Perfectly spiced, creamy pumpkin pie that's FREE of dairy, eggs, oil, wheat, soy, coconut and refined sugar. This healthy Vegan Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie comes with all of the delicious nostalgia of fall and winter feasts but none of the saturated fat, cholesterol, and sugar crash! (Nut-free option)
Pureed pumpkin is naturally dense, creamy, and rich-tasting, so it lends itself well to healthy veganized desserts. I love the warm touch of spices and vanilla and the pleasant sweetness of maple syrup in this pie.
If you're someone who appreciates healthier treats, I think you'll love this pumpkin pie, too! And if you're someone who prefers sweeter desserts, you can always make this pie a bit sweeter by adding a few tablespoons of granulated sugar to the filling (be sure to taste it first, though, because it's really good as-is). This vegan pumpkin pie is nothing if not versatile!
RELATED: check out this new Vegan Sweet Potato Pie recipe! It's also oil-free, WFPB, and gluten-free. The flavor is similar to pumpkin pie, but the filling is lighter and silkier.
Recipe Video
Ingredients in Healthy Pumpkin Pie
First, I highly recommend using my latest recipe obsession as the base for your pumpkin pie. Yep, thanks to this super easy crust recipe, I'm now obsessed with pie.
Update: check out this wholesome Sweet Potato and Kale Pot Pie and Salted Chocolate Pecan Pie! Heck, just search for "pie" on the blog. You'll see lots of new pie recipes since this was originally published!
This almond flour pie crust recipe is also gluten-free and oil-free, and you can swap out the two tablespoons of cane sugar for something like coconut, maple, or date sugar, if preferred.
Now, for the ingredients in this WFPB (that's whole-food, plant-based) pumpkin pie filling (this makes enough for a 1-quart, 9-inch deep dish pie plate):
- 15 ounces pumpkin puree (canned or home-cooked)
- 1 cup non-dairy milk of choice (I used unsweetened almond)
- ¼ cup rolled oats (ensure they're gluten-free certified, if needed; or sub your favorite GF flour)
- 3 to 4 tablespoons almond or cashew butter (optional; adds just a bit more richness. Sub coconut cream, tahini, or sunbutter if you like!)
- 3 tablespoons corn starch or 2 ½ tablespoons arrowroot
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ginger, ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg, and ⅛ teaspoon cloves)
- additional cinnamon ½ to ¾ teaspoon, to taste
- ½ cup maple syrup + 1 tablespoon, to taste
You may have noticed that a couple of the ingredients are "to taste." I tend not to use that phrase much after reading somewhere that it's discouraged in recipe writing. But with certain recipes, I think it's important and actually helpful to the reader to emphasize when flexibility of seasonings is encouraged (as opposed to other times when altering a recipe can cause problems).
And this vegan pumpkin pie recipe is pretty flexible! So feel free to taste as you go, adjusting the spices and sweetness to your palate. With this pie filling, a major shift in the wet-to-dry ratio is really the only change that might cause an issue with it setting properly. Otherwise, feel free to play.
Allergy-Friendly Options
When families and friends get together around Thanksgiving it can be challenging to accommodate everyone's different dietary requirements. And when I say "challenging," really what I mean is that you simply want everyone to be able to enjoy as many dishes as possible. And you definitely don't want anyone to feel left out of dessert!
If someone is allergic to coconut, for example, you don't want them to miss out on all of your tasty vegan treats! This allergy-friendly pumpkin pie can help.
Nut-Free
Just three easy swaps can make this already allergy-friendly pumpkin pie nut-free, too!
- Crust - instead of my almond-flour-based vegan pie crust, use your favorite homemade or store-bought pie crust that accommodates your needs.
- Nut butter - the recipe calls for just a few tablespoons of almond or cashew butter; feel free to replace this with coconut cream or a seed butter, such as tahini or sunflower.
- Milk - replace the almond milk with your favorite nut-free non-dairy milk, such as soy, oat, rice, or flax.
Variation: Deep Dish Pumpkin Pie
Check out this towering slice! The photo above is of one of my earlier test batches..... yep, a DOUBLE batch.
