Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pie
Posted Oct 18, 2018, Updated May 20, 2024
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This Homemade Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pie recipe is the best. Coconut milk pumpkin pie is creamy, perfectly sweet and loaded with cozy fall spices – a must-make Thanksgiving dessert.
This is the best pumpkin pie recipe you will ever eat, and it just so happens to be dairy-free!
Even better, you won’t find any processed ingredients (like sweetened condensed milk) in this from-scratch dairy-free pumpkin pie recipe!
The holidays can be tough for people who can’t eat dairy. Every creamy dreamy casserole and dessert is loaded with the white stuff – milk, half and half, cream, butter, etc.
And while some of us can throw caution to the wind and splurge one (or two) days out of the year, others who are severely allergic to dairy have to be vigilant , especially during the holidays.
Well, this recipe will make all your dairy-free pumpkin pie dreams come true. (Also check out this healthy sweet potato casserole, vegan pumpkin cheesecake and these cute mini vegan pumpkin pies)!
Dairy Free Pumpkin Pie Ingredients & Substitutions
- Coconut milk. I suggest full-fat coconut milk or cream for the best results. To make a regular pumpkin pie, use this recipe: classic pumpkin pie. Some have used dairy-free creamer with great results. I don’t suggest using almond milk because it’s very thin.
- Vegan butter. Vegetable shortening is a good substitute for the vegan butter. Coconut oil also works.
- All-purpose flour: for a gluten-free pie crust, substitute an all-purpose gluten-free flour for the regular all-purpose flour.
- Pumpkin puree. Use either a 15 ounce can of pumpkin puree or about 2 cups of homemade pumpkin puree. If using homemade, I recommend straining it in a coffee filter over a fine mesh strainer to remove any excess water.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice. Use store bought or make your own with this recipe: homemade pumpkin pie spice.
How to Make Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pie
Let’s start by breaking down how to make this coconut milk pumpkin pie recipe step-by-step! This dairy-free pumpkin pie is made completely from scratch, but don’t let that intimidate you! It’s super easy and is ready to toss into the oven in no time!
Make the Dairy-Free Pie Crust
When baking any pie recipe with homemade pie crust, it’s important to start by making the pie crust first, because it needs to chill. See this comprehensive post on making the best homemade pie crust – just use dairy-free ingredients.
Use cold ingredients. Prepare ice water by measuring out cold water and tossing an ice cube (or two) in it. Chop up the vegan butter and put it in the freezer while you measure out the rest of the ingredients. Using cold ingredients results in a flaky crust.
Begin by processing the dry ingredients together in the container of a food processor fitted with the “S” blade. Alternatively, you can make the crust by hand in a large bowl.
Then, add the cold vegan butter and ice water and process until the mixture just begins to clump together.
If making by hand, use a fork, pastry cutter or your hands to cut the butter into the dough. Then, add the water and mix until it forms a ball.
Once the crust ingredients form a ball in the food processor, remove the dough and shape it into a relatively thin, flat circle.
Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour, or overnight. If chilling overnight I recommend putting it in another airtight container like a plastic bag or storage contianer.
Roll the pie crust
After the crust has chilled for at least one hour, pull it out and put it on a well-floured surface. Here are a few tips to make rolling easier:
Use a heavy rolling pin to roll out the crust! I have had this marble rolling pin for 11 years and couldn’t live without it. It applies the perfect amount of pressure to the chilled crust to make it roll easily.
Measure the crust with the pie plate. As you see in the photo below, after I roll the crust out I like to be certain it will fit in my pie plate. So I recommend holding the pie plate over the crust circle just to be sure that it will fit. There needs to be a little extra dough overhang so that you can make a nice crust edge.
Pinch the edges. Start by folding the crust and making a nice edge around the pie dish. Then, use your thumb and pointer finger to pinch the edges of the crust and make a nice design.
Chill again (if the filling isn’t made). Next, it’s time to make the dairy-free pumpkin pie filling, and while that is happening wrap the crust in plastic wrap and return it to the refrigerator. If you already have the filling made before the crust is rolled, then you do not need to chill the crust again.
