This old fashioned Chocolate Meringue Pie has a rich chocolate filling, topped with stiff sweetened peaks, all piled into a flaky pastry crust. Your pie is ready to chill in just 30 minutes and is made with pantry staples that you probably already have on hand.
You may recall your favorite chocolate pie recipe being one of your grandma’s specialties, or at least it was for me. She could make meringue like no other and always made it look so easy! So today I am passing my grandma’s chocolate pie recipe on to you. We are going to be using a store-bought pie crust, but if you want to make your own, you can whip up a butter pie crust or an oil pie crust. Both are simple to make and only require 4 to 5 ingredients.
If you love classic, old fashioned recipes like this one you will love chess pie, chocolate cream pie, and lemon meringue pie. It wouldn’t be right if we didn’t include the American favorite, Granny Smith Apple Pie – but only if you serve it with a heaping scoop of vanilla ice cream! Looking for a no-bake pie? Try our Hershey pie! Or for a simple meringue cookie, try Easy Meringue Cookies!
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Why You’ll Love This Chocolate Meringue Pie Recipe
- It’s a crowd-pleaser for special occasions or family gatherings with the rich chocolate pie and fluffy meringue. Any chocolate lover will go crazy over this delicious pie!
- This homemade chocolate pie only requires pantry staples, so no fancy ingredients are needed.
- A simple, but delectable dessert that comes together in just 30 minutes.
🥧Ingredients:
Pie Crust Ingredients:
- Pie Crust – this recipe is for a 9-inch pie and a store-bought pie crust cuts down on the time to make the pie but you can also make your own flaky pie crust; we prefer homemade whenever possible.
- Granulated sugar – white granulated sugar
- Cornstarch – cornstarch thickens the pie filling and gives a smoother texture; it is slightly lighter than using flour to thicken
- Sea salt – salt enhances the flavors
- Egg yolks – be sure to keep the egg whites to make the meringue, eggs separate easier when cold, but the whites should be at room temp for whipping.
- Milk – it’s best to use whole or 2%, this makes the pie richer and thicker
- Cocoa powder – the unsweetened cocoa powder combines with the other ingredients to make the chocolate base
- Unsalted butter – softened
- Vanilla extract – enhances the flavor and gives a richness to the pie
Meringue Ingredients:
- Egg whites – you want these to be at room temperature for them to incorporate the most air when whisked
- Granulated sugar – sugar helps the meringue to stay stiff and adds sweetness
- Cream of tartar – cream of tartar help the meringue to stay stiff
For a full list of ingredients and their measurements, 📋 please view my printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Substitutions and Variations
- If you choose to make your own pie crust, please try this amazing recipe for a perfect, flakey, and buttery crust: Butter Pie Crust
- If you’d like an alternative crust, you can try a graham cracker crust instead.
- For those coffee lovers: try adding 1-2 tablespoons of espresso powder into the delicious chocolate filling.
- I’d only use whole milk or 2% milk in this recipe. Alternative milks don’t have enough milk fat to hold the pie together.
🔪 Instructions:
PREP: Prebake your pie crust and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Step 1: Whisk all the pie filling ingredients together in a medium saucepan. Do this BEFORE heating.
Step 2: Then bring the chocolate mixture to a gentle boil over medium heat. Simmer for 3 minutes while whisking constantly.
Pro Tip: Keep your beaters and your mixing bowl in the refrigerator or freezer to get the best meringue.
Step 3: While the filling is cooking, in a medium bowl, whisk the egg whites using an electric mixer or stand mixer until foamy and soft peaks form. Sprinkle in the sugar and cream of tartar and continue mixing until stiff peaks form.
Step 4: Pour cooked chocolate pie filling into the prepared crust.
Step 5: Add the meringue on top of the chocolate pudding, making little swooshes with a spatula.
Step 6: Bake until the top has toasted and is golden brown. Let it set for 4 hours before slicing and serving.
Recipe Tips for a perfect Chocolate Meringue Pie
- No need to temper the eggs or dissolve the cornstarch as long as you mix together the ingredients before heating them.
- If you want you can mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another, then combine – but I like washing fewer dishes!
- For a perfect meringue, while spreading the meringue, seal it all the way to the edge so it doesn’t pull away from the crust or crack when cooling.
- Mounding the meringue over the hot filling will help keep it from weeping (sweating) because it cooks from the bottom up.
- Room-temperature eggs (and egg whites) whip up better for a fluffier meringue.
- Make sure the yolks don’t get into the whites or else the meringue will not stiffen up.
Fun Fact
If meringue contained any type of fat like oil or butter, it would cave in and never form stiff peaks.
Recipe FAQ’s
This homemade pie is best eaten the day of making it. You can keep leftovers in the fridge for 2-3 days tented with aluminum foil or covered with plastic wrap, but the meringue will start to weep, making the crust soggy.
You want to pile the meringue on the hot filling immediately. This helps it cook from the bottom up. When the filling cools and you add the meringue, this is when the pie can get watery because the layers are separating.
We do not recommend freezing this meringue chocolate pie. When it thaws it will get soggy and the meringue just doesn’t hold up well.
More Easy But Tasty Pie Recipes
If you tried this old-fashioned Chocolate Meringue Pie or any other easy recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the 📝 comments below.
Chocolate Meringue Pie
Ingredients
Pie Filling:
- 9 inch pre-baked pie crust
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 4 egg yolks reserve whites for meringue
- 2 ½ cups milk whole or 2% preferred
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Meringue:
- 4 egg whites room temperature
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
Instructions
- Pre-bake pie crust according to package or recipe instructions.
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk together all of the pie filling ingredients before placing the pan on the stovetop.
- Once the ingredients are combined, turn on the heat to medium and heat mixture until it comes to a low boil. Simmer for 3 minutes, whisking constantly or scraping with a silicone spatula to ensure no mixture burns on the bottom of the pan.
- While the mixture is cooking, whisk egg whites using a standing mixer until foamy/soft peaks form. Sprinkle ⅓ cup sugar and the cream of tartar over the egg whites and continue whisking until stiff peaks form.
- Pour hot chocolate mixture into the prepared pie crust.
- Immediately top with the meringue, using a clean spatula to spread the meringue and seal down to the crust all around the pie. Make little swoops in the meringue to form pretty peaks.
- Bake the pie for approximately 5 minutes or until the meringue is toasted brown. Remove from the oven and allow pie to cool and set for at least 4 hours before slicing into it.
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Notes
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Jenny says
Great pie….easy prep!! Although I add the vanilla after I remove from heat so it doesn’t cook out…very tasty and reminds me of my mom’s, not too rich, just right!!!
Margaret Williams says
Sounds delicious but I substitute Nestles quick instead of your receipt.
Gigi says
PEFECT! I have been looking for a good chocolate meringue, this is it.
Stefanie says
I’m so glad you liked it! Thanks, Gigi!
Diane Buoy says
My favorite chocolate pie recipe! Thanks for sharing this…