31 Delicious Pies for Pi Day
March 14 is Pi Day, a celebration of the mathematical constant pi. For us, it’s also an excuse to bake up all kinds of pies, from coconut cream and salted caramel to lemon meringue and dark-cherry crumble. And that includes savory pies, too, such as savory leek and greens hand pies. Read on for even more of our favorite recipes—whichever you choose, make sure you save us a slice.
Caramel Cream Pie with Crispy Rice Topping
Humble ingredients like puffed rice cereal (transformed into a brilliant topping) and graham crackers (crushed with hazelnuts to yield a tender crust) are the core of this luxe dessert.
1 of 31
Creamy Peanut Butter Pie
This delicious whipped-cream-topped peanut butter pie offers the perfect balance of sweet and salty flavors.
2 of 31
Chilled Grapefruit-Caramel Meringue Pie
In one cold, creamy dessert, Deborah Snyder layers pink grapefruit curd in a crunchy graham-cracker crust with caramel sauce and a delicate topping of fluffy meringue.
3 of 31
Mountain Rose Apple Pie
Rebecca Masson of Houston’s Fluff Bake Bar tops her dense and delicious apple pie with a thick layer of crisp, buttery crumble.
4 of 31
Salted Caramel Pie
The filling for this pie is sweetened condensed milk sprinkled lightly with sea salt and baked until thick and gooey, then chilled in a simple graham cracker crust.
5 of 31
Cherry-Berry Pie
Lattice crust is perfect for this cherry, raspberry and blueberry pie.
6 of 31
Chocolate Cream Pie
This dreamy, creamy dessert started as a simple chocolate pudding made with workaday cocoa. Melissa Rubel Jacobson turned it into a silky pie by adding a quick chocolate crust and vanilla-flavored whipped cream.
7 of 31
Deep-Dish Caramel Apple Pie
This mouthwatering deep-dish caramel apple pie from Kay Chun is drizzled with a luscious homemade caramel sauce and topped with a crunchy oat streusel.
8 of 31
Passion Fruit Ice Cream Pie with Ginger Crust
This isn't your typical ice cream pie. Instead of a plain cookie crust, Grace Parisi creates a crispy, chewy one with crumbled gingersnaps, dried pineapple and candied ginger. And instead of the usual caramel or chocolate sauce on top, she prepares a delectable mix of dulce de leche and passion fruit nectar from the supermarket.
9 of 31
Butterscotch Mousse Pie
This pie from Greg Patent is a creamy, decadent holiday show-stopper.
10 of 31
Coconut Cream Pie
Every part of this fluffy pie from pastry chef Kierin Baldwin has coconut: the crust, the fillling and the topping.
11 of 31
Blueberry Pie with Rye Crust
This sensational blueberry pie has small circles cut out of the rye crust, which not only looks dramatic but also allows moisture to evaporate from the fruit filling as it cooks, deepening the flavor.
12 of 31
Chess Pie with Crème Fraîche and Vanilla
Southerners love chess pie for its sweet and buttery custard filling. In this version, crème fraîche adds a mellow tang and vanilla bean gives the sweetness some character. Because the alcohol in vodka evaporates quickly in the oven, using it in the crust makes for a dough that's easy to work with, and a finished product that's flaky and tender.
13 of 31
Old-Fashioned Apple Pie
This is a purist’s pie that tastes of nothing but apples, with just a hint of spice and butter.
14 of 31
Honey-Flower Pie
This pie, which combines honey and dried lavender in a silky filling, topped with crunchy sea salt, is best with a mild-tasting honey such as clover, which really lets the lavender shine.
15 of 31
Dried Apple Hand Pies
As the dried apple slices rehydrate and cook in each delicate hand pie, they transform into a saucy, concentrated filling. To create a smoother, rather than chunky, apple filling, smash apples with the side of a spoon while stirring.
