This Thanksgiving, I tried a new recipe adapted from one found in Yoga Journal. My daughter is a vegan, and this was our first vegan Thanksgiving (traditionally it has been vegetarian). Typical pecan pie contains eggs and butter in the recipe. Neither of these ingredients are vegan, and I am not too excited about the corn syrup either. This vegan pecan pie replaces both with applesauce and cashews.
The Best Gluten-Free Vegan Pecan Pie Recipe
- 2 1/2 cup raw cashews soaked overnight or 15 minutes in boiling water
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 3/4 cup raw sugar
- 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoons arrowroot
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/2 cup pecans (enough to decorate the top)
- Pinch of salt
- 3/4 cup maple syrup
- Preheat oven 350 degrees
- In a food processor, grind soaked and drained cashews into a thick paste.
- Slowly add almond milk to cashews and process until smooth.
- Add sugar, lemon juice, arrowroot, applesauce, salt, and vanilla to mix and process.
- Pour cashew mixture into a crust (either graham cracker, flour, or gluten-free)
- Bake for 30 minutes
- Heat maple syrup to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes.
- Arrange pecans in concentric circles on top of baked cashew mixture.
- Drizzle maple syrup over the top
- Bake 20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean from the middle.
- Chill and serve cold.
I did not include a crust recipe, but the original recipe in Yoga Journal uses a graham cracker crust and is baked in a springform pan. I prefer a more traditional crust for this pecan pie.
The cashews are supposed to be soaked overnight, but if you forget, you can use boiling water and soak for about 15 minutes. The cashews will not blend up as smoothly with this method, but it is not noticeable in the final pie.
This pie is definitley a new holiday tradition for our family!
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