With a gluten-free pie crust, this easy vegan pecan pie needs just 8 ingredients and contains no corn syrup or refined sugar! It's the perfect dessert for Thanksgiving and Holiday season.
Oh gosh, I'm so excited to share this recipe with you! It might be the best vegan pecan pie I've ever had.
It came out of my desire to create a beautiful Thanksgiving recipe, a classic dessert that was delicious to look at and eat, but was also actually good for you.
This pie recipe is totally gluten free and made from whole foods with a delicious almond-pecan crust and topped with buttery pecans, so you can indulge without guilt (just like my oat-almond crust Chocolate Orange Tart).
The best thing about this decadent vegan pecan pie though is just how simple it is to make.
You can knock it out in an hour plus cooling time - leaving you free to enjoy more time with the people you care about.
Try it! I'm sure it'll be a huge hit.
Why you'll love this
Naturally gluten free - This vegan pie crust recipe is made entirely from ground pecans and almonds, and is naturally sweetened with dates.
No fillers - No tapioca starch, corn starch or gums here! This pie is made from simple, whole food ingredients and binds naturally.
Delicious but wholesome - Although this vegan pecan pie is healthier than one you'd find in a store and made from simple ingredients, it doesn't sacrifice taste. It's sweet and creamy with a caramelly, gooey filling.
No corn syrup - You don't need any refined syrups for this recipe, but if you'd prefer not to use date paste you can use natural maple syrup. Much better tasting and much better for you than corn syrup!
Main ingredients
Pecans & almonds - An essential component of this pie! Almonds add depth of flavour to the crust (and because they're generally cheaper than pecans, they make it more cost-effective!)
Dates/date paste - Dates help the crust bind and sweeten it. Date paste adds sweetness to the pie filling, but you can substitute for pure maple syrup or brown rice syrup if preferred. (See my FAQ on making date paste below.)
Pumpkin spice - Adds warmth. You can use cinnamon if you don't have any.
Flax - Helps bind pie crust. You don't need to make flax eggs - flax just goes straight in the food processor! Ground chia can also be used instead.
Coconut oil - I love using coconut oil in baking as it has a creamy, buttery taste. You could also use vegan butter.
Coconut milk - Use the best, highest fat coconut milk you can find, as the light stuff won't work as well! (This can't be substituted for another kind of non-dairy milk, as only coconut milk solidifies when chilled.)
Nut butter - Almond, cashew or peanut butter add a nutty flavour to the filling. (Feel free to use pecan butter if you have it, but I know it's very expensive!)
How to make - crust
Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C. Lightly grease an 8-9-inch flan or quiche tin with coconut oil.
Add all ingredients to food processor and blitz until mixture comes together.
Press mixture into flan tin and flatten with hands.
Bake 10 minutes in oven, then remove and allow to cool completely.
To make filling
Toast pecan halves in skillet for 5 minutes until fragrant and browning. Set aside.
Remove coconut milk from fridge. Scrape hardened coconut cream from top into large bowl. (Leftover coconut water isn't needed.)
Using electric whisk, beat cream 2-3 minutes until lump-free/fluffy. It should have similar consistency to whipped cream. Refrigerate during next step.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together date paste/maple syrup, coconut oil and nut butter until smooth like caramel.
Using a metal spoon, gently stir coconut cream and a pinch of salt into mixture.
Spoon filling mixture into cooled pie base, and decorate with toasted pecans in concentric circles. Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt on top, and refrigerate 15 minutes to firm up.
Serve on its own or with vegan ice cream.
See my web story on how to make vegan gluten free pecan pie.
Tips
Ensure pie crust is completely cool before adding filling! If it isn't cool, the filling will melt and turn to liquid (as coconut milk melts easily).
Blend/process the crust mixture as finely as possible. Ideally you want a smooth crust, not one with large pieces of nuts and dates in. It looks and tastes more appealing when the pieces are finer!
Toast decorative pecans! For best results, be sure to toast your whole pecans or pecan halves as this will add so much flavour to the pie filling.
Once made, keep pie chilled until needed. The coconut milk filling tends to liquify slightly at room temperature, so keep your pie in the fridge to stay firm!
Storage
Store any uneaten pie in the fridge in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap. It will last 4-5 days.
(This pie needs to be kept refrigerated as the coconut milk filling will liquify if it gets too warm.)
FAQS
Traditional pecan pie is not vegan, as it usually contains eggs/dairy. This pecan pie is completely dairy-free and vegan, as it uses coconut oil, flax and coconut milk in place of these traditional ingredients.
You can! Although not traditional in a classic pecan pie, peanuts and peanut butter are cheaper than other nuts/nut butters, so using these can keep costs down.
