Makes one 9-inch pie or one 11-inch tart
I’ve been there. Trying to make a vegan pecan pie that holds together, with the pecans floating in sweet suspension, somewhere between gel and custard. It comes out of the oven, and you can almost taste the toasty pecans, the caramel, the crust. You let it sit for a few hours, call your friends, tell them you’ve created the perfect pecan pie. You write the tabloids. You quit your job and wait for the pecan pie cash to start rolling in. And then you slice into it, and oh my god, what have you done?
Everything oozes everywhere! It’s a veritable brown rice syrup massacre. Your cats move out, no one will speak to you (after all, there’s agar agar in your hair). It’s just you and this crumbled oozy mess of pecans in what must be a pie plate.
But wait, it doesn’t have to be that way! I am the ghost of pecan past, and we can change all that. You can have a perfect pecan pie. A custardy pecan pie. A pecan pie that demands respect, that garners praise. With buttery hints of maple, a glossy top and caramelly insides. A virtually perfect pecan pie!
The secret is twofold: an easy caramel made with all the usual sugary suspects. And then, some pureed tofu with a little cornstarch, to create the thick custard. For all you tofu skeptics out there: don’t fear the tofu here. No one will know. I should write that again in all caps. NO ONE WILL KNOW. I’ve fed it to farmers in Nebraska who have never even heard the word “vegan” and they didn’t know.
In the picture we have the pecan pie in an 11 inch tart pan, but it works just as well in a pie plate! So try it either way…this is the pecan pie that won’t let you down.
Variation: For a Salted Maple Pecan Pie, sprinkle 1/2 a teaspoon coarse sea salt over the top of the cooled pie.
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup non-hydrogenated margarine
6 oz extra firm silken tofu (1/2 of a tetra pack)
1/4 cup cold unsweetened plain non-dairy milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups pecan halves
Prepared Single Pastry Crust, pressed into a tart pan or pie plate (no need to parbake)
First we’re going to make a caramel. In a 2 quart sauce pan, mix together sugars and maple syrup. Heat over medium heat, stirring often with a whisk. Once small bubbles start rapidly forming, stir pretty constantly for about 10 minutes. The mixture should become thick and syrupy. It shouldn’t be boiling too fiercely, if it starts climbing the walls of the pan in big bubbles then lower the heat a bit.
Add the margarine, and stir to melt. Turn the heat off, transfer mixture to a mixing bowl. In the meantime, prepare the rest of the filling, working quickly so that the caramel doesn’t completely set.
Crumble the tofu into a blender or food processor, along with the milk, cornstarch and salt. Puree until completely smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender to make sure you get everything.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
With the caramel still warm in teh mixing bowl, add in the tofu mixture and the vanilla, and mix well. Fold in the pecans to incorporate.
Transfer to prepared pie crust and bake for 40 minutes. The pie is going to be somewhat jiggly, but it should appear to be set.
Let cool for a few hours, slice and serve! No cheating and pulling pecans off the pie.
That sounds so easy!
You described the ooey gooey mess perfectly–and comically–that has happened to me while I tried to recreate vegan maple-syrup pie. I mean, it’s still a delicious ooey gooey mess, but it’s more fun to eat pie with a fork than with a spoon. I can’t wait to try this out. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
A perfect Autumnal treat! I can’t wait!
what’s your pie crust recipe?
I just so happen to have a bunch of pecans. I just need the maple syrup.
Well, I know what I’ll be bringing to my family’s Thanksgiving dinner in October. Mmm…
Gah! My fav pie! The last version I tried was a sticky, gingery disappointment. So excited to try this. Just one question–I demand that my pecan pie be thicker than the one pictured. Do you think doubling the filling and increasing the cook time would work?
Thank you!!!!
The one pictured is in an 11 inch tart plate. If you use a 9 inch pie plate it will be thicker! Here’s a tester photo to give you an idea. (Not the most beautiful pic, but just to give you an idea!) http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5013/5430647777_4a30f12723_o.jpg
You are the nicest!
Awesome. Love me some pecan pie!
OMG thanks you this looks BANANAS (or pecans!). I LOVEEEEE that it’s gluten free too. Do you have a good gluten-free pie crust recipe you could share with us in the future (or a brand you like?)
Thanks Isa!!!
xo
wow, looks like a keeper! 🙂
My Mama was from Alabama and no cook. Except her fried chicken and pecan pie. I’ve been trying versions for years. Several have been pretty good, one even excellent. However, the tofu versions, without exception have been terrible. So I’ll give this a try anyway and hope for the best. Here’s hoping the price of pecans goes down! 🙂
Meant to say “vegan versions.”
This looks so amazing! Pecan pie is one of my dad’s favorites. I can’t wait to make this for him!
This is my favorite food ever. You are my hero!!!
Amazing! I have had huge butter tart cravings lately with no idea how to satisfy them. This should do the trick!
This excited me beyond belief. I laughed out loud reading your description of everyone’s pecan pie nightmare (that has happened to me a time or two!) I will be trying this. Thank you so much!
Woah! I’ve never even had pecan pie in my life before (they’re not big in Australia) but I am so wanting to make this now. Looks amazing!
I love the look of this! So tasty. Yum!
pecan pie is my favorite. will try asap. p.s. i am beyond excited for the pie book. had that shit on pre-order for like an eon.
I made this last night and it was delish! Perfect for coming home after a boozy evening out with visiting friends.
