Vegan Pumpkin Pie Recipe: Tips for Making Vegan Pumpkin Pie
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Jul 15, 2021 • 3 min read
Consider adding this vegan pumpkin pie recipe to your next holiday spread to impress even the staunchest of festive traditionalists.
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What Is Vegan Pumpkin Pie?
Vegan pumpkin pie is a vegan version of traditional pumpkin pie—a dessert made with a spiced pumpkin custard filling layered inside a flaky pie crust and baked in a pie pan. The pie is usually served during the fall harvest holidays, like Thanksgiving, when pumpkins and gourds are in season. Instead of eggs and heavy cream, vegan pumpkin pie features an alternate binding agent to thicken it, such as cornstarch, tapioca starch, or arrowroot powder, and a rich, flavorful dairy-free cream substitute like coconut cream, which imparts a deep coconut flavor.
Bakers typically make vegan pie crust recipes with vegan butter or vegan margarine made from plant-derived oils, which mimics the buttery flavor of classic homemade pie crust. You can make a gluten-free pie crust from scratch using rice flour and a teaspoon of xanthan gum instead of graham crackers.
Serve the pie with a dollop of vegan whipped cream or a scoop of vegan ice cream made from non-dairy milk—like soy milk, cashew milk, or almond milk—if preferred.
3 Tips for Making Vegan Pumpkin Pie
Non-vegan pumpkin pie, like its root vegetable-based cousin, the sweet potato pie, is synonymous with the fall season. If it’s your first time attempting this vegan Thanksgiving classic, the key to the best vegan pumpkin pie is helping the pumpkin purée be as velvety—and sturdy—as possible.
- 1. Use canned pumpkin purée. While fresh is almost always a better bet for taste, canned pumpkin will get you closer to the smooth texture you want in a classic pumpkin pie. While you can always use fresh pumpkin purée, you may need to blitz it a few extra times to get the velvety mouthfeel that’s crucial to a good custard filling.
- 2. Opt for plain purée to control the flavor. To build your own pumpkin pie flavor from scratch, use plain pumpkin purée instead of canned pumpkin pie filling with a blend of “pumpkin pie” spices. Using unspiced purée allows the baker to control the spice content of the pie.
- 3. Adjust the sweetness with different types of sugar. While white and brown sugar will result in a classic pumpkin pie flavor, try unrefined sugars, like coconut sugar or jaggery, for a more complex, earthy sweetness to complement the natural flavor of the pumpkin. Alternatively, swap the brown sugar in this easy recipe for a ½ cup of maple syrup if you prefer a more muted sweetness.
Vegan Pumpkin Pie Recipe
makes
1 9-inch pieprep time
10 mintotal time
1 hrcook time
50 minIngredients
- 1
Preheat the oven to 375° F.
- 2
To make the graham cracker crust, crush the cookies in their sleeve until they are the consistency of coarse breadcrumbs.
- 3
Pour the coarse-cookie mixture into a medium bowl with the pecans, and crush any remaining large pieces with your hands.
- 4
Drizzle the vegan butter over the crumbs a little at a time, stirring to combine with a spatula until the mixture is moist (but not wet) and holds together for a few seconds when pressed.
- 5
Transfer the mixture to a 9-inch pie plate or pie dish lined with parchment paper, and press it into an even layer along the bottom and sides with the back of a measuring cup.
- 6
Bake the crust for 7 minutes, until just set. Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool while you assemble the filling. Reduce the heat to 350°F.
- 7
To make the pie filling, combine the sugars, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cornstarch, pumpkin purée, coconut cream, and vanilla extract in a large bowl or food processor. Blend until well incorporated.
- 8
Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust, stopping just before it meets the top.
- 9
Bake the pie until filling is just set—it should be jiggly and lightly firm to the touch—about 45–50 minutes.
- 10
Let the pie cool all the way to room temperature before slicing and serving. If making ahead, cover tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
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