After I asked all of you to let me know what Thanksgiving recipe you wanted me to ‘veganize’, I was overwhelmed with requests to veganize the traditional pumpkin pie. I have always wanted to ante up for the challenge so I knew this was the perfect opportunity to give it a whirl.
Now if you have been following the blog for a while now, you know that I don’t tend to bake things the traditional way. I am always looking for ways to make traditional recipes healthier. Just because a pie crust is supposed to use white flour and shortening, doesn’t mean you can’t make a good one using spelt and milled flax!
So here is my take on vegan pumpkin pie….I hope you will enjoy it as much as we do!
Vegan Pumpkin Pecan Pie
Ingredients:
Spelt Crust (revised):
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted OR 1/2 cup earth balance, melted
- 1/4 cup Sucanat (or brown sugar or white sugar)
- 1 cup whole grain spelt flour
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp ground flax
- 1/2 cup non-dairy milk (I used Original Almond Breeze)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
Filling:
- 1/2 cup pecans + 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 2 cups pumpkin
- 12 ounces Silken tofu
- 1/2 cup Sucanat (or brown sugar)
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1.5 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (OR: 1 teaspoon cinnamon; 1/2 teaspoon ginger; 1/4 teaspoon cloves)
- 1-2 tablespoons cornstarch (I didn’t use for this pie, but next time I would to firm up filling)
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400F. Lightly spray pie pan with non-stick spray.
Step 2: For the Crust: Whisk together dry ingredients until well mixed. Add in earth balance or oil and milk. Blend with an electric mixer just until dough comes together. Use your hands to form the dough into a ball.
Step 3: Take ball of dough and place it on a non-stick mat. This method is preferred because if you put it on a floured surface the dough may dry out a bit. However, you can still roll it out onto flour if that is your only option. It won’t make or break your crust by any means. Roll out the dough making the circumference a couple inches wider than the pie dish. The dough is quite sticky and it breaks easy so handle it as delicately as possible.
Step 4: Carefully roll the dough around the rolling pin and then unroll the dough over the pie pan. You may get a couple rips in the dough like I did. If this happens just patch them up with your fingers. Next, trim the edges of the crust with a pastry wheel or a knife. I also made small scores along the crust for a cool effect. Save the scraps to make decoration for the top of the pie.
Step 5: Take 1/2 cup pecans and 1 tablespoon maple syrup and mix in a small bowl. Spread mixture over the base of the pie crust. Set aside crust while you make the filling.
Step 6: Filling: Blend the silken tofu in a food processor until smooth, stopping often to scrape the sides of the processor. Once that is smooth, add pumpkin, sucanat, 1/4 cup maple syrup, vanilla, sea salt, and spices. Blend well. I also made a mini pie with leftover crust and filling (see below, step 8.)
Step 7: Pour the filling into the pie shell. Garnish with decorative shapes made using a knife or cookie cutters. I used a leaf cutter and a small Christmas tree cookie cutter. I have made the shapes by hand in the past, so you don’t need cutters to make it look good. Just some patience.
Step 8: Place in the oven and cook at 400F for 42-45 minutes. You may want to cover the pie crust carefully with tin foil for the last 10 minutes of baking as my pie crust got brown.
Step 9: Cool for at least 30-45 minutes and then enjoy with some non-dairy vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Note: Spelt crust was adapted from my Pumpkin Pie Glo Bites and the filling was adapted from Care2.
Directions in pictures, because a picture tells a thousand words!
Step 2:
Step 3:
Step 4:
Note tear in dough. No worries!!
Step 5:
Step 6:
Step 7:
Step 8:
Step 9: TA-DA!
ENJOY!!!!!!
My mini pie that I gobbled up right away. Just delicious!
You can bet your bootay the house smelled amazing.
So what did I think?
Isn’t it obvious? ;) I LOVED this vegan pumpkin pie. So much in fact that I prefer this one over the traditional pumpkin pies I have had in the past. I really love this pie crust that I made. It is down right delicious!! Pie crusts don’t come any healthier than this baby!! It is so wholesome and satisfying. It kicks white flour and shortening’s butt any day.
