Pecan Pie Brownies
Pecan Pie Brownies are a rich, chocolate and pecan pie Thanksgiving dessert recipe that you’re going to want all year long!
I think we can all agree pecan pie is a must on Thanksgiving. I’ve tried switching it up and my Pecan Pie Cake Roll was a hit so this year I thought I’d see if I could do it again. These Pecan Pie Brownies take everyone’s favorite part of the pecan pie, the gooey, nutty filling, and bake it right on top of rich chocolate brownies. These brownies were out of this world good! The combination of chocolate and pecan pie filling is even better than your classic pecan pie.
If you love pecan pie as much as we do you have to try our Puff Pastry Pecan Pies , Pecan Pie Bread Pudding, and the original Southern Pecan Pie .
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It’s a simple recipe. I used a boxed brownie mix (one that makes a 13-inch x 9-inch pan of brownies) to keep things simple but if you have a favorite brownie recipe you can use that. These brownies will be very fudgy because the pecan pie filling soaks into the brownie as it bakes keeping it super moist. The pecan pie topping is the star of the show and I made it using my mom’s pecan pie filling recipe.
How to Make Pecan Pie Filling:
Normally pecan pie filling is heated up in a saucepan to melt the butter and then it is poured into a pie crust to bake. As it bakes it thickens into a pie filling. Since we don’t want to over-bake the brownies I cook my pecan pie filling in the saucepan until it begins to thicken so it doesn’t have to bake for as long.
- Whisk together the sugar, corn syrup, eggs, butter, and vanilla in a small saucepan. Place on the stove top over medium high heat and begin to cook, stirring continuously.
- After 15-20 minutes the sauce in the saucepan should have thickened enough to coat your spoon. Stir the pecans into the mixture and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
The mixture should be the consistency of runny oatmeal. Loose enough to pour but not liquid. NOTE: If the filling is ready before your brownies have finished their pre-baking you can just remove the filling from the heat until you are ready to pour it over the brownies. Cooking it slightly more will not hurt anything you just want it to remain pourable so you can easily add it to your brownies.
That’s it! After that you pour it over your partially cooked brownies and put them in the oven to bake for another 20-25 minutes. You’ll know the pie filling is fully cooked when you can jiggle the brownie pan and the pie filling only slightly wobbles in the center.
Tip for Making Pecan Pie Brownies:
The biggest issue I ran into with these brownies was the brownie not seeming to be baked enough. I have experimented with many different times and discovered that the type of container you baking in (metal or glass) and the brand of brownies can make a difference. Use baking time on the back of your box of brownie mix to determine how long to pre-bake your brownies. I baked mine for half of the time listed before adding my pecan pie filling on top. This gave me a fully cooked brownie with a very fudgy center.
I’ve got to tell you the kitchen smelled pretty amazing and when those Pecan Pie Brownies came out of the oven it took all of my willpower not to dive right in.It was worth the wait though and when the brownies had cooled I cut a few slices and all of my taste testers agreed that they were awesome enough to make it onto this year’s Thanksgiving dessert menu!
Want more pecan recipes?
PECAN PIE BROWNIES
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Pecan Pie Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 box Brownie mix , must have instructions for making in 13×9 pan + ingredients listed on the package
Pecan Pie Filling:
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 1/2 cups Light Corn syrup
- 4 Eggs
- 1/4 cup Unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 2 cups Pecans, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven according to brownie package instructions.
- Whisk together the sugar, corn syrup, eggs, butter, and vanilla in a small saucepan. Place on the stove top over medium high heat and begin to cook, stirring continuously.
- Mix brownies according to package instructions.
- Pour brownie batter into a greased 13×9 inch pan and place in oven to bake for 20 minutes. * see note about cooking time below
- As the brownies bake the filling in the saucepan should have thicken enough to coat your spoon (about 15 minutes). Stir the pecans into the mixture and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes until the mixture reaches the consistency of runny oatmeal. You want it to be loose enough to pour over the brownies but not liquid.
- When the brownies have finished pre-baking remove them from the oven and pour the pecan pie filling over them spreading it out to cover the brownies completely.
- Place them back in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the filling only jiggles slightly in the middle when you move the pan.
- Let cool to room temperature before cutting.
Notes
Nutrition
This post originally appeared on Real Housemoms where we were contributors.
I usually make pecan pie for my brother on Thanksgiving. I would like to try this recipe for him but he doesn’t like chocolate. I wonder if yellow cake could replace the brownie in this recipe? Thoughts?
I’m not sure about that because I don’t know how the cake would hold up to the extended bake time. You should give our pecan pie cake roll a try!https://www.homemadeinterest.com/pecan-pie-cake-roll-2/
I wonder if a Blondie recipe would work for Christina. Much more of a brownie texture without the chocolate.
Ooo I love that idea. We’ll have to give it a try!
KAT JETER & MELINDA CALDWELL Thanks so much for posting this. I love brownies and I love pecan pie (still a debate if it is pee con pie. Or pick Ann pie). So the combined lucious recipe was a God send. I’m particularly grateful that it is free since we find ourselves with fewer resources
ThankYou for sharing with people you may never meet. It’s a great way to make the world a better (and sweeter) place
You just made my day. I’m so glad you liked the recipe (and it’s pee-Can for sure, LOL)
I’m making this at my daughter-in-laws request. It look yummy! (And where I’m from it’s “puh-CON.) 😘
For the Pecan Pie Brownies, is there a particular temp to reach for the pecan/sugar mix? that would take out the guesswork. Thanks!
I really need to use a thermometer this year. I just make sure it is thick enough that it coats the back of my spoon.
Thanks. Please let us know what you come up with!
