Must Make Vegan Pumpkin Pie Bars made with coconut milk, pumpkin puree, comforting spices and all in an almond flour crust. Rich, creamy and easy to make – it’s a show stopper for your Thanksgiving dessert table. Bakes just like classic pumpkin pie but no one will know it’s vegan, dairy free and plant based.
If pumpkin is your jam during the holidays or all year long then you need to make my Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and my Fudgy Flourless Pumpkin Brownies.
Easy Vegan Pumpkin Pie Bars
Truth talk. Show of hands whose favorite pie around the holidays is Pumpkin Pie? Me jumping excitedly raising my hand!!!
Pumpkin Pie has been a lover (yes you heard me right) of mine since I can remember. Every Thanksgiving my mom would make three pies – Pecan Pie (which is my dad’s favorite), Sweet Potato Pie (which is my brothers favorite) and Pumpkin Pie (which of course is mine).
Let’s just say she loves her family to make a pie for each one of us and you can bet your bottom dollar that we each ate our own pies single handedly. Today I decided to make Pumpkin Pie since we are just around the corner from Turkey Day. But it’s not your typical Pumpkin Pie, I transformed these into epic bars, made them vegan, cooked them in a cinnamon almond flour crust and topped them with almond milk whipped cream. Let’s just say you need to run NOT walk to the grocery store because these are a must make!
Ingredients for Vegan Pumpkin Pie Bars:
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to have on hand to make these epic vegan pumpkin pie bars.
- Almond flour: I love to make crusts with unblanched almond crust. Here is the kind I use.
- Coconut Oil: I use coconut oil in place of butter in this recipe and it does just the trick to hold the crust together
- Maple syrup: The sweetener in our crust.
- Ground Cinnamon: Adding flavor to crust is always a good thing!
- Organic Pumpkin Puree: You can make your own pumpkin puree or you can go the easy route and buy a quality organic pumpkin puree, just make sure there are no other spices added to it.
- Coconut Milk: Instead of adding eggs or evaporated milk we’re using coconut milk as that substitute to pair perfectly with the pumpkin puree.
- Brown Sugar: Adding sugar with a nice molasses taste is th
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: This spice is a combine of cinnamon, ginger, clove and nutmeg. (sometimes allspice)
- Cornstarch: This is used as a thickener in this recipe, adding cornstarch helps created that amazing texture classic pumpkin pie has.
What if I don’t have Pumpkin Pie Spice?
If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, no problem. Just use 1 of teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of ginger, and 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon of allspice.
How to Make Vegan Pumpkin Pie
There are a couple of components to these Vegan Pumpkin Pie Bars but trust me, each step it worth it. These bars are seriously epic!
- Preheat Oven: You’ll be using a 350°F oven for both the crust and for the pumpkin pie filling.
- Prepare Pan: Spray a 9″x 9″ baking dish with cooking spray. Line bottom with parchment paper. (this helps with easy removal)
- Make Almond Crust: In a small bowl mix together almond flour, coconut oil, maple syrup and ground cinnamon. Mix until all the ingredients are combined and the mixture is somewhat sticky. Add almond crust mixture to the pan. Spread the mixture out evenly along the bottom. Pressing into the pan. (if the mixture sticks to your hands just add a little oil to your hands)
- Poke Crust: Using a fork, poke the crust all over the bottom and a few times.. This will prevent the crust from bubbling up.
- Bake Crust: Place pan in the oven and bake for 10 -12 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool.
- Make Pumpkin Pie Filling: To a large bowl add pumpkin puree, coconut milk, pumpkin pie spice, salt and cornstarch. Using a whisk, mix until the pumpkin mixture is smooth!
- Add mixture to Pre-made Crust: Pour mixture on top of the precooked almond crust.
- Bake Pumpkin Pie Bars: Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour at 350°F. The middle will still look slightly jiggly. Remove bars from oven and let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Let Rest: Cover bars with plastic wrap or tin foil and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight to let bars settle.
- Garnish: We top ours with Almond Milk Reddi whip and a dash of cinnamon.
Tips for the Best Vegan Pumpkin Pie
- If you really want to stay away from the brown sugar you can use coconut sugar or even Splendid’s brown sugar that I use in this Pecan Pie – it’s have the calories! You could even use maple syrup instead (probably about 1/2 cup), however if you go the maple syrup route you would need to use more cornstarch.
- If you don’t have cornstarch you could also use arrowroot (found in the spice aisle). Arrowroot also acts as a thickener and is used in many paleo recipes.
- Let’s talk crust. I went with the classic almond crust that I use in a lot of my tart recipes, like this one. But if you want a more classic “pie crust” you can definitely make regular crust or a gluten free crust and just put it on the bottom.
- Make sure to buy the full fat Coconut Milk in the can, you can find it in the international aisle at your grocery store. Other milks will NOT work in the recipe, they will change the texture of the filling and I have not tested it so I recommend sticking with the coconut milk.
How to Store Homemade Pie
Technically because this recipe does not have any dairy or egg in it you could store it on the counter. However, I like to store it in the refrigerator because I like a slight chill on my pumpkin pie in general. But if you like your pumpkin pie at room temperature it is safe to do so.
I do recommend covering your pumpkin pie bars with plastic wrap. It should keep up to 4 days.
Can I make these bars into a pie?
Yes! Absolutely! All ratios would be the same. You would just use a pie dish and press the almond crust on the bottom and up the sides, bake and then everything else would be the same.
Other Fall Desserts you’ll love:
- Moist Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake
- Homemade Pecan Pie with no corn syrup
- Apple Crisp Cheesecake Bars
- Spiced Pear Upside Down Cake
- Cinnamon Apple Pear Crisp
- Skinny Mini Pumpkin Cheese with Pecan Crust
- Pumpkin Spice Latte Coffee Cake
- Cardamom Apple Galette with Cinnamon Mascarpone
- The Best Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars
Vegan Pumpkin Pie Bars
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 12 - 16 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Must Make Vegan Pumpkin Pie Bars made with coconut milk, pumpkin puree, comforting spices and all in an almond flour crust. Rich, creamy and so easy to make it’s a show stopper for your Thanksgiving dessert table.
Ingredients
Almond Crust:
- 2 cups of unblanched almond flour
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pumpkin Pie Filling:
- 15 oz. can of organic pumpkin puree
- 1 can of full fat coconut milk
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 1/2 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch or arrowroot
Instructions
Almond Crust
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spray a 9″ x 9″ baking dish with cooking spray and line with bottom with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl mix together almond flour, coconut oil, maple syrup and ground cinnamon. Mix until all the ingredients are combined and the mixture is somewhat sticky.
- Add almond crust mixture to the pan. Spread the mixture out evenly along the bottom. Pressing into the pan. (if the mixture sticks to your hands just add a little oil to your hands)
- Poke the crust with a fork all over the bottom and a few times. This will prevent the crust from bubbling up.
- Place pan in the oven and bake for 10 -12 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool.
Pumpkin Pie Filling:
- To a large bowl add pumpkin puree, coconut milk, pumpkin pie spice, salt and cornstarch. Using a whisk, mix until the pumpkin mixture is smooth!
- Pour mixture on top of the precooked almond crust.
- Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour at 350°F. The middle will still look slightly jiggly. Remove bars from oven and let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Cover bars with plastic wrap or tin foil and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight to let bars settle.
-
We top ours with Almond Milk Reddi whip.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar (if cut into 12 bars)
- Calories: 304
- Sugar: 20 g
- Sodium: 113 mg
- Fat: 21 g
- Saturated Fat: 11 g
- Carbohydrates: 27 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
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