Buttermilk Pie Recipe
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A classic Southern dessert, this buttermilk pie recipe creates a creamy, dreamy, and delicious pie that has a perfectly sweet yet rich taste.
Here is a classic Southern recipe for you. This buttermilk pie recipe is simple yet delicious, with our beloved buttermilk as the headlining ingredient. I’ll save a slice for y’all 😉.
Buttermilk pie origins are believed to have come from Europe and were brought over as people settled in the South, specifically in Texas where buttermilk tended to be inexpensive. Made with basic ingredients, it was made popular in times when money was scarce. It was common in the Great Depression, similar to our water pie.
Those basic ingredients mentioned include pantry essentials like flour, sugar, and vanilla extract, plus some eggs, buttermilk, and butter. Fortunately, it’s a relatively easy Southern dessert to bake. You just need to slowly mix the ingredients together, place them in a pie crust, and wait for them to bake.
This old-fashioned buttermilk chess pie recipe has a creamy and light custard-like texture with a slightly smooth tangy flavor that just melts in your mouth. Enjoy a slice of your buttermilk pie with some fresh berries, whipped cream, or even ice cream if you’re feeling indulgent. There’s nothing better than a slice served with a cup of coffee or a glass of sweet tea.
Okay, let’s bake a pie that’s a true Southern tradition. Enjoy this creamy dreamy pie as soon as you can and you will grinnin’ like a possum eatin’ a sweet tater!
Recipe Ingredients
- Sugar
- Buttermilk
- Vanilla
- Eggs
- All-purpose flour
- Unsalted butter (softened at room temperature)
- Lemon juice
- Cinnamon (not required if you don’t like or don’t have cinnamon)
- Unbaked pie shell (I am using my mix-in-the-pan pie crust recipe here but you can just buy one if you like).
How To Make Buttermilk Pie
First, place either your store-bought pie shell or your homemade pie crust in a pie dish/pie pan.
Then, it’s time to make this buttermilk pie recipe.
Place your butter or margarine in a large bowl with the sugar.
Beat until light and fluffy.
Add in your buttermilk (and lemon juice if you have it).
Next, add your flour.
And in go the eggs and vanilla extract.
Mix that up well.
Pour this buttermilk mixture into your (or ).
Sprinkle with cinnamon.
Bake for about 40 minutes, or until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow the pie to cool completely before transferring it from the to a wire rack.
Note: This buttermilk pie will be a little jiggly in the middle but as it cools it will set.
I prefer to serve mine cold.
This has a very simple and light taste, so it’s perfect to serve with berries or fruit.
It’s also pretty if you sprinkle each slice with a little confectioner’s sugar as I did in this photo.
Storage
- Store leftover buttermilk chess pie in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. I like mine cold, but if you’d prefer you can reheat it in the oven or the air fryer.
- Southern buttermilk pie also freezes wonderfully. Store in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge before enjoying.
Recipe Notes
- I’ve never made this pie with Swerve but you can substitute that for the sugar.
- Substitute the cinnamon for nutmeg or use a pinch of both to add extra flavor to your pie.
- If you want to increase the lemon flavor, add a tablespoon of lemon zest as well.
- You can also spike your custard pie with two tablespoons of the whiskey of your choice if you like, such as bourbon or rum. It isn’t traditional but it IS delicious.
Recipe FAQs
What do you serve with buttermilk pie?
Serve a slice of Southern buttermilk pie with a simple dusting of confectioner’s sugar and fresh berries like blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, or raspberries. Alternatively, drizzle with raspberry or blackberry syrup or substitute the berries for chopped nuts like pecans. You can also serve it with a dollop of homemade whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce drizzle. YUM
What is the difference between chess pie vs buttermilk pie?
Here’s the thing… all buttermilk pies are chess pies, but you can’t classify every chess pie as a buttermilk pie. Confused? I got you! Southern chess pie has been around for eons and uses simple ingredients like flour, butter, sugar, and eggs, as well as cornmeal on occasion, which acts as a stabilizer.
So based on this description, this is a Southern buttermilk chess pie recipe. However, the main ingredient that differentiates the two pies is the addition of buttermilk. That acidic touch decreases the pie’s sweetness and changes its consistency.
What is the difference between chess pie and regular pie?
