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I’ve literally been working on this recipe for years. Probably around 20 – no joke. I’ve tried so many tricks and tips from others (using tofu, cooking your own squash, various egg replacers) and I was never satisfied. I wanted to make something easy that also tasted great and wasn’t too fussy (most people make this for the holidays so some fuss is required!) and I think I’ve finally made a version that will please all pumpkin pie lovers.

I found that most vegan recipes used cornstarch in them as the binder or thickener and every time I used it, I found the flavor to be somewhat off. I tried arrowroot, agar, and even garbanzo flour and what I found worked best for me was potato flour! It’s used as a binder in desserts and gravies and thickens without leaving an aftertaste. It can be bought in most natural and big box markets in the gluten-free baking section. Yes, it’s a specialty item purchase but you’ll find yourself using it for more recipes! You could use cornstarch of course or arrowroot in a pinch. I also found that adding a few tablespoons of a drippy nut butter was essential to a smooth delicious pie. I used almond butter but you could use cashew or a sunflower or other seed butter if allergic to nuts. Just don’t use any hardened nut butter. Needs to be a little loose.

Let’s talk about pie crust. Some are very intimidated by making their own and I get that. For those people I suggest buying a pre-made pie crust at the supermarket. Many are vegan and some even gluten-free! For those wanting to make their own, I couldn’t improve on this amazing recipe for pie crust by J. Kenji López-Alt from his food blog Serious Eats. It’s so good made with vegan butter. You need to use a stick or block style vegan butter and not one from a tub as those contain more water and will not give the desired flakiness you want in the crust. There are many brands making stick style vegan butter so use your favorite or what you can find at your local grocer. This recipe is super easy too and rolls out like a dream without the dough shrinking back. He has a very special technique of making the dough so follow the directions and you’ll be fine. I prefer to weigh all the ingredients as opposed to dry measuring. You can buy inexpensive food scales online and they come in handy for so many things.

I decorated the top of my pie with festive cutout pastry pumpkins (say that 10X fast!) as the recipe I used (linked above) was for a double crust. You can use leaves or other festive fall shapes which can be bought at a lot of crafting stores or online. I baked these separately after brushing with vegan cream and sprinkling sanding sugar on top. I baked them at 350° for 10 minutes until they just started to brown. It’s a nice touch for a holiday gathering (and covers any cracks in the pie!) and everyone will ask how you did it! We got addicted to these little pastry pumpkins and couldn’t stop eating them. They’re so good!

Some tips for success:

Chill your pastry dough well before adding your filling. Warm pastry dough will leak fat as it bakes so make sure to leave it in the fridge after rolling out into your pie dish for at least a half hour before filling and baking. If using a store-bought crust then you can even use it from frozen.
Blend your filling using a food processor or blender. You can whisk it by hand but blending it well is essential.
Make sure to bake until the sides of the filling start to shrink away somewhat from the crust and it does not jiggle when you move the pie dish. This will ensure it’s set.
Cool your pie! Make sure to cool it completely before serving. I usually leave it overnight in the fridge.
Make sure to use full fat coconut milk or canned coconut cream. I shake the can but there’s usually still a thicker layer at the top and around the rim so make sure to use that thicker coconut cream as you’re not using the whole can.

What you’ll need:

Canned pumpkin purée. This is unsweetened and not the canned pumpkin pie filling. I prefer Libby’s brand as it’s the most consistent in texture and flavor to me.
Coconut milk or cream. Use a full fat coconut milk or cream here. You could also use a vegan heavy cream if you’re allergic or don’t like coconut.
Potato starch. This is the main thickener in this pie. I find it has a cleaner flavor than cornstarch and as some are allergic to corn, this would work better for them as well. You could also use arrowroot but I haven’t tested that but it should work.
Nut or seed butter. Since this pie has no eggs like a traditional pumpkin pie, we need to replace the fat that would normally be in the pie, so a nut butter works great. Needs to be loose and drippy variety (not the hardened residue often at the bottom of jars) and I prefer almond for the clean flavor but a seed butter like sunflower would work as well.

I love pumpkin pie and this recipe has been a labor of love. I hope you enjoy it for years to come and I promise no one will know it’s vegan!