I have a good feeling about pie. I love apple, cherry, pecan, blueberry, peach, chocolate mousse, lime, and most classic pie flavors. But if I could only choose one pie to eat, I would undoubtedly select pumpkin pie.
I have an insatiable love for all things pumpkin, and it’s not just a seasonal affair for me. Unsurprisingly, this extends to my love for pumpkin pie: its warm spices, inviting aroma, and the indulgent creaminess that it offers.
Over the years, I’ve tried many versions of vegetarian pumpkin pie. Some involve tofu, and some involve coconut cream, but the most effective basic ingredient is cashew nuts.
Cashews are the unsung heroes of my kitchen. They serve as the foundation for my all-purpose cashew cream, whipped cream, queso sauce, cheesecake, and many other recipes. They provide the richness of dairy without the need for dairy. Cashew cream is the secret ingredient that brings this vegan pumpkin pie to life.
This year, I finally decided to consolidate my many pumpkin pie experiments into a single, definitive recipe. This is my perfect vegan pumpkin pie.
As far as pumpkin pie goes, this is a classic recipe: no unique twists or decorations. It has a thin vegan pie crust, a creamy center, and a beautiful orange hue. Plus, the flavor and aroma of pumpkin pie spice. If you already love pumpkin pie, there’s nothing you can’t love here. This may be the one if you have not found a plant-based recipe.
How to make vegetarian pumpkin pie
The immediate challenge with this recipe is that traditional pumpkin pie is made with eggs and evaporated milk (or heavy cream). Of course, neither of these fillings is vegan.
To make a vegetarian pumpkin pie, you must replace the butterfat and the consistency of the egg provided by cream or condensed milk.
I find cashews best for a creamy, meaty, vegan pumpkin pie. Tofu is also an option, but it’s less affluent than cashews. Coconut cream works, but it’s not my favorite flavor, and I prefer the unsaturated fat in cashews to the saturated fat in coconut.
As for bonding – the ingredients that help the pumpkin pie have a fixed texture – I used a thickener. This can be bamboo flour, cornstarch, or tapioca starch. I gave all the options in the recipe.
Perfect vegan pie crust
Of course, pumpkin pie is more than just pumpkin filling. It’s about the crust, too!
I made a vegan pumpkin pie with a graham cracker and a thin, all-butter crust. Both have their charms, but in the end, I like the crust cake. It adds a buttery flavor to the recipe and a slight saltiness to offset the sweetness of the pumpkin filling.
My vegan pie crust is very traditional. The only thing I did differently, of course, was use vegan butter. You can choose vegan butter, but various sticks of butter are more accessible to bake.
You can decorate the edges of the crust however you want or make them as simple as you want. I found the fork burritos to look festive and take less effort than any edging technique, but there are many options.
A simple, gently fluted edge, like the one you see in these images, looks pretty, too.
Do I have to make pumpkin pie from scratch?
You don’t. I’ve never roasted a pumpkin to make the filling for a pumpkin pie from scratch. I buy canned pumpkin, and it works great.
I’ve read a few times that homemade pumpkins taste better than canned ones, and it’s possible. It is not difficult to make pumpkins from scratch, but I’ve always had great results with canned pumpkin sauce and stick with it.
Plus, making pie is already a project! Saving time on a reliable shortcut is worth it.
Vegetarian pumpkin pie ingredients
Here is an overview of the main ingredients for a vegetarian pumpkin pie.
Medium flour
I use unbleached all-purpose flour for butter pie crust.
You could replace a small portion of the flour with whole-wheat flour, but I haven’t had much luck with 100% whole-wheat crusts. They usually end up a little dry. Also, the flavor of the butter stands out more when I use plain flour.
If you want to make a gluten-free crust, that’s fine! An excellent gluten-free flour mix should work well. I like what King Arthur does for you.
Vegetarian butter
Many vegan butter options are available these days, most of which should go on the crust. However, making butter for pie crust is much easier if you use butter in stick form. I usually use Earth Balance or Miyoko’s Butter.
