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!
Trending recipe: Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
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.
Vegan Pecan Pie
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 3/4 cup pure maple syrup or agave
- 2 tbsp molasses or additional pure maple syrup
- 3 tbsp almond butter or vegan butter
- 1/4 cup ground flaxmeal whisked with 1/3 cup water
- 2 tbsp bourbon (optional)
- 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)
- 1 handful whole pecan halves for garnish
- 1 9 inch pie crust or use the vegan pie crust recipe included above in this post
InstructionsÂ
- To make vegan pecan pie, first whisk all ingredients except the whole pecan halves, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. During this time, the filling will gel thanks to the flaxmeal. As long as your flax is good, the mixture will be noticeably thicker when time is up. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Pour filling into your crust. Arrange the halved pecans over top as desired. Bake on the center rack for 35 minutes, then do not open the oven door but let sit in the now-turned-off oven for an additional 10 minutes to slowly cool down.View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
More Vegan Pie Recipes
I believe the type of molasses makes a big difference in the flavor so proceed with caution. I also see someone subbed starch for the flaxmeal so if yours doesn’t firm up before baking that might be an option
Reading through the comments I saw that it turned out kind of soupy for some people so I became kind of paranoid… I just cut a slice and its nice and solid so ill write down exactly what I did.
heaping 1 cup chopped pecans (pretty roughly chopped)
2 tbsp blackstrap molasses
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/3 cup water + 1tbsp water
2 tbsp almond butter
1/4 cup flaxmeal + 1tbs
1 tps vanilla bean paste
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (I would add more chocolate next time I think it needs it since the molasses is pretty overpowering)
optional pecans for garnish
I used a premade crust and baked it for 10 mins at 350
The mixture was looking pretty soupy after sitting at room temp for 30 mins so i put it in the fridge for an additional 20 mins and added the extra tbs of flax. It did thicken up a little but i was paranoid it was still too wet but baked it anyways
I let it cool at room temp for a few hours and it seemed like it was still too loose, but after letting it cool down over night in the fridge the consistency is prefect.
Made this recipe in the winter time and it was very good all my guests enjoyed this. However one problem I faced was when I had to take the pie out of the oven it was very liquidy. The solution was to cool down the pie so it would harden, we left it near an open window and because it was cold it took about 20+ minutes to solidify into the right consistency. If it’s too warm when you cook it then putting it in the fridge will help get the right texture when it comes out watery. I know others had this problem so I want to share what worked for me.
Thanks so much for reporting back on that! I’ve made this pie and never had a problem, but I always chill it before serving so maybe that’s why!
oh my god. So good. I used 1/4 cup of Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer instead of flax meal. The mixture came out only slightly thicker after leaving it in the fridge for 30 mins, so I was worried it might be too runny without the flax. But it baked absolutely perfectly, and I don’t find the molasses offensive at all, especially since Its so chocolatey from the chocolate chips! I also went with water instead of Bourbon. Maybe some people are mistaking the bourbon taste for too much molasses? Oh, and If anyone is like me and loves sparkling decorating sugar on top of anything and everything, try sprinkling some of that on top of the pie when it’s almost done. Gives each bite another delicious crunchy burst of sweetness.
Wow, your picture makes it look so good!
Thanks for the suggestion of the Bobs Red mill egg substitute!! I have that & I hate the taste of flax, yuck! And bonus u said it make it thicker!! I can’t wait to make it! Thank You !
I did some things wrong, for sure. The flax didn’t look like it was thickening up so I used chia seeds. In the end, the pie was really hard… not a texture I was expecting. I also added too much molasses. It was more molasses pie than pecan pie. My family said they liked it, but it was a little different than I was expecting.
You did it! All I ever see is pecan pie made with Karo Syrup and your recipe deviates from that norm. It is great to see you using flaxmeal. I like to use sea salt as an alternative. And your recipe calls for 2 tbsp of nut butter. I found something that really works great here… creamy pecan butter (fitting for pecan pie and not adding a different nut taste). It is delicious on its own but is great for your pecan pie recipe. It is sold on MillicanPecan.com or they also have it on Amazon. Also, if you are going to use chocolate chips, I have found that the Ghirardelli chips taste the best. Just a few suggestions to make your winning recipe even better!!! Well done!
Hi! Would it work to mix the filling the night before, refrigerate it, and then assemble and bake the next day? Or would it get too thick? I’m making a bunch of pies and it would help me a lot if I can do some prep the day before. Thanks!
Great question Anna! Eager to see the answer…
Honey is not vegan, I think you mean plant based. Veganism is an ethical and science based social movement in favor of liberation of animals, including bees. Veganism isn’t just a fun label to slap on things, there’s an actual history and society behind it.
That is why agave and maple syrup are also listed as options 😉
Hi! Can I make this recipe as a Crustless Pecan pie?
It sounds like a fun experiment. Be sure to report back if you try!
This pecan pie is delicious. I have made it several times and my husband and I, as well as people we have shared it with, all love it. I love your desert recipes Katie!!
Thank you so much for making it!!
Jason (media relations), and Katie 🙂