Vegan Pecan Pie Recipe: Buttery, Gooey Filling
For a long time, I’ve been wanting to make the perfect vegan pecan pie recipe to rival that of classic pecan pie. When it comes to pies, vegan pies or not, butter pecan tops my chart! Butter pecan tarts were one of my favorite desserts growing up, and this is essentially just that but in a large pie form. It’s the perfect dessert to have around the holiday table this year – I can hands down say it’s the best pecan pie I’ve ever had! This was a huge hit with my friends and family too – the best way to serve this is with vegan ice cream or whipped cream!
Here’s some quick history on this beloved pie flavour. Pecan pie originally began in America, because pecans used to grow in areas by the Mississippi River. After the Civil War, developers had brought in different pecan varieties to grow in Georgia, where pecans currently grow now too. When pecans became more popular, they began to be used in baking. By the 1920’s, the makers of Karo syrup, which is similar to corn syrup that many pecan pies use, printed the recipe on cans of their product. Many recipes still use Karo syrup as opposed to corn syrup in the recipe!
Why You’ll Love This Vegan Pecan Pie Recipe
Nutty, Chewy, Crunchy: The nutty flavor of pecans comes through in this sweet pie with the filling and topping full of buttery pecans. After baking, the top layer is toasted for maximum flavor!
I mean, have you ever tried toasting a nut versus eating it raw? The difference in taste is mind blowing! I was eating nuts wrong my entire life. Roasting any nuts before I eat them now changes the flavour completely and I definitely enjoy snacking on them much more this way.
Fresh Pie Crust: This pie crust uses super simple ingredients: coconut oil, water and all purpose flour. It’s such a flaky crust, I absolutely would use it in every other pie I make!
Gooey Filling: The best part of this pie is the buttery filling, where the raisins absorb the moisture and get all plump. The pecan chunks add to make the filling crunchy yet chewy for the BEST texture. It’s just this ooey gooey mess of buttery deliciousness on the inside. When the pie is cold, it has a much different taste than when it’s heated – I recommend to actually try it both ways! I’ve had this warmed up with cool whip, versus cold out of the fridge when I was ravenous for dessert. Either way, I loved it!
Rolling a Pie Crust
I’ve always had a lot of trouble rolling and making pie crusts in the past. The issues are either always (a) the crust is too flaky (b) the crust did not roll out correctly (c) the pie tastes unbaked even after baking with pie filling in it (d) it doesn’t taste good! I decided to go with Minimalist Baker’s Coconut Oil Pie Crust, which is also in the recipe card below. The good news is that even as someone who doesn’t make pie crust often, it’s easy enough and yields amazing results.
Initially, it didn’t come together as I’d hoped. It was way too flaky, and I felt the need to keep adding more water. The recipe only called for a couple tablespoons of ice cold water. I did only use that amount and just kept kneading. I also chilled the water in the freezer for about 15 minutes to actually make it ice cold.
Keep the oil in the fridge for a half hour to chill. Then add the water and knead it with your hands to form a dough. This took me up to 15-20 minutes, because it initially won’t come together as a dough right away. You will need to keep kneading! Once the unbaked pie crust comes together, put it into the pie dish as shown below. Lastly, pour the filling in.
Once the pie crust is rolled out and placed into the pie tray, bake it for a few minutes. This way, it won’t be underbaked when adding the filling. Doing so, it turned out perfectly! I then added the filling, topped it with pecans and baked it.
What’s in this Recipe?
This recipe has two parts:
Homemade Crust: This flaky pie crust uses refined coconut oil and all-purpose flour. It takes some time to knead the dough, but it’s so worth it to continue until you get the desired texture (although your hands may pain after some time)!
Filling: This filling is the most decadent pie filling I’ve ever had – vegan or not. Using a food processor, we blitz together the pie ingredients. Vegan butter, brown sugar, pure maple syrup, corn starch and silken tofu. Then we add in salt, vanilla extract, raisins and chopped pecans for flavour and crunch. You can see the photos of the filling and layered whole pecans on top of the pie before baking.
Substitutions
Brown Sugar: If you want to have more of a healthy pecan pie, a sugar alternative could be coconut sugar (or maybe xylitol with molasses). Did you know that one cup of brown sugar is a combination of one cup of white sugar with a tablespoon of molasses? You could try this out with xylitol to make a healthy “brown sugar!” Mix these ingredients with a fork or food processor for best results. I have not tried it, so if it works for you leave a comment below!
