This Vegan Chocolate Pie is rich, dense, fudge-y, and made without tofu or coconut milk. It's a chocolate-lover's dream and SO easy! Simply blend the filling, pour into a prepared crust, and chill. That's it! And unlike some vegan desserts, this one holds up well at room temperature, making it perfect for potlucks and parties. Pair it with our popular gluten-free pie crust for a gluten-free and vegan chocolate pie everyone will love!
A Different Kind of Vegan Chocolate Pie
Since most vegan chocolate pie recipes are a spinoff of the version made with silken tofu and melted chocolate (not sure where that originated, but my guess would be a vegetarian cookbook from the 1970s), I wanted to create something a little different.
Don't get me wrong, I love tofu as much as the next vegan. Actually, probably more! But as a recipe creator, I don't see the point in sharing yet another version of the same pie (even though they are delicious).
If you want to make a chocolate pie with tofu you already have plenty of recipes to choose from! But if you need to avoid coconut or tofu, I've gotcha covered!
I wanted this pie recipe to be VERY easy to prepare, great for any season and occasion, and an all-around crowd pleaser.
The consistency of this pie is less like a chocolate cream pie or silk pie and more like a dense cheesecake. The fudge-y, no-bake chocolate filling is adapted from my vegan chocolate tart, which is similarly dense but uses coconut milk.
Cooked sweet potato replaces the need for tofu or coconut milk in this recipe, and you can use canned sweet potato (or pumpkin) to keep prep simple!
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Ingredient Notes
All you need are 6 simple ingredients to make this no-cook chocolate pie filling:
- Dairy-free chocolate: Either bars or chocolate chips are fine; the type of chocolate you use will impact the sweetness of the pie. Just be sure to check the ingredient list for dairy. It's usually pretty easy to find at least one semi-sweet chocolate option at most grocery stores that's dairy-free, and multiple options for dark chocolate.
- With semi-sweet, around 60% cacao solids, the pie filling may be sweet enough without any additional sugar. YOu canaste and decide.
- If using dark chocolate, around 70%, you may want to add sweetener to the blender.
- I used a 72% bar and included the optional sugar.
- Sweet potato: For convenience I used canned organic sweet potato because I had a can in the pantry. Canned pumpkin also works! Since the sweet potato is primarily for volume and texture, the quality of the flavor isn't super important (the chocolate covers it up). Feel free to use sweet potatoes you bake yourself, or just go with canned.
- Almond butter: Adds a neutral, nutty flavor; look for creamy, raw, unsalted almond butter. Peanut butter is also delicious here, or substitute sunflower seed butter for a nut-free option.
- Pie crust: I made a chocolate version of my vegan & gluten-free pie crust (details below). This oatmeal pie crust is also perfect with this filling.
See recipe card below for quantities and full recipe.
How to Make Vegan Chocolate Pie
I told you this pie is ridiculously easy, right? Here's a quick look at the process.
- First, melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl or using a double boiler on the stove. In a blender combine the sweet potato, almond butter, milk, vanilla, and salt. Blend to combine, and add the melted chocolate and blend again. Taste and decide whether it needs sugar.
- Spoon the filling into a fully baked pie crust, and smooth the top. Chill uncovered until firm, about 2 hours.
Enjoy the pie now, or cover and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
Hint: The amount of chocolate in this pie helps it set pretty quickly! And since the filling isn't cooked or hot when it goes into the crust, that helps, too!
It's always a bummer to make a pie that takes forever to chill, am I right? Not this one!
Substitutions
- Nut-free: Replace the almond butter with sunflower seed butter and use a non-dairy milk such as oat, soy, or coconut. Also choose an allergy-friendly chocolate like Enjoy Life.
- Gluten-free: Use a certified gluten-free chocolate and our favorite gluten-free pie crust (linked throughout this page and in the recipe). Don't be intimidated about making your own pie crust - trust me this one is EASY and so good! Check out the reviews. It's also oil-free.
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Variation: Vegan Chocolate Pie Crust
Nutty with a light cocoa flavor and hint of cinnamon, the pie crust you see in the photos was an experiment, sort of! It's based on my popular vegan GF pie crust but with a hint of cocoa added.
I'd made the chocolate version once last year and intended to continue testing it to share here on the blog, but you know how that goes. As a one-person team my to-do list is ever-evolving and never-ending. Thanks to this pie, I finally got off my tushy and tested the vegan chocolate crust again!
To make it, you'll follow the exact instructions in this gluten-free vegan pie crust recipe, but use this ingredient list instead:
- 1 ½ cups fine almond flour (168 grams)
- ⅓ cup white or brown rice flour (54 g)
- ⅓ cup tapioca flour (38 g)
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (40 g)
- ¼ cup organic cane sugar (56 g)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 4 tablespoons water
Whisk together all dry ingredients, then mix in the maple syrup and water. The dough will be moist and just as easy to patch, shape, and work with as the basic almond flour crust.
I baked mine for 31 minutes at 350 degrees.
Equipment Needed
If you plan to make your own crust, you'll need a pie plate. A rolling pin will also come in handy!
