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Chocolate Chess Pie is a gooey rich chocolate pie – almost like a fudge pie with just a bit different texture. It’s super chocolatey and perfect with a pastry crust – but we absolutely love it with a graham cracker crust for added texture. This will become a favorite pie recipe, no doubt!

slice of chocolate pie with graham crust on white plate with hot fudge


Why is it called a chocolate chess pie?

I’m in LOVE with this Chocolate Chess Pie, y’all. Have you ever had or made a chess pie? They’re probably some of the easier pies to make – one bowl for the filling, no prep, just stir – and they turn out perfectly every time.

Chess Pie, by definition, is a custard pie that’s a mixture of eggs, butter, and sugar, and then you add other flavors. Like peanut butter. Or lemon. Or peppermint. Or coconut! The result is a smooth and rich filled pie that has a texture not unlike the filling in a pecan pie. In fact, Pecan Pie is like a version of chess pie with nuts.

This chess pie? Is CHOCOLATE. It tastes and smells like a rich melty gooey brownie. Are you one of those people that set their eyes on the center of the brownie pan and will commit acts of treason to get to it first (ahem), then this pie is for you. It’s rich, chocolatey, fudgy, and it’s seriously one of the best things in the whole world.

overhead of chocolate pie in graham cracker crust with pink napkin

Ingredients Needed

  • Graham Cracker Crust: I used my regular recipe for graham cracker crust for this pie. It has graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter.
  • Unsalted Butter: start with it melted and the pie whisks together easily
  • Semisweet Baking Chocolate: this is the bar chocolate found in the baking aisle (not chocolate chips)
  • Flour: to bind the pie together
  • Sugar, vanilla, salt: traditional in chess pie recipes
  • Eggs + an egg white: this is the body of the pie and keeps it gooey, like brownies

Yes, you can make chocolate chess pie without evaporated milk or any milk at all!

Variations

  • Add 1 cup chocolate chips to the chocolate batter
  • Add 1 cup chopped peanut butter cups
  • Add 1 cup chopped nuts
  • Use a pie crust instead of a graham cracker crust
  • Use an Oreo cookie crust
A glass pie dish, perfect for a rich Chocolate Chess Pie, is filled with a pressed graham cracker crust. The light brown crust is evenly spread across the bottom and sides of the dish, resting elegantly on a white marble countertop. Ready to be filled with delicious chocolaty goodness.
A glass bowl containing smooth, melted chocolate with some residue on the sides evokes the indulgent allure of a Chocolate Chess Pie. The rich, dark chocolate reflects light, creating a glossy appearance reminiscent of the pie's decadent filling.
A glass pie dish filled with a rich, dark chocolate chess pie filling sits atop a wooden board. The pie boasts a golden-brown crumb crust along the edges. The chocolate surface appears smooth with a few visible bubbles.

How to make Chocolate Chess Pie

  1. Place graham cracker crumbs in a bowl and stir in sugar and melted butter with a fork. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9 to 10-inch pie plate.
  2. Melt the butter with chocolate in a large bowl. Whisk in the flour, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Whisk in eggs and egg white, one at a time, until the mixture is smooth. Pour mixture into pie dish.
  3. Bake until the top is puffed and filling is set in the center. Let cool, serve at room temperature. Serving: Top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Note on Pie Plates

This pie is a very full pie. I baked this in a 9-inch pie plate just fine, but don’t go any smaller. You can also use a 10-inch or a 9-inch deep dish.

Tip: bake it on a cookie sheet just in case it spills over (it shouldn’t but you don’t want that mess).

slice of chocolate pie with graham crust on white plate with hot fudge with bite missing

Storing and Serving

Cooling: once the pie is done baking, cool it completely then chill in refrigerator it to set. Cover with plastic wrap.

Serving: serve cold or room temperature

Storing: Chess Pie should be refrigerated, so cover and chill. Or you can freeze the pie for up to a month.

FAQ

How do you know when chocolate chess pie is done?

The pie is done when it’s puffed and cracked around the rim. It will no longer be jiggly in the center.

Help! My pie didn’t solidify and is liquid.

You can tell from the photos that the pie is gooey and fudgy but it should set. As long as you have followed the directions and baked it until it’s puffed and cracked and no longer jiggly it should set just fine. Cool then chill overnight to set before slicing.

