Over the past year or so I read a few articles extolling the virtues of Southern Peanut Pie and became intrigued. Not peanut butter pie, but peanut pie. It’s a variation on pecan pie, and a Southern delicacy. One of the articles shared an image of an old Karo syrup ad featuring a recipe for DeLuxe Peanut Pie. Some might think of Peanut Pie as a holiday dish, which I’m sure would be great. But it reminded me of spring and summer with baseball season, fairs, carnivals, and circuses. So Katherine and I decided to try it now.
Dairy-Free Southern Peanut Pie from a Classic 1940’s Recipe
We used the basic structure of the 1940s Karo pie recipe, but we made it dairy free and used Lyle’s Golden Syrup (cane syrup) instead of corn syrup. We love this pie. Our family said it tastes like Cracker Jacks or Peanut Brittle in pie form. One pecan pie lover said he likes it just as much as pecan pie–if not better. I think it might become a new staple for spring potlucks and perhaps, for Memorial Day.
Kids Can Bake Tips
Katherine often makes pecan pies, especially this Chocolate Pecan Pie. So making a Peanut Pie wasn’t much of a leap. Older kids and teens can easily make the entire pie by themselves. Younger children can help make the pie crust and mix together all of the filling ingredients by themselves. This is also a nice recipe to practice nut pies with since peanuts are much more affordable than pecans!
Special Diet Notes: Dairy-Free Southern Peanut Pie
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, optionally gluten-free, tree nut-free, optionally soy-free, and vegetarian. Just be sure to choose the pie crust and butter alternative that suit your dietary needs.
- For egg-free peanut pie, I recommend substituting aquafaba for the eggs, or using the starch option in our egg substitute guide. Please note that the pie might not set up as firmly.
- 1 unbaked deep-dish 9-inch dairy-free pie crust (store-bought, homemade press-in, homemade roll out, or gluten-free)
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup Lyle's golden syrup
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons melted dairy-free buttery spread
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup salted peanuts
- Preheat your oven to 400ÂşF.
- Place the eggs in a mixing bowl and lightly beat. Add the syrup, sugar, eggs, buttery spread, vanilla, and salt and mix or stir until combined. Stir in the peanuts.
- Pour the peanut mixture into your prepared pie crust.
- Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of the filling comes out clean. If the edges of the crust are browning too quickly, cover them with tented aluminum foil or a pie shield.
- Place the pie pan on a cooling rack, and let the pie cool completely before slicing and serving.
6 Comments
The instructions say to add Corn syrup. did you mean to say Lyles golden or maple syrup?
Yes, golden syrup! Sorry, typo in edit.
If only you made it without eggs!
Scott, I haven’t tried this recipe without eggs, but Alisa has a vegan pecan pie recipe. You might be able to try it with peanuts instead of pecans.
Do you think lightly crushing the peanuts would work
for this recipe? It seems like a really easy recipe and
impressive to take for a special dessert. Thank you
I think that would be fine, Arline!