For the pie filling, you need a way to melt the chocolate, either a bowl and a microwave or a double boiler set up for the stovetop. You'll also need a blender, either regular or high-speed like a Vitamix, or a food processor.
Preparing in Advance and Storing
If making the pie in advance for a party, prep it the day before or early the day of so the filling has at least 2 to 3 hours to chill and set.
Leftovers keep in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for up to one month. As always, make sure the pie is well protected from air to avoid freezer burn.
FAQs
It's necessary to check ingredient lists for items like "milk fat" or other obvious dairy-related terms. Dark chocolate (usually at least 70% cacao solids), is often dairy-free, and some brands of semi-sweet chocolate are, as well. Enjoy Life is a common brand that is free from all allergens, including dairy, nuts, gluten, and soy. You can also find different lists of vegan-friendly chocolate brands online.
Since the filling is very thick and dense, a high-powered blender doesn't hurt, but with a little patience a standard blender can get the job done, too. We aren't blending any whole nuts, seeds, or other ingredients so that helps.
I hope you enjoy how rich, fudgy and SIMPLE this vegan chocolate pie is. If you try the recipe I would love to hear from you! Drop a line in the comments below to let us know.
More Vegan Chocolate Desserts
Recipe
Vegan Chocolate Pie (No Tofu or Coconut)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 baked vegan pie crust - I used a chocolate version of my GF/V pie crust; details above.
- 12 ounces dairy-free chocolate (check for allergens as needed) - use 72% cacao for a dark chocolate pie or 60-65% (semi-sweet) for a sweeter pie
- 1 ¼ cups canned pure sweet potato - or sweet potato you cook yourself
- ½ cup smooth raw almond butter, unsalted - or sunflower seed butter for nut-free
- 3 to 4 tablespoons non-dairy milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- rounded ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 3 tablespoons organic cane sugar, optional - won't need if using semi-sweet chocolate
Instructions
- First, melt the chocolate. Place in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in short increments, stirring in between each heating once it starts to melt. Alternatively, melt the chocolate with a double-boiler set up on the stovetop.
- In a blender combine the sweet potato, almond butter, 3 tablespoon milk, vanilla, and salt. Blend to combine. Add the melted chocolate and blend again. The mixture will be very thick, so you may need to stop a few times to stir.
- If needed add another splash of milk to help with blending. Taste the pie filling and add sugar if desired. Keep in mind that once the pie is cold it will taste less sweet. Spoon into the crust and smooth the top.
- Refrigerate the pie uncovered until set, about 2 hours. Once the pie is firm, cover with plastic wrap and keep refrigerated until ready to serve. It's fine and stays firm at room temperature for at least several hours, if needed.
Notes
- With semi-sweet, around 60% cacao solids, the pie filling might be sweet enough without any additional sugar. Taste and decide.
- If using dark chocolate, around 70%, you may add sweetener to the blender.
- I used a 72% bar and included the optional sugar.
Estimated Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and specific products and ingredients used.
Abbey says
We loved this! I tried cooking a sweet potato the first time but it ended up not having enough moisture and being too dense. I couldn’t find canned sweet potato at the store so I subbed canned pumpkin and used pumpkin seed butter as a sub and it turned out incredible. A new holiday staple. Thank you!
Celeste says
This pie is delicious! My daughter is allergic to gluten, dairy, and eggs. She was so happy to have a dessert that actually taste incredible. My entire family loved it. We could not tell there were sweet potatoes in it at all, which was hard to believe! I thank you so much for the recipe. My daughter was so excited to feel like she could eat the same things we do and it still be delicious! This will be a staple in our home. We ended up adding a coconut whip cream (homemade) to the top and some chocolate shavings! It looks and taste incredible!
Anne Marie says
Would this work without the crust? Maybe just as a kind of pudding?
Lori says
Absolutely. It would be great portioned into ramekins or other individual serving bowls. The consistency is rich and dense, more like cheesecake than pudding. So if you wanted a slightly softer set, you could reduce the amount of chocolate and adjust the sweetness as needed.
Penny says
This looks amazing! Instead of sweet potato, could canned pumpkin could be substituted successfully?
Lori says
Hi Penny, yes pumpkin works, too.
suzi says
I made a double recipe for thanksgiving with the gluten free chocolate pie crust you shared the link to. My crust came out weird as I used a deep dish pie pan ( all I had ) so I refashioned the whole thing after enjoying little slivers after dinner of basically just the filling!! Used my cookie scoop and created little truffles out of the filling and rolled in hemp seeds, crushed almonds and some in cacao powder. Wrapped individually and stored in the freezer. Incredibly yummy in a bite like this and so filling with real food inside!!
suzi says
I made a double recipe and mine came out dense. is it supposed to be this rich and dense? I imagine it is!! I over baked my crust so that was a huge bummer. I am always afraid of under baking things and this time I learned not to do that with pie crust. I'm not a pie person, typically so this was an endeavor for me today!!
Beth says
Brilliant to use sweet potato- this was absolutely delicious! I mixed this up in my stand mixer; once all ingredients were incorporated I turned the speed up to simulate the fast action of a high speed blender. It worked! Move over cashew “cheesecake”- new favorite in town!