This is the best vegan pumpkin pie ever and the only recipe you’ll ever need! It’s rich, creamy, deliciously spiced and perfect for the holidays.
This vegan pumpkin pie is seriously delicious. It’s perfectly sweet, loaded with fall spices and flavors and absolutely NO ONE would be able to guess that it’s vegan.
It’s also the easiest pie you’ll ever make, especially if you use a store-bought pie crust. It’s as simple as adding your ingredients to a blender, blending it, pouring it out into your pie crust, baking it, cooling it and voilà!
Of course if you want to make your pie crust from scratch then we’ve got you covered with that too.
This pie is heaps of fun to make, comes out perfectly every time and is the perfect Thanksgiving pie.
And if you love some delicious vegan holiday pies, then check out our vegan sweet potato pie and our vegan apple pie too.
How To Make Vegan Pumpkin Pie
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
The Crust:
- Add all purpose flour, sugar and salt to the food processor and pulse to combine.
- Now add coconut oil (must be solid, not melted) and pulse until the mixture is crumbly.
- Add ice water and pulse it to combine. It should look like a dough now and if you break off a piece and roll it in your hands it should easily roll into a ball.
- Remove the dough from the food processor, transfer to a floured surface and roll the dough into a big round ball.
- Using a rolling pin roll out the dough from side to side into a large circle that is wider than your 9-inch pie dish.
- Spray your pie dish with non-stick spray and then roll up the crust in your rolling pin (or just pick it up carefully) and carefully unroll it over the top of your pie dish. Carefully tuck the crust in along the edges of your pie dish.
- Take a scissors and trim off any excess dough but make sure that there is a little overhang over the edges of the dish.
- Place your pie crust into the fridge while you prepare your pie filling.
The Filling:
- Add canned pumpkin, coconut milk, brown sugar, maple syrup, cornstarch, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract and salt to your blender and blend until smooth. If you don’t have a blender, then just add all ingredients to a mixing bowl and use a hand whisk to whisk it until smooth.
- Pour this out over your pie crust and smooth down with the back of a spoon.
- Place into the oven to bake for 60 minutes at 350°F.
- Allow to cool on the counter until it reaches room temperature and then place into the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight until set.
- Serve with vegan whipped cream.
Recipe Tips
THE PIE CRUST: The pie crust is made with coconut oil. The recipe is from our vegan pie crust recipe and works wonderfully as an easy, homemade option.
If you prefer a buttery crust: Check out the crust from our vegan apple pie that is made with vegan butter. If you’re using that pie crust then you can halve the recipe as the apple pie crust makes a double crust (top and bottom).
Alternatively, if you want to save time in this recipe, you can use a store-bought unbaked 9-inch pie crust.
TENTING WITH FOIL: We find it useful to tent the pie with foil after 40 minutes of baking and then place it back into the oven to bake for the final 20 minutes. This prevents the pie from over-browning. Sometimes the full 60 minutes baking time can result in some uneven browning on top of the pie and over-browning of the crust. If you have a pie crust shield then you can use that instead which will prevent the crust from over-browning. However, you may still have some uneven browning on top of your pie.
BROWNING: In these photos, we tented the pie with foil at the 40 minute mark. You can see that the browning is nice and even on top. Nonetheless, the pie when it first comes out of the oven is very dark in color, but it lightens as it cools.
In our video we didn’t tent the pie with foil and you’ll notice there is some uneven browning on top of the pie when it comes out of the oven. However, it also lightens up as it cools.
TIP: The best thing is to tent the pie with foil after 40 minutes of baking (or use a pie crust shield), or your pie crust may be over-browned.
How To Tent With Foil
Tenting with foil is to loosely cover the pie with foil in a tent like shape so that it doesn’t press down on the pie from the top. It prevents the pie and the crust from over-browning while allowing it to bake for the full 60 minutes, so that it bakes through and sets perfectly.
Ingredient Tips and Substitutions
Pumpkin Purée: The easiest option is to use canned pumpkin purée. It must be plain pumpkin purée and not pumpkin pie filling.
