Hey, y'all! There are few desserts more classic - and decadent - than Southern Chess Pie. While this is an old-fashioned recipe, some dishes never go out of style. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow... chess pie will always be on the menu!
Southern Chess Pie
This is my Auntie JJ's recipe, who was the best cook that I've ever known. I hope you all love it as much as I do!

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Southern Chess Pie Ingredients
- 1 unbaked pie crust, store bought
- 4 large eggs
- 1 stick of butter, melted
- 1 c. granulated sugar
- ¼ c. milk, room temperature
- 3 tbsp. yellow cornmeal
- 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice or white vinegar
- 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt

How to Make Southern Chess Pie
- Preheat your oven to 375°F.
- Using a fork, dock the bottom of your pie crust several times.
- Blind bake the crust. Line the frozen pie crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. You can also use dry beans for the pie weights; using pie weights prevents the pie crust from puffing up. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the parchment paper and weights and bake for an additional 3 to 5 minutes.
- Allow the pie crust to cool for a few minutes and reduce the heat of your oven to 350F.
- In a bowl, whisk together melted butter, sugar, eggs, milk, cornmeal, flour, lemon juice or white vinegar, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Whisk until well-combined.
- Carefully pour the filling into the pie crust. Bake until the edges and the center of the pie completely set. Bake time will be roughly 50 minutes. After 10-15 minutes of baking, shield the edges of pie crust with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning.
- Allow the pie to completely cool before slicing. Top with powdered sugar if desired.

Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- Remember to blind bake the crust. To blind bake, line the frozen pie crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. You can also use dry beans for the pie weights; using pie weights prevents the pie crust from puffing up.
- After 10-15 minutes of baking, wrap the crust (edges) of the pie with aluminum foil. This will prohibit the pie crust from becoming too brown.
- You can use vinegar or lemon juice in the recipe; that said, do not use both.
Frequently Asked Questions
Chess pie is a decadent pie that is popular in the south. The middle is sweet and custard-adjacent. The top of the pie browns due to the sugar content.
Cornmeal is added to chess pie for both texture and for thickening the mixture.
Vinegar or lemon juice is added to chess pie to balance out the sweetness. If you use vinegar, I recommend using white vinegar.

Other Recipes You'll Love

Southern Chess Pie Recipe

Southern Chess Pie
Ingredients
- 1 unbaked pie crust store bought
- 4 large eggs
- 1 stick butter melted
- 1 c. granulated sugar
- ¼ c. milk room temperature
- 3 tbsp. yellow cornmeal
- 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice or white vinegar
- 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F.
- Using a fork, dock the bottom of your pie crust several times.
- Blind bake the crust. Line the frozen pie crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. You can also use dry beans for the pie weights; using pie weights prevents the pie crust from puffing up. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the parchment paper and weights and bake for an additional 3 to 5 minutes.
- Allow the pie crust to cool for a few minutes and reduce the heat of your oven to 350F.
- In a bowl, whisk together melted butter, sugar, eggs, milk, cornmeal, flour, lemon juice or white vinegar, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Whisk until well-combined.
- Carefully pour the filling into the pie crust. Bake until the edges and the center of the pie completely set. Bake time will be roughly 50 minutes. After 10-15 minutes of baking, shield the edges of pie crust with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning.
- Allow the pie to completely cool before slicing. Top with powdered sugar if desired.
Notes
- Remember to blind bake the crust. To blind bake, line the frozen pie crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. You can also use dry beans for the pie weights; using pie weights prevents the pie crust from puffing up.
- After 10-15 minutes of baking, wrap the crust (edges) of the pie with aluminum foil. This will prohibit the pie crust from becoming too brown.
- You can use vinegar or lemon juice in the recipe; that said, do not use both.
Nutrition

Y'all come back now, ya hear?
My best,
JC
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Wanda
Delicious 😋Do you have a recipe for vinegar pie.