If the mere thought of making and rolling out a pie crust sends you into a white-hot panic, this easy pecan pie cobbler recipe is for you. It delivers all the rich caramel-y goodness and crunchy nuttiness of pecan pie with a fraction of the effort.
Simply layer melted butter, batter, and pecans in a baking dish and pour boiling water over the whole shebang. You don’t even need to stir it. Then pop it in the oven and watch the magic happen. Thanksgiving desserts don’t get easier than this.
Featured Review
Very easy to make. I toasted the pecans for five minutes in a 350°F oven before chopping, and they didn’t get too brown. Since it is very sweet, I served it with unsweetened whipped cream. A delicious, decadent dessert.
Peg
Why Our Testers Loved This
The testers were delighted that this recipe delivered everything they love about classic pecan pie in an easy cobbler form. Not having to fuss with pastry made this a winner.
Terri Lyons describes this dessert as having “nice caramel flavors with sweet, crunchy, toasted pecans” and loved that “it truly does taste like pecan pie.”
Notes on ingredients
- Butter–If you’re using unsalted butter, add an extra 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the batter.
- Vanilla–Only the real stuff, puh-lease.
- Pecans–You’ll need to lightly toast the pecans before baking. Don’t overdo it, though, as they’ll toast more in the oven. To save time, purchase chopped pecan pieces.
How to Make Pecan Pie Cobbler
- Pour the melted butter into a 9-inch round baking dish.
- Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
- Pour in the milk and vanilla and mix well to combine.
- Scrape the batter into the baking dish.
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- Sprinkle the pecans and brown sugar over the batter.
- Pour the boiling water over the top, but don’t stir. Bake until puffed and golden brown. Cool for at least 45 minutes before serving.
Common Questions
You can toast the pecans in a skillet over medium-low heat on the stovetop, shaking gently frequently until they’re a shade darker than their original color and marvelously fragrant. This should take about 5 minutes.
Alternatively, you can toast the pecans on a baking sheet in a 350°F (177°C) oven until browned and fragrant, shaking occasionally, about 10 minutes.
You can, but I don’t recommend it. The cobbler and the pecans will lose their crispiness when thawed. Kind of antithetical to a crunchy pecan pie, right?
Absolutely. You can make this up to 2 days before serving. Store it at room temperature covered. Warm in a 250°F (120°C) oven for 20 minutes before serving.
I don’t recommend it. Although it is a very sweet dessert, our testers found that reducing resulted in the caramel syrup being too runny.
Let the cobbler cool for at least 45 minutes so it can set up, and don’t alter the amount of sugar in the recipe. It’ll smell amazingly tempting when it comes out of the oven, but letting it rest is critical for the filling to thicken.
Pro tips & troubleshooting
- You can prepare this in an 11-by-7-inch oval baking dish instead of a 9-inch round dish but don’t attempt to bake the pecan cobbler in a smaller dish as it will overflow during baking.
- You can halve the pecan cobbler recipe and bake it in a 1.5-quart baking dish.
- Place the baking dish on a foil-lined baking sheet before cooking in case it overflows or drips when being transferred to the oven.
- Cover leftovers and store at room temperature for up to 2 days.
More Great Pecan Dessert Recipes
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If you make this recipe, or any dish on LC, consider leaving a review, a star rating, and your best photo in the comments below. I love hearing from you.–David
Pecan Pie Cobbler
Ingredients
- 1 stick (4 oz) salted butter, melted
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
- 1 1/3 cups dark brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups boiling water
- Vanilla ice cream, or whipped cream, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (178°C).
- Pour the melted butter into a 9-inch round baking dish.
- Combine the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Pour in the milk and vanilla and stir until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the baking dish. Sprinkle the pecans and brown sugar over the batter.
- Pour the boiling water over the cobbler but DO NOT stir.
- Bake until the cobbler is golden brown and puffed on the edges, 35 to 40 minutes. Let it cool for at least 45 minutes before serving. It will thicken slightly as it cools.
- Serve warm, with vanilla ice cream.
Notes
- Baking dish size–You can prepare this in an 11-by-7-inch oval baking dish instead of a 9-inch round one, but don’t attempt to bake the pecan cobbler in a smaller dish as it will overflow during baking.
- Halving the recipe–You can halve the recipe and bake it in a 1.5-quart baking dish. The baking time will be slightly shorter. Start checking it at 30 minutes.
