Bonus recipe: Vegan pumpkin pie

My family's Thanksgiving dinner is a collaborative effort. My dad cooks the turkey, stuffing, and a veggie (which we supplement with our roasted broccoli). My aunt and uncle bring an assortment of delicacies for lunch (cheese, crackers, veggies, dips, and so forth). My brother-in-law brings a couple of good bottles of wine. And we provide our homemade pickles, cranberry sauce, and the all-important pies: one rhubarb, one pumpkin.

For years, Brian made both pies with butter crusts. But when we started making our own plant butter a couple of years ago, Brian decided to try using that in the crust instead. He had to experiment a bit with the recipe to get a dough that would make a reasonable lattice crust, but eventually he found that a ratio of about 3 parts canola to 8 parts refined coconut oil, without the soy milk, would do the job. It's trickier to work with than a butter crust, as the coconut oil has a lower melting point, but if you get it good and cold ahead of time and then work quickly, it can be done.

With this change, our rhubarb pie became vegan. However, we assumed that it would be impossible to do the same with our pumpkin pie, which has eggs and evaporated milk in the filling. And since no one in my family is vegan or otherwise averse to dairy, there was no strong incentive to try. 

But this year, with a bunch of leftover silken tofu in the fridge that needed to get used up before Thanksgiving weekend, Brian started wondering whether it could be put to use in pie form. And this got him thinking about the kappa carageenan that we use in our plant-based mozzarella. After all, this stuff is commonly used as both a thickener and a gelling agent; could adding it to our pumpkin mixture help it set up nice and firm without eggs?

To test this idea, he made a mini pie the week before Thanksgiving, replacing the evaporated milk and eggs with tofu, soymilk, and a teaspoon of kappa carageenan. This did indeed make the filling firm—quite a bit firmer than he expected. Rather than a soft custard, it came out as a smooth, solid layer with a texture that could best be compared to bologna. It proved that the idea was workable, but it was clear that we'd need to dial the carageenan way back to get the texture we were after. 

So, when preparing the pies for the actual Thanksgiving feast, Brian made two pumpkin pies: a full-sized one using our regular recipe, and a smaller one using only a quarter-teaspoon of the carageenan. He also added a bit of baking soda to help the filling puff up. He didn't want to slice into the pie before the family got to see it, but he tested the bit of filling that was left in the saucepan once it had cooled, and he found that the texture was indeed pretty close to what you'd expect in a pumpkin pie. 

This made him confident enough about the mini vegan pie to serve it up alongside the regular pumpkin and rhubarb pies on Thanksgiving Day. Most of the family ventured at least a small taste, and they all agreed that it tasted just like a pumpkin pie. With the two pumpkin pies side by side, it was quite clear that they weren't identical; the original version had a much softer texture. But it wasn't necessarily better, just different. If you like your filling a little on the firmer side, you might even prefer this version.

So, if you'd like to try this vegan pumpkin pie for your next holiday gathering, or any other time, here's the full recipe. The one Brian made was only one-quarter this size, but he's quadrupled all the quantities to produce a 9-inch pie recipe.

Vegan Pumpkin Pie

First, make the vegan pie shell. If you don't normally keep your flour in the fridge, start by putting 1 cup all-purpose flour in the refrigerator to chill. 

Melt 1/4 cup refined coconut oil and mix it with 1.5 Tbsp. canola oil in a medium-to-large bowl. Place oil mixture in fridge for 5-10 minutes, take out to whisk, then return to fridge. Repeat until the mixture has just solidified, then whip with an electric mixer for a minute and return to fridge for 30+ minutes. 

Add 1/2 tsp. salt and the cold flour to the solidified whipped oil mixture and use a pastry blender or fork to quickly combine the ingredients until the oil has disappeared into the flour. Return to the fridge if necessary. 

Add ice water to the mixture, one tablespoon at a time, using a fork to work it in after each addition, until the mixture begins to cohere and can be formed into a ball. Return to the fridge if necessary.

Generously coat a flat surface and a rolling pin with cold flour and carefully roll the dough flat (about 2 mm thick). Fold the rolled dough in half, lift it in the pie pan (5-6” for pilot; 9” for full), then unfold it. Adjust the position of the dough in the shell and use ice water to glue any breaks closed. Cut the dough hanging over the edges to about 1-2”, then roll it up and crimp it. Place the finished pie shell in the fridge until the filling is ready. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 

To make the filling, combine 1 cup sugar, 1 tsp. kappa carageenan, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. powdered ginger, 1/4 tsp. cloves, 1/4 tsp. allspice, and 1/4 tsp. nutmeg. Mix thoroughly and set aside.

Blend 12 oz. silken tofu until smooth. Add 1 cup soymilk and 1 can pumpkin puree and blend thoroughly. In a saucepan, heat the liquid mixture, stirring, until it starts to bubble. 

Add combined dry ingredients to liquid and stir for five minutes. Mixture should continue to bubble throughout. 

Add 1/2 tsp. baking powder and quickly whisk it completely into the mixture. Immediately pour mixture into the prepared pie shell, then bake for 25+ minutes, until pie shell is thoroughly baked.