How do you fix a runny chess pie?

Let it sit in the oven while the oven cools if you think it’s not done all the way or until it’s puffed and cracked around the rim.

slice of chocolate pie with graham crust on white plate with hot fudge

Chocolate Chess Pie Recipe

3.99 from 53 votes
This delicious and rich Chocolate Chess Pie has a graham cracker crust for a new twist! The crust is thick and crunchy and the filling is rich, chocolatey, and fudgy. It’s the perfect pie for any occasion!
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Yield 12 servings
Serving Size 1 slice
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Ingredients
 

Crust:

  • 1 ½ cups (154g) graham cracker crumbs (about 9 whole graham crackers)
  • ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
  • 7 tablespoons (98g) unsalted butter , melted

Filling:

  • 8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter
  • 4 ounces (113g) semisweet baking chocolate , chopped
  • 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 large egg white
  • 1 cup Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups chopped (I used minis, but any size is fine, just chop them), optional (see note)
  • Chocolate Whipped Cream for garnish
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Instructions

  • Note on the pie: if you’re using a 9” standard pie plate it will be a very full pie, as you can see from the photos. Bake it on a cookie sheet just in case, but it should not spill over. You can use up to a 10” pie plate, but do not use anything smaller than 9”. If you have a 9” deep dish pie plate, you can use that as well.
  • Make the crust: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grind the graham crackers in a food processor until they are a fine crumb. (You can also place them in a large gallon size ziploc bag and roll them with a rolling pin.) Place in a bowl and stir in sugar and melted butter with a fork. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-10” or 9” deep dish pie plate. Bake until firm, about 10 minutes.
  • Make the filling: Melt the butter with chocolate in a medium sized bowl. I did this in the microwave, heating on high in 30 second increments, stirring between each, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. (You can also do it in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water.)
  • Once the chocolate is melted and smooth, whisk in the flour, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Whisk in eggs and egg white, one at a time, until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the chopped peanut butter cups, if using. Pour mixture into prepared crust. Bake until the top is puffed and filling is set in the center, 35-45 minutes. Let cool, serve at room temperature. Top with whipped cream or ice cream. (Note that I get pretty slices because I chill my pies a few hours before cutting. That’s the secret to perfect slices!)

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

You can leave out the peanut butter cups or swap it with chocolate chips or nuts for other variations.

Recipe Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 1212kcal | Carbohydrates: 264g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 79mg | Sodium: 143mg | Potassium: 96mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 255g | Vitamin A: 501IU | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Dorothy Kern

Did you try this recipe? Click the stars to rate the recipe below

Other Favorite Recipes

This easy Chocolate Chess Pie Recipe is the best old fashioned southern pie! With a graham cracker crust the filling is gooey and rich – this is like a fudge pie and it’s so good.



Dorothy Kern

Welcome to Crazy for Crust, where I share recipes that are sometimes crazy, often with a crust, and always served with a slice of life.

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3.99 from 53 votes (44 ratings without comment)

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35 Comments

  1. I had a graham cracker crust in my pantry and needed a quick and easy dessert. I didn’t have any peanut butter cups, so I used a cup of white chocolate chips and it was just perfect. Thanks for a great quick & delicious recipe!

    Reply

  2. Hi there! Thanks for sharing the recipe, I’ll be making it soon. Should I store this pie in the fridge or leave it out?

    Reply

  4. This is such a great pie. I used a press in the pan pie crust,. I’ve made it dozens of times always getting great reviews from my coworkers. I do tend to use a heaping tabtablespoon of flour. It has always set just fine.

    Reply

  5. This pie was excellent. The crust had a very delicious butterscotch taste. I had a little trouble with making the crust, though. I used graham cracker crumbs in a box, so I had to guesstimate how much to use for 15 graham crackers, and I think I might have guessed wrong. When I started to bake the crust, it sank down. The sides sank about halfway down the pan, and the middle was kind of wet and molten after 10 minutes. That’s when I decided to add some more crumbs. I just put them on top and pressed the crust down again so the sides were all the way up. It still slid down when I put it back in to finish baking, but not as much. I still put in the filling and finished the pie, the crust just didn’t go all the way up the sides. So, I’m still not sure how much of the crumbs to use. My crust came out kind of hard to slice through, but very tasty.

    Reply