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.
Oh no!!!! I just finished preparing this wonderful recipe and guess what? As I am ready to put it in the oven I remember I DIDN’T ADDTHE MARGARINE!!!!! Hahahahaha!!! Sooooo, I just melted the margarine in the same sauce pan I had melted the sugar and the maple syrup and then I just mixed it in the pie, mixed it real well…….let’s see how it goes. I can only hope for the best. I’ll let you know how it turns out. I got so entertained reading all the comments that once the syrup was “ready” I just poured it in the blender with the tofu mix (it had previously been prepared I just mixed all together.) Oh, and I have a mix of walnuts and hazelnuts, since I have no pecans. Let’s see what comes out of the oven!!! LOL!!
Does it still bake for 40 minutes in a 9 inch pie shell?
So, what disaster awaits me if I leave out the margarine?
I made this last night, and it turned out delicious, with a perfect custard. Not to take the fun out of it, but for those who care, the 9-inch pie works out to 3956 calories/pie, or 494 calories per 1/8 pie slice. But who’s counting!
Just made this last night for a work Thanksgiving potluck…used organic “silken tofu” from the fridge section, didn’t say firmness level but I added another 1/2 TB cornstarch to the blender as well as 1/2 c chocolate chips before mixing with the cooled caramel. Used the tart pan because the last time I made this I used 9″ pie pan and it was a mess (tasty but a mess). I had enough left over dough and filling to make 2 small tartlettes to bake along side the 11″ for myself and husband to taste test the goods before the potluck. (Honestly, I would try to do all minis next time, they were so pretty and easy to eat. Maybe with a dollop of Rad Whip on top…mmmmm!) I salted it as well, so good! Thank you for all of your vegan recipes and cookbooks, looking forward to the next!
Would this be good with a prepared graham cracker crust? Any input would be great. I’m thinking it might be too sweet or not bake evenly.
I think it’d be good! Just parbake it for 10 minutes.
Hi,
Using your caramelizing directions, mine crystallized and I had to start over. You are surely more of an expert than I am, so for those less-skilled, I recommend the following instructions I found on various websites: cook on low, stir constantly only until sugar dissolves and begins to simmer. Don’t stir again after this point. Only gently lift the pan handle occasionally to distribute the liquid. Maintain a gentle simmer with some bubbling for the 10 minutes. Hope this helps those like me who need something more foolproof. This pie recipe is delicious!!
I just made this Pie for thanksgiving it was AMAZING! Thank you so much for sharing your genius Vegan mind!!
I made this for Thanksgiving and despite having almost zero cooking skills, I had no problem with the custard. I lied to my anti-tofu family and said there was no tofu in it, so I was a little disappointed to find that I DID taste the tofu a little bit. But no one said anything and hopefully it was just me who noticed it! Otherwise it was pretty darn good and not hard to make.
IsaChandra’s description of this pie is a literary masterpiece! And the recipe is did NOT disappoint! Wow! We paired it with the crust recipe below substituting soy milk for the milk and BINGO! Pie magic. It’s true…”NO ONE WILL KNOW.”
http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1825,154164-226196,00.html
This pie is just as delicious as you might imagine but beware the caramel! I’ve never made it before and on my first try it turned rock hard on me about 6 minutes into it. The second time I turned the heat down ever further and took the caramel off the stove loooong before the 10 minutes she suggested. I may have overcompensated the second time, but my pie was still delicious! Maybe I’ll have some for breakfast…
Thank You! This was the best pecan pie my family has EVER had. Yes, I failed with my first attempt at the caramel and afterward read through all the comments to figure it out.
Isa, what if I wanted to put a shot of bourbon into the mix? Would that go in with the tofu custard or the caramel after it’s been taken off the heat?
Baked this yesterday for my company’s holiday party’s “Best Cake Competition”. 2nd place! Everyone loved it and asked for the recipe… they were shocked when I whispered the secret ingredient, tofu!
Mine is cooling down. Caramel crystalization was a problem here as well. 5 minutes in, I turned down the heat (bubbling too fast). 6 minutes in, rapid thickening and a hard rock of sugar in the pan. I added the margarine and cranked the heat again, and it reliquified. I cooked maybe two more minutes until it started thickening again and then tossed it in with the tofu mix.
I made this to go with Christmas dinner and all I have to say is damn you woman!!! I could not get enough!!! Not to mention everyone else, so we ended up having to battle it out. Now at least I know to make two 🙂
By the way, I followed your directions as written and it turned out perfectly! Thank you.
Hmmm this didnt work at all. 10 minutes must have been too long because my “syrup” was completely solid withing seconds of coming off the heat.
I made this from your pie in the sky book…god it is orgasmic!! Actually better than any pecan pie I’ve had before and a proper caramelly toffee flavour I haven’t tasted since I became vegan. Well done that woman!…your mission Jim, should you wish to accept it…perfect a caramel shortbread that actually tastes like caramel. I’ve got the shortbread but I’ve tried all sorts of variations on toffee and caramel and even used dates but I can’t get it.
OMG. I cannot believe I just found this recipe. Cannot wait to make this! And I will report back!