Maple Syrup: Brown rice syrup, coconut syrup or agave nectar could act as an alternative liquid sweetener substitute. Again, I haven’t tried this myself. Since different liquid sweeteners have varying levels of sweetness per cup, it may change the texture of the recipe to replace this.
Vegan Butter: I like to use salted vegan butter sticks from the brand Melt. I do not recommend to use oil, margarine or another replacement. There are other companies, such as Earth Balance, that make vegan butter sticks too.
Vegan Pecan Pie Recipe Notes
Save Time, Make the Pie Crust in Advance: Make your pie crust up to three days in advance. Keep it covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator to store it. Make sure to allow it to come to room temperature before using!
Pecan Tart: Make this into a pecan tart by using the same sized tart tin! Next time, I may try this instead to change it up for the holiday season …
More Holiday Recipes You’ll Love
These holiday themed recipes are some of my favorite easy sweet treats during the holiday season!
Winter Jack Frost Snowballs: Use butterfly pea powder to turn these no bake bites into a blue frosty color for the holidays!
Mint Chocolate Bites: No bake, healthy mint chocolate balls using fresh mint, dates and raw cocoa powder! Now this is a healthy holiday recipe you can keep on the countertop during December for the holiday vibes, but also providing a healthy snack instead of grazing on Christmas cookies.
Easy Vegan Sugar Cookies: No chill sugar cookies that are crispy on the edges and chewy in the middle. They’re reminiscent of Betty Crocker’s sugar cookie mix!
Golden Oreo Funfetti Cake Balls: A great recipe to make with kids or bring to a birthday party or other special occasion. It’s easy and versatile to make different flavors out of the same recipe!
Cranberry Parsley Cheese Ball: Serve this as an appetizer with pretzels and other dipping items. This recipe uses all natural ingredients and mimics a holiday dipping ball made of cream cheese, without any of the actual dairy!
If you make this vegan pecan pie recipe, leave a comment and star rating! Don’t forget to tag your photos @peanut_palate on Instagram. Enjoy!
Vegan Pecan Pie Recipe
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Food Processor or high speed blender
- Pie Tray 9-inch
- Rolling Pin
- Pastry Cutter – optional, but preferred
Ingredients
Pie Crust
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup coconut oil, chilled in the fridge for 15 minutes. It should be chunky and not melted. Preferably refined coconut oil – does not smell like coconut, as compared to virgin or extra-virgin.
- 6 tablespoons ice cold water I chilled 6 tablespoons water in the freezer for 15-20 minutes until it was ice cold, so you would have enough if you needed to use more than 3 tablespoons.
Pie Filling
- ⅓ cup vegan butter
- 1 cup coconut sugar or light brown sugar
- ¾ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup silken tofu The pack should say silken or soft tofu on it. This is not the same as firm cooking tofu.
- ½ cup plump black raisins
- 1½ cup pecans
- Extra pecans, for topping Optional
Instructions
For the Pie Crust
- Mix together the flour and the salt – I would use a whisk so there are no flour clumps.
- Using a pastry cutter, add in the coconut oil and "cut" it into the dough.
- Add in the ice cold water. You can use your hands or a fork for this. Keep kneading it and eventually, a dough will form after 15-20 minutes. Roll this dough out onto a floured surface and into a circle, with a rolling pin. This might take some time, because the dough will crack if it isn't kneaded properly. When I rolled out my dough and it cracked, I had to knead it once more before I was able to put it into the pie tray. (See the photos in the post for how it looked once it was put in the tray).
- Once the crust is made, grease a 9.5 inch pie tray. Slowly lift the crust and carefully pat it down into the tray. Then bake it for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F to let it set before adding the filling.
For the Pie Filling
- In a saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, maple syrup and cornstarch over medium heat. Stir and let it cook until it boils. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and cook it for another minute. Take it off the heat and stir in salt and vanilla.
- Add tofu to a blender and blend until completely smooth. Add in everything from the saucepan on the stove, and pulse the blender to make pecan chunks. Do not fully blend it, or you won't have pecan chunks in your pie.
Put it Together
- Pour the pie filling over top of the pie crust that should be out of the oven by now. Arrange extra pecans on top of the pie as you wish.
- Bake the pie at 350F for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let it cool. It will continue to bake as it cools so you need to wait at least ~30-60 minutes. I let it cool for a few hours though.
- Using a sharp knife, cut the pie into 8 slices, and using a pie spatula, serve! Pie spatulas come in handy because they're shaped like a slice of pie to be able to lift the slices out of the pan.
Notes
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days.
- Inspired by this recipe.
