With a sweet, caramel-like filling, toasted pecans, and chunks of dark chocolate, this Vegan Salted Chocolate Pecan Pie is everything you want in a holiday dessert! It also travels well and is easy to make in advance. FREE from eggs, dairy, gluten, corn syrup, and soy; easily made coconut free.Yield: makes one 9-inch deep dish pie.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (162 C). Spread pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes, stirring at the halfway point. Immediately transfer to a plate to cool. Pre-bake the pie crust for 5 minutes, then set aside.
Combine the oats and almond milk in a small sauce pan over high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low. Stirring occasionally, simmer until the oats are soft, about 8 minutes.
Increase oven temp to 350 degrees F (176 C). Combine the oatmeal, sugar, maple syrup, starch, coconut butter/oil, vanilla, and salt in a blender. Blend until completely smooth.
Place the pecans in the pie shell. Reserve 2 to 3 tablespoons of chopped chocolate, and sprinkle the rest of the chocolate over the pecans. Pour the blended filling on top. Gently stir so you can see some nuts and chocolate near top.
Bake for 30 minutes. *See Notes for tips. After 30 minutes the edges of the filling should be bubbly, but the center will look like it needs more time. Make sure the edges of the crust aren't getting too brown (cover with foil or a pie shield if needed), and bake for another 10 minutes.
At the 40-minute mark, sprinkle the reserved chocolate on top of the pie, and bake for another 5 minutes or until the center of the pie is bubbly, hot, and appears mostly set.
Remove from oven and sprinkle with sea salt flakes. **Allow pie to cool at room temperature for 2 hours before slicing.** Alternatively, let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes then refrigerate for 1 hour. See Notes for storage tips. The pie may be served cool, room temperature, or slightly warm. Keep in mind that the chunks of chocolate will be hard when the pie is cold.
Notes
Pie Crust - If you plan to make the pie in advance, I highly recommend using my Healthy Vegan Pie Crust. I'm not just saying this because it's my recipe :) (head over to that post to see the reviews from others). The base of almond and rice flour means that it stays crisp much longer than a traditional flour-based pie crust.Type of Oats - Different brands of rolled oats can vary in thickness. If you use thicker cut oats, it will create a thicker filling (I just discovered this while testing a new walnut pie recipe). So, if your rolled oats are on the thick side, you'll want to reduce the amount of dry oats to ⅓ cup. Or if you've already blended the filling and notice it to be thicker than in the photos above, it's fine to add a splash of milk and maple syrup to the blender to offset the extra starchiness of the thick oats.Baking and Slicing Tips -Ovens vary, so I recommend keeping an eye on the pie during the last 10 to 15 minutes just in case the filling is getting too bubbly or the crust too brown. If you use a traditional flour-based crust you will need to cover the edges of the pie with foil or a pie shield to prevent over-browning. If you use my Almond Flour Pie Crust recipe you shouldn't need to worry about the crust.Because of the chunky nuts and chocolate, a sharp chef's knife is the easiest way to neatly slice the pie.Storage - Once completely cool, cover and refrigerate the pie for up to 5 days. To freeze, wrap well to protect from air. The day before serving, transfer the pie from the freezer to the refrigerator. Then transfer the pie to room temperature 1 to 2 hours before serving.