- Avoid drips and spills–Place the baking dish on a foil-lined baking sheet before cooking in case it overflows or drips when being transferred to the oven.
- Storage and reheating–Cover leftover cobbler and store it at room temperature for up to 2 days. Reheat in a 250°F (120°C) oven until warmed through.
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Nutrition
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Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This recipe for pecan pie cobbler delivers what was promised. The cobbler has lovely caramel flavors with sweet, crunchy, toasted pecans. It really does taste like pecan pie. The bonus is not having to fuss with fiddly pastry.
I had everything in my pantry, so I put this together in fewer than 15 minutes. Pouring water over cake batter was a new technique to me, and I really had no idea what to expect. The outcome is a delicious syrup at the bottom of the cake. When you first take the cake out of the oven, it sloshes around a bit because the cake is floating on top of the syrup. The cooling time allows the syrup to set up.
I used pre-chopped pecans as that’s what I had on hand. I toasted them, but I’m not sure they need it. I’m happy I only lightly toasted them as they get super brown and crunchy during baking.
We had it warm with vanilla ice cream. The ice cream not only helps to cut through the sweetness, it also adds a nice creamy touch.
I don’t like fruit, so I have felt quite left out of the cobbler-as-a-dessert camp. When I saw this recipe for pecan pie cobbler, little jackpot emojis and sounds lit up my insides. My favorite pie in cobbler form? What a treasure!
This is a tasty and much easier and quicker way to satisfy a pecan pie craving! It’s a great pantry recipe to throw together the night before a holiday gathering.
☞ TESTER TIP: Bonus: It reheated well, even three days after I made it.
What a brilliant idea! Taking the much-loved taste of a classic pecan pie but presenting it in a Southern cobbler form. This is one of those why-didn’t-I-think-of-that? recipes. And did I mention that it is a one-bowl dessert?
The time it takes to assemble is minimal, and it uses mainly pantry ingredients, which is excellent. We loved the fluffy cobbler batter, gooey pecan, and brown sugar topping.
What could be better for those who love a good pecan pie? This pecan pie cobbler.
The flavor is fantastic, and taste testers unanimously reported a rating of 10 out of 10. The dessert is quite decadent, but it’s difficult to stop having one more bite.
The intriguing method of pouring the boiling water over the pecans and batter felt a bit counterintuitive (who wants soggy pecans?). Still, the resulting baked cobbler is topped with toasted nuts over a biscuity layer with the pecan-pie-puddingish-stuff under the biscuit layer–not at all soggy and utterly delicious.
David, what happens when your spouse has a sweet tooth and gets to the dessert before you take a photo! Since he is the “Official Tester” and “Mr. Quality Control” there are high standards that must be met. Well – he inhaled it, and contemplated getting more! I am prepping for Thanksgiving, and decided to make a half recipe to test it.
I confess – and please do not judge me harshly – I have never been a fan of pecan pie. Just looking at it makes my teeth hurt. But, this is different. I did not have enough dark brown sugar, so I did half dark brown and half regular brown sugar. The smell was amazing. I really enjoyed it and didn’t find it as sweet as I feared.
My daughter is allergic to wheat, and gets migraines from pecans. Poor kid. I am going to try a gluten free version and use some walnuts. I will let you know how that version turns out.
In the meantime, my husband has given this a double thumbs up – along with a double lick the spoon. 🙂
MaryKay, if dessert disappeared before you could even grab a photo, I’m going to take that as the highest possible compliment.
I’m so glad to hear this converted a self-proclaimed pecan-pie skeptic. I’m with you — a lot of pecan pies can lean tooth-achingly sweet, so I’m delighted to hear this one hit a better balance for you.
I’m really grateful you shared about your daughter, too—that’s so tough with both wheat and pecans off the table. A gluten-free version with walnuts sounds like a great direction to go, and I’d love to hear how it turns out when you experiment. There are so many readers in the same boat who would benefit from your notes.
Please tell your Mr. QC I’m honored to receive the double thumbs up and the double spoon lick. Just doing my job, ma’am.
Very easy to make. I toasted the whole pecans for five minutes in a 350°F oven before chopping and they didn’t get too brown. Since it is very sweet, I served it with unsweetened whipped cream. A delicious, decadent dessert.
Peg, that looks ah-MAZ-ing!!! And I love the baking dish. Smart move to use unsweetened whipped cream, too.