📜 Origin story
Why Is It Called Chess Pie?
The South's pantry pie has a name nobody can explain. The pie itself is easier to trace: it is an old British custard that picked up an American name.
By Americanized · Edited by JP Lambiase · October 19, 2026
Nobody knows; there are three theories, and none is proven: "chess" may come from the English chess-cake (cheesecake), from the pie chest where the pies were kept, or from a Southern cook who said "it's jes' pie." The pie itself is older than its name, a British custard with an American name.
The three theories
Wikipedia traces the theories to the food writer Marion Flexner, who wrote about chess pie in The American Home in 1938, and to later newspaper and magazine stories. The first says chess comes from chess-cake, an old English form of cheesecake. The second says the pie kept so well that it lived in a pie chest, a cupboard for baked goods, and chest pie wore down to chess pie.
The third is the folksy one. Asked what kind of pie it was, a cook answered "it's jes' pie," because anyone with eggs, butter and sugar could make one. The Takeout, looking at the question in 2025, adds smaller theories about chestnut meal and the English city of Chester, and concludes there is probably no single answer. Nobody knows; these are the three theories worth knowing.
A British custard with an American name
The pie is easier to trace than the word. The food historian Michael Krondl traces it to the British transparent pudding, a sugar and egg custard baked in pastry, which he says was renamed chess pie in the United States, Wikipedia reports.
Mary Randolph's "The Virginia House-Wife," first published in 1824, has one. Eight eggs are beaten with half a pound each of sugar and melted butter, stirred over heat until thick, then baked in puff pastry for half an hour. Writing in Gourmet, Jean Anderson called Randolph's pudding chess pie in all but name, according to Wikipedia. The earliest recipe actually called chess pie that Wikipedia cites ran in The American Agriculturalist in October 1866.
The chess pie family
Chess pie is a pantry pie: eggs, sugar, butter, and often a spoonful of cornmeal. Wikipedia says cornmeal is used sometimes, so it is common, not a rule. In our Southern lemon chess pie, adapted from America's Test Kitchen, a little cornmeal stands in for flour, which ATK found tasted raw in such a simple filling, and helps the top bake into a thin, crackly crust.
Its closest relative is buttermilk pie. The two are often confused, and the usual line is that chess pie has cornmeal and buttermilk pie does not. Cousins, not twins. A famous New York bakery pie is a chess pie in disguise too: Wikipedia says its creator started from a 1931 Joy of Cooking chess pie recipe. Our home version is the gooey butter pie with an oat cookie crust.
Still a Thanksgiving favorite
Chess pie is not a museum piece. Southern Living reported that it is the South's most searched-for Thanksgiving pie, a finding Wikipedia cites from the magazine's 2024 update. Bake it with the rest of our holiday pies.
Questions people ask
What does chess pie taste like?
A very sweet, buttery custard under a thin, crackly sugar top. Lemon chess pie adds a tart edge; for a plain version, our recipe notes swap the lemon for a teaspoon each of vinegar and vanilla.
Is chess pie the same as buttermilk pie?
Cousins, not twins. Both are Southern custard pies made from pantry staples, and they are often confused. The usual line is that chess pie has cornmeal and buttermilk pie does not, while buttermilk pie has a tangier flavor.
Does chess pie need to be refrigerated?
America's Test Kitchen refrigerates its lemon chess pie for up to 2 days. It is an egg custard, so we keep it in the refrigerator once it has cooled.
Parts of this history are disputed. Where sources disagree, we say so.
Sources
More food facts
Cook it
Southern Lemon Chess Pie
The South's pantry pie: eggs, sugar, butter, lemon and a spoonful of cornmeal baked in a par-baked crust until the top turns into a thin, crackly sugar crust over a soft, tart custard.
Southern Buttermilk Pie
A tangy Southern custard pie: plenty of buttermilk, eggs and yolks, a little cream, butter and vinegar, baked low to 180°F in a fully baked crust, then flashed in a hot oven for a golden top.
Gooey Butter Pie with Oat Cookie Crust
A dense, gooey butter and brown sugar filling thickened with egg yolks and milk powder, in a crust of crumbled homemade oat cookie, baked briefly and frozen until it slices like soft caramel. Inspired by Milk Bar's Milk Bar Pie; not official.
Indiana Sugar Cream Pie (Hoosier Pie)
Indiana's eggless pie: sugar, heavy cream, butter and vanilla cooked into a thick custard on the stove, poured into a fully baked crust, chilled until sliceable and dusted with nutmeg.
Classic Southern Pecan Pie
The corn syrup pecan pie: eggs, light and dark corn syrup, butter and toasted pecans in a flaky par-baked crust, baked until puffed and just set and crowned with pecan halves.