You can also use fresh homemade pumpkin purée. We have tested it with this recipe and it works perfectly. It’s just important that you make sure your pumpkin purée isn’t too wet. It must be similar in consistency to what you would get in a can. The best way to do this is to place peeled and chopped pumpkin onto a parchment lined baking tray. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes (no oil or spices) until soft and cooked. Let it cool and then add to the food processor and process into a purée. Let the purée stand in a strainer over a bowl and let any excess water drain off before using.
Coconut Milk: This must be canned, full fat, unsweetened coconut milk. It needs to be thick and creamy so that your pie will be the right consistency. There is no coconut flavor in the end result. If you switch this for a thinner non-dairy milk such as almond milk then your pie may be too thin and won’t set properly.
Brown Sugar: You can also use coconut sugar if you like. The sugar can also be slightly reduced if you prefer.
Maple Syrup: You can switch this with a different kind of syrup if you like. Or you can just replace it with extra brown sugar.
Cornstarch: This helps the pie to set so it is a crucial ingredient. You can possibly also use tapioca starch but you may need to use double the amount. Arrowroot (in the same quantity as cornstarch) will likely also work.
Pumpkin pie spice: I used my super awesome homemade pumpkin pie spice in this pie. You can also make your own or use a store-bought option, it will be the same either way.
Pumpkin Pie Q&A
How long should I let my pumpkin pie cool?
Let it cool on the counter until it reaches room temperature. Then transfer to the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Can I use fresh pumpkin purée instead of canned?
Yes you can! You just need to make sure that your freshly made pumpkin purée isn’t too wet. It should be the same consistency as what you will find in a can. To achieve this, let your homemade pumpkin purée stand in a strainer so any excess water can drain off.
Can I make it gluten-free?
The filling for this pie is already gluten-free, so to make an entirely gluten-free pie you’ll just need to use a gluten-free pie crust. You can either purchase an already made gluten-free unbaked pie crust, or you can make your own. This recipe from Detoxinista looks awesome.
Make Ahead, Storing and Freezing
Make Ahead: This is a perfect pie to make ahead of time. It needs a few hours to chill and set in the fridge anyway and overnight is even better. So if you make the whole pie the day before, then you can simply store it in the fridge. When you’re ready, add vegan whipped cream and serve.
Storing: Keep your pie stored in the fridge (covered) where it will keep for up to a week.
Freezing: It is also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. Let it cool completely and chill/firm up in the fridge as usual. Then wrap it in several layers of plastic wrap, followed by foil to prevent any freezer burn and freeze. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
More Vegan Pumpkin Recipes
- Vegan Pumpkin Cake
- Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
- Vegan Pumpkin Bread
- Vegan Pumpkin Pancakes
- Vegan Pumpkin Cookies
- Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
For the Pie Crust:
- 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour (145g)
- 1 Tablespoon White Granulated Sugar
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ cup Coconut Oil (55g) Solid
- 4 Tablespoons Ice Water
For the Filling:
- 15 ounce Can Pumpkin Purée (425g) not pumpkin pie filling*
- ¾ cup Coconut Milk (180ml) Canned, Full Fat, Unsweetened
- ¾ cup Light Brown Sugar (150g)
- ¼ cup Maple Syrup (60ml)
- ¼ cup Cornstarch (32g)
- 3 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ½ teaspoon Salt
For Serving:
Instructions
- Prepare the crust: Add all purpose flour, sugar and salt to the food processor and pulse to combine.
- Add the coconut oil (must be solid, not melted) and pulse until the mixture is crumbly.
- Add ice water and pulse it to combine. It should look like a dough now and if you break off a piece and roll it in your hands it should easily roll into a ball.
- Remove the dough from the food processor, transfer to a floured surface and roll the dough into a big round ball.
- Using a rolling pin roll out the dough from side to side into a large circle that is wider than your 9-inch pie dish.
- Spray your pie dish with non-stick spray and then roll up the crust in your rolling pin (or just pick it up carefully) and carefully unroll it over the top of your pie dish. Carefully tuck the crust in along the edges of your pie dish.
- Take a scissors and trim off any excess dough but make sure that there is a little overhang over the edges of the dish. Place your pie crust into the fridge while you prepare your pie filling.
