Vegan Pumpkin Pie (9 Ingredients)
This vegan pumpkin pie tastes and bakes JUST like the classic – you’re going to LOVE this! Made with only 9 ingredients, it’s rich, smooth in texture, and filled with flavor! It also just so happens to be gluten-free!
After making this vegan pumpkin pie, friends, I am HOOKED on pie.
I always thought making pies was hard, but after making this super simple vegan pumpkin pie, I’ve learnt that it really isn’t! Speaking of which, one bite and you’ll be hooked, too. This pie is the perfect pie for Thanksgiving – that is a fact. The Mr., who grew up eating pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, verified that 100% for me.
The three slices I had also verified this fact. Oops. But, when you’ve got a smooth pumpkin pie made with cinnamon, ginger, and rich pumpkin puree sitting in front of you, all sliced up and ready to go, it’s impossible not to sample a slice (or three!). Get in on the goodness, and you’ll see what I mean!
Also, if you’re in the mood to make some more easy pumpkin desserts, try these pumpkin sugar cookies, these pumpkin cupcakes, or this pumpkin sheet cake!
Why You’ll Love This Vegan Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin pie is a classic Thanksgiving dessert, but you can make it all year-round if you like! Here’s why I think you’ll be hooked on it, just like me:
- Perfectly smooth. This pumpkin pie filling is so creamy and moist. Pair that with a flaky gluten-free crust, and every bite is a dream!
- Sweet and comforting. This pumpkin pie is filled with sugary maple syrup, sweet brown sugar, rich pumpkin puree, and cozy cinnamon and ginger. What a comforting combination!
- Quick and easy. This pie can be prepped in 15 minutes and baked in 1 hour! That’s all there is to it.
Notes on Ingredients
These are the ingredients you’ll need to round up to make a vegan gluten-free pumpkin pie. You can find the exact amounts for each in the recipe card below, along with the directions!
- Pumpkin – You can use fresh pumpkin pie puree or canned, up to you!
- Coconut Milk – You want to ensure you’re using the one from the can since it’s nice and thick and will yield that beautiful silkiness that you’re looking for!
- Spices – Although I’ve listed the cinnamon, ginger, and all spice separately, you can substitute 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice instead! If you like your pie extra spiced, feel free to use 2 teaspoons.
- Salt – I like to use sea salt in this recipe.
- Maple Syrup – Pure maple syrup is the way to go!
- Brown Sugar – Cane sugar and coconut sugar can also be used.
- Cornstarch – This is crucial because it is the perfect thickener and it binds the pie ingredients together, creating a smooth texture. I have not tested arrow starch, but you can test it if you’d prefer to use that.
- Pie Crust – You don’t have to use mine if you’re not gluten-free! You can also substitute the gluten-free flour in mine for regular flour for a regular vegan pie crust.
How to Make Vegan Pumpkin Pie
This vegan pumpkin pie is made in just a few simple steps! Here’s how it all happens:
- Prepare the crust. Pre-bake your pie crust for 10 minutes, then set it aside.
- Make the pie filling. In a large bowl, add all the pie ingredients. Add all the pumpkin puree, sea salt, thick coconut milk cream, cinnamon, ground ginger, all spice, maple syrup, sugar and sifted in cornstarch.
- Mix until everything is combined. Blend everything together well with a whisk until the cornstarch is completely whisked out. Alternatively, mix all the dry ingredients together first, blend out the cornstarch, and then add the wet ingredients.
- Allow the pie to rest before baking it. You can leave this to set for an hour covered with a kitchen towel first to allow the ingredients to completely blend together, or bake the pie immediately. To me, it tastes even better when the ingredients are left to sit a bit.
- Pour the batter into the pie crust. Then, bake the pie for 60 minutes in the oven on the lower shelf or highest shelf depending on your oven (whichever is furthest away from the heat). Finally, remove the pie from the oven and let it set and cool completely.
- Serve and enjoy. Cover the pie with saran wrap or foil and set it in the fridge for at least 4 to 6 hours, or ideally overnight. Then, remove the pie from the fridge, cut it, and serve. I highly recommend dolloping each slice with some delicious vegan coconut whipped cream. Enjoy!
Watch This Vegan Pumpkin Pie Recipe Come Together
You can mix this vegan gluten-free pumpkin pie together in no time. Watch it happen below!
