So Yesterday was Thanksgiving and I made pie. Pumpkin pie. And though I was unsure whether it would taste as good as the non-vegan version we’ve made earlier, I was not dissapointed at all and it was super awesomely delicious! It tasted just like regular pumpkin pie! If not a little better;) My family gave it a thumbs up, 10/10 and said it tasted just like it’s supposed to!
This is my take on Libby’s Pumpkin Pie recipe in which I use condensed coconut milk instead of evaporated/condensed milk, silken tofu and cornstarch instead of eggs and my own homemade delicious, accidentally gluten free crust! Really, what’s there not to love? Anyways, this pumpkin pie recipe will make you realize that even the best things in life (pie) can be made vegan, and that you don’t need to sacrifice anything to have a #crueltyfreethanksgiving or a tiny bit greener Thanksgiving:) From me to you<3
And by the way, it should be noted that this pie tastes best the day after it’s cooked, so for the best result, follow the recipe until the pie is cooked, then take it out and leave in the fridge overnight and make the whipped cream right before serving the next day. You can also sub the whipped cream for some vegan vanilla or salted caramel ice cream:)
About some of the ingredients:
Flours: I use a combination of almond flour, tapioca starch and gf oat flour, but you can really use anything you like or have on hand. For example, you can swap the tapioca with regular all-purpose flour, the oat flour with spelt or whole wheat flour. The almond flour really does give it a super nutty and delicious flavour, so I’d include this if I were you. You can also use almond meal of course:)
Condensed coconut milk: if you’re not vegan and can’t find this, just use regular condensed milk. I buy my condensed coconut milk at Scanasia Storgata in Oslo – they have a great selection of Nature’s Charm products:) I think this is available at stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, but I’m not 100% sure.
For the egg substitute I’ve used silken tofu and cornstarch and it works unbelievably well! You can either puree the tofu beforehand in a blender or food processor, or add the tofu and puree it all with an immersion blender (NO: stavmikser) at the end. I find this to work just as well and to be a lot easier.
Ingredients for gf pie crust (you can swap for a pre-made crust if desired)
1 1/4 cups almond flour – sub for other preferred flour to make nut free:)
1/3 cup tapioca flour/starch (it’s the same thing)
1/2 cup shredded coconut (kokosmasse)
2 tbsp flaxseed meal + 3 tbsp water
4 tbsp coconut palm sugar (or sub regular brown or white sugar)
a pinch of salt
a pinch of vanilla powder or 1/2 vanilla extract (optional)
6 tbsp vegan butter (I use a combination of Soft Flora (the blue one) and Berit Nordstrand’s vegan butter, but I think these are only available in Norway or Scandinavia – just use what you have or prefer:)
gluten free oat flour until you reach the right consistency – I think I ended up using about 3/4 cup, but you really have to gauge and adjust this yourself.
Ingredients for the filling:
1 15-ounce can of pumpkin puree – 425 grams
1 can of Nature’s Charm Condensed Coconut Milk (11,25 ounces – 320 grams)
1 tbsp maple syrup
2,5 tsp pumpkin spice mix (lots of recipes online for this – it’s a combination of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and sometimes allspice as well)
1/2 cup silken tofu
2 tbsp cornstarch
a pinch of salt
Vegan whipped cream:
1 carton Gryr Til Matlaging or other whippable plant based cream – about 1 cup – 2,5 – 3 dL
2 tsp maple syrup
2 tsp icing sugar
1 tsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla powder or vanilla extract
tiny pinch of salt.
Method:
- Mix the flaxseed meal and water in a small cup and let sit for 5 minutes. Combine the rest of the crust ingredients except for the butter and oat flour in a bowl. Add the flax mixture and mix. Add the butter and mix until properly incorporated. Next, add oat flour, a little at a time until you reach the right consistency (anywhere between 1/2 cup to 1 cup). It should be quite firm towards the end and so firm that you can knead it with your hand without them getting all goopey and gross. Once this consistency is reached, cover and put in the fridge for 30 minutes or more.
- Turn on the oven at 180 degrees Celcius (350 F). Mix all the ingredients for the filling except for the cornstarch in a medium/large baking bowl with a spoon. Sift in the cornstarch and mix everything with an immersion blender (NO: stavmikser) until completely smooth and void of tofu lumps!
- Get your pie tin ready – mine is a 12 inch one (31 cm diameter), but you can use anything ranging from 9 inches to 12, it might just have to bake a little longer. Take the dough out of the fridge – it should be quite firm by now! Squeeze it out in the tin and up along the sides – about 2 cm / 1 inch up. Once finished, take a fork and pierce the bottom of the crust in several different places to allow air to escape while cooking. Add the filling. Shake the tin carefully on the kitchen counter to ensure a smooth and flat pie surface. Why? Because it looks nice. Now put it into the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
- After the 30 minutes have passed, take a look at your pie. Is it looking a little golden/brown? If yes, take a piece of aluminum foil large enough to cover the pie and put into the oven over the pie – be careful not to take the pie out of the oven and make sure the foil doesn’t touch the surface of the pie! Lower the temperature to 170 degrees C (340 F) and cook for another 30 minutes. Take it out of the oven and let the pie cool down on the kitchen counter. Let it cool for about 20 minutes before you make the whipped cream. If serving the next day (recommended), put leave the pie in the fridge and make the whipped cream right before serving (day 2).
- Add all the ingredients for the whipped cream in a medium/small baking bowl and whip with a hand held mixer until it looks like whipped cream and you can form little peaks with the cream. Cover and put in the fridge until serving – not long.
- Take the pie out of the pie tin (leave the small plate thing underneath and put on a nicer plate for serving. Put the whipped cream in a nice bowl with a spoon and serve! Perfect for dinner parties, especially Thanksgiving and Christmas! Dont’ forget to share a picture on Instagram with an @greenwolff_alex 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving weekend!
- Pictures below:)
