Sweet-Tooth Friday: Vegan Pumpkin Pie
Hey everyone! It’s Christine here for Sweet-Tooth Friday! There’s no denying it now, Thanksgiving is just around the corner so I have an amazingly easy and delicious recipe for No-Bake Vegan Pumpkin Pie!
Tofu, or not tofu
…that is the question. Classic pumpkin pie is just another version of custard pie, so it is hard to pull off without the use of eggs. Many vegan bakers solve this problem by using tofu. And it works: tofu mimics the structure of the eggs while still adding fat and creaminess.
But as you know by now, I am not interested in simply making soy copies of desserts. Plus, I was hoping for a no-bake recipe to ease your stress around Thanksgiving preparation, and I’m not into uncooked tofu!
I came across a raw recipe for pumpkin pie which was a great inspiration. The real eureka with this recipe was the use of two ingredients: cashews and coconut oil. Problem solved for fat, creaminess, and structure! Both are sources of good fat, cashews have a yummy creamy taste, and the coconut oil can stay in a solid state!
Interestingly enough, the recipe I liked used carrot juice in place of pumpkin, I guess because the pumpkin rind always needs to be cooked down to be enjoyable. I wanted the real deal, but since I’m out of my homemade puree I went with canned pumpkin instead.
The raw recipe also required the pie to be kept frozen. To avoid this, I mixed everything on the stovetop with some arrowroot until it thickened up, and then just spread it into my crust.
Oh yes, the crust! My gingerbread cookies from last week went the extra mile- I threw the leftovers into the food processor and turned them into a delicious press-in-the-pan cookie crust! The version I made was just a little too crumbly for that perfect clean slice, so I have added a flaxseed paste to the recipe here to help keep things together.
The gingerbread cookies have a hearty spiciness to them so I didn’t add much spice to the pie filling itself. If you end up using another kind of cookie, I would recommend adding a teaspoon or two of pumpkin pie spice.
No-Bake Vegan Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 2 cups vegan gingerbread cookie crumbs
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp ground flaxseed
- pinch of salt
For the filling:
- 2 cups (1 can) pureed pumpkin
- 1/2 cup cashew butter
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp arrowroot
Mix the ground flax seed with 2 tbsp water and stir until thick.
Combine the cookie crumbs, salt, oil, and maple syrup. Stir in flax mixture. Press into a greased pie plate firmly on the bottom and up the sides. Store in freezer to chill.
In a saucepan, set the heat on low and whisk together the pumpkin, cashew butter, maple syrup, and coconut oil. Once the coconut oil is melted, stir in the spices, salt and arrowroot. Continue stirring until the mixture thickens and sticks to the whisk when lifted. It should be about the consistency of peanut butter.
Spread the pumpkin filling into the chilled crust. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until firm. If you are storing overnight, wait for the pie to cool all the way down, then cover with plastic wrap.
In a saucepan, set the heat on low and whisk together the pumpkin, cashew butter, maple syrup, and coconut oil. Once the coconut oil is melted, stir in the spices, salt and arrowroot. Continue stirring until the mixture thickens and sticks to the whisk when lifted. It should be about the consistency of peanut butter.YUM! This pie is unbelievably rich and creamy! The cashew butter is just awesome. For vegans and non-vegans alike this will be the star on your Thanksgiving table. I hope you enjoy this animal-free way to sweeten up your big meal!
See you next Sweet-Tooth Friday!
xoxo Christine
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What a cute pick of you Christine! This pie looks incredible. I bet the combo of the cashew butter, pumpkin and gingerbread crust is just AMAZING!!!
.-= Erica´s last blog ..Thank You & Fridge Dinner =-.
What a GREAT recipe!
I was looking for a vegan pumpkin pie! I wanted it for Turkey Day or No Turkey day. I’m still trying to figure out how I’m going to navigate Thanksgiving.
Yummy! 😀
That looks delicious!
.-= Diana´s last blog ..Friday the 13th! =-.
can you tell me more about arrowroot? i see it everywhere!!!
.-= Holly (The Healthy Everythingtarian)´s last blog ..And the winner is… =-.
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Hey Holly,
Arrowroot is a thickener. It is the starch from a tuber, kind of like tapioca starch from cassava root. You can use potato or corn starch too, but I find arrowroot has a more neutral flavor and doesn’t taste chalky. I bought some in the bulk section of my natural food store, but Bob’s Red Mill also has it.
Sounds tasty! I bet the maple syrup lends great flavor.
.-= Amber Shea (Almost Vegan)´s last blog ..Almost vegan in Mykonos/Kusadasi =-.
Oh my gosh, that sounds so delicious! I was just thinking about how I was going to make pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, so thank you for your recipe. I think I’ll try it out this weekend as a test run! 🙂
Now that is something I would make! It sounds delicious! I’ll have to adapt it somehow, since not all the ingredients are available over here… What is arrowroot and what can I use instead?
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Hey Hanlie,
You can use any sort of starch thickener, like corn starch.
what a great vegan pumpkin pie!! i had never thought of using cashews instead of tofu-thanks for the recipe and inspiration!
Wow. This was great! Really! Very similar to pumpkin pie but really creamy and VERY good! Loved the crust too. I was very surprised. To me pumpkin pie is somewhat of an acquired taste. So I figured I wouldn’t like to acquire any sort of pumpkin pie taste that wasn’t the taste I already acquired. WRONG!
Hi !
How do you make the cashew butter ?
thank yoU !
I just found your website today and I’m almost in tears thinking that I can actually have pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving. Though I’m not vegan, I am allergic to eggs (recent development) and mostly vegetarian and was dreading watching everyone else eat pumpkin pie, which was the one thing I was missing in the Thanksgiving meal. Now I’m rejoicing. I can’t wait to make this next week. Thank you thank you thank you!
I am going to make this pie and crust for thanksgiving this year. I need to know how many cups the gingerbread cookie recipe makes?
I know the pie crust calls for two cups of crumbled cookie.
I want to make just enough cookies for the crust… my family is already going to have an overload of sweets this year, adding extra cookies to the dessert table will be too much.
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That looks awesome and I love that it’s soy-free! Thanks so much for sharing this in time to use it for the holidays!