Pumpkin puree
As I mentioned, feel free to buy canned goods to make life easier. Just be sure to buy the pumpkin skin and not the pre-sweetened pumpkin pie filling.
If you prefer to make purslane from scratch, you’ll need 1 3/4 cups.
All-purpose cashew cream
In past vegetarian pumpkin pie experiments, I mixed raw, soaked cashews directly into my filling. It worked very well.
However, I considered substituting my all-purpose cashew cream for raw nuts this time. This has two benefits: First, the pie filling will be smoother. Second, I can offer a nut-free option with coconut milk as a direct substitute.
Bamboo flour or tapioca starch
You can use bamboo flour (also known as bamboo flour) or cornstarch to thicken the pumpkin pie as it bakes.
Arrowroot Arrowroot flour makes the pie filling creamier, but the difference between thickeners isn’t that big. The ratio is the same: one tablespoon of taro flour for every cornstarch.
If you don’t have either of these thickeners at home but do have tapioca, you can use four tablespoons of tapioca instead. It’s not as strong as the other two thickeners, so you’ll need more.
sugar
I make vegetarian pumpkin pie using a 50/50 mixture of brown sugar and cane sugar. The ratio balances out the moisture and gives the finished pie a beautiful, bright, vibrant orange color.
Pumpkin pie spice
I’ll admit it: I rely heavily on pumpkin pie spice for all the pumpkin-themed baking I do in the fall.
It would be easy for me to make a homemade pumpkin pie spice mix at home or take a little more time to think about each spice mix. But I like shortcuts, and pumpkin pie spice is an easy shortcut.
I use this for my pie. If you want to make your pumpkin pie spice, you’ve done what I’m unwilling to do! And it doesn’t seem that hard.
Suppose you want to replace this recipe with pumpkin pie spices but don’t want to make a whole batch. In that case, I suggest you use 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg or allspice, and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves (also listed in the recipe).
Vanilla extract
The herbs in the pumpkin pie filling are subtle, but they really enhance the pie’s flavor. If you don’t have vanilla extract, use an equal amount of bean paste or powder.
Steps and Tips
If you follow this recipe step by step and take your time, this pie will be easy to make. However, a few points along the way can make things a little tricky, so it’s worth a try.
Make pie crust
This part is straightforward. You know what to do if you’ve made pie crust from scratch. If you haven’t already, then I hope the instructions are clear, but this article is an excellent comprehensive primer.
For a long time, I made pie crusts using my food processor. Now, I prefer to use a simple pastry cutter with my hands. I can get a better feel for the dough and its consistency.
Chilled pie crust
Two hours is definitely enough time to make this pie crust. However, cooling the pie crust is an excellent opportunity to take a break when preparing a vegetarian pumpkin pie.
If you like, you can make the crust two days before baking the pie. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap or wax paper and store in the refrigerator.
Unbaked pie dough can also be wrapped and frozen for up to a month.
Roll up the crust
When rolling and fitting the pie crust, visuals are better than words! Here is an excellent tutorial to help you through the scrolling process.
Blind roasting
I’ve been unthinkingly reluctant to bake pie crusts for a long time, and I almost always skip this step. However, once I started, I found it greatly impacted my pie.
Baking involves flattening the crust with dry beans for 10-15 minutes before the crust is filled, and then the whole pie is baked.
Blind baking allows the bottom of the crust to be baked a little more complicated before the wet filling is added. Blind baking helps prevent the dreaded “soggy bottom” that can happen so quickly in homemade pie making.
A few things to know about blind baking:
- You can use special blind roast weights to weigh the crust. I usually use dried beans or dried wheat berries from the kitchen.
- Before blind baking, poke the bottom of the foreskin with a fork. This allows some steam to escape as the butter melts, resulting in a thinner crust.