My pie did seem to be a little gooey-er than was intended, though, and I’m not sure why. Maybe it was a caramel issue? I set a little aside to eat while the pie was baking and it seemed to return to its original granular state instead of becoming creamy, caramel-y goodness. Is the issue that I didn’t cook it on the stove long enough? It was thick when I took it off the heat but maybe that was premature. Hmm.
Anyway, it was totally delicious! Would definitely make again.
How delightfully sneaky with the tofu!
Pecan Pie! hooray! lovely recipe – as always! Hope you submit this and more to http://www.FindingVegan.com 🙂 ~kathy
I made this pie today! As I said on facebook: this pie ist PERFECTION! And it´s soooo easy to make.
Oh one thing: as I finished the filling (the nuts were already in) it was very liquid! But no worries guys, after baking it´s nothing like that! It´s perfect! I loooove it!
Oh one question though. I made it in a 11 inch tart plate (came out very pretty). I wanna try it also in a 9 inch pie plate (I saw the tester´s pic, Isa), because I wanna try the thicker version. So do I have to bake it longer?
xoxo Ani
Crepe, this looks amazing… is there any way to make this a chocolate pecan pie, or is that a whole different beast?
I NEED THIS IN MY LIFE/TUM/MOUF. NOW.
You had me drooling, heart palpitating until the most dreaded word in the Vegan lexicon – TOFU! You are absolutely killing me here. What’s a soy allergic person to do. And I’ve got your pie book on pre-order too. I just hope I’ll be able to use it! Luckily your other books offer enough options that I can cry pitifully and move on when you play the tofu card. 😀 Well, here’s hoping the pie book will be the same.
Yeah, I couldn’t find anything else that worked! There are many creamy concoctions in the book that don’t contained soy, mostly coconut based. But the cheesecakes do contain soy.
I’m with Laurel. I could be vegan if it were not for the soy, nut and legume allergies in our family. DRAT THE TOFU!
Hi Isa, a question about the caramel- I have caramel anxiety. I need a temperature. Or at least a ball-stage. What temperature am I going for here?
Where do you get a prepared pastry crust? All I can think of are those frozen pie crusts like for blueberry and pumpkin pie at the grocery store. Is this something different? Do you think a graham cracker crust would be tasty or no?
Hello I am new to your site/blog & LOVE it! I’m going through gathering up tons of yummy looking recipes. I, like others here I see, am anxious to get your vegan pie crust recipe. Could you please share a link?
Many Thanks!
A super treat! I’m making this for weekend – got some friends coming and I’m sure they’ll love this! 🙂
Will it taste terribly sweet if I don’t use unsweetened soy milk?
you know that expression “if it’s too good to be true, it probably is”? forget it. this pie? amazing AND easy! you can finally say “easy as pie” and know what you’re talking about!! ok. seriously. i have made this pie twice in the past month and i don’t understand how pecan pie can be so easy, delicious, and vegan. there’s a time-space continuum hiding in my forkful.
Soy allergies – try some agar or extra cornstarch…or even a couple of different types of starches (arrowroot, tapioca, potato). May not be as thick as this one, but should get you close enough to try the deliciousness 🙂
So the my pie is currently baking in the oven and the taste test was good, but I ran into a problem with the caramel. I had it on medium heat on my stove, it started lightly bubbling as you said it should, I constantly stirred for about 5 minutes, and it began to get really thick and instead of gooey, it was crystalizing… I immediately took it off the stove and mixed in the other ingredients and threw it in the oven. Here’s hoping it’s not ruined.
just made this pie, it was all liquidy wen i poured in it in the crust but looks and smells amazin! havin my friends over tn to try it i hope it dont pour out like my last one did!;-)
hey just givin a recap, i made it lastnight and it was a disaster, it just poured n oozed everywhere and i followed everytime to a T it looked gorgeous and felt stiff but u no how that goes, wat could of happened bc the mush was PERFECT not to sweet but jsut the right amount, i just dont no wat went wrong:(
Wow… I miss fall… Cant wait for all the pie baking:-)
Oh my god – it works! The perfect pecan pie – intact slices, no goo running everywhere. I served it to a bunch of omnivores and NOBODY KNEW there was tofu in it. Raves all around. The one tricky part is getting the caramel and tofu mixture combined before the camel sets – I was stirring like a maniac. I would suggest whipping up the tofu mixture before starting on the caramel so it’s all ready to go.
Sometimes I like coming to this page just so I can remember what it was like to eat this pie. This won over many skeptics.
Is pastry dough the same as puff pastry dough?
Nope, really different. You want a pie pastry. There’s a recipe in Vcon, but also a ton online. Or you can use storebought!
Thanks Isa!
Hi Isa – thanks for this recipe. I have family members who can not eat soy/tofu and would love some ideas of substitutions. I saw the post above to try agar, alternative starches etc. but I have some recipes with those that have not turned out well historically. I’m wondering if there is something we could try with raw cashews? Any ideas?
Many thanks in advance. I am a huge fan and have all your books. Looking forward to the upcoming pie book.
Regards,
Susan
Wow, this looks amazing! So looking forward to experimenting for my first vegan Thanksgiving this year. Your recipes have definitely been an inspiration, and motivation, for me to improve my cooking and baking skills, so thank you!
This was AWESOME! It worked!
Can’t wait for the pie book!
I might cry :/. I just made this and wondered why mine looked so light colored. Thought maybe it was the light brown sugar I used. I used the entire package of Mori-Nu instead of half. I have never had pecan pie before and I was so excited. I’m just gonna drench it maple syrup if it’s lacking flavor….
Bwahahahaha!!!! Now I can’t wait for thanksgiving!!! THANK YOU!!!! (you guys are my heroes)