This Chewy Crunchy Ritz Cracker Pie is another of my mom's recipes from way back that we loved as kids. Using Ritz crackers in a pie sounds strange, but when combined with pecans, egg whites, sugar and a little vanilla it becomes a crunchy, chewy and delicious dessert.
It's very sweet, but besides the sugar it doesn't have a bunch of bad-for-you ingredients. A dollop of Cool Whip or your favorite homemade whipped cream will balance that sweetness, so don't forget to add it.
This recipe also gave me the opportunity to use some more of those wonderful Texas pecans!
The texture is almost a meringue, but the crackers and pecans give the pie a great flavor. Hard to describe - definitely delicious. What a treat!
Chewy Crunchy Ritz Cracker Pie is a great pie for any day of the week or for special occasions. People won't believe the ingredients, but they'll ask for the recipe!
We lost Mother in January of 2009, and using her old recipes makes me smile, tear up a little, and think about how special she was. I really miss her and think of her every day.
Ritz Cracker Pie
Chewy and sweet with a crunchy meringue-like topping from the egg whites.
Ingredients
- 3 egg whites, beaten until stiff
- 1 C. sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 20 crushed Ritz crackers
- ½-1 C. chopped pecans
- Whipped Cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Beat egg whites until stiff.
- Gradually add sugar to beaten egg whites - mix on low until combined. Stir in vanilla. Gently fold in crackers and nuts.
- Spread into a well-greased pie pan and cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Top slices with whipped cream when served.
Notes
Tips and Stuff:
Make sure the egg whites are stiff before slowly adding sugar. Just mix until combined or your egg whites will deflate; remove from mixer after sugar is mixed in, then go ahead with the vanilla.
I put the crackers in a sandwich bag and crushed with my fingers. You want a little texture, so don’t pulverize it into cracker flour!
I only used ½ C chopped nuts and the texture was great.
Carefully fold in the crackers and nuts with about 10 stirs of a rubber spoon – you need to retain the lightness of the batter. It will pour, but should be fairly fluffy.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 195Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 94mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 1gSugar: 26gProtein: 3g
Nutrition Values are Approximate
8/18/23
Went searching thru my recipe cards for this!! Couldn't find as I have been paring them down.Drawers of 5 x 8 cards.
Years of them not to mention bookcases crammed full of Cookbooks collected! Mom used
to make it as a special dessert!!
Making it today!! Wishing I could share this with daughter & 3 granddaughters .... unfortunately they have Celiac!!!!! Although once in awhile they cheat!!!
Thanks for posting this!!
Memories!!!!!
So glad you found it, Sue Ann! This was a very special dessert for my family a long time ago. Don't think I've ever come across an old cookbook with this recipe! Enjoy!
can I use Monk Fruit ipo Sugar?
Susanne
Hi Susanne - I've never used Monk Fruit to replace sugar, so I can't recommend either way.
Is this baked? If so what temp and for how long?
Hi Marsha, it's baked for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
Do you refrigerate it after or can it stay on counter?
It can stay on the counter with no problem.
I'm 72 years old and grew up on this pie, so I don't know when my mom first began serving it - at least 65 years ago I would guess. (It was first introduced by Ritz in 1934.) I've made it ever since having my own kitchen and my own kids grew up on it. Now my daughter-in-law requests it every time they visit. It's become a household staple and tradition and everyone loves it! I've already passed on the recipe so now 3 generations of our family have loved it!
A great recipe to pass down, Barbara - they'll think of you each time they make it!
Thank you for saving my Thanksgiving! I have been making this pie for almost 50 years twice a year. It’s a staple at the dessert table. However the last time I made it I didn’t put my recipe away. It’s somewhere in my kitchen but only God knows where. And no after all these years I can’t remember how many egg whites or how much sugar. After an exhausting hunt I said oh well no pie this year. Sat down with a cup of coffee and decided to look on the internet. There you were with my pie. Thank you thank you and my family will thank you tomorrow! have a happy Thanksgiving!
I'm thrilled, Jackie! I hope your family Thanksgiving is wonderful and that they enjoy this pie!
I thought I would never find this recipe again! I have nearly all my moms recipes but this one is missing. Story there...mom was quite a good cook but a few times a year she got a bit nervous about 'company coming' and would try a new recipe and she would have a 'dry run' for all of us the day before. When her adult Sunday School class paid a Wed eve visit for dessert and coffee she decided on Ritz cracker pie and made a dry run for us the previous day - oh we raved and raved so she made the dessert for her long time Sunday School peers and proudly served it. I remember that evening very well as I made a visit to the crowded living room to say goodnight in my robe, such a little darling! My mom said she noticed as she as cleaning up that one plate had only one bite out of the pie and she heard one woman say 'I thought my husband would be sick when he took a bite of that' huh? she had compliments and requests for the recipe from everyone else and we asked her to make it again and again on special occasions. So glad to find this and so many other wonderful ideas and recipes! will bake this again and also the butterscotch pecan loaf. TX!
That's a great story, Priscilla! Everyone has different tastes, I guess, but it's always been a well-liked recipe. I have so many great recipes from my Mom still in her little recipe box she gave to me. Thanks for the note! Susan
Just today I was looking through my recipe box —that I also got from my Mom—for the Ritz cracker meringue pie! Couldn’t find it so I was glad that you have it! We also said goodbye to our Mother in 2009 — she would have been 88 in March of that year. Thank you for the recipe!
So glad you found this recipe, Melinda. It does bring up good memories (besides tasting soooo good)!
I was a newly minted Navy Ensign, recently reported aboard the USS Boxer for duty just before Thanksgiving 1960. I was looking at a lonely holiday when I heard that Capt. Jackson and his family would be having their Thanksgiving meal on board. I got busy in the Officers Mess and whipped up the Ritz pie for their desert and later got a personal 'thank you' from the Captain. Sure brightened everyone's holiday. This simple to make pie has been a treat down through the years.
I love your story. I grew up with this pie and it brings back such memories!
I've made this pie for years. I like it so much that I eventually doubled the recipe & baked it in a 9x13 cake pan. Once it's cooled, I take a 12oz. container of Cool Whip & fold in a large container of frozen strawberries in syrup. I don't use the container of strawberries...maybe about 3/4 of it. Spoon it over the crust & refrigerate. for a few hours...I leave it in overnight. Every time I take this dessert somewhere, I end up giving out the recipe.
What a great idea, Barbara! That sounds wonderful - like the pie is kind of the crust part.
My mother also would make this from 50 plus years ago, usually around Thanksgiving/Christmas time. She would top the whole pie with lightly sweetened whipping cream and then add chocolate shavings/curls on top.. We always liked it a couple days later after all those flavors soaked in!
I agree, Leah. It does get better and better. It definitely needs the whipping cream, too, to cut the (wonderful) sweetness! Thanks for sharing your memory.
Hi! Is this the recipe where it tastes like a vanilla ice cream in a cone? My mother in law made it one time but I couldn't find her recipe.
Well, I never thought about it like ice cream in a cone, but kind of. It's more chewy, meringue-y and sweet than cone-like.