- A 10-12 minute blind roast is all you need for a vegetarian pumpkin pie recipe. The crust needs to cool for 10 minutes before adding the pumpkin pie filling.
Prepare the filling
I do this when I bake the crust. This is the easiest part of the recipe! Use a food processor or blender to blend the ingredients well.
Fill + bake
Once the crust is baked, cooled, and the filling is mixed, it’s time to start filling and baking the pie.
You need to bake it in the oven for 45 minutes. One thing to note is that sometimes the pie hasn’t been in the oven long enough before the edges of the crust turn brown. You can use a homemade aluminum foil shield or these to protect the edges of the pie.
One important note: At the end of baking, there should be some wiggling in the center of the filling, but the outside edge will hold. This is how it should be. The filling will continue to set and harden as you cool the pie.
Let the pie cool
This recipe requires 7 hours of cooling time:2 hours for the crust and 5 hours for the pie.
I know it’s a lot. Of course, this time is inactive, but you can plan for it.
The five-hour cooling time will allow the pumpkin pie filling to set correctly so that the pie is firm but still creamy. Let it cool for at least five hours in the refrigerator or an incredible part of your home.
Storage and reheating
Vegan pumpkin pie should be stored in the refrigerator for over two hours. However, it tastes best at room temperature or warm. You can take it from the fridge for 1-2 hours before slicing and serving.
If you like hot pie, reheat it at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.
The whole pie can be stored in the refrigerator for up to four days.
Ingredients
For the crust
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (180g)
1 TBSP cane sugar (12g)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
8 TBSP cold vegan butter, cubed (112g / 1 stick)
1 teaspoon white vinegar
6-8 tablespoons ice water
To make pies
15 oz canned pumpkin (430g / 1 3/4 cup)
1 cup cashew cream (instead of whole fat, canned coconut milk, shaken)
2 TBSP taro flour or tapioca starch (18 g With cornstarch)
1/2 cup brown sugar (96 g)
1/2 cup sucrose (96 g)
2 TSP pumpkin pie spice (instead of 1 TSP ground cinnamon, 1/2 TSP ground ginger, 1/8 TSP ground nutmeg or allspice, 1/8 TSP ground cloves)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Serve…
Tofu whipped cream (optional)
Instructions
- To make the crust, combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and use a pastry knife or two knives to cut it into pea-sized pieces. Alternatively, you can put the flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor, add the butter, and blend until the ingredients are combined and the butter is the size of a pea.
- Mix ice water with vinegar. Add a small amount of water to the flour mixture and stir with a spatula. As long as the dough sticks together without getting wet, it’s easy to stick together. You’re done as long as you squeeze a little bit in your hand. Suppose your dough is too crumbly to stick together; spoon in extra ice water until it sticks together. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and shape it into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. You can keep the dough in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or freeze it later.
- Once the dough has cooled, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Dust the work surface and rolling pin with flour.
- Roll out the dough on a floured work surface into a 1/4-inch thick, 12-inch diameter circle. Gently move the dough onto the pie plate. Trim and curl the edges, then prick the bottom of the skin with a fork. Cover the crust with parchment paper and fill it with dried beans (of any kind) or a pie for blind baking. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges of the crust are just golden brown. Remove the crust from the oven, discard the beans, and remove the parchment paper.
- While the crust is baking, blend all the filling ingredients in a food processor or blender for 2-3 minutes or until the filling is silky.
- Take the crust out of the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes. Then, pour the filling into the crust. Please return it to the oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until the edges of the shell are browned and the filling is wobbly, but the outer edges are set. I recommend using a commercial or homemade foil pie crust protective cover to protect the edges from discoloring too much during baking, but it’s not absolutely necessary (brown pie crust is still delicious!).
- Take the pie out of the oven and let it rest in a cool place for at least 5 hours before slicing. Alternatively, chill it in the refrigerator overnight (or up to 3 nights) before serving. Cut into slices, top with tofu creme fraiche, and serve!
