Make this southern style vegan pecan pie recipe for dessert, with gooey pecan filling and no corn syrup or refined sugar. You’ll never miss the eggs!

The best vegan pecan pie

Some recipes turn out perfectly on the first try.

Then there are other recipes, like my Vegan Brownies or this Thanksgiving classic vegan pecan pie, that need a little bit more work.

When you are making up a recipe completely from scratch, all bets are off the table, and my first healthy pecan pie experiment burned to a crisp.

The second trial was so awful even my dad would not touch it, and he will eat anything.

Happily, this story ends well and the third time was the charm.

This is without a doubt the richest, gooiest, and best plant based pecan pie I have ever tried. I hope your family loves it too!

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Dairy free and healthy pecan pie

Since I already mentioned ingredients the pie does not contain, let’s talk about all of the good things it does include.

Pecans are packed with nutrition and over 19 vitamins and minerals, including magnesium, iron, and calcium.

They are also high in heart healthy unsaturated fats and fiber.

In place of eggs, I chose to use flax eggs. Superfood flax seeds offer a healthy dose of Omega-3s and have been shown to reduce cholesterol and inflammation.

And I replaced the unhealthy corn syrup of traditional pecan pie with another nutritional powerhouse: blackstrap molasses.

Try topping the pie with Keto Ice Cream or my favorite Coconut Ice Cream.

It is also fantastic liberally topped with Coconut Whipped Cream.

Recipe ingredients

The pie calls for pecans, molasses, liquid sweetener, dairy free butter, ground flax, pure vanilla extract, salt, and optional bourbon.

Pecans – You need a heaping one cup of chopped pecans.

I usually use raw pecans since they are often less expensive. If you prefer, you may use roasted pecans instead.

Or swap out some of the pecans for an equal amount of walnuts or cashews.

Molasses – This ingredient gives the pie its classic thick texture and adds the rich flavors of caramel and gingerbread.

If you can find blackstrap molasses, I highly recommend it because it is a natural sweetener that is actually healthy, with over 20% of the RDA for both calcium and iron in just one tablespoon of molasses!

However, original molasses will also work in the vegan pie recipe.

Liquid sweetener – Since molasses is only slightly sweet, you need a second sweetener to ensure the results are not bitter tasting.

Pure maple syrup is my go to choice here. Agave is another great option.

While honey is often interchangeable in recipes that call for maple syrup, it is not considered a vegan ingredient and therefore should not be used if you will be serving the pie to strict vegan guests.

Vegan butter – You can either buy a plant based butter like Earth Balance or choose a neutral nut butter like almond butter, nut free pumpkin seed butter, or pecan butter.

The butter or nut butter adds richness and depth of flavor to the pecan pie filling.

Margarine or shortening work if they are all you can find. For healthier baking, I try to avoid any margarines with hydrogenated oils.

Chocolate chips – The ingredients note that you can add chocolate chips to the pie if your heart desires, and I like using mini chocolate chips because you get more chocolate in every bite.

However, I actually did not add any chocolate chips to the pie this time, because I already have an actual Healthy Chocolate Pecan Pie recipe on the blog.

Vegan pecan pie recipe video

Above – watch the video of how to make vegan pecan pie.

Plant based pie crust

Feel free to use any nine inch store bought or homemade pie crust recipe you want, especially if you need a gluten free pecan pie crust.

Directly below is my personal favorite vegan pie crust, which I prepared for the base of the pecan pie in the photos.

Easy Vegan Pie Crust

• 1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour or white flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil or melted coconut oil
• 1/3 cup cold water, or more as needed

Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl, then stir in all remaining ingredients to form a dough. If the dough is too dry, very slowly add more water or oil. Or if the dough is too sticky, add a tablespoon more flour at a time. Press firmly into a pie pan.

Optionally, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and prebake the pie crust for ten minutes. Or if you are in a rush, you can skip this step and simply bake the crust along with the filling.

You may also like this Vegan Cornbread

How to make vegan pecan pie

If using a homemade crust or the recipe below, prepare it ahead of time, and set aside.

Whisk all pecan pie ingredients together except the garnish, and refrigerate for at least thirty minutes. This step can be done the night before if you want to let it sit overnight.

As long as your flax is good, the mixture should be noticeably thicker when you remove it from the fridge after sitting.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Pour the filling into either a store bought pie crust or prepared pie crust. Arrange the extra pecans on top as desired.

Place on the oven’s center rack, and bake for thirty five minutes. Without opening the oven door even a crack, let the pie sit in the turned off oven for an additional ten minutes before removing from the oven and letting it cool.

Slice and enjoy.

Once cool, store leftover vegan pecan pie in an airtight container or covered with aluminum foil in the refrigerator for up to around five days.

More Vegan Pie Recipes

Crustless Pumpkin Pie

Deep Dish Cookie Pie

Vegan Apple Pie

Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Keto Cheesecake

Vegan Cheesecake Recipe