This Healthy Vegan Pecan Pie Recipe also happens to be the Best Maple Pecan Pie as it is made with no refined sugars, no dairy, no eggs and last but not least no corn syrup. Easy to make one pan filling for a great holiday dessert.
Besides the fact that pies are delicious and make a great dessert there are also many pies that are needed and always used for tradition over the holidays.
One of them is pecan pie.
It is so sweet and delicious and just different from any other pie out there. A great thing about this recipe is that it is just as delicious and it is vegan!
You may be thinking how can you say it's vegan when there are eggs, cream and butter in pecan pies?
It's easy and just take a look.
Healthy vegan pecan pie recipe without corn syrup
- There's no dairy because dairy-free butter and creamer are used.
- No eggs are used either because tapioca flour makes a great thickener.
- Thank goodness there's no corn syrup and luckily there is maple syrup.
- And last but not least no refined sugars because there is coconut sugar.
The crust can be homemade too and I've included the recipe down in this post. It is a classic tender crust but you certainly use a premade pie crust too.
These Mini Vegan Pecan Pies Tarts are also delicious and super cute. They would be great on a dessert table or at a brunch. The crust form right in a mini muffin tin and pack some powerful flavor.
VEGAN PECAN PIE FILLING RECIPE AND IT'S INGREDIENTS
- Whole wheat flour - adds lots of flavor that compliments pecans.
- Tapioca flour - is a great way to thicken the ingredients.
- Maple syrup adds the most wonderful sweetness that seems to have been invented to go along with pecans.
- Coconut sugar - adds the extra sweetness that is needed for a rich pecan pie.
- Pecans - because they are the star of the show.
- Unsweetened dairy-free creamer- for the flavor and liquid that is necessary.
- Vanilla - is for that little extra something.
- Salt - is for seasoning.
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN PECAN PIE
- In one pan!
- Melt the dairy-free butter.
- Add in the tapioca flour and stir for a nice thick base.
- Add the sweet maple syrup and creamy dairy-free milk.
- Next comes more sweetener and the seasonings.
- Now add the pecans and stir and cook a few minutes. See how simple?
- Pour the filling into the crust and decorate the top before baking.
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN PIE CRUST
This is a pie crust recipe for the bottom layer of an 8" or 9" pie.
If you have a deep pie plate then the crust will go up about three quarters of the way.
That works fine and you can see I didn't go over the top edge of my pie plate either. You don't have to go out and buy a new pie plate.
The exact measurements and complete directions with tips are in the recipe card below.
- Measure the flour and salt into a bowl.
- Cut in the shortening and dairy-free butter. You can do this by hand too with a pastry cutter.
- Sprinkle in the water one tablespoon at a tip.
- Pulse a few times in the food processor until it is just combined into little clumps. You can do this by hand too with a pastry cutter.
- Dump out onto a piece of cling wrap and form into a ball.
- Roll out the dough about an inch wider than your pie plate top, place in the pie plate and crimp edges in a decorative design.
- Prick the bottom of the crust. Cover with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans or rice to hold the crust in place. You can't eat these beans or rice after you've used them for blind baking but you can save them as pie weights.
- Pre-bake the pie crust 8 minutes at 350°.
- This is also called blind baking and it's done so that you have a fully baked pie crust on the bottom that isn't soggy from the filling.
- Remove the pie weights and parchment paper and fill the crust with the pecan pie filling to bake.
📋 Recipe
Vegan Pecan Pie
Ingredients
For the Pie Crust - or you can buy a premade crust
- 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons dairy free butter
- 4 tablespoons vegan shortening
- 3-4 tablespoons water
For the Pie Filling
- ¼ cup dairy-free butter
- ¼ cup tapioca flour
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup unsweetened dairy-free creamer - Silk has an Original Soy Creamer without vanilla or you can use coconut cream from a can
- ¾ cup coconut sugar
- 1 ¾ cups pecans - chopped small
- ¼ cup pecans - whole for decorative top
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
For the Pie Crust - or you can buy a premade 8" or 9" crust
- Measure the flour and salt into a food processor bowl. Add shortening and dairy-free butter.
- Pulse a few times in the food processor until it is just combined into little clumps. You can do this by hand too with a pastry cutter. (see the photo above)
- Sprinkle in the water one tablespoon at a time. Pulse a few times in between each until all of the flour is just moistened. It will be clumpy. 3 tablespoons worked for me. (see the photo above)
- Dump out onto a piece of cling wrap and form into a ball.
- Roll out the dough about an inch wider than your pie plate top. Fold into fourths and place in the pie plate. Unfold in the pie plate so that it is centered.
- Crimp edges in a decorative design and poke fork tines a few times in the bottom of the pie dough.
- Cover with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans or rice to hold the crust in place. You can't eat these beans or rice after you've used them for blind baking but you can save them as pie weights.
- Pre-bake the pie crust 8 minutes at 350°. This is also called blind baking and it's done so that you have a fully baked pie crust on the bottom that isn't soggy from the filling.
- Remove the pie weights and parchment paper and fill the crust with the pecan pie filling to bake.
For The Pie Filling
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- In a medium-sized saucepan melt the dairy-free butter.
- Stir in the tapioca flour and stir until well combined.
- Add the maple syrup, unsweetened dairy-free creamer, coconut sugar, chopped pecans, vanilla and salt.
- Mix well while still cooking and cook for about 3 minutes.
- Pour the filling into the pie crust and bake for 30 minutes. Watch that the crust edges don't become too dark.
- If you think the edges are becoming too dark then remove it from the over and lightly crimp a long foil strip over the edges to protect the crust from darkening any more.
- Replace in the oven and finish baking.
Zakiya A. Tate
Can the shortening be replaced with more butter or something else?
Ginny McMeans
Yes, you can substitute more butter. It won't be quite as tender but it will still taste very good.
Haley
What kind of vegan butter do you use? Is it Miyoko's or can I use an oil-based butter? And if it's oil based, can I just substitute oil instead since you're melting it anyway?
Ginny McMeans
You can use an oil for the inside of the pie. I use Melt and Earth Balance dairy free butters. You just need a fat with the flour for thickening. I like the idea of dairy free butter because I know it will reharden when cooling and I think that using oil might make the filling softer.