Make the Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pie Filling
This part is very easy. The filling is made in just one bowl with a whisk! There really aren’t any specific tips I can give you to make this process go more smoothly, except that you should definitely mix the wet ingredients together first, and then add the dry!
I do recommend using a wire whisk to make this dairy-free pumpkin pie filling to ensure that there are no lumps of brown sugar or spices left in the batter!
Bake
Once the filling is made, remove the crust from the refrigerator, pour it in and bake. I highly recommend using a pie crust shield, or a piece of tin foil that you cut to fit the edges of the pie. Otherwise the crust on the edges will almost definitely burn before the filling is cooked!
Cool
This coconut milk pumpkin pie needs to cool for at least two hours (preferably longer). If you like to serve your pumpkin pie cold, then after an hour or so, transfer the pie on a wire cooling rack to the refrigerator.
Serve
I recommend serving this dairy-free pumpkin pie with some dairy-free whipped cream, whipped topping, or vanilla ice cream. I added a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice on top and a little pie crust cutout for fun!
Store
Store any leftover pie in an airtight container int he refrigerator for 5-7 days.
Freeze
This pie freezes really well! There are 2 ways to freeze this recipe:
Freeze the entire pie. bake and chill the pie, then wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and foil and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before cutting and serving.
Freeze individual slices. If you have a few leftover slices you want to freeze, place them on a baking sheet and put them in the freezer to flash-freeze them. Then, once they’re frozen, wrap them in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator for about 6 hours.
Dairy Free Pumpkin Pie Recipe FAQs
Some people may be concerned that the coconut milk willย cause this dairy-free pumpkin pie to taste likeย coconut…but that is not the case! Most recently, I served this pie to 8 adults and 4 kids and no one suspected a thing.
Even my husband, who has a serious super-taster gene for coconut (I amย not joking it’s insane) couldn’t taste a hint of coconut flavor! There are a few ways you can adapt this pie…
I recommend serving this dairy-free pumpkin pie with some dairy-free whipped cream, whipped topping, or vanilla ice cream. I added a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice on top and a little pie crust cutout for fun!
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Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pie
Equipment
Ingredients
Filling
- 3 large eggs
- 15 ounces pumpkin puree (or 2 cups fresh pumpkin puree)
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk*
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ยพ cup light brown sugar
- ยฝ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 ยฝ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
Pie Crust
- 1 ยผ cups all-purpose flour
- ยฝ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- ยฝ cup vegan butter sticks chilled, and cut into 1 inch pieces**
- ยผ cup ice cold water
Instructions
Make the Crust
- Place the flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor fitted with an โSโ blade and pulse to combine.
- Add the vegan butter and cold water and process until the mixture resembles a coarse meal, begins to stick together, and holds together when pinched.ย
- Remove dough from the food processor (will be crumbly) and form into a round disc.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 60 minutes or overnight
Make the Filling
- In a large bowl, beat the eggs.ย
- Whisk in the pumpkin, coconut milk and vanilla extract until combined.
- Add sugar, salt, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice and mix until completely combined.
Assemble
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
- Lightly grease a pie plate and set aside.
- Roll out your pie dough on a well-floured surface (or pastry cloth) to fit the size of your pie plate.
- Carefully transfer the dough to the pie plate and shape the crust how you want it to look.
- Pour the filling into the unbaked pie crust and cover the crust with a pastry shield.
- Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees F.ย
- Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F and continue to bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a knife inserted comes out clean.ย It may be a bit wobbly still, but it willย firm-up as it cools.
- Allow the pie to coolย on a wire rack for 2 hours (Be patient! This is important).ย Serve or refrigerate until ready to serve.
Video
Notes
- Coconut milk:ย You can substitute coconut milk withย dairy-free creamer (unsweetened). I do not recommend using almond milk because it is much thinner and less rich than coconut milk.
- Vegan butter:ย If you don’t have access to vegan butter, substitute it with vegetable shortening.