Since the pumpkin pie filling is so light and low in calories, and that's where most of the flavor is, I decided I wanted more of it. Totally logical, right? And it worked, for the most part.
The only issue is that a blender can't handle THIS much volume at once. So I had to blend the filling in two batches, then stir those together in a bowl before adding it to the pie crust. It worked out fine in the end but was a bit more hassle.
With this double-decker pumpkin pie in the fridge, Mark and I proceeded to eat pumpkin pie every day until it was gone! Yep, sure did.
One morning I even scooped some of the filling into my bowl of oatmeal, added extra pumpkin pie spice, and enjoyed every bite. Hmm, maybe this recipe should be named "Pumpkin Pie So Healthy You Can Eat It For Breakfast!"
I hope you and your loved ones enjoy this delicious, vegan gluten-free pumpkin pie this holiday season (or any time of year)! And if you do try it I would love to hear from you.
Comment below and let us know how you enjoyed the recipe (feel free to ask questions in the comments section, too). If you share a photo of your pie on facebook or instagram I would love for you to tag @myquietkitchen so I can see.
Happy baking!
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Vegan Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie (No Coconut)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 unbaked Gluten-Free Vegan Pie Crust (oil-free) - tap for recipe - Or your favorite pie crust recipe.
- ¼ cup rolled oats - Use certified GF oats if needed; or sub 3 Tbsp GF flour or almond flour.
- 3 to 4 tablespoons almond or cashew butter, smooth - Omit or sub seed butter or additional oats for nut-free option.
- 1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk such as almond, flax or oat
- ½ cup plus 1 Tbsp maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons corn starch or 2 ½ tablespoons arrowroot
- 15 ounces pumpkin puree (this is plain, cooked pumpkin with nothing added) - Sub sweet potato if you like.
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon plus more for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prebake the pie crust for 5 minutes, or follow package directions if using a store-bought crust.
- Combine all filling ingredients in a blender (oats, nut/seed butter, milk, maple syrup, vanilla, arrowroot or corn starch, pumpkin, and spices). Begin by blending on low, gradually increasing to high speed. The mixture will be fairly thick.
- Once the filling is smooth and creamy, pour into the prebaked pie crust. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until the center looks just set. *Depending on the crust you're using, you may need to cover the edges with foil or a pie shield after 25 to 30 minutes to prevent it from getting too brown. If using my gluten-free crust recipe, the crust should be fine uncovered the whole time.
- Let the pie cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate at least 3 to 4 hours before serving. See Notes for serving suggestions.
Notes
- Vanilla-Maple OAT Ice Cream (WFPB, free from oil, coconut, refined-sugar)
- Banana nice cream (WFPB, oil- and sugar-free)
- Whipped coconut cream
- Vanilla vegan ice cream
- So Delicious Coco Whip
Estimated Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and specific products and ingredients used. We calculate this information using the online calculator cronometer.com.
Tia
This recipe made the best pumpkin pie. The additions of nut butter made me hesitant. I followed the recipe exactly as written and it was so easy and turned out absolutely perfect! Thank you!
Dani
I’m worried I overcooked it! The top of my pie (filling) turned a bit dark before the knife test was clean. Should I not wait for the knife? I think I need to remake it for Thanksgiving but not sure if it’s salvageable? How do I know without cutting into it?? 😬
Lori
Hi Dani,
I'm not sure how long you baked it, but you're right, a knife test doesn't really help with a creamy pie like this. It won't come out clean. You want the center to appear just barely set. In other words, if you jiggle the pie plate a bit, the outer edges will be set but the center might still look somewhat soft. Not raw, but barely set. It can help sometimes to refer to a lot of photos to get an idea.
It's possible your pie might be fine (difficult to say since I can't see it :D). I'm a bit of a perfectionist and have always been a fan of doing test runs of any new recipe before a special occasion. So it couldn't hurt to bake another! Now you'll know what to look for. I hope that helps!
Libby
Looking forward to trying this: can it be frozen? Thanks!
