Old fashioned gluten-free chess pie is the Southern recipe you didn’t know you were missing. It’s a rich, fudgy, chocolate chess pie with a custard that sets perfectly every time. That’s thanks to evaporated milk, which has less water content, plus a smidge of cornmeal and gluten-free flour in the filling. Pour it into my flaky, buttery gluten-free crust and bake.

a fork cutting into a piece of chocolate chess pie

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Best Gluten-Free Chess Pie Recipe – Chocolate Edition

In my family dessert comes in one flavor – chocolate. Any sweet that doesn’t fit this essential criteria is shunned into secondary status. So there is no better way to classic gluten-free chess pie than a fudgy chocolate version.

With Thanksgiving and holiday baking season upon us, I wanted to share an easy option to add oodles of homemade gluten-free pie recipes. It’s fudgy and creamy to make chocolate lovers happy, but also a great compliment to another old fashioned dessert, Hoosier sugar cream pie.

It was a simple adaptation to turn homemade chess pie into a gluten-free recipe. Traditionally they use little or no flour with a little cornmeal in the filling. I wanted my GF chess pie to be failproof though, which is why I added a little boost of thickening with a touch of gluten-free flour.

Many recipes use melted butter for the filling, but mine uses softened butter. Why? Chess pie lacks ingredients that will absorb liquid butter. Since the ingredients are primarily eggs, sugar, and milk, using softened butter helps build structure.

The matter of the pie crust was a no brainer. I already had my impossibly flaky gluten-free crust, tested rigorously with other high-moisture custard pies, such as apple and pumpkin. I knew it would be a success in this recipe as well.

It’s best if you bake it in advance, which makes it perfect for a holiday meal. Make the pie 1-2 days ahead of time and leave it at room temperature or refrigerate it after it cools. However, refrigerating the pie will make the filling more solid, more like brownies.

I have made this recipe several times. My family loves it. We love serving it with coffee ice cream, whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup. So delicious!

—Lydia

Let’s Make This Together!

(Below shows step-by-step photos and modified instructions. For the complete recipe, along with ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card.)

Chill and pre-bake the crust

After the pie crust dough has been rolled and fit into a pie plate, chill for 15 minutes. This helps gluten-free crusts bake up flakier since the butter will be nice and cold going into the oven.

The crust will start with a blind bake, meaning it’s baked partially without filling. This will make sure the bottom crust comes out crisp at the same time the filling is set.

an unfilled pie crust shot from overhead.
If you struggle with softer gluten-free crusts, use a metal pie plate and place it on a metal sheet pan to bake.

Easy peasy chess filling

First whisk together the dry ingredients. Adding cornmeal helps with thickening and gives a great course texture on top of the creamy custard. Use a mixer to beat in the softened butter, eggs, evaporated milk, and vanilla.

I prefer using canned evaporated milk because excess water content has been removed. Less baking time is needed to evaporate the liquid.

the filling for the pie in a mixing bowl.
The filling comes together in minutes. Just mix all together in a bowl and pour.

Pour in and second bake

Pour the filling into the partially baked crust and bake on the lowest rack for 55-60 minutes. The top layer will be firm and crackly, like a brownie crust. Underneath there will be a slight jiggle, but it shouldn’t be liquidy or sloshy.

the pie after baking.
The hardest part of this pie is waiting to dig in! It has to cool for about 2 hours before slicing.
overhead shot of a slice of pie on a blue and white plate with fork resing on it

Bake This Like A Pro!

Some versions pour the filling into an unbaked pie shell to bake. Typically those recipes set the oven to 350ºF and bake for a shorter time, like 45 minutes. However, I prefer to bake the pie at a lower temperature for longer. This prevents the filling from curdling or cracking.

With the extended baking time, I highly recommend protecting the outer edges of the crust so they do not become overly browned. One of my favorite affordable kitchen gadgets, this handy dandy pie shield, is so easy to just plop on instead of messing around with foil edges.

a piece of chess pie with a bit taken out
Serve it simply as is, or dollop with whipped cream, a scoop of ice cream, or fresh berries.

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a fork cutting into a piece of chocolate chess pie
4.07 stars (33 ratings)

Fudgy Chocolate Gluten-Free Chess Pie

Melissa Erdelac of MamaGourmand headshot in patterned dress.Melissa Erdelac
Yield: 8
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Old fashioned gluten-free chess pie is the Southern recipe you didn't know you were missing. It's a rich, fudgy, chocolate chess pie with a custard that sets perfectly every time. That's thanks to evaporated milk, which has less water content, plus a smidge of cornmeal and gluten-free flour in the filling. Pour it into my flaky, buttery gluten-free crust and bake.
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Ingredients
 

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 425°F and adjust oven rack to lowest position. Roll pie crust and fit into a 9 inch pie plate. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
    1 gluten-free pie dough recipe
  • Line the bottom of the crust with foil or parchment paper. Place pie weights or dried beans on top of liner. Bake on the bottom rack for 5 minutes. Lower the temperature to 325°F and bake 4 minutes longer. Remove the liner and weights and bake 3-4 minutes longer. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
  • In a large bowl whisk together sugar, cocoa powder, cornmeal, flour, and salt. Add softened butter, eggs, evaporated milk, and vanilla extract to the bowl. Use a mixer to beat until well combined.
    1 ¼ cups granulated sugar, 5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons cornmeal, 1 tablespoon gluten free all purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon salt
  • Add softened butter, eggs, evaporated milk, and vanilla extract to the bowl. Use a mixer to beat until well combined.
    ⅓ cup unsalted butter, 3 large eggs, 5 ounce can evaporated milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Pour the filling into the partially-baked crust and bake at 325°F on the lowest rack for 55-60 minutes. I highly recommend protecting the pie edges with a pie shield so they do not become overly browned. The top layer should be set and underneath will have a slight jiggle, but not liquidy. Insert a toothpick to make sure it isn't wet liquid, but should have fudgy, moist crumbs. The filling should be a temperature of 200ºF (93ºC). Take the temperature in the center of the pie.
  • Place on a wire rack to cool 2 hours before slicing and serving. If you fear the pie will not slice well, let it cool completely, and refrigerate it for 1-2 hours. Serve at room temperature or chill.

Notes

Storing and Freezing
Chess pie does not need to be refrigerated. Store at room temperature up to 3 days. For a chilled custard pie, refrigerate after cooling. 
The pie may also be frozen after baking. To prevent a soggy bottom crust after thawing, bake at 375ºF on the bottom rack for 15-20 minutes. Use a pie shield or aluminum foil to protect the exposed crust from becoming overly brown. 
Calories: 354.96kcal, Carbohydrates: 47.89g, Protein: 5.62g, Fat: 16.71g, Saturated Fat: 8.2g, Cholesterol: 86.85mg, Sodium: 270.46mg, Potassium: 152.75mg, Fiber: 1.8g, Sugar: 33.19g, Vitamin A: 367.81IU, Vitamin C: 0.34mg, Calcium: 65.79mg, Iron: 1.43mg
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