This vegan delicious pumpkin pie is made more creamy by the addition of cream cheese! It’s vegan friendly, refined sugar free, and includes a gluten free option as well!

Can you believe Thanksgiving is upon us! Where has the year gone?! Although I love planning the dinner menu for Thanksgiving, I really get excited about the desserts! Well, what would Thanksgiving be without pumpkin pie?

I love all things pumpkin—pancakes, lattes, cookies, bread, and of course, PIE! This one is made a little extra special with a secret ingredient…

Cream cheese!

Cream cheese not only gives this pie delicious flavor, but a nice creamy texture too! And because it’s made without eggs, it gives the filling a thickness that works along with the corn starch to help hold the pie together. It’s kind of like pumpkin pie meets cheesecake! Yes, it’s as good as it sounds!

I like to decorate the top of the pie with crust leaves to give it a pretty presentation, but it’s totally optional. If you’re a crust lover like me though, it helps to even out the crust to filling ratio too! Hope you enjoy this yummy fall treat!

Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Author: Joscelyn Abreu
Total Time: 55 mins
Yield: 9" pie 1x

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Description

This delicious pumpkin pie is made more creamy by the addition of cream cheese! It’s vegan friendly, refined sugar free, and includes a gluten free option as well!

Ingredients

Scale

Vegan Crust: (with gluten-free option. Enough for crust and leaf decorations.)

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour blend – I used King Arthur Flour Measure for Measure Gluten-Free Flour
2–3 tablespoons coconut sugar or other sweetener of choice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
6 tablespoons dairy-free butter (I used Earth Balance Buttery Sticks. Can also use additional shortening)
6 to 10 tablespoons ice water
milk of choice to brush on crust, optional

Pumpkin Filling:

8 ounces dairy-free cream cheese*, at room temperature and drained of any liquid (I recommend Trader Joe’s brand. See Notes. Can also use regular cream cheese if not dairy free/vegan)
2/3 cup coconut sugar I used golden coconut sugar
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
3 tablespoons corn starch
1 teaspoon cinnamon**
1/2 teaspoon ginger**
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg**
1/4 teaspoon cloves**
pinch of salt
1/3 cup almond milk or other milk of choice
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
sugared cranberries optional. Recipe HERE

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Instructions

Pie Crust:

Lightly grease a 9″ pie plate and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in shortening and butter with a pastry cutter until mixture is crumbly. Stir in a few tablespoons of water, adding just enough additional water to make a soft dough.
Divide dough into two discs and wrap well. Refrigerate for 20–30 minutes.
Once the crust is chilled, preheat oven to 350ºF.

Leaf Crust:

I use the second disc to cut out leaves to decorate the pie later, but this is optional. You can use the second disc for another pie or wrap well and freeze for later use.
Remove one of the discs and place between two pieces of parchment paper. If dough is sticky, you can sprinkle flour over the dough before rolling.
Roll dough into a large circle. Use a variety of small leaf cutters to cut out as many leaves as possible. These will decorate the pie later.
Place cut outs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush with milk of choice (optional).
Bake for 10–15 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

Pie Crust:

Meanwhile, roll out the other disc of dough into a 12″ circle, a few inches larger than the pie plate. Continue to sprinkle dough with additional flour to keep it from sticking to the paper.
Carefully transfer dough to the pie plate and press it into the bottom and up the edges of the plate.
Fold the rough edges under itself and crimp. (You can use the photo above as a guide to how I crimped this crust.) Brush with milk.

Pumpkin Filling:

Beat cream cheese in a mixing bowl until smooth and creamy. Add pumpkin puree, sugar, corn starch, spices, milk, and vanilla beating until smooth.
Pour filling into the prepared pie crust and bake for 50–60 minutes, or until the filling begins to firm up and the crust is golden brown.
Remove and let pie cool fully. The center may still be a little jiggly, but will firm up as it cools.
Once the pie is cool, cover and refrigerate for at least 2–3 hours.
Once chilled, decorate with leaves and serve.

Notes

*I recommend using the Trader Joe’s brand of cream cheese. I tested a few different brands and it was the best tasting. I didn’t like Daiya at all and Kite Hill’s cream cheese didn’t taste very good in this pie compared to the Trader Joe’s brand.
**Can also use 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice instead of the individual spices.

Cook Time: 55 mins
Category: dessert, pie, vegan

Vegan Pumpkin Pie