Lori
Thank you, Libby. Yes, it can be frozen. Hope you enjoy!
daisy
I made this along with your gluten-free pie crust for Thanksgiving this week and it was absolutely delicious! It would be hard to tell it's allergy-friendly. It was so easy to put together in the blender, it took literally just minutes to create.
Thank you for your continued assistance in allowing our family to enjoy conventional recipes the allergy-friendly way!
Blessings...
Mel
Hi Lori! Excited to try this. I haven’t had pumpkin pie since I was a little girl. 32 now and it’s time to try again 🙂 Was curious if using quick-cooking gluten-free oats would have any impact? I don’t assume so but ingredients are becoming increasingly hard to find as the season changes here so not a lot of room for trial and error! Thanks for the recipe!
Lori
Hi Mel, that's a great question! Though I haven't tried it with quick cooking oats, I can't think of any potential issues. They do cook faster, but it's such a small amount I think it will be fine. I'm glad you're excited about the recipe. 😀 I hope you enjoy it!
Sharon Coffin
Is it possible to use coconut milk (canned) and/or coconut cream in lieu of the non-dairy milk? Have you tried this? And have you tried this with a graham cracker crust?
Thanks
Lori
Hi Sharon,
I haven't tried it with coconut milk but yes, it should work just fine and be delicious! I don't think a graham cracker crust will work, though, because they usually need very little bake time.
Gary
Hello,
RE: 3 Tbsp corn starch or 2 1/2 Tbsp arrowroot
Can I just use 5 Tbs of arrowroot starch
or
sub cornstarch with Potato starch? 3tbs potato starch and 2 1/2 Tbs Arrowroot?
Thanks so much
Lori
Hi Gary,
That's an "or" 😀 so if you have arrowroot, you'll just use 2.5 Tbsp of arrowroot. No need to pay attention to the corn starch. Hope that helps!
Diane
Could I use tapioca starch in place of the cornstarch, and if so how much
Thank you
Made your crust and it is delicious
Lori
So glad you like the crust, Diane! Yes, you can use tapioca starch instead. I would use 3 to 4 tablespoons of tapioca. Let me know how it turns out!
susan
We enjoyed this pie for Thanksgiving, and my young grandson said, "This pie tastes amazing!"
Lori
Haha I’m glad he loved it. Thanks, Susan!
Jenny
I made this recipe along with the vegan gluten free crust and my husband and son both devoured it! I don't like pumpkin so I almost gagged a little when I tried it ha, but they love pumpkin and gave me 2 thumbs up! I'll make this for them again Christmas! Also, my son is 5 and loves stuff full of gluten and dairy, and he didn't notice! Woohoo! Thanks for this awesome recipe! I'll be making the crust recipe for pot pie in the near future.
Lori
Yay! So glad they loved it, Jenny. 😀 Enjoy the pot pie!
Carrie
Is the 3-4 hours of refrigeration to help the pie set?
Lori
Hi, Carrie. Yes, that’s correct. Heat activates the starch, then chilling helps it set.
Gee
Made this recipe this week end, and it was delicious!
I did not have almond flour for the crust, so I finely gounded whole almonds and it worked perfectly. I also added a few pecan halves on top of the filling before baking, for added nuttiness.
Thank you for the recipe! 🙂
Lori
Ooooh, pecans are a wonderful idea! I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Gee. Thank you for the feedback!
Shana
I've tried quite a few vegan pumpkin pie recipes and this is definitely the best! Excited to FINALLY have a good, vegan pumpkin pie recipe for the holidays.
Lori
Shana, thanks so much for the wonderful feedback! I'm thrilled that you loved the pie. 😀
Sherri
I made this pumpkin pie for my family and everyone absolutely loved it! We are definitely making it again for Thanksgiving! 🙂
Lori
Sherri, I'm so glad you and your family enjoyed it! And thank you for the feedback! 😀
Brooklyn
Hello ^-^ do you need to have a blender to make it ? 🙁
Lori
Hi Brooklyn, if you want to include the oats, yes you’ll need a blender. But another option would be to omit the oats and increase the starch by 1 Tbsp. Whisking everything together by hand won’t get the filling quite as smooth but should still work. Hope that helps!