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.
Edited by JP Lambiase
Change the estimate
Swaps change the price only: cook any meat to its own safe temperature. Where these numbers come from
Buttermilk pie belongs to the Southern family of "desperation pies", pies made from staples on hand when there was no fresh fruit. Wikipedia describes it as American and Southern, made from sugar, butter, eggs, buttermilk and flour, "similar to, and sometimes confused with, chess pie" but without the cornmeal (citing NPR, Southern Living and TasteAtlas). The difference you can taste is tang. America's Test Kitchen says most recipes bury it under sugar, so its version nearly doubles the buttermilk, adds a splash of vinegar, thickens with cornstarch instead of flour and bakes the custard low and slow so it never curdles. Set it next to the lemon chess pie (our Southern Lemon Chess Pie recipe) and you have the South's two favorite pantry custards.
🇺🇸 This one is American
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.
🇬🇧 The original
The British original is the mince pie: a small, sealed pastry of dried fruit, suet and spice that once held real minced meat. See the British Mince Pies recipe.
📖 Origin story: Why Is It Called Chess Pie? →
Why it works the kitchen science
Low oven, thermometer finish
300°F lets the eggs set without curdling the acidic buttermilk, and 180°F in the center is the point where it slices cleanly (ATK).
Egg white seal
Brushing the hot crust with egg white bakes on a thin waterproof layer, so a very wet custard cannot soak the bottom.
🧰 You'll need 8 items
Everything the steps call for. Tick off what you have before you start.
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Step by step
- Step 1
Make and chill the dough (see the crust baseline). Roll it to a 12-inch circle, fit it into a 9-inch pie plate, tuck the overhang flush with the rim and crimp. Refrigerate 40 minutes, then freeze 20 minutes.
- Step 2
Set racks in the upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 375°F. Line the shell with two 12-inch squares of parchment, fill with pie weights, set it on a rimmed baking sheet and bake on the lower rack 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden.
- Step 3
Lift out the parchment and weights, rotate the sheet and bake 5 to 7 minutes more, until deep golden brown. Brush the hot crust with some of the egg white and bake 1 minute longer.
- Step 4
Whisk 3/4 cup sugar, the cornstarch and salt, then whisk in the eggs and yolks until smooth. Whisk in the buttermilk, cream, melted butter, vinegar and vanilla.
- Step 5
Lower the oven to 300°F. Whisk the filling again and pour it into the warm shell right in the oven. Bake 10 minutes, then sprinkle the remaining 2 tsp sugar evenly over the top.
- Step 6
Bake at 300°F for 30 to 40 minutes more, until the center reads 180°F and the filling still jiggles slightly.
✓ What it should look like - Step 7
Raise the oven to 450°F. When it is hot, move the pie to the upper rack and bake 5 to 7 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
- Step 8
Cool on a rack 30 minutes, then refrigerate about 3 hours before slicing.
Southern Buttermilk Pie
Serves 8 · one 9-inch pie · 1 hr 45 min total
Crust (King Arthur's Classic Single Pie Crust)
- 1 1/2 cups (180 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp table salt
- 4 tbsp (46 g) vegetable shortening
- 5 tbsp (71 g) cold unsalted butter
- 3 to 5 tbsp ice water
- 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
Filling
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tsp (149 g) sugar, divided
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs plus 5 large yolks
- 1 3/4 cups 1% low-fat buttermilk (not nonfat)
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 tsp distilled white vinegar
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Equipment: Oven, 9-inch pie plate, Rimmed baking sheet, Instant-read thermometer, Measuring cups and spoons, Whisk, Pastry brush, Parchment paper
Method
- Make and chill the dough (see the crust baseline). Roll it to a 12-inch circle, fit it into a 9-inch pie plate, tuck the overhang flush with the rim and crimp. Refrigerate 40 minutes, then freeze 20 minutes.
- Set racks in the upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 375°F. Line the shell with two 12-inch squares of parchment, fill with pie weights, set it on a rimmed baking sheet and bake on the lower rack 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden.
- Lift out the parchment and weights, rotate the sheet and bake 5 to 7 minutes more, until deep golden brown. Brush the hot crust with some of the egg white and bake 1 minute longer.
- Whisk 3/4 cup sugar, the cornstarch and salt, then whisk in the eggs and yolks until smooth. Whisk in the buttermilk, cream, melted butter, vinegar and vanilla.
- Lower the oven to 300°F. Whisk the filling again and pour it into the warm shell right in the oven. Bake 10 minutes, then sprinkle the remaining 2 tsp sugar evenly over the top.
- Bake at 300°F for 30 to 40 minutes more, until the center reads 180°F and the filling still jiggles slightly.
- Raise the oven to 450°F. When it is hot, move the pie to the upper rack and bake 5 to 7 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
- Cool on a rack 30 minutes, then refrigerate about 3 hours before slicing.
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen, "Buttermilk Pie" by Cristin Walsh (July 10, 2013, revised July 2021), one 9-inch pie, serves 8. Amounts, the 375°F blind bake, the 300°F bake to 180°F, the 450°F finish and the cooling times are ATK's. ATK calls for a 9-inch single-crust pie dough; we write out King Arthur's Classic Single Pie Crust (see the crust baseline). America's Test Kitchen. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (2)
Tips
- Use low-fat buttermilk; ATK warns against nonfat, which makes a weaker custard.
- Pour the filling with the shell already in the oven so you do not slosh it carrying a full pie.
- Serve cold with berries; the tang loves fruit.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Buttermilk pie and chess pie are the same pie. Disputed: Wikipedia calls them similar and often confused; the usual line is that chess pie has cornmeal and buttermilk pie does not (Wikipedia, citing Southern Living).
- It is a "desperation pie". Documented as a common label: Wikipedia calls it one, made from simple staples.
- More sugar is traditional. Folklore: ATK found classic versions very sweet and cut the sugar; NPR's 2006 recipe also offered a less sweet version (search result summary).
Every other holiday pie
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.
Old-Fashioned Pecan Pie Without Corn Syrup
Pecan pie the way it was made before corn syrup took over: a smooth custard of brown sugar, milk, eggs, butter and a splash of vinegar, with toasted diced pecans inside and halves roasting on top.
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.
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