I have had several requests for a healthier Pecan Pie – one that didn’t call for corn syrup. My family was happy for me to try this experiment. I’m excited to share that I was easily able to adapt a recipe to use honey in exchange for corn syrup. Simple as that! (If only all of the Real Food Makeovers were this easy…)
Hey, guess what else? Not only was this recipe simple to figure out – the filling for this pie only has five ingredients. It’s super quick to put together!
Honey Pecan Pie
Honey Pecan Pie ~ Real Food Makeover
Author: Laura
Ingredients
- 1 cup honey
- 3 eggs
- ⅓ cup melted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1¼ cups crushed pecans
Instructions
- Whisk first four ingredients together until eggs are beaten and everything is well mixed.
- Add pecans and stir.
- Pour mixture into an unbaked Whole Wheat Pie Crust.
- Bake in a 350° oven for about 45 minutes or until the middle of the pie no longer jiggles.
Here’s my Whole Wheat Pie Crust recipe.
(My use of the word jiggles proves how professional I am in my use of cooking terms.)
How about another, even easier Pecan Pie idea? Try these Easy Pecan Pie Bites! They are wonderful for your holiday dessert table because people can pop one or two in their mouths and still enjoy other favorite desserts too! Not that we all need more than one dessert. But that’s pretty much a holiday reality, right?
And while you’re working with pecans, you might try these great Cinnamon Sugar Pecans! They are a great gift or snack!
Thank you for sharing!!! Pecan is definitely, by far, my favorite… and now I can make it myself!
Can you taste the honey flavor? I have a recipe that just calls for regular old sugar.
Yes, we used a mild honey but could taste it a little bit.
Kristin, I would just use evaporated cane juice, or sucanat in a recipe that calls for sugar.
Your pie looks delicious!
We made a pecan pie for Thanksgiving and instead of the corn syrup, we used Sorghum molasses. It was delicious! I will have to try honey. Thanks!
Would this work using Maple Syrup instead of honey? And if so, would I use 1 cup?
I think so, and I think so. How’s that for a definite answer? :) I can’t say for sure since I haven’t tried it before, but I do think it would work.
YES! I did this at Thanksgiving =) Use the same amount that the
recipe calls for. You can also use 1/2 honey and 1/2 maple syrup.
Yes, you can use maple syrup. That’s what I use and it’s great.
My recipe is
1 cup sugar
3 T butter
3 eggs
1 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
I love pecan pie! I have been wanting to try a healthier version and found a recipe I wanted to try but its with maple syrup. I really like maple syrup so I think I am going to try that first but the honey is a great idea, too! :)
We use almost this exact recipe (adding a little salt and milk to the mixture). I’ve made it with all honey and all syrup before, but it seems that using 1/2 c honey and 1/2 c maple syrup is just right – then neither flavor overpowers the pie!
This sounds interesting. I want to make it, but, have you any idea what I could use for a crust besides wheat flour?
Eek, I’m not sure. Maybe do an online search for wheat free pie crust. I bet there’s someone with a good idea out there!
A crushed nut crust is perfect, I made mine with pecans, a little organic sugar and butter. Just google gluten free pie crust.
Pillsbury now makes gluten free pie crust. You can find it in the refrigerated section at your local store. It’s a little hard to work with but is a good alternative to wheat products.
I love pecan pie! I can’t wait to try this healthier version!
WONDERFUL!!!! I will try this!!
THANK YOU!!!!
Laura,
Sounds incredible- thank you! Do you think you could use maple syrup in place of the corn syrup?
Yes, I think that should work. :)
Real maple syrup is the best!!
Were you eavesdropping on my husband and me last night?! His favorite pie is pecan, and he had gone on a hunt to six different stores to find a pecan pie! I said, “Okay, I need to find a good pecan pie recipe.” So, thanks!
I’m a sucker for berry pies myself, but really – I just love pie.
I made this as soon as I saw the recipe. Cannot have the wheat so I divided the filling into buttered Pyrex cups and baked them for about 25 min at 350 degrees. Very good and not too sweet. Will make this again.
I’ll let you know what I find.
BTW, I am sad. Found out liquid smoke is a carcinogen! Ugh!
Pecan pie is one of my very favorites! My new favorite recipe for it is one that I got from allrecipes.com. It uses brown sugar instead of corn syrup. I think it tastes better and is not as messy as using corn syrup. I wouldn’t have thought to try using honey. That would be even more nutritious. Looking forward to trying it!
This sounds wonderful, but we like more nuts than all the filling, would adding more nuts (how much) take care of this
problem ?
You could add 1/2 cup more nuts. I think it would be delicious!
Thank you so much! My son has a corn allergy and corn syrup is banned in our home.
For a wonderful wheat free crust try a crushed nut crust, very simple to make way Yummy!
I love pecan pie, but I found a trick to make it taste so incredible. Try using milk or even if you want a more creamier pie, try half & half/cream. It tastes so good, almost as if it’s a blondie brownie!!!
Have made this several times now. I make it with half honey and half maple syrup. It slices better if you make it the day before. It is wonderful!!
You can also add in 1/4 cup cocoa powder and make a chocolate pecan pie. I make one of each. So easy!