the pecans to a cookie sheet and place in the oven.
- Stir the pecans well about halfway through. This allows all the surfaces to get toasted.
- Watch the pecans carefully. When they start to get aromatic remove them from the oven. It takes about 5 minutes.
How to toast coconut
You'll toast coconut basically the same way as the pecans above but preheat the oven to 325F. Coconut will go from golden brown to crispy black in seconds so you'll need to watch it very carefully.
FAQs
Here are the most commonly asked questions about this recipe. If you don't find the answer to yours here leave a comment below or email me - I'll get back to you as soon as I can!
What is German chocolate?
German chocolate isn't chocolate from Germany. It's actually German's® Sweet Chocolate, created by Samuel German for Walter Baker & Company in 1852.
He created it with the sugar already in it to be more convenient for bakers - a cutting edge development at the time. It's sweeter than semi-sweet chocolate but also has a dark, rich flavor. If you can't find German chocolate (as we call it) in your store you can substitute dark chocolate.
Can this be frozen?
Most chocolate pies don't freeze well but this German Chocolate Pie freezes beautifully for up to 3 months because it is made with ganache.
How can I make a chocolate crust?
If you want your pie to be extra chocolaty make it in a chocolate cookie crumb crust as I have in this recipe! Crumb crusts are super easy, no-bake, and take almost no time at all to make.
How long does chocolate pie last?
A chocolate pie will keep in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for 4 days or so.
How do I store it?
Cover tightly and store chocolate pie in the refrigerator. This German Chocolate Pie can be frozen for up to 3 months but pudding based chocolate pies don't freeze well.
Step by step images
- Bring the cream to a simmer and stir in the chocolate.
- Whisk until smooth and chocolate is completely melted.
- Whisk in butter.
- Pour into prepared pie crust.
- Chill for 3 hours, minimum. You may refrigerate it up to 3 days or freeze for longer storage.
- Mix the sugars, evaporated milk, and butter in a saucepan. Cooking, stirring, until the butter is melted and mixture boils. Remove from heat and whisk in egg. Cook 2 minutes.
- Stir in the vanilla, pecans, and coconut.
- Spread on cooled pie.
- Chill thoroughly before slicing and serving.
Recipe tips
This pie is really easy - Beginner level.
- Make sure you choose a good quality chocolate - it will be creamier and more flavorful.
- You can use any sort of chocolate - bittersweet, dark, milk... whatever you like.
- When you heat the cream for the ganache make sure you don't let it come to a boil. Just heat until bubbles start to pop around the edge.
- Put the pie crust in the freezer while you are working on the filling - it just works better.
- Make sure the pie is well chilled before cutting and dip your knife in boiling water before each cut. It will cut more evenly and smoothly.
- It's normal for a crumb crust to crumble a little during cutting and transferring to a plate but the more chilled the pie is the less likely it is to happen.
You may need
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I HATE trying to get a pie out of the oven and inadvertently breaking the edge of the crust with the hot pad. I don't like my perfect pie crusts to be crumbled and yet, nearly every time, I mess up one of the edges getting it out of the oven or even the fridge.
Well, with THESE Pyrex easy grab pie plates that doesn't happen! The edges are wide so you have plenty of room to hold the pie plate without messing up the crust. YAY! 
More great pies!
- Chocolate Chess Pie - Made without the ingredient made famous in "The Help".
- Texas Flood Pie - Like Mississippi Mud Pie only BETTER.
- Millionaire Pie - used to get this rich creamy pie after church at Furr's!
This is one of those pie recipes you're going to want to put on your "A" list! So easy, so quick, and SO good. I like to have a couple of them in the freezer for "pie emergencies" like unexpected company or a neighbor who needs a little love. Give it a try and let me know what you think...
I also make it with this Oreo Crust for more chocolatey flavor!
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📋Recipe
No-Bake German Chocolate Pie
Print Add to CollectionIngredients
- 1 Crumb crust, prepared - may use Restless Chipotle Oreo Crust
German Chocolate Filling
- 16 ounces German's Sweet Chocolate , may substitute bittersweet chocolate
- 2 1/4 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature, cut into pieces
Coconut Pecan Topping
- 2/3 cup evaporated milk
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 1/2 cups coconut, shredded sweetened - toasted
- 2/3 cup pecans, chopped and toasted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 6 tablespoons butter, cubed
Instructions
Chocolate Ganache Filling:
- Heat cream in microwave (or on top of the stove) until it is steaming hot.
- Add the chocolate and stir until smooth. (If the chocolate won't melt all the way you can add it to the microwave and heat it for 20 second increments, stirring in between - just until it is melted and blends with the cream)
- Stir until smooth.
- Add in the butter and stir until well blended.
- Pour into the prepared crust, either cookie or chocolate (or even a traditional pastry that's been pre-baked!)
- Cover and chill for at least 2-3 hours.
Coconut-Pecan Topping
- Toast the coconut and pecans as directed in the notes below.
- Set aside.
- Whisk the egg in a small bowl until it's completely blended.
- Set aside.
- Combine the evaporated milk, sugars, and butter in a small saucepan.
- Cook, stirring continually, until butter is melted and mixture comes to a boil.
- Remove from heat.
- Whisk a little of the hot milk mixture into the egg then add it back to the pan, whisking continually so you don't end up with scrambled eggs.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, coconut and pecans.
- Spoon over the chilled filling .
- Chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Make sure you choose a good quality chocolate - it will be creamier and more flavorful.
- You can use any sort of chocolate - bittersweet, dark, milk... whatever you like.
- When you heat the cream for the ganache make sure you don't let it come to a boil. Just heat until bubbles start to pop around the edge.
- Put the pie crust in the freezer while you are working on the filling - it just works better.
- Make sure the pie is well chilled before cutting and dip your knife in boiling water before each cut. It will cut more evenly and smoothly.
- It's normal for a crumb crust to crumble a little during cutting and transferring to a plate but the more chilled the pie is the less likely it will happen.
- You can melt some extra chocolate and drizzle it on top for a nice finish.
- Preheat the oven to 350F
- Chop Pecans -You don't have to always chop the pecans before toasting but for this recipe it's necessary. Just chop them coarsely while the oven is preheating.
- Toast Pecans - Add the pecans to a cookie sheet and place in the oven.
- Stir the pecans well about halfway through. This allows all the surfaces to get toasted.
- Watch the pecans carefully. When they start to get aromatic remove them from the oven. It takes about 5 minutes.
Frankie
Sounds wonderful!!!
Marye
It's so good! Jumped right to the top of my favorite.