Date paste is a healthy liquid sweetener, made by blending dates and water until smooth. It's considered a healthier sweetener as it contains all the fibre and nutrients of dates, unlike sweeteners such as brown sugar. See my full instructions for making date paste.
More crowd-pleasing holiday recipes
Vegan Pecan Pie (Easy, Gluten-Free)
Special Equipment
- Quiche/flan tin
- Food processor or blender
- Skillet
- Electric whisk
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup chopped pecans or pecan pieces
- ½ cup almonds
- ¼ cup dates (about 8-9 small dates)
- ¼ teaspoon pumpkin spice (or cinnamon if you don't have it)
- 2 tbsp ground flax
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon water
Filling
- 1 heaped cup pecan halves
- 1 400ml can coconut milk (refrigerated overnight)
- 1 cup date paste (or ¾ cup maple syrup)
- 2 tablespoon melted (but not hot) coconut oil
- ¼ cup almond, cashew or peanut butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
- Pinch of sea salt + more to decorate
Instructions
To make crust
- Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C. Lightly grease an 8-9-inch flan or quiche tin with coconut or other unflavoured oil.
- Add all ingredients to a food processor and blitz until mixture comes together.
- If you don't have a food processor, blend pecans and almonds in high speed blender until flour, then pour into a mixing bowl. Blend dates until broken into small pieces, then scoop into bowl. Add all other crust ingredients to bowl and mix with hands to combine.
- Press mixture into flan tin and flatten with hands.
- Bake 10 minutes in oven, then remove and allow to cool completely.
To make filling
- Toast pecan halves in skillet on stovetop for 5 minutes - turning frequently - or until fragrant and browning. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Remove coconut milk from fridge. Scrape hardened coconut cream that has solidified in top half of can into a large bowl. (Leftover coconut water isn't needed - you can use it in smoothies!)
- Using an electric whisk, beat cream 2-3 minutes, until lump-free and fluffy. It should have similar consistency to whipped cream. Refrigerate while completing next step.
- Using a metal spoon, gently stir coconut cream and a pinch of salt into mixture.
- Spoon filling into cooled pie base, and decorate top of the pie with toasted pecans in concentric circles. Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt flakes on top, and refrigerate 15 minutes to firm up.
- Slice and serve pie on its own or with vegan vanilla ice cream.
Notes
Nutrition per serving
If you’ve tried this perfect vegan pecan pie recipe, please leave a comment or tip for others below. I'd love to know how you’ve made it your own!
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Diane Zwickel
Hi Elizabeth.So glad to hear you recovered from Covid! Scary times for everyone. Thank heavens Vancouver is still better off than many other parts of the continent!
I am excited to try this recipe this weekend for Thanksgiving dinner. Question re the coconut milk. I have started seeing Coconut Whipping Cream in cans in stores, and I bought one to have on hand. It is in a 400ml can and I believe the entire can is ready to use as a whipping cream. How much of this should I use in the recipe? I'm assuming it will make more than what you would get from an ordinary can of coconut milk. Also, I've been buying an organic coconut milk that has no solid in it - comes out blended and ready to use, so it wouldn't be any good for this recipe.
Thanks so much!
Elizabeth
Hi Diane! Thank you - I'm feeling so much better now. Yes, coconut milk can be tricky as no two brands are the same in consistency - they can vary wildly and some are useless for separating! For your reference, I find Wholefoods 365 brand to be one of the better ones (it almost always separates well and has a great consistency - not lumpy at all).
As for the whipping cream, I'm assuming here that the whole can is basically hardened cream, so if the can is 400ml you'll likely want about half of that (roughly 3/4 cup I think). Having not tried the whipping cream myself yet, I'm unsure as to whether it's as hard as the hardened part of the can of coconut milk, which could bet the only issue (as the hardened nature of the coconut milk helps the pie filling set. Let me know how you get on, and what brand you bought! 🙂
Diane Zwickel
Thanks! It is Cha's Organic coconut whipping cream and I think I bought it at Choices. When I shake the can I don't hear any liquid so you may be right about that. I'll try using half and let you know!
Elizabeth
Aha! How did you get on with it? 🙂
Helen at the Lazy Gastronome
This pie was so good - but that crust! That crust was amazing!! I'm thinking it would be a fabulous crust for other kinds of pies too!!
Elizabeth
Thanks so much Helen - so glad you liked! I agree - I love the crust too as a healthier choice. My chocolate orange tart actually has a similar one too!
Elizabeth Flight
The perfect Thanksgiving dessert! Not very hard to make and even the non-vegans loved it!
Elizabeth
So glad to hear it Elizabeth! Thank you. 🙂