Vegan Pumpkin Pie and Coconut Whipped Cream

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It is officially the month of pumpkins and I'm stoked. After waiting a year for the Dexter premiere, I wanted to celebrate in a sweet way: pumpkin pie. This is a rich, creamy, and decadent dessert that will be a perfect fit for your Thanksgiving Dinner...or tomorrows breakfast...or both. 

Every time Fall comes around I can't wait to get my hands on that Tofurky, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. I dream up the old classics from when I was a kid and think of ways to veganize them so I can enjoy the holidays just as much as everybody else. I stock up on cans of organic pumpkin, flour, sugars, and boxed non-dairy milks to be able to make anything my imagination comes up with. Just this week I've used pumpkin in three recipes! My favorite so far though has to be this pie.

I've made pumpkin pie before but it has never been this good. With inspiration from other vegan recipes, I used raw soaked cashews and cream cheese to give this pie the decadent richness that it deserves. The cashews give it extra nutrients while supplying the creaminess a pie needs. This may take a bit more work than the simple pudding-style pies but it is totally worth the end product.

Pumpkin Pie- Makes 1
What You Need
15 oz (almost 2 cups) of organic pumpkin-I used organic pumpkin from Trader Joe's
3/4 cups Organic Sugar
1/4 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice (Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cloves)
1/8 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 cup + 1/8 cup Soaked Raw Cashews, ground into a paste, packed into measuring cups
4 oz Tofutti Non-hydrogenated cream cheese- half a container
1/8 cup Orange Juice, freshly squeezed

Crust
1 Cup Cinnamon Cookies or Graham Crackers, crushed into a powder- I use Trader Joe's Cinnamon School Book Cookies
3 T Earth Balance

Coconut Whipped Cream
2 cans Coconut Milk, refrigerated overnight
1/2 cup Organic Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla extract


Hand Beater
Pie Pan

What You Do

Use a food processor or single auger juicer to process your raw cashews into a creamy sauce. Add cream cheese to it and lightly mix. Use hand beater and slowly mix in pumpkin, sugar, orange juice, and spices. Make sure you have it on low so the sugar doesn't get sprayed out onto the counter! Now process through your juicer to make into a smooth pie filling, or place in a food processor to do the same. 

For the crust, melt earth balance and mix into 1 cup powdered cookies or grahams. I like to use my hands for this one. If you like your crust thicker, use more powdered cookies and earth balance. I process mine through my juicer (aka food processor). Place into pie pan and cook at 375* for 5 minutes.

Take crust out of oven and pour pie filling into pan. Cook at 375* for 30 minutes. After cooked, place in fridge for two hours to firm up. 

For the coconut whipped cream: Take cans out from the fridge and carefully scoop off the top block of thick cream. Do not use any of the liquid in the cans. Store this for later use in creative recipes, like coconut tofu or soup. Place the cream in a bowl and slowly add in powdered sugar, on low speed with the hand beater. Add in a teaspoon of vanilla extract and blend on high until fluffy, about 5-10 minutes. To get maximum air into the cream, go up and down with the beaters. 

After pie is firm, dollop as much whipped cream as you like on top. Sprinkle cinnamon for a pretty look and welcome your taste buds to heaven! 

On the side I like to have a glass of coconut milk (not the canned type) with a sprinkle of cinnamon.