Vegan Pumpkin Pie Recipe

Eggs? Nope. Cream? Negative. Does it taste different? Not really, and it’s healthier than a typical pumpkin pie, so you can’t lose!

Instead of heavy eggs and cream, this pumpkin pie uses silken tofu to get its creaminess. The beauty of tofu is that it takes on the flavors of the other ingredients, so when this pie is done you won’t even know it’s there!

Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients

One 350-gram box of drained firm silken tofu
One heaping cup canned or cooked pumpkin
One to one and a quarter cups golden or brown sugar, packed somewhat loosely
A dash of salt
Four teaspoons pureed pumpkin pie spice
One pie crust – you can buy one pre-made or make your own

Cooking Directions

Allow oven to preheat to 375 degrees.
Use a blender or food processor to blend your tofu until it is cream-like and smooth, typically four minutes or so. Stop blending occasionally and push any chunks down into the blades.
Add in your cooked pumpkin, then continue blending, stopping to push down any chunks again. What you should be left with is a paste that is light orange in color and has no tofu lumps.
Transfer your paste into a large bowl with the spices, salt, and sugar. Mix it well and scoop it into your pie crust. You can choose to decorate with leftover crust if you desire.
Bake for about 35 minutes, which should leave the crust a dark brown, yet not burned.

Notes

Total preparation time is about two hours, but will vary based on your gathering of ingredients and whether or not you have cooked pumpkin and pie crust available. One large sugar pie pumpkin provides enough pumpkin for two pies, and this recipe will easily double. The pie freezes and refrigerates well.

Be careful if you are using a carved Halloween pumpkin for your pies. It can be done, but you should follow some guidelines:

Small, organic pumpkins generally have much more flavor than a conventionally farmed one. Your everyday pumpkin will yield a pie with less taste.
Cook it as soon after carving as possible.
Bring it inside if the temperature rises above 50 degrees.
Make sure you get all of the candle wax out.
Rinse carefully, cut off burned areas, and check thoroughly for insects.

A typical sugar pumpkin yields about two cups worth of cooked pumpkin, give or take. The pie will be fine, even if you come up a bit short after it has cooked. Choose one that’s at least eight inches tall to avoid surprises.