Tips for Success
These quick tips and tricks will help you produce the best vegan pumpkin pie:
- Try not to make substitutions. I recommend making it just like I have. Substitutions can be extremely tempting, but this is fool-proof and already tested so many times that you don’t need to. The only substitutions I’d endorse would be using agave nectar instead of maple syrup, and coconut sugar for the cane sugar. I made this using both and loved them both in this.
- What to do if the pumpkin puree looks watery. If you’re using/getting a particularly watery pumpkin puree result (i.e. it looks more watery than the photos and the video) set it in a sieve/strainer over your sink for about 30 minutes to 1 hour. This will drain any excess liquid.
- Depending on the size of your pie dish, don’t fill the pie dish to the very top. It puffs up while baking, and you don’t want it to overflow. I have a 9″ pie dish that’s decently deep, so just keep that in mind. You want to fill it up to the level of what is in the video and photos.
- Let the pie cool completely, and then refrigerate it overnight. That way, the flavors are absolutely outstanding. I even made my batter ahead of time (about an hour) and let it sit so the flavors could blend. This isn’t necessary, but if you have the extra time, it makes the pie even better!
- Add a few simple decorations. You could spruce this pie up even more by adding a few cookie cutter leaves on top with the extra pie dough.
Serving Suggestions
While this pumpkin pie tastes amazing as-is, you can definitely add a few toppings when you serve it if you like!
- Whipped cream. As mentioned above, this coconut whipped cream is an incredible addition! Cashew whipped cream is also a personal favorite.
- Caramel sauce. Vegan caramel sauce tastes great on this pumpkin pie!
- Chopped nuts. Chopped pecans, for example, pair so well with a slice of pumpkin pie.
How to Store
Baked vegan pumpkin pie can be stored in an airtight container, or covered with saran wrap/foil. Keep it in the fridge for 4-5 days, and serve it warm, cold, or at room temperature – whatever you like best!
Can I Freeze Vegan Pumpkin Pie?
YES! You can freeze this for up to 4 days and it’ll still taste exactly the same. Or, you can freeze it for up to a month and it’ll taste very similar, although not as fresh at just baked. Wrap the pie in saran wrap, then in foil, and then place it in a freezer-safe zipped plastic bag. This ensures that smells and freezer burn will not affect your pie.
When thawing, place the pie in the fridge. Do not thaw it on the counter, as this will cause your crust to get soggy. If you have raw fish in your freezer, remove this first since this will be the first smell to seep into your pie.
More Thanksgiving Dessert Recipes
If you loved this vegan pumpkin pie recipe, try out another of these classic Thanksgiving desserts!
| WHAT YOU’LL NEED // SHOP MY FAVORITE INGREDIENTS & PREP PRODUCTS |
Vegan Pumpkin Pie (9 Ingredients)
Ingredients
- 2 cups pumpkin puree, (450g) homemade or canned
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup coconut cream, (230g) You can buy coconut cream or a full fat can of coconut milk and get it from the can, the thick creamy white portion only – *check notes on how to get it from the can
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon all spice
- 1/4 cup maple syrup, (84g)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, or cane sugar or coconut sugar, (105.3g)
- 1/4 cup cornstarch, (32g) – I recommend sifting this in
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C.
- Pre-bake pie crust for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, add all the pumpkin puree, sea salt, thick coconut milk cream, cinnamon, ground ginger, all spice, maple syrup, sugar and sifted in cornstarch. Blend together well with a whisk or in a blender or food processor until cornstarch is completely combined. Alternatively to blend out the cornstarch, mix it with the spices first, then add the wet ingredients.
- You can leave this to set for an hour covered with a kitchen towel first to allow ingredients to completely blend together, or bake immediately. To me, it tastes even better when ingredients are left to sit a bit.
- Pour the batter into the cooled pie crust. Bake for 60 minutes in the oven on the lower shelf or highest shelf depending on your oven (furthest away from heat).
- Remove from oven and let set and cool completely.
- Cover with saran wrap or foil and set in the fridge for at least 4 to 6 hours, ideally overnight. Remove and cut the pie and serve. Dollop each slice with delicious whipped coconut cream. Enjoy!
