The Best Vegan Pecan Pie

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Category: Dessert
Method: Oven
Serving Size: 12 servings per 1 pie
Equipment: Iron cast skillet (or other frying pan), 9″ diameter pie pan, Mixing bowl

Ingredients

Pecan pie

(2) cups of unsweetened full fat coconut milk, or (1) 15 ounce can
(1/4) cup of vegan butter
(3) cups of chopped pecans
(1) cup of coconut sugar
(1) cup of maple syrup
(4) teaspoons of vanilla extract
(1/3) cup of corn starch
(1/2) teaspoon of salt
(1) 9″-diameter prepared crust pan (if applicable), or follow “Homemade Pie Crust Recipe”

Glazed pecan topping

(1) cup of chopped pecans
(1/4) cup of maple syrup
(2) tablespoons of vegan butter

Vegan whipped topping

(1) 14 ounce can of coconut whipped cream
(2) tablespoons of powdered sugar

Cooking Instructions

If you are working with a prepared pie crust, you will want to preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake your pie crust for 7 minutes and then let it sit and cool. If you are using the famous, “homemade pie crust” recipe, follow recipe instructions and bake homemade pie crust at 350 degrees for 7 minutes, once the 7 minutes are over make sure to take out of the oven and let homemade pie crust sit and cool.
Start by making your pecan pie filling and grabbing a measuring cup to add your coconut milk and cornstarch. Whisk your coconut milk and cornstarch well until smooth.
Using the stovetop and a cast iron pan, turn stovetop to medium heat. Add your vegan butter and allow to melt, once butter has melted add your chopped pecans and toast in the pan for about 1 minute, stirring frequently to allow pecans to absorb butter. Add in your maple syrup, coconut sugar, coconut milk mixture, vanilla, and salt. Keep stirring until mixture is mixed thoroughly.
Remove from heat and pour filling into pie pan.
Now is time to create your crunchy pecan topping layer. Grab 1 cup of chopped pecans, 2 tablespoons of vegan butter, and 1/4 cup of maple syrup. Turn stovetop back on and turn to medium heat. Add in your vegan butter and allow butter to melt. Once butter has melted add your chopped pecans and stir frequently to allow butter to infuse in chopped pecans; toast pecans for 1 minute. Pour in your maple syrup and stir consistently until mixed thoroughly, or for at least 2 minutes.
Remove crunchy pecan topping mixture from heat and pour on top of pecan filling.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, once oven has reached 350 degrees insert pie, cook for 30 minutes, or until filling appears to be gently firm when jiggling pie pan.
Let pie cool for about 3-4 hours on counter, then cover with plastic wrapping and refrigerate overnight. This kind of pie is best served once it has been refrigerated and its’ filling has solidified.
Following being refrigerated overnight, uncover pie, leave to sit in room temperature for about an hour before serving.
As an optional treat, each pie slice can have a dollop of whipped topping as a cherry on top! (Refer to my “Whipped topping” recipe)
Grab your pie slicer and get ready to dig in!! Enjoy sharing with family and friends!

Tips

Make sure that if your oven conduction is not from the top or bottom, but rather through the sides, that you rotate pie halfway through its’ cook time so that each half side of the pie is cooked evenly.

Summary

Pecans have never been this good as now! Indulge in an abundance of pecans and feel good knowing this is made of whole foods and only nine clean ingredients! This is a perfect pie for any event all year round and especially for our thanksgiving dinner.

Homemade Crust

You will love making this homemade crust because it’s the perfect crust you can now use for any type of pie! Once you have mixed all pie crust ingredients and have a smooth ball of dough you can find a clean counter space, sprinkle some flour onto counter space, and lay dough onto table. You can start gently stretching the dough with your hands and then with a roller gently start pressing against the dough in order to evenly flatten the dough. Make sure to keep flipping your dough so that it is evenly smooth on all sides. You will want to stretch the dough to a slightly larger size than the diameter of your pie pan. Gently lay your crust dough onto to your pie pan and carefully pat down dough with your palm to make sure that no air gets trapped underneath. Using your fingers and curling them down around the outer top rim of the pie pan will create the imprint of the edges.

Filling

The pecan pie filling involves mixing, pan searing, and chopping. You will start by mixing your cornstarch and coconut milk as this will be used as the glue, similar to gelatin for a non-vegan version of the filling. The pecans should get roasted with butter for a couple minutes to go from tasty, crunchy, and ultimately – sweet and deliciously coated! The next step will be pouring in your filling ingredients – cornstarch and coconut milk mixture, maple syrup, coconut sugar, vanilla, and salt; mixing and pan searing for at least 2 minutes or until all ingredients are combined thoroughly. Now its time to pour in your filling into your pie pan!

Crunchy, glazed pecan topping

The crunchy, sweetly glazed topping is optional but I think a very important step in terms of taste and complimentary texture with the filling. This can also be an easy elevation of your pecan pie in terms of aesthetics and picture taking! This step is essentially the same as when roasting pecans for the filling, only difference is that now the butter and maple syrup are the only two ingredients needed.

Whipped Topping

The whipped topping compliments this type of pie very nicely with a contrast of dense and airy textures together in one bite! The whipped topping is an optional topping to add a dollop on top of each individual pie slice as it is being served, if you are interested in making a homemade whipped topping please refer to my favorite “Homemade vegan whipped topping” quick and easy recipe for more!