- Prepare your filling: Add canned pumpkin, coconut milk, brown sugar, maple syrup, cornstarch, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract and salt to your blender and blend until smooth. If you don't have a blender, then just add all ingredients to a mixing bowl and use a hand whisk to whisk it until smooth.
- Pour this out over your pie crust and smooth down with the back of a spoon.
- Place into the oven to bake for 60 minutes at 350°F. To prevent over-browning, bring it out after 40 minutes, tent it with foil and then return to the oven for the remaining 20 minutes (*see notes).
- When you remove the pie from the oven, it will still be quite wobbly in the center, this is completely fine, it will firm up when cooling. Your pie may also be quite dark in color when first removed from the oven, it lightens up a lot when cool.
- Allow to cool on the counter and then place into the refrigerator to set completely, around 4 hours at least or overnight if possible until completely chilled and set. Serve with vegan whipped cream.
Video
Notes
- Pie Crust: You can use a store-bought 9-inch unbaked pie crust instead of making a crust from scratch if you want to save time on this recipe. It must be an unbaked crust though to work well in this recipe.
- Pumpkin Purée: The easiest option is to use canned pumpkin purée. It must be plain pumpkin purée and not pumpkin pie filling. You can also use fresh homemade pumpkin purée. We have tested it with this recipe and it works perfectly. It’s just important that you make sure your pumpkin purée isn’t too wet. It must be similar in consistency to what you would get in a can. The best way to do this is to place peeled and chopped pumpkin onto a parchment lined baking tray and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes (no oil or spices) until soft and cooked. Let it cool and then add to the food processor and process into a purée. Let the purée stand in a strainer over a bowl and let any excess water drain off before using. You will need 1 and ¾ cups homemade pumpkin purée.
- Coconut Milk: This must be canned, full fat, unsweetened coconut milk. It needs to be rich and creamy so that your pie will be the right consistency. There is no coconut flavor in the end result. If you switch this for a thinner non-dairy milk such as almond milk then your pie may be too thin and won’t set properly.
- Brown Sugar: You can also use coconut sugar if you like. The sugar can also be slightly reduced if you prefer.
- Maple Syrup: You can switch this with a different kind of syrup if you like, or replace it with a ¼ cup extra brown sugar, or omit it altogether for a less sweet version.
- Cornstarch: This helps the pie to set so it is a crucial ingredient. You can possibly also use tapioca starch but you may need to use double the amount. Arrowroot (in the same quantity as cornstarch) will likely also work.
- Pumpkin pie spice: You can make your own homemade pumpkin pie spice or use a store-bought option, it will be the same either way.
- Tent with foil: Tent the pie with foil after 40 minutes of baking and then place it back into the oven to bake for the final 20 minutes. This prevents the pie from over-browning. Sometimes the full 60 minutes baking time can result in some uneven browning on top of the pie and over-browning of the crust. If you have a pie crust shield then you can use that instead which will prevent the crust from over-browning. However, you may still have some uneven browning on top of your pie.
- Make Ahead: This is a perfect pie to make ahead of time as it needs a few hours to chill and set in the fridge anyway and overnight is even better. So if you make the whole pie the day before, then you can simply store it in the fridge and when you’re ready, add vegan whipped cream and serve.
- Storing and Freezing: Keep your pie stored in the fridge (covered) where it will keep for up to a week. It is also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. Let it cool completely and chill/firm up in the fridge as usual. Then wrap it in several layers of plastic wrap, followed by foil to prevent any freezer burn and freeze. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
- This recipe was first published in November 2016. We have given it a makeover with some new photos and lots of extra tips and tricks. The recipe itself is unchanged.
I loved this recipe for pumpkin pie. I’ve tried many and this was by far the best. I wish the note about letting it set overnight after baking in order “to set” was noted at the top of the recipe. I made it early Thanksgiving morning. So I rushed the setting a bit by putting in the freezer for a couple of hours. It set perfectly without freezing.
Hi Monica, we do have it noted in the blog post itself (above the recipe) that it takes a while to set. Glad it worked out though and I’m happy to hear speeding up the process in the freezer was successful!