You probably won’t believe this, but it only took me a mere 30 minutes to prepare this pie! It was soooo unbelievably easy. This is only the third pie I have ever made, so if I can do it so can you!
Future modifications: Next time I would probably add a tablespoon or two of cornstarch as the filling was a bit soft for my liking. I would also toast the pecans before using next time.
Please let me know if you end up making it! :) It was just SO easy!!
What is your favourite pie flavour?
Mine has always been pumpkin by a landslide!
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Well, In case you couldn’t tell…the old Ange is back! :)
All it took last night was a good laugh (Eric pinned me down and tickled me!), vegan pumpkin pie, and some Gossip Girl. Thank you for all of your lovely comments and emails. :)
Have a glowing day!!
That looks AMAZING :-D
Yum! Although it looks as if the actual measurement for how much pumpkin is missing!? Unless I’m just having one of those days, but I don’t see it….
That looks great could you sub the sugar in the crust for something else? I can’t eat anything sugar.
Wow this looks amazing! I love the pecans in the bottom!!!
My favorite pie is pumpkin!
Hey Ange,
I think you forgot to mention pumpkin in the ingredient list. I was wondering where it was and why it wasn’t vegan
Just seeing if you guys are on your toes! HAHA
Its in there now…2 cups pumpkin!
Yay!! Glad you’re feeling better! And seriously, that pumpkin pie is amazing. I can’t wait to try it!
This looks amazing–I was thinking of making a sweet potato pecan pie for Thanksgiving (American hehe). I love that you used tofu in the filling!
That looks delicious! Glad you are feeling better. :-)
Ange…glad you’re feeeling better :) I have never made a pie before(I’m forty-something) but I really want to try this one. Do you think I can do it?
That looks awesome. I am going to try making a pie with an almond flour crust to make it gluten free.
How funny – my husband had me crying laughing last night for a good 10 minutes (doing an impression of my mother in law, whom I love, but who on occasion drives both of us a bit crazy) and I hadn’t laughed like that in a good couple of months – I needed it!! I am going to try out some of this spelt flour for other recipes – it looks like a good alternative, even for wholemeal!
WOW thanks for sharing the recipe! This looks great, I would love to try this out.
Welcome back! :-D
That pie looks amazing. I admire your creativity and ability to make it healthier.
Wow – your pictures are great! Any pie is great to me – I’ve actually never had pumpkin but that will change. Love lemon meringue – usually store-bought though haha :)
I love apple pie! Your vegan pie with spelt crust looks like it came out awesome, what a great way to veganize this traditional recipe. Very cool, I like the idea of veganizing recipes.
Wow! That pumpkin pie looks great! The spelt crust looks really good!
Thanks for the recipe! That pie looks beautiful :)
Pumpkin is my favorite too, with chocolate pie being a close second. I’m going to have to figure out how to “veganize” that one too!
Wow! What a babe of a pie that is! I can’t wait to try it. I can imagine it would also be fantastic as a sweet potato or butternut squash pie. But first, I need to pay homage to the original and make this pie soon. You are a kitchen goddess!
Oh my! That looks good!!
That looks UNBELIEVABLE! You make it look so easy!
My favorite is definitely blueberry…yum :-)
The world can never have enough vegan pumpkin pie recipes! THANK YOU! There is nothing like a delicious slice of pumpkin pie, I haven’t had one in ages, I don’t know why…I don’t like to just save them for the holidays, they are definitely something that should be enjoyed all year round. LOVE this recipe, I can’t wait to give it a try.
The pie looks awesome!!!
That looks great, I think I will make this, thanks for the recipe.
Yum! Yum! Yum!! I wish I was in charge of pies this year!! Sadly, I’ll be contributing fresh cranberry sauce and glazed carrots which, while vegan, are not PIE!
YUMMM! Were you always such a good and creative baker? Every time I “get creative” with baking I BLOW it and end up throwing the whole batch of ____ away. I have to follow baking recipes exactly to get them right. Bah humbug!
this looks amazing, I plan on making it, and advertising that it is your recipe!!