- All-purpose flour:ย for a gluten-free pie crust, substitute an all-purpose gluten-free flour for the regular all-purpose flour!
- Pumpkin Pie Spice.ย Use store bought or make your own!
- 1 ยฝ tsp cinnamon
- ยฝ tsp nutmeg
- ยฝ tsp cloves
- ยฝ tsp allspice
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tastes just like a regular pumpkin pie! Was very easy to make. I used a premade gluten free pie crust instead. Will definitely be making this again.
Would you recommend sweetened, canned coconut milk over unsweetened canned coconut milk. I made this pie with the unsweetened canned milk. I hope that it is sweet enough. I did put the 3/4 cup of brown sugar in per recipe. The canned coconut milk milk is 14% fat. So I did get the heavy fat kind. It was called Native Forest Organic Unsweetened Coconut Milk.
Yes! Unsweetened canned is perfect, and native forest is a great choice! Happy thanksgiving!
Help! I accidentally used 1 can of coconut milk instead of 1 cup. The filling is very liquidy. Is it ruined?!?
Yikes, thatโs about 1/2 cup more liquid than would typically be in the filling….you could try to bake it but I fear it might not set up. Or you can double the recipe and make two pies!
Hello,
Can I use Vanilla Coconut Milk ? Accidentally bought the wrong one. Think it would taste good?
Thank you for any advice.
Hey Linda! I’m sure it would taste delicious, my only concern is that you purchased refrigerated coconut milk instead of canned. The refrigerated coconut milk is usually thinner than canned. It should still work but I’d be curious what the fat content is of the coconut milk you purchased!
Hi, thanks for this! Making it tomorrow. Just curious, what size pie pan did you use?
I have used both 9″ and 10″ round pie plates with great results. If I can recall, I believe I used a 9″ plate in these photos! But I just baked it in a 10″ plate today!
My great-niece, 6 months old, can’t have dairy or soy, and mom is still nursing, so I searched for dairy-free pies and you’re recipe popped up. Crust is in the refrigerator chilling and I’m gonna make it when I get home from work tonite and bring tomorrow. Can’t wait!! Thanks for your simple instructions and ingredients. I’ll let you know how it goes. Happy Thanksgiving from NYC!
If i want to use butter instead is it still 1 cup? Thanks
Hey Lindsey! If you mean in the pie crust then it is 1/2 cup (the same as the amount of vegan butter called for). I usually make this with regular butter and it’s the best!
I’m sorry for the pie filling I should of stated that.
Do you mean for the coconut milk? I do not recommend butter as a substitute for coconut milk! I use half and half instead of coconut milk when I make this pie and don’t need it to be dairy-free! Check out this recipe here: Classic Pumpkin Pie
That is what I thought but wanted to check any thoughts on almond butter. I have terrible allergies and trying to find alternatives. I really appreciate your information.
You can try this Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake (it’s basically a no-bake pumpkin pie) that uses cashews in the filling, but if you’re allergic you could use almond butter instead!
Your awesome, Thanks for all your help. I can do almond butter so ill try that! Happy Holiday!
Going to make this but what brand of full fat coconut milk should I get? There is so many different once I shop at Publix help!
Hey Marita! I would recommend the Thai Kitchen brand!
Hi! I was wondering what size pie dish you used? Im doubting between two of my pie dishes! Have my crust in the fridge now, canโt wait to try ๐ Thanks!
Hey! I have used both a 9″ and 10″ round pie plate to make this recipe!
How about unsweetened plain oat milk instead of coconut milk?
I do not think oat milk has a high enough fat content to make the pie creamy and solid!
I’m just wondering if canned “full fat” coconut milk will work. Because it tends to separate (the cream all at one end of the can or another, I’m guessing I should maybe whisk it or use a mixer on it before adding it to the pumpkin??? Would love to hear comments or thoughts, this is my first attempt at dairy free.
Thanks!
Yes! I always shake it up, whisk it or blend it to incorporate the liquid into the solid! It helps if itโs at room temperature too!