Notes
- How to get the thick creamy white portion only from the coconut milk: Put a can of full-fat coconut milk in your fridge overnight. After being refrigerated overnight, open the can, and scoop out the thick solids out of the jar until you reach 1 cup. That’s what you want to use! You can set the coconut water into a jar in the fridge and use it in your smoothies or drink it.
- I recommend making this recipe exactly as made. If you want to, you can substitute the maple syrup with agave nectar. To test if your pie is finished baking, stick a toothpick into the corner of the pie. It should be solid. Try not to touch your pie – it’ll leave some imperfections.
- When your pie comes out, it may be two different colors. This is from the spices in the pie. As it cools and settles, it’ll change to one solid color.
- You could spruce this pie up even more by adding a few cookie cutter leaves on top with the extra pie dough.
- If you’re using/getting a particularly watery pumpkin puree result (looks more watery than the video and photos) set it in a sieve/strainer over your sink for about 30 minutes to 1 hour. This will drain any excess liquid.
- To store. You can store this baked pumpkin pie in the fridge wrapped with saran wrap or foil for up to 5 days.
- To freeze. You can freeze this for up to 4 weeks. It will taste the same after a week of freezing, and only slightly different after that. Wrap the pie in saran wrap, then in foil, and then place in a freezer-safe zipped plastic bag. This ensures that smells and freezer burn will not affect your pie. When thawing, place in the fridge to thaw. Do not thaw on the counter as this will cause your crust to get soggy.
Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
I commented last year about your excellent pie which I make each year for Thanksgiving. I do it with stevia in lieu of sugar in any form. I made it again this past November, and then I had an idea to make a purple sweet potato pie using your recipe. It was more work than using canned pumpkin but it was PURPLE and that’s my favorite color. It turned out great and was a big hit at Xmas brunch.
i been following this recipe for over a year now. absolutely amazing! my friends who’s not vegan even love it , holidays got 10x tastier thanks to you (:
Thanks so much for sharing DD! So happy to hear!!
what would you suggest to substitute for the corn starch?
Hi Tia,
You can use arrowroot powder 1:1 or flour – 2 tablespoons of flour for tablespoon of cornstarch (½ cup flour in this case). Or potato starch 1:1 also (best option here). I haven’t tried these in this specific recipe but would recommend the arrowroot powder or potato search before the flour.
Can I bake this without a crust to make it a vegan crustless pie? If yes, do I follow the same baking instructions?
HI Tammy,
Admittedly I haven’t made this crustless but I have made a crustless pecan pie and it worked the exact same way, so yes you should be able to! Just bake it the same way! Enjoy so much!
Hello! I tried this recipe last week, and it was soooo yummy! I’m making it again today for tomorrow. we can’t really do cornstarch in our family, so I used double tapioca starch, and it was great! I am going to try just doing 1/3 cup tapioca and see if it’s more of a pumpkin pie texture, than cream pie! thanks so much for this recipe!
Amazing thanks for sharing Ruby!!
Can I use arrowroot instead of cornstarch? Thanks!
Hi Maria,
Yes for sure! You can swap it 1:1. Enjoy so much!
Incredible! The texture is amazing. Followed the filling recipe exactly. I made mine with a Graham Cracker/Pretzel crust -I love the sweet pumpkin with the salty crumbly crust. My only question is how do I get rid of the lumps from the chilled coconut milk? It didn’t affect the taste, just the aesthetic. Thank you Jessica!!
Hi Elizabeth,
SO happy to hear this! When mixing it all together you should be able to get out the lumps in your coconut milk. If not, adding everything to a blender, or even just the coconut milk first, next time will do the trick for sure!
I made this for a vegan Thanksgiving celebration. It was a hit!!! This will now be my “go to” pumpkin pie recipe!!
Incredible! Thanks so much for sharing and so happy to hear this!!
This was wonderful! So creamy and rich. I added a dash of cloves, but otherwise followed the recipe as written. Don’t skip the suggestion to let it sit for an hour after mixing the spices and coconut cream together. It makes a difference to let the flavors meld. Made it the day before and it set up perfectly. Definitely the new holiday favorite.
Love your comment Marcia, thanks so much for sharing!!
Oh my gosh this is AMAZING!!!!! I will forever be making this for all the family get together, christmases, thanksgivings, etc, this is such an fantastic recipe:)
Thanks so much for sharing Cate!!