For nearly 80 years, Piccadilly Cafeteria has served this showstopping dessert that transforms ordinary ingredients into something extraordinary. This isn’t your typical pecan pie. Instead of a standard pastry crust, this Southern favorite features a unique meringue shell studded with toasted pecans and crushed Ritz crackers, topped with light, fluffy whipped cream filling.

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Table of Contents
Why This Recipe Works
The magic happens when you toast pecans and Ritz crackers together, creating a golden-brown foundation with deeper, nuttier flavors. The meringue shell bakes into a crispy, sweet masterpiece that perfectly contrasts with the creamy filling. This technique creates multiple textures in every bite, from the crunchy meringue base to the smooth whipped topping.
What Makes This Different from Traditional Pecan Pie
Traditional pecan pie features a pastry crust filled with a dense, syrupy filling. This Piccadilly version flips the script entirely. The pecans become part of an airy meringue crust, while the filling stays light and cloud-like. This creates a familiar and surprising dessert, offering the beloved pecan flavor in an entirely new format.
Ingredients
For the Meringue Crust:
- Egg whites – Create the foundation for the meringue structure
- Cream of tartar – Stabilizes the egg whites and helps achieve stiff peaks
- Vanilla extract – Adds aromatic sweetness to complement the pecans
- Granulated sugar – Sweetens and helps create the crispy meringue texture
- Pecans – Provide na utty flavor and a satisfying crunch when toasted
- Ritz crackers – Adds unexpected buttery saltiness that balances the sweetness
For the Filling:
- Whipped topping – Creates the light, fluffy texture that makes this pie special
- Additional chopped pecans – For garnish and extra crunch
How to make pecan delight pie
- Place chopped pecans and crushed Ritz crackers on a baking sheet.
- Bake at 350°F for 5 minutes. They should be light golden brown.
- Remove pecans and crackers from the oven and place them on a paper towel to cool.
- Lower oven temperature to 275°F.
- Separate yolks from egg whites. Place egg whites in a mixing bowl.
- Add vanilla and cream of tartar to the egg whites and beat until stiff.
- Slowly add sugar and beat egg whites until very stiff peaks form and the sugar is dissolved.
- Add pecans and crackers to the beaten egg whites.
- Fold in pecans and Ritz crackers.
- Spray a 10-inch pie pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Spread the meringue in the bottom and up the sides of the pan, about 1-inch thick. You may have extra meringue (see tip below).
- Hollow out a small hole the size of half a dime in the middle of the bottom of the meringue to help with even baking of the shell.
- Bake at 275°F for 1 hour.
- Turn the oven off and let the meringue crust dry in the oven for another hour.
- Remove the crust from the oven and let it cool to room temperature.
- When the crust is cool, spread the whipped topping in it.
- Sprinkle with chopped pecans.
- Place the pie in the refrigerator to thoroughly chill before serving.
Tip: For a buttery touch, toast the pecans coated in melted butter.
Tips for whipping up egg whites
- Use clean equipment. Using a wet bowl or tools that aren’t entirely clean and have grease on them can inhibit the egg whites from fluffing up, which can be pretty frustrating!
- Start with a slow to medium speed, and once the egg whites become somewhat fluffy, you can increase the speed.
- Don’t over- or underwhip the egg whites. Loose meringue won’t bake correctly, and overwhipped meringue turns grainy or curdled! Be cautious when the stiff peak stage is approaching.
- Use room-temperature eggs. They will foam up and blend into each other much more easily.
- Don’t use fresh eggs to make meringue. Older eggs are better; don’t use spoiled ones. You can check by placing an egg in a glass of water. If it floats, throw it away, but you can use it if it stands at the bottom of the glass.
Bonus recipe – meringue nests
If you have any extra meringue, you can make nests and bake them the same way as the crust.
Just drop mounds of the meringue mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Use the back of a spoon to form a well in the center.
Then you can fill the baked nests with jam, pudding, fruit, or berries. Strawberries and raspberries make a nice dessert for Valentine’s Day.
Storage & Reheating Instructions
- Refrigerator Storage: Store covered with a dome lid for 3-4 days. The meringue will gradually soften over time.
- Freezing: Not recommended, as the whipped topping and meringue texture don’t freeze well.
- Serving: Best served chilled directly from the refrigerator. Allow 5 minutes at room temperature before slicing for easier cutting.
Love homemade pies? Try these recipes!
- Eggnog Pie
- Toll House Pie
- Easy Chocolate Pie
- Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie
- Ritz Mock Apple Pie
- Millionaire Pie
- Kool-Aid Pie
Favorite pecan desserts and treats
Check out my easy pie recipes and the best Thanksgiving dessert recipes on CopyKat!