Pumpkin pie has always been nearly my favorite pie but I’ve not been a fan of the vegan versions I’ve made…..till now! Just tried a slice of the one I made yesterday and it is really good. Good consistency. I didn’t use any vanilla and since I didn’t have coconut milk I used one third coconut cream and the rest soy milk. This created a problem because the cream left little lumps of fat in the filling so I had to laboriously put it through a strainer. Next time I will heat the cream with a little margarine for flavor. Also cut back on the sugar as it’s definitely sweeter than I’m used to. But overall I’d say I’m very happy to have tried this recipe. Thanks Alison.
Glad you enjoyed it Liz! Thanks for reviewing! 🙂
This is such a good recipe. I only modified the crust because I’m lazy so I used store bought..probably not vegan anymore, but we aren’t vegan. My daughter is allergic to egg though and this allowed her to eat dessert with us all. The filling is amazing!
Wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing Rachael!
Delicious Just a little less “Pumpkin Spice” Next Time This Was My First Try!
Hi! I made this recipe for Thanksgiving because my sister became vegan this year. Traditionally, I’ve always used the recipe on the back of the pumpkin tin. I don’t even have words to describe how out of this world your recipe turned out. Everyone agreed it was the best pumpkin pie we have had in our lives! I cannot imagine ever going back to the old recipe, even if the people I’m serving it to aren’t vegan. My husband, who detests pumpkin pie, marveled at the flavor, and my son asked me to make a 2nd pie. The recipe itself was easy to follow, and man, it just knocked our socks off. Thank you so much!!!
That is so wonderful to hear! Thanks so much Lindsay!
Made this pumpkin pie for thanksgiving and can’t stop dreaming about it. It came out perfectly and everything about the pie was immaculate 😀 thank you for this amazing recipe
Yay! Thanks so much Lily!
This pie was excellent and you couldn’t tell it was different from those made with eggs and condensed milk! I made my usual crust with grape seed oil which is also vegan. I did not make the whipped cream
This pie is amazing
Thanks Amanda!
Hi,
I made this for Thanksgiving yesterday and it was perfection. I made the filling with zero changes and baked in a gluten free crust. Thank you for an outstanding pumpkin pie recipe.
Thanks so much Antoinette! So glad you enjoyed it.
Hello!
I️ have made this recipe probably 10 times, but when I️ opened this recipe again the other day, I️ felt something was different about the ingredient list but I️ couldn’t place my finger on it. Well I️ made it anyways, and my texture came out completely different than usual. I️ see this was updated again in October, did something change? Perhaps the thickening agent?
Thanks as always!
Hi Megan, the recipe is exactly the same! We just updated the photos and added more tips etc.
I love your recipe and I made the pie last night. Thank you. I just a question, what kind of tool are you using to put the vegan whipped cream?
Hi Connie, so glad you liked the recipe! It’s a piping syringe that we’re using in the video to pipe on the cream. 🙂
I just made the dough. Looking at your picture I am curious how that can look so yellow in your pictures. Did you add some food coloring?
Hi Simone, no food coloring at all!
This pie is unbelievably incredible. The store didn’t have pumpkin pie spice so I subbed it for a dash of cinnamon. My family, non-vegan, ate this pie up in seconds. I scared myself with how good this pie was. We all said it was the best pumpkin pie we’ve ever had. I will have to make another one on Thanksgiving day because we destroyed this one as soon as it cooled. I’m thoroughly convinced it’s the best thing I’ve ever baked. 10/10. Stunning and incredible. I had some for breakfast this morning. And a dessert after dinner. I can’t say enough good things about this pie. I think it changed my life.
Thank you for this wonderful comment! I’m SO happy it was a success!
Does this crust need to be blind-baked? I haven’t made a vegan crust before, but usually you blind-bake the for a pumpkin pie. Does it crisp when it bakes?
It doesn’t need to be blind baked, it bakes with the pie. 🙂
I am making the pie now and realizing that I have a deep dish pie pan. I had to double the pumpkin filling and made 1.5 the amout of crust. Do I still bake for 60 min? Or should I go longer?
Hi Daphne, it may well need a longer baking time. Just keep a close watch on it. The filling should be darker in color and almost firm with just a little jiggle to the center. The filling should also be a little puffed and it should have cracked along the sides between the edges of the crust and the filling. These are the signs that it’s done.