Million Dollar Pie has been around for a long time and it is one of the favorite and easy desserts to make during the holidays due to the fact that it doesn’t live up to its name cost-wise. Which means you won’t have to pay a million dollars for a pie.
Your mother or grandmother may have called this pie the Millionaire’s Pie or Millionaire Pie. The recipe that I will share with you today is an authentic Million Dollar Pie recipe that does not have cream cheese in it. When you add cream cheese to a pie filling recipe, you will end up with an entirely different pie filling and it is not an authentic Millionaire Pie recipe. Some other versions incorporate cream cheese or call for heavy cream, but they all result in a luxurious bite of sweetness.
You may also find the Hawaiian Million Dollar Pie recipe on the internet. The main difference between the Hawaiian Million Dollar Pie recipe and the authentic Millionaire Pie recipe is that the Hawaiian recipe included maraschino cherries in the pie filling. If you prefer you can use the Hawaiian recipe, just add maraschino cherries to the pie.
Million Dollar Pie tastes delicious and the best part is that you will need just about 5 minutes to prepare this pie and no baking is required! Millionaire Pie’s creamy filling is loaded with coconut, pineapple, and pecans for a little tropical flair. All you need are a few easy-to-find ingredients, a ready-made graham cracker crust, and a couple of hours for chilling in the fridge to make this tropical treat. The pie starts out with a rice creamy base of sweetened condensed milk mixed with lemon juice. I also noticed that there are some other Millionaire Pie recipes that did not include lemon juice. But if you want to make an authentic Millionaire Pie, do not leave out the lemon juice since it is a key ingredient that will affect the texture of the finished Millionaire Pie recipe filling, causing it to thicken.
The authentic Million Dollar Pie recipe below makes two pies, but you can cut the ingredients in half to make one.
What you’ll need to make this pie
- One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 12 ounces of lite whipped topping thawed
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- One 20-ounce can of crushed pineapple drained
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup chopped almonds pecans
- 2 graham cracker crusts
How to make it
Step 1: In a large bowl, combine the sweetened condensed milk with the lemon juice and use a hand-held mixer or a whisk mix them together.
Step 2: Drain the pineapple in a strainer before beginning, pushing as much juice from the pineapple pieces as possible with the back or a spoon. Set aside.
Step 3: Fold the thawed whipped topping into the sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice. Stir until thoroughly combined.
Step 4: Add pineapple, ¾ cup coconut, ¾ cup pecans to the bowl. Fold the mixture with a spoon.
Step 5: Once all of the ingredients are combined well, spoon the mixture into the pie crusts.
Step 6: Spread remaining ¼ cup coconut on a cookie sheet and toast in 350 F oven, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 7 minutes.
Step 7: Sprinkle toasted coconut and remaining pecans onto the pie.
Step 8: Place in the refrigerate 3 hours or overnight.
Step 9: Enjoy your million dollar pie.
Step 10: For variation, adding a cap of sliced strawberries, cherries, or other fruits or nuts into the mix.