16 of 31
Lemon Meringue Pie with Marcona Shortbread Crust
“I like lemon pie so much that I want even more of the bright, sunny lemon flavor to come through, so there’s less sugar and more lemon juice in this filling than you’ll find in most recipes,” Ann Taylor Pittman writes. “It’s assertively—but not aggressively—lemony, and is balanced by the fluffy meringue topping, which has the perfect sweetness and density to complement the tarter-than-usual filling.”
17 of 31
Black-and-Blue Pie with Brown Sugar Crumb
Huckleberries and blackberries create the namesake black-and-blue filling in this pie, but a mix of any brambleberries and blueberries will do. A crumb topping adds texture and helps absorb some of the pie’s juice, allowing it to slice cleanly.
18 of 31
Shoofly Pie with Bourbon-Spiked Whipped Cream
We’ve gently updated this classic Pennsylvania Dutch dessert with a hint of orange zest to lift the rich molasses flavor. Since the pie’s on the sweet side, we opted for less sugar in the whipped cream and added bourbon for a slightly boozy bite.
19 of 31
Black-Bottom Walnut Pie
In this pie, inspired by classic pecan pies, walnuts float to the top of the custard and toast to golden brown perfection. A layer of bittersweet chocolate anchors the richness of this pie. Be sure to fully cool before slicing.
20 of 31
Tiramisu Icebox Pie
Pastry chef Mathew Rice takes the familiar elements of a classic tiramisu—ladyfingers, coffee, and mascarpone—and reimagines them as an icebox pie. The dessert is full of playful textures and flavors, including a dense coffee mousse and salty-sweet coffee crunchies.
21 of 31
Dark-Cherry Crumble Pie
This pie, which uses fresh, sweet cherries, amaretto and toasted oats, has no thickeners for a cleaner, more fruit-forward flavor.
22 of 31
Sweet Potato Pie with Honeycrisp-Kabocha Salad
With more eggs than a traditional pumpkin pie, this pie-version is much richer and matches the creamy texture of the accompanying licorice ice cream.
23 of 31
Bittersweet Chocolate Pecan Pie
When picking bittersweet chocolate for this pie, we like to use 70 percent.
24 of 31
Strawberry Slab Pie
Finely grated orange zest adds brightness to this slab pie from Joanne Chang.
25 of 31
Potato and Egg Pie With Bacon and Crème Fraîche
This pie makes a simple, elegant, and satisfying weekend lunch, paired with a chilled bottle of Alsace wine and a green salad. In a pinch, use a store-bought pie crust.
26 of 31
Irish Lamb Pies with Herbs
These savory lamb pies are a specialty of the Dingle Peninsula in southwestern Ireland. Traditionally, the pastry crust was made with mutton fat; here, chef JP McMahon uses Irish butter and eggs to keep the crust tender, flaky, and sturdy.
27 of 31
Yelapa-Style Banana Pie (Pay de Plátano de Yelapa)
Yelapa, a tiny beach community about 45 minutes away from Puerto Vallarta via water taxi, is known for its tropical pies. This version from Javier Cabral and Paola Briseño González features caramelized bananas and vanilla custard. The sturdy crust is salted and shortbread-like because the pie has always been eaten while sunbathing, with no utensils around.
28 of 31
Savory Leek and Greens Hand Pies
Using a blend of greens creates a slightly bitter green filling with sweet notes from the sautéed alliums. Lean on store-bought dough from your grocer’s deli to crank out these savory hand pies quickly.
29 of 31
Peanut Butter–Chocolate Pie
“With the smooth, nutty peanut butter filling, glistening ganache, and salty roasted peanuts on top, this pie evokes all the sweetness of a childhood memory, delivered in the form of an elegant, nuanced dessert that adults will want to savor,” Ben Mims writes.
30 of 31
Turmeric Custard Pie with Raspberries
Tart raspberries add a sweet burst of flavor to this custardy pie. A pinch of black pepper adds a mild savory note, while turmeric tints the filling with its vibrant golden hue.