A temperature would be most helpful. It would take out the uncertainty. I think I cooked too long. However, still very delicious!
I made this today. I decided to try a cupcake version. I sprinkled the chopped nuts directly on the half baked brownies which made it easy to pour the filling over them. They came out great! Like little tartlets.
I LOVE that idea! Thanks for sharing and I’m glad you liked them 🙂
What type of pan worked the best?
A metal 13×9 inch brownie pan.
Is there an alternative to corn syrup for those of us who are allergic to corn?
Check out some of these substitutions https://www.thespruceeats.com/light-corn-syrup-substitute-1388889
Im wondering how to incorporate cream cheese into this because it just sounds so yummy!
We made Pecan Pie Cheesecake Brownies this year. You can find the recipe here https://www.homemadeinterest.com/pecan-pie-cheesecake-brownies/
is the sugar in the recipe white or brown? My pecan pie recipes are all brown sugar. Thanks!
We use white sugar in our pecan pie filling but you can substitute brown sugar if you prefer.
I’m making these for our work Friendsgiving lunch
next week and I am wondering which brownie recipe did you use, the fudgy brownie or the cake brownie?
Can’t wait to try these
I used the fudgy brownie recipe.
Can you use the cake like brownie choice on the brownie mix box? I would think this would prevent the finished brownies a better consistency?
Yes! You can do whichever version you prefer.
Has anyone had any left after 4-5 days? Are they still good? I’d like to make them and send them to my dad… 🙂
Could I make these ahead of time?
Yes you can make these ahead of time. I wouldn’t make them more than 2 days early so they are still fresh. They do not need to be refrigerated.
Thank you for the recipe and the notes. I will enjoy this when my family comes over. I haven’t seen some of them for four years.
Question! I don’t use box mix but I wanna make these! Any suggestions?
You can use your favorite homemade brownie recipe if you prefer. Just make them as you normally would instead of following the instructions on the back of the box and then follow the rest of the instructions as written. Your baking time may change depending on how long you usually bake your brownies just stop 5 minutes short of the longest baking time for your brownies (i.e. recipes says 20-30 minutes bake for 25 minutes).
I just made these to take to a Pecan Festival Cook Off tomorrow. I’m still waiting for them to cool, but they look and smell great!
Which baking dish works best metal, glass, or aluminum?
I prefer a metal baking dish.
Should eggs be beaten before and tempered into the rest of the ingredients ? Even at room temperature, would they not be like scrambled eggs? Or do you whisk all ingredients well before cooking even though you are stirring often. Not quite clear on that!
You should stir all of the ingredients together in a small saucepan and then cook over medium heat. If you continue to stir the mixture as it comes to temperature there shouldn’t be any scrambled eggs.
I don’t usually buy box mixes, will this work with homemade brownie recipe?
Yes, just make your homemade brownies as you normally would instead of following the instructions on the back of the box then follow the rest of the instructions as written.
Wonder if you could freeze these??
You don’t have to toast the pecan first?
You don’t have to but you certainly can if you’d like.
Do you think I could make these 3 days ahead of time, or would they dry out?
I wouldn’t make them more than a day ahead of time.
So good! My family loved these brownies.
So I’m a little confused. My brownies say to back for 22-25 minutes. So when I take them out at the 12 minutes mark to add the filling, do I bake them up to the 25 minute mark like my box says or an additional 25 minutes as your recipe states?
Hi Erika, you bake them for half of the bake time, pull them out of the oven and add the pecan pie filling, and then put them back in the oven for another 25 minutes.
do you stop stirring while it is thickening or do you keep stirring?
We made these today, but our brownie mix had a much shorter cooking time than the one you must have used only about 25 minutes. We followed your instructions because we were so worried about overcooking the brownies, and all the pecan filling sank into the brownie and didn’t sit on top. 🙁
Can you elaborate on what brand brownie mix you used? Because I think the brownies would have to be most of the way cooked before you were able to sit something as heavy as this pecan pie mixture on top.
I usually use Duncan Hines milk chocolate brownie mix.
I used the “cake” like option for making the brownies and maybe that will help those who say they were under cooked. When I poured the pecan pie on top it sort of sank in the middle but I just spread it around to it covered the edges which were a bit more “done” and everything worked out just fine! Will definitely be making again! Just remember to make well enough in advance to let everything cool down completely! But no matter what very good and will be making again! Enjoy…
This was so delicious! Took it to the Iron Bowl for tailgate and everyone loved it. Easy to make too.
Mine came out very chewy and stick-in-your-teeth on top. They’re excellent, but I worry about sending them to my dad and having him pull a filling out. Lol, but seriously that sticky. Are they supposed to be like that or should the topping be looser and gooey-er? Should I try again and bake them less? I did 2 eggs in the brownie, 10 mins, then 25- but I kinda thought they could have come out around 20… the whole top was jiggly so I wasn’t sure. Great flavor! Def a keeper chewy or not! Lol
It’s definitely a fine line between getting the brownie cooked enough and making sure the topping isn’t overcooked. If it was that sticky it probably could have come out of the oven a few minutes sooner. Even if the pecan filling in the center is a little looser it will still taste delicious and you might enjoy the texture of the filling on the rest of the brownies a little more
I made these as soon as I found this recipe and they’re delicious!! Followed your instructions totally. I’m a stickler about following directions. Loved Em so much baking tonight to add to our baked tins for family and friends as Christmas goodies!! Thank you so very much for sharing!!!!
The past few weeks I’ve been craving brownies~the Duncan Hines kind~and I always add chopped toasted pecans to the mix but pecan pie sounds SO decadent. I toast the pecan pieces in a dry skillet over medium heat swirling them around to prevent burning before adding them to anything.