Chocolate Chess Pie is a rich, fudgy Southern dessert recipe made of the most basic ingredients. Always a crowd-pleaser, this Chocolate Chess Pie has the taste and texture of a gooey brownie.
This pie has a chocolate custard filling with a silky texture and buttery crust. It’s simple to make and perfect for any occasion.

Chocolate Chess Pie
The flavor is chocolate and sweet with a buttery, flaky crust. The filling is creamy, thick, and smooth.
This recipe is incredibly simple to make. It would be a great recipe for a child to help bake.

There are a lot of variations of chess pies these days, but the original recipe was vanilla flavor. I have recipes for Lemon Chess Pie and Apple Chess Pie, which has an amazing streusel topping!
I hope you enjoy this chocolate version.

Ingredients you need for Chess Pie
The full recipe with ingredient amounts and instructions is at the bottom of this post. You can save a tree and save the recipe to your personal and private recipe box right here on Call Me PMc. This way you’ll never misplace it.
- Pie crust
- Sugar
- Cocoa
- Evaporated milk
- Eggs
- Butter
- Vanilla extract
All southern chess pie recipes start with basic baking ingredients that you probably already have on hand – eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla extract. For this Chocolate Chess Pie, I include cocoa powder.

Ingredient Notes
There is a lot of chocolate flavor packed into this buttery, flaky crust. You can make a homemade crust using my Never Fail Pie Crust or Coconut Oil Pie Crust recipes. Both pie crusts are delicious and easy to make. Or, to make things really simple, you may use a premade pie crust. (You can pop it in your cart from the link or it’s in the refrigerated section in the store.)

Other recipes you’ll enjoy
- Tasty Recipes Using Fresh Peaches
- Magnolia Bakery Chocolate Eclair Banana Pudding
- Oreo Frosted Chocolate Cupcakes
- Dark Chocolate Pistachio Berry Cups
- Easy Truffles You’ll Love
- Pumpkin Pop Tarts
- Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosted Brownies


Chocolate Chess Pie
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Save To Your Recipe BoxIngredients
- 1 and ½ cups sugar
- 3 and ½ Tablespoon s cocoa
- 4 ounces evaporated milk
- 2 large eggs room temp and slightly beaten
- ½ cup butter melted (I don’t recommend using margarine)
- 1 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 pie crust refrigerated or homemade pie crust
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Form pie crust in a 9-inch pie pan.
- Bake in 350° oven for 45 minutes until the center of the pie is set.
- Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
- Serve at room temp or chilled in the refrigerator. Take it over the top with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream!
- Store any leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container.
Video
Nutrition

Barbie says
I have made this Chocolate Chess pie twice since seeing your recipe. My family loves it. It’s so creamy and smooth. Best chocolate chess pie I have ever made. Thanks for the recipe.
Paula says
Thanks so much!!
Chris says
If I cut back on the sugar, say 1/2 cup, will it change the texture or mess up the recipe? Would I need to put something in the place of the sugar to balance it out?
T Orr says
Made this last night. Great pie!!
Aldana says
how could i replace the evaporated milk, cause in Argentina i cannot get it. thankss
Peggy says
Do you have a recipe for plain “Chess Pie”? Or would it be the chocolate version minus the cocoa?
Paula says
HI Peggy. I don’t know if there’s a difference but this Buttermilk Pie recipe tastes just like a chess pie to me. This is the link for it: https://www.callmepmc.com/2012/04/pmcs-buttermilk-pie-call-me-pmc/
Geraldine Jackson says
I’m sorry, but I have to disagree with the name of the pie. I have never made a Chess Pie, but all that I have eaten and all I have ever heard about ingredients in a chess pie, contain cornmeal. It sounds like a buttermilk pie but you use evaporated milk and the chocolate.
Petra says
Geraldine is correct. A true chess pie calls for 1Tbsp cornmeal
joe says
much ink wasted printing 6 pages . how about printing recipe only. after seeing all those delicious and lovely pics. makes you crave. joe—thanks for recipe. am going to write it down
Paula says
Joe, I’m so sorry, it should just print the recipe. I will check on it and try to fix that.
Paula says
Hi Joe, I fixed the recipe so that it prints only… at least for me. If you get this will you check and let me know if it works for you? Thanks and again, I apologize for the trouble before.
Nicki GB says
I have always wanted to make one of these! may have to try your recipe for my Christmas dinner! I'm Nicki from http://www.fiveoritethings.com
Would love for you to visit me!
Julie says
I am inviting you to come and share this in my Show Your Stuff blog hop:
http://juliejewels1.blogspot.com/2012/10/show-your-stuff-44-seafood-mac-and.html
Savannah says
Thanks for sharing this lovely pie. It looks delicious. I am stopping by from Ladies Holiday.