Black Bottom Oatmeal Pie

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This Black Bottom Oatmeal Pie was my first baking project after my daughter was born - and it delivered. Crisp, buttery crust, chocolate ganache, and a caramelized goo that meets chewy oatmeal cookie. Oatmeal in pie sounds unusual but it works - it keeps the pie pecan-free and still feels like a satisfying change of pace even if you can eat nuts.

Close-up of a black bottom oatmeal pie slice showing a rich, dark filling and a textured oat crumble topping. A fork in the foreground displays a perfect bite, set against a minimalist white table and a dusty blue wall.

That season is a blur - after all, I had a one-month-old and little downtime - but I remember how great it was to be back in the kitchen, baking, blogging, doing something I loved.

This pie still holds up. I've simplified a few steps, tested a few pan sizes, and refined the ingredients to match how I make it now and to turn it into something I love even more.

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Why I Love This Pie
Ingredients You'll Need
Recommended Equipment for Black Bottom Oatmeal Pie
Pie Pan Sizes
How to Make a Black Bottom Oatmeal Pie
Bake for Doneness, Not Time
Serving and Storage
Recipe FAQ
More Gooey, Old-Fashioned Desserts
📖 Recipe

Why I Love This Pie

I love this Black Bottom Oatmeal Pie because it has:

A trio of ganache, caramelized gooey filling, and chewy oatmeal on top.
A chocolate bottom that makes the pie feel fancy from only a tiny extra step.
A silky filling that's better than classic pecan pie goo.
A crisp, buttery crust balancing all that sweetness.
Reliable doneness cues for three different pans.

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Ingredients You'll Need

Pie crust

Basically just a vehicle for filling unless you use a homemade all-butter crust. All-butter crusts brown better and taste more flavorful than shortening- or margarine-based crusts, which remain pale but flaky. A storebought crust works; a gluten-free crust should be fine; but a crumb crust will be too fragile. I prefer a slightly thicker crust for this pie since it's so sweet, so I make my Homemade Pie Crust and increase the quantity by about 33%.

Oats

I use old-fashioned and quick rolled oats interchangeably here. Smitten Kitchen toasted oats for the pie, but I don't bother. Don't use steel-cut or instant oats; they won't cook properly. Choose certified gluten-free oats if you need the pie to be gluten-free.

Chocolate

I use semisweet or dark chocolate chips for convenience. The oat layer is very sweet, so I can't recommend milk chocolate.

Milk and butter

Instead of cream, I use milk and butter in the ganache since we don't always have cream in the house. Mixing milk or cream with the chocolate keeps the ganache soft enough to cut through when chilled.

Corn syrup

I use light corn syrup, although dark would add more flavor - use what you have. If you try honey or a thinner syrup, cut back on the brown sugar by ¼ cup; the bake time may change.

Brown sugar

Use dark brown sugar if you have it - it's more flavorful.

Melted butter

Provides richness and texture to the filling here, just as it does in a Classic Pecan Pie.

Distilled vinegar

Balances the sweetness. Lemon juice also works, or you can skip it.

Vanilla

Enhances the flavor. Don't skip it.

Table salt

Balances the sweetness.

Ground nutmeg

Optional, but it adds a little extra flavor to the oatmeal filling. Ground nutmeg you buy at the store often has no taste, so I only use whole nutmeg and grate it as I need it with a microplane zester (affiliate link). Even my older nutmeg tastes better than storebought ground nutmeg. Use ground dried ginger or cinnamon instead, if desired.

Eggs

These enrich the filling, turning it into the sugary goo that pecan pie lovers adore.

Recommended Equipment for Black Bottom Oatmeal Pie

Double boiler

Recently I've preferred melting chocolate and making ganache on a makeshift double boiler, like I do for my Chocolate Truffle Cake. Heating over warm water melts the chocolate more gently, making it less likely to scorch or clump.

Whisk and spatula

Use a wire whisk (affiliate link) to beat the liquid ingredients and eggs, but a rubber spatula to melt the chocolate and stir in the oats.

Zester

A microplane zester (affiliate link) works better than anything else I've tried to grate nutmeg.

Pie Pan Sizes

Most pie pans will work; use what you've got. I've tried this in three different pie pans, which all baked differently but still made delicious pies.

9-inch, ½ inch deep

The 9-inch pie plate (affiliate link) holds most - but not quite all - of the filling, which I poured into a small ramekin and baked for 20 minutes, until it no longer wobbled. Baking time for the pie itself was 65-70 minutes.

9.5-inch, 1 ½ inch deep

The 9.5-inch deep dish plate held all the filling; however, it needed well over 80 minutes before it showed signs of being done - which I attribute to steep sides. Still delicious; it just took a while.

10.25-inch Fiesta pie plate, 2 inch deep

This 10-inch pie plate (affiliate link) held all the filling and baked similarly to the 9-inch standard pan. If making dough from scratch (like my Homemade Pie Crust), make 33% extra to accommodate this pan.

If you're using a storebought crust, you may not need an additional pan.

If you need to purchase a pie dish, I recommend standard 9-inch or 10-inch glass or ceramic pie plate for even baking, with at least 1-inch sides; 9-inch is more versatile, but 10-inch is best for this pie.