Piccadilly Pecan Delight Pie
Ingredients
- 3 egg whites room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup Sugar
- 1/3 cup Pecans (chopped small, lightly roasted for crust)
- 1/4 cup Pecans (chopped medium, topping)
- 1/2 cup Ritz Crackers (chopped in fine pieces, lightly roasted for crust)
- 12 ounces Whipped Topping (Cool-Whip)
Instructions
- In a preheated oven at 350 degrees. Place 1/3 cup pecans and Ritz crackers for 5 minutes. You want to lightly roast the nuts and crackers. Watch them carefully so they do not burn. The crackers and nuts should be light golden in color. Remove from oven when golden and place on paper towel until cool.
- Add vanilla and cream of tartar to egg whites and beat until stiff. Slowly add sugar and continue to beat egg whites until very stiff peaks form and sugar is dissolved. Fold in 1/3 cup pecans and Ritz crackers. Place in a 10" pie pan that has been lightly sprayed with a nonstick baking spray. Spread the meringue to the sides and cover the bottom of the pan.
- The meringue will be about 1" – 1 1/8" thick layer in the pie pan. Hollow out a little hole in the middle of the bottom of the meringue the size of half a dime, this will help with an even baking of the shell. If you have any meringue left make a little nest bake the same manner and fill with leftover pudding or fruits. Place in a preheated oven at 275 degrees for 1 hour. Check shell, the meringue should not scorch, it will turn light tan in color.
- Turn oven off and let shell dry in the oven for another hour. Remove shell and cool. When the shell is cool place the whipped topping in the shell and sprinkle with 1/4 cup broken pecans. Place in refrigerator to completely chill before serving. Meringue will whip fluffier and be fuller when prepared at low humidity.
This is “the one”! Everyone asks me to make it all the time. When in doubt, walk away a blue ribbon winner with this pie!
I’d love to have the recipe for the Yeast Rolls they served at Picadilly’s. They were sooooo good. Wish they were still around. There food would beat out golden coral and Old country buffet any day.
Hi Chris,
They are still around. I don’t know of all of the locations still in existence but, there is one near me in Monroe, LA. If you’re ever in the area and want to check it out, it’s located on Louisville Avenue. Unfortunately, and I am truly baffled as to why, the pie is no longer served at this location.
Could you do a recipe for Hot Shoppes Pineapple Pie?
I will keep it in mind !
Would like to know the nutritional values such as how many carbs are in this recipe.
I worked as the “pie girl” at Piccadilly all through high school and my dad was the manager there for 38 years. Sorry to say, but this is NOT the Pecan Delight we served. Our pie had pieces of the Ritz Crackers and pecan halves in the pie. I’m looking for that recipe.
Can you share the Piccadilly’s pecan pie recipe?
Thanks
I I want it too thank you and what an awesome job
I just found that Piccadilly pie recipe by googling ‘pie recipe using ritz crackers….maybe thats the one…
I went to the same Piccadilly’s in the late ’50’s. I worked downtown at City Bank (I think) and went to Piccadilly’s whenever I had the money. I went to the Toddle Houses and Lester’s Hickory Inn (again, I think), too. Oh, my. Those were some good pies, also, at the Toddle House, and I ate my first steak in Wichita Falls, Texas. I think I was 19.
That’s the Piccadilly my dad managed!! It was in downtown Wichita Falls. Then they opened one in a mall in 1973 and Dad opened that one. He retired from there in 1987 after more than 37 years with the company.
This IS the same recipe Picadilly uses. Years ago an employee gave me their recipe, and this is it exactly. I have high cholesterol and can eat this one without guilt. Recently we ordered it in Arkansas at Cliff House Inn, only difference is they add a little crushed pineapple in the whipped cream…. and it’s supposed to be the state pie of Arkansas.
Bluntly put Debra, you are mistaken. This is absolutely not the identical pie made by Piccadilly Cafeterias. The original recipe is made not with saltines but with Ritz crackers and is definitely not topped with Cool Whip. Piccadilly topped their pie with lightly sweetened Vanilla Whipped Cream. As for the pie you had at Cliff House Inn in Jasper, AR, what they claim to have developed as their own in the 60’s is an adaptation of the Piccadilly Pecan Delight Pie, on the menu since opening in BR, LA in the 30’s and it is a shame they couldn’t simply admit that as there is nothing wrong with making a recipe your own.
OMG! This pie is wonderful! I love it! I will make this one again soon!