The Best Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Pie Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour spooned and leveled

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup vegan butter, cold and cut into cubes

• 3-4 tablespoons ice water

Pie filling:

• 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree

• 1/3 cup (80 mL) maple syrup

• 1/2 cup (110 g) light brown sugar or coconut sugar

• 1/2 cup canola oil

• 1/4 cup plant based milk

• 1/4 cup cornstarch

• 2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Instructions:

• Make sure your vegan butter is very cold before starting. Refrigerate along with the shortening for at least 30 minutes. 

• Add flour, sugar and salt to food processor with the "S" blade. Pulse a few times to combine.

• Add cold vegan butter and shortening. Process for about 10 seconds, until it looks like a coarse meal.

• Now while the food processor is running, drizzle in 3 tablespoons of ice cold water. When it begins to clump together, stop. You may need to add 1 more tablespoon ice water for it to come together.

• Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball. Don't use your hands too much or it will warm the dough, which will make your pie crust less flaky and light. 

• Roll the dough with a rolling pin to about a 12 inch circle, and transfer to a pie plate. I usually wrap it gently around my rolling pin and then carefully transfer it. Don't panic if it's not perfect, you can fix it in the pie plate!

• Gently push the pie crust all around the dish, trimming off any excess and replacing any spots that need repair. See this tutorial for fluting the edges and making other special pie edges.

• Refrigerate for 15 minutes and preheat the oven to 425°F.

• If there’s any leftover dough, it can be used for cutouts. Place the pie cuts outs onto parchment paper and leave in the refrigerator.

• Bake for 12 minutes then remove from the oven and lower it to 350°F. Let the crust cool while you prepare the filling.

• Make the pumpkin pie filling In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to mix together pumpkin puree, maple syrup, sugar, heavy vegan cream, arrowroot powder, vanilla, sea saltand pumpkin pie spice until smooth and there are no clumps of cornstarch. 

• Pour the filling into the pie crust: Pour filling into the pie crust and cover the edges of the pie crust with either a pie crust saver or tin foil. If you have cut outs, place the parchment paper with the cut outs on a baking sheet and not onto the pie to decorate it just yet. Bake the cutouts only for 7-8 minutes then remove from the oven. I recommend baking them towards the end of the pumpkin pie baking time.

• Bake the pumpkin pie: Place the pie into the oven and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the tinfoil, and continue to bake for another 15-20 more minutes. The center of the pie should be wiggly still, even wiggling a lot! That’s okay!

• Allow the pie to cool: Remove from the oven and allow the pie to cool for 15 minutes at room temperature. Then transfer the pie set overnight or for a minimum of 4 hours.

• Serve and enjoy: When ready to serve, decorate with the pumpkin pie cut outs and serve. Enjoy!

(Inspired by Nora Cooks and Banana Diaries)