How to Make a Black Bottom Oatmeal Pie

If you don't have a storebought crust, start by preparing a pie crust. Don't trim the edges; leave them overhanging the rim. Prebake at 425F for 10 minutes, then set aside and start the ganache.

Chocolate ganache made with milk, butter, and chocolate, in a mixing bowl.

Combine the chocolate, milk, and 1 tablespoon butter in a medium bowl set on a saucepan with 1 inch of simmering water. Heat over medium heat, stirring until the chocolate and butter are melted; it'll start off clumpy, but become smooth. Turn off the heat if you're worried it will burn.
You can also melt the chocolate with the milk and butter in the microwave in 15 second increments, stirring after each one.

Chocolate ganache on the bottom of an unbaked pie crust.

Pour the ganache over the prepared crust. Freeze while you prepare the oat filling, about 10-15 minutes.

Filling for oatmeal pie, including corn syrup, brown sugar, butter, vinegar, nutmeg, vanilla, and salt in a mixing bowl with a wire whisk.

Using the same bowl you used for ganache, whisk together the corn syrup, brown sugar, melted butter, vinegar, vanilla, salt, and nutmeg until smooth.

Filling for oatmeal pie, including corn syrup, brown sugar, butter, vinegar, nutmeg, vanilla, salt, eggs, and oats, in a mixing bowl with a rubber spatula.

Use the wire whisk (affiliate link) to beat in the eggs, then switch to a rubber spatula to stir in the oats.

PSA: Place the pie plate on a baking sheet after freezing the crust and ganache, to prevent temperature shocks and breakage. Take care not to break your pie dish.

black bottom oatmeal pie, unbaked, on a baking sheet

Pour the oat filling over the chocolate layer in the pie crust (on the baking sheet).

baked black bottom oatmeal pie, on a baking sheet

Bake at 325F for 55-75 minutes, until done as described below. It will puff up as it bakes but settle as it cools - this is normal. Cool on a wire rack.

Bake for Doneness, Not Time

Many factors affect bake time - ingredient temperatures, how long you chilled the chocolate, pie plate size and depth, oven accuracy - so don't bake according to time alone. My pie took 65 minutes the first time I baked this, 75 the second time, and even longer most recently.

Starting at 55 minutes, check the pie for doneness and bake longer as needed. The pie is done when:

The top is dark and dry.
The center of the pie doesn't slosh or jiggle. If the filling moves, the pie needs to bake longer.

Serving and Storage

Cool the pie until completely cool, around 2-3 hours. If you cut it early, the filling will be extra runny and gooey, and you won't get clean cuts.

Serving: I prefer my pie unadorned, but my husband always tops his with whipped cream.

Storage: Store covered in the refrigerator for 2-3 days - or on the counter if you ignore food safety recommendations.

Recipe FAQ

What is a black bottom pie?

A black bottom pie is simply a pie that has a layer of chocolate along the bottom, between the crust and the top filling.

Why make an oatmeal pie?

Oats have long been used as a substitute for pecans to make "mock" pecan pie. It makes sense - syrupy goo is the star of pecan pie, not the nuts. Oats are less expensive, and accommodate nut allergies.

Why is my ganache clumpy?

Ganache is usually clumpy for one of two reasons: it hasn't been stirred enough, or the chocolate overheated. Reduce the heat and keep stirring to see if it smooths out. Touch the ganache; if it stings your finger, it's too hot. Once chocolate overheats and turns clumpy, you can't fix it - but as long as it isn't scorched, go ahead and use it. Lumpy ganache won't affect the chocolate bottom of this pie.

Interested in other recipes? I save and share recipes I like or want to try on my Pinterest page - follow me there! You can also check out my Facebook page for more recipes and helpful tips. I'm also happy to try to help troubleshoot my recipes there.

Have you tried this recipe? Or have a question about it? Rate it or leave a comment below! (PS: rating my recipes helps other people find them, too!)

Memories from 2015

A little throwback to the first time I wrote about this pie, my first major baking project as a new mom:

Our baby is one month old! Recently my life has been changing diapers, nursing, and napping. It's a good thing that I stocked my freezer with meals and all the bread I made last December, because we've gone through just about all of it. I don't mind emptying my freezer or taking care of Amelia at all, but it does mean that I haven't had two hands available to do cooking or typing/blogging. As baby gets bigger, spending time in the kitchen or on the computer should become a little easier, and I can keep updating this blog!
I was super excited to finally do some baking. And I loved this Black Bottom Oatmeal Pie.
The only thing I made before last Saturday was baked oatmeal. It was very quick and easy to make in the evenings, and I only made it to streamline my breakfast during the week. My friend Jen reminded me that last Saturday was Pi Day. Was I going to make a special pie for a super-special Pi Day, since it was actually 3/14/15, the extended digits of Pi? It was a shame not to make a pie, since Alex would be home all day and able to watch baby. I hadn't planned to make anything elaborate, but then I saw that Smitten Kitchen had posted the recipe for a Black Bottom Oatmeal Pie, and although it was more complicated than the super-easy Key Lime Pie I made recently, I couldn't resist it.
This pie wasn't too difficult overall, but it was a little more involved than I probably should have tackled with a 4-week old at home.

More Gooey, Old-Fashioned Desserts

Here's some of my other favorite gooey treats.