Yummy! I will have to make this! My old, non-vegan recipe has pecans on th bottom too. I love that it’s sort of combining a pecan pie and a pumpkin pie – yummy!
I wish that I could figure out how to veganize my old recipes. I used to love to bake scones and biscuits – all osrots of breakfast items. I just need to experiment and channel your baking talent. Do you just guess at what would work (measurement-wise)?
Mo: There are a ton of great vegan baking books out there. Check out The Joy of Vegan Baking. I know it has a scone recipe (and I think a biscuit one, too). You can also just Google for vegan recipes. There are a lot out there!
I am SO making this on Thanksgiving! My vegan brother in law is coming over (I’m vegetarian but dabbling in vegan), and I’ve been wondering what to make. I’m all set now!
Oh my, so many typos! I need to each lunch! :-)
Wow, this is seriously impressive!!! First of all, your crust looks phenomenal…not only is it super healthy, but it sounds delish and I love how it’s got a gorgeous speckled color! And I love how you added maple pecans! Absolutely brilliant! Thanks Angela, I’ll definitely be making this for Thanksgiving next week!
This looks so good, and I’m not even a fan of pumpkin. (I know, I know, call me crazy). But, I do think I will have to make this because everyone else in family loves pumpkin pie. I do have a question though, what is a substitute for buttermilk when a recipe calls for it?
I love berry pies! Cherry is probably my favorite of all, though.
That looks and sounds amazing! I will definitely give this pie a try!
So glad you’re feeling back to your old self:)
That looks awesome! I love the spelt crust and that there’s some tofu in there for a little protein kick too ;)
Well, I try not to discriminate against pie, but if I HAD to choose one, it would be apple. But I’ll never turn down pie. It’s my favourite dessert!
Hi Angela! I love pumpkin pie but I am not a crust person. I’ve always made this recipe
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=13590.0
which is like pumpkin pie custard ;-) I also avoid soy products and sub in almond/hemp milk.
I love your decorative top – so cute!
That pie looks fantastic! I’ll have to try making it!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!! I want a vegan pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving so badly!
I’m glad your back sometimes you just need a break from everybody right?
That pie looks sooo good. I’ve tried a Tofu pumpkin pie with spelt crust from the local health foods store, and I wasn’t a fan. I’ll have to try yours out to compare. Maybe I can convince my family it’s a normal dairy and fatty pie on Turkey Day?! ;-)
Holy Moly! That pie looks FANtastic! I love how you put your own little vegan spin on it.
My favourite pies are pumpkin, pecan and strawberry rhubarb…yuummmmmm :)
man that looks absolutely tasty!
for my birthday every single year I get pie, rather than icecream, because it was always easier for my mom to convert into sugar free and dairy free. so i LOVE saskatoon berry pie. But pumpkin and apple are both second, dont know which one i like more, so its a tie for second.
Wow, that pie looks yummy! Pecan pies are my fave, but I also like pumpkin pie, so the combination of the two is a must-try. BTW, love the new Glo bakery website. Very user-friendly and quick. Can’t wait for my order!
Lovely! It looks delicious! I love the decorations on top of the pie, so cute. It looks store-bought – in a good way!
Angela: Your pie looks wonderful. What else was on your menu for Thanksgiving?
This looks so good. Even the husband said so (he didn’t see the vegan part..hehe)
I definitely plan to make it
Wow, wow and MORE wow!!! I would eat that, not because it’s vegan, but because it looks DELICIOUS!!! Girl, you are a GENIUS!
My favourite, btw is blueberry peach. I love the wonderful flavour and consistency when the two fruits come together. Mmmmmmmmm….PIE…..*drool*
girl- i LOVE your blog, you are beautiful and your personality shines through your posts! that pie looks AMAZING..and you are inspiring me more and more everyday to eat so clean the way tht you do!
My favorite pie is Lemon Merangue.
You are a genius. Pumpkin is my fave too!
I LOVE pumpkin pie! Aside from key lime, it is my absolute favorite. Yours looks amazing and healthy to boot. :)
looks insane good!!!