Turtle Pie
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Caramel, pecans and chocolate come together in this delicious turtle pie. It’s no-bake with a delicious Oreo cookie crust and creamy caramel filling.
This easy turtle pie has everything you love about the classic candy – chocolate, caramel and pecans – in a delicious cold and creamy pie. It starts with a crunchy Oreo cookie crust, then the filling is a no-bake caramel cheesecake almost like a caramel mousse. It’s topped with more caramel sauce, chocolate, whipped cream and pecans.
It’s inspired by the store-bought Edwards turtle pie only it’s creamier, more velvety smooth, and more delicious (in my humble opinion). You can freeze the pie if you like, but I definitely prefer the texture when it’s cold from the fridge because it’s smoother and a little lighter in texture.
To start, you’ll make the Oreo crust using crushed Oreo cookies and melted butter. You’ll pulse the cookies (wafers and filling) in a food processor or high-powered blender. It’s mixed with melted butter, and then pressed into the bottom and up the sides of your pie plate. I like using an Oreo crust for no-bake pies because it holds together well (and obviously tastes delicious).
The filling is essentially a no-bake caramel cheesecake, without being overly tangy. It’s surprisingly not too sweet either. It’s made with cream cheese, whipping cream, salted caramel and powdered sugar. I’ve included my favorite recipe for extra-thick salted caramel sauce – but you can use store-bought caramel or dulce de leche. What’s most important is that your caramel is very thick. Thick caramel ensures that the pie is sturdy.
After you make the pie filling, your pie will need to be placed in the fridge for at least 6 hours to set. This is for the pie to firm up. Before serving you can drizzle the pie with more caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, whipped cream and pecans. Feel free to sprinkle chopped pecans over the top of the pie, or just around the edges like I did. You can either use chocolate sauce for the pie, or simply melt some chocolate.
Creamy caramel, chocolate cookie crust, and more caramel, chocolate and pecans on top – you really can’t go wrong with this delicious no-bake pie.
And for more summer, no-bake pies – be sure to try:
No-Bake Turtle Pie
Equipment
- 9-inch pie plate
Ingredients
Caramel Sauce (Or Store Bought)*
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- 1/2 cup heavy cream, 33-35% MF
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Oreo Crust
- 25 Oreo cookies, wafers and filling
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Caramel Filling
- 3/4 cup heavy cream, or whipping cream
- 10 oz cream cheese*, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup salted caramel*, cooled fully
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
To Serve
- caramel sauce
- chocolate sauce, or melted chocolate
- whipped cream
- pecans
Instructions
Caramel Sauce* (or use store-bought)
- Add the sugar to a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Whisk/stir the sugar constantly. It will first form clumps, then eventually the clumps will melt and you'll end up with a smooth, amber-colored sauce.
- Once all the sugar has completely melted and the sauce is smooth, carefully add in the chopped butter all at once and whisk until all the butter is melted. Be careful - the mixture will bubble up.
- Remove the pan from the heat and immediately whisk in the cream until smooth.
- Whisk in the salt.
- Remove from the heat and cool fully before using in the pie.
Oreo Crust
- Add the Oreos (wafers and filling) to a food processor or high-powered blender and pulse until they're fine crumbs. Or place in a ziploc bag and crush with a rolling pin.
- In a small bowl, mix the crushed cookies with the melted butter.
- Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate, pressing it down to form a crust. Place in the fridge as you make the filling.
Caramel Filling
- In a large bowl, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
- In a separate large bowl, beat the cream cheese until soft.
- Mix in the caramel sauce (measure out 1/2 cup of the sauce you made) and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy. Note that the caramel must be 100% cooled before mixing it in.
- Gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture using a rubber spatula until the mixture is smooth and even.
- Spoon the caramel filling into the crust and smooth the top over.
- Cover the pie and place in the fridge to set for at leat 6 hours. Optionally, freeze the pie for a frozen treat. I personally prefer the pie chilled in the fridge instead of frozen because I find it slices better and has a creamier texture.
Serving
- If you froze the pie, remove the pie from the freezer 1 hour before serving.
- Drizzle the pie with additional caramel sauce and chocolate sauce (or melted chocolate).
- Decorate the pie with whipped cream and add a few chopped pecans around the edges and/or sprinkle the top of the pie with chopped pecans.
- Slice the pie using a sharp knife (such as a paring knife - not a table knife), being sure to slice all the way through the cookie crust.
Notes
- Feel free to use store-bought salted caramel instead of making your own. Make sure to choose a high-quality, very thick caramel (or dulce de leche) if using store-bought caramel.
- This caramel sauce recipe will make about 1 cup total, so you'll have enough for the 1/2 cup called for in the filling and extra to drizzle on top of each piece. Do not use all of the caramel you made in the pie filling - otherwise, the pie will be way too sweet and not set properly.
- Use full-fat, brick-style cream cheese.
- Pie can be easily made 1 day in advance. Add the whipped cream on top, caramel sauce and chocolate sauce right before serving. Store leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Nutrition info is based on 1 slice, assuming the pie is cut into 8 large, equal pieces. Nutrition information does not include the caramel sauce, chocolate sauce or whipped cream on top. It is meant as an estimate only.
Insanely good. Every single person who had some loved it. Huge fan favorite, and such a nice summer dessert when it’s too hot to turn the oven on.
when i checked on the metric conversion for the heavy cream in the caramel sauce it is double what it should be. 1/2 c is 118 ml roughly. Not sure where the conversion went wrong. I’m looking forward to making this though.
Thanks so much for that catch! I just updated recipe
Hi, I was wanting to know on the caramel filling ingredients, is the 1/2 cup of salted caramel referring to the caramel sauce? I just wanted to make sure that the salted caramel was the caramel sauce recipe. Thank you!
Hi Sheena – yes, that’s correct. For the caramel pie filling, you’ll measure out 1/2 cup. So if you choose to make your own caramel, you’ll have extra caramel sauce after making the filling that you can use to drizzle on top. Or if you’re using store bought caramel, measure out 1/2 cup for the filling.
Awesome recipe! Everyone loved it and ill definitely be saving this as a favorite. The caramel was delicious and a great recipe on its own.