The main difference between a Southern chess pie and a regular pie is that it has a custard filling made with flour, butter, sugar, and eggs. Regular pie fillings can be made with a variety of ingredients. Take fan favorite, pecan pie for example, which is made with eggs, butter, sugar, corn syrup, and chopped pecans.
What does buttermilk chess pie taste like?
This chess pie with buttermilk has a kind of light custard filling that’s sweet, creamy, buttery, and delicate.
Does buttermilk chess pie need to be refrigerated?
Yes, store your leftover butter chess pie in the fridge. If you don’t want to eat it cold, you can easily reheat it in the oven or air fryer.
You may also like these buttermilk recipes:
How To Make Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients
- 1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell or make your own with this recipe
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1 1/2 cups sugar can use Swerve
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- cinnamon for sprinkling over the top if desired
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy.1/2 cup butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar
- Add in all remaining ingredients and mix your pie batter together until combined.3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 3 eggs, 1 cup buttermilk, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Pour this custard pie mixture into the unbaked pie crust or pie shell. Sprinkle cinnamon over the top, if desired. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Let cool and then store in the refrigerator.1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell, cinnamon for sprinkling over the top
Nutrition
Christy,
My paternal grandparents ( of the depression era) always spooned cornbread with ice cold buttermilk. The kids never liked it. That brought back super memories. My Grandaddy used to have a garden and I remember sucking on pure sugar cane while watching Hee Haw.
I love this post! I think we must have had the same grandparents because we always watched HeeHaw on Saturday nights too while my mammaw ate her cornbread in a big glass of buttermilk. What great memories I have from spending time at her house!
I love reading your blog for this very reason. I grew up with both parents and grandparents watching Hee Haw. We loved the Pffft song.
My mom’s family would come over on the weekend and they’d have pickin and grinin at our house or one of the other relatives. My mom played piano, my dad guitar, one of my uncles played the steal my grand father the fiddle, another uncle the mandolin and yet another on guitar.
Those days are long gone, and while at times back then I hated them ( just wasn’t cool I thought), I’d give anything to have them all back here again. I’ve lost both my parents, my mom just this past Dec, and my grandfather. I don’t get to see the others often enough.
We grew up calling it sweet milk cuz that’s what my mom called it. BTW she called white bread (better known back then as light bread) lightening bread. My sisters and I still say that.
My guess is people are fond of drinking butter milk these days because it just flat isn’t the same thing. It’s pasteurized and artificial cultured, real butter milk, the kind our grandparents (and some of us older folks parents) drank was the thin liquid left over after making butter. Since it was made of raw milk from their own cows it was naturally cultured. My mom said it was much thinner but tasted much richer than the cultured stuff you get in cartons these days.
Mom mom always saved a piece of corn bread to have the next day crumbled in her sweet milk. Something I never tried, I don’t like milk and to tell the truth it doesn’t like me either. But I might have to give it go, just for mom. I sure do miss her and I understand all about the memories. You sure brought back a bunch for me of staying with my Nanny and Granddaddy and later just my Nanny. My Nanny made the best buttermilk pie. Don’t have her recipe unfortunately but now I have yours. Thank you and good luck in NY
Christy, reading what you have posted always puts a smile on my face. I am a Georgia peach who was blessed by God’s grace to have been raised by my Great-Grandparents! The days of sitting on my Paw-paw’s lap and watching Hee-Haw were a much simpler time. My favorite part of the show was when Minnie Pearl would yell, “How-dy!”
We ate more than our fair share of cornbread and milk. Some times my Greats would eat saltines and buttermilk too! Have you done a post on oyster stew?
Wish we had known each other during the time that I was living in Athens, AL, because I think we are kindred spirits!
Have a safe trip back from NYC!
Your babies are ADORABLE! I just wanna squeeze ’em!
I too remember saturday nites and Hee Haw at my grandparents.We ate Circus Peanuts,chocolate cream drops or Black Cherry Ice Cream (my granpa’s favorite)
Have fun in NEW YORK CITY!
I loved Hee-Haw as a kid! And, buttermilk pie is sooo yummy!
Enjoy your time in NYC. I’m sure you’ll love it. I do 😉
Your Buttermilk Pie looks like a custard tart. Hmmm, I don’t know if you have custard tarts there.
Look at Karo’s hair!