I made this last night for our anniversary dinner – I didn’t have maple syrup so i used agave nectar and I added about 1/4 cup of cocoa powder – and WOW it was amazing. I served it with soya cream. I think it was the best dessert I have ever had, Thank you so much 🙂
I can now confirm that by replacing the milk with bourbon and adding about a cup of chocolate chips (you can do less, but why would you?) this recipe converts gracefully to a bomb derby pie. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derby_pie)
After 3ish years of veganism, I have moved past most of the usual cravings – ice cream, cheese, pizza – but I still wanted to cry every time derby came around and I had to refuse the beautifulness that is derby pie. My life is now whole again. Thank you!
Good to know, thanks!
Just made this in a glass pie dish. Turned out perfect! It’s been sitting out for a little over two hours, and so far so good. I couldn’t resist it any longer so I had a little sliver. The consistency is still a bit oozy, but not so much that it’s an issue. The pie is still warm, so I suspect it will firm up a bit more. I used the Mori-Nu tofu because I’ve heard it has a more mild flavor than some brands. I also used soy free Earth Balance. Cannot detect any soy flavor in the pie 😀 I am super sensitive to soy flavor and hate to detect it in any food that replicates another. If I’m not fooled, I can’t expect any omni to be! I’m so excited to present this at Thanksgiving this year. I can only hope a few folks will try it despite the plethora of other pie and dessert options. Going to take half of it to work tomorrow to get some opinions. The rest I’m going to use as filling for chocolate bourbon pecan pie cupcakes!
To add to my other comment, I had one coworker tell me this pie is an aphrodisiac, and two others asked to purchase one. Another said it was the best pecan pie she’s ever eaten. 🙂 Little do they know there’s tofu hiding in there! Muahahaha! If you’ve made it to my comment and haven’t made this yet, get to it!
Is it possible to make this in a smaller version? Like mini pies in muffin tin? Just bake for less time? I have a work bake-off that I’m desperate to show vegan treats at its best.
Can I make this same recipe substituting with arrowroot instead of cornstarch and leave out the tofu? I can’t have soy!
margarine isnt vegan is it?? 🙁 can we use earth balance instead?
Any way to make it not using unhealthy sugars, maybe with just maple syrup or adding stevia?
i used this recipe tonight! with only a few slight changes. i didn’t use pure maple syrup. i used the cheap stuff that i had in my cabinet and i didn’t use margarine. i used vegan butter. i haven’t eaten it yet because it is for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, but I can say that the recipe was easy to follow and the pie looks delicious! i did pick off a few pieces from the top and what i tasted was awesome! i can’t wait to let my family try this! thanks!
I picked this for one of our Thanksgiving desserts (the other is Pumpkin Cheesecake with Pecan Crumble). It’s in the oven now so I don’t know yet how it will turn out, but things weren’t looking so good at the caramel phase. I followed the recipe exactly, but by about minute 5 of the 10-minute stir-constantly-over-low-heat, my syrup had turned into a dry, sugary blob that got stuck inside the whisk. I kept thinking maybe it would re-melt, but when it didn’t, I finally had to add water and boil it down some more. I kept going, but it never became fully liquid – the consistency was like syrup with sand inside. I ended up blending this “caramel” together with the tofu mixture to make it smooth.
Does anyone have any advice?
Made this for Thanksgiving. I’ve never made pecan pie before, though it is my favorite. I followed the directions exactly, pre-measuring everything so that the process would be smooth and easy. I was a bit nervous by how very liquid the pie was going into the oven. However, it came out perfect! Firmed up nicely. It was torture waiting until the next day to eat this thing. Everybody loved this pie. This pecan pie is the perfect amount of sweet without making you feel like you need to call the dentist in the morning. As long as you follow the instructions, you should have no problems here. MAKE THIS PIE !
We tried this for Thanksgiving. We used Florida Crystals Organic sugar, and regular brown sugar, and it took us a long time to melt the sugar. I guess we had the heat too low at first. I ended up adding water multiple times to the crunchy/sandy/piping hot mixture. But eventually it melted, though I was really worried it was going to burn. The pie ballooned up like a souffle in the oven, and then shrunk down significantly out of the oven. And it looks pretty horrible. Kind of like the dark modeled flesh of a burn victim. Not exactly sure what happened there, but with those issues out of the way, the pie was really delicious. It had a really good flavor (if not a little too sweet), and even the tofu-phobes were complimenting it. I now have a bit more experience caramelizing sugar, and will probably try this recipe again. I’ve had the gooey mess in the past, and was glad this one was so tasty and not a gooey disaster. Thank you.
Hey y’all. Margarine/vegan butter/earth balance are all the same. Sure, some margarine aren’t vegan, but earth balance is a vegan margarine. And Emily, we had the exact same issue but finally got a mostly syrupy mix that came out smooth after baking. I hope yours wasn’t gritty in the end!
I just wanted to follow up my last post by saying that this pie tastes delicious! It mimics traditional pecan pie very closely. It was loved by all the carnivores in my life who all said they would never be able to tell it was vegan! Thanks so much! Go vegan!
Love this recipe so much! Thank you!
Because pecans are so expensive I’ve started making it with a mix of pecans, raisins and other nuts. It works really well so worth doing if you’re short on cash 🙂
I tried this and followed the recipe EXACTLY, and the caramel turned to candy immediately as soon as it hit the mixing bowl. I kept working thinking it would loosen up, and tried to mix in the other ingredients, but it was a solid lump of candy. Guess I’m bringing apple pie to Christmas… Any suggestions?
I tweaked the recipe. First, I oven toasted the pecans for about 10 minutes along with pre-heating the ready made pie shell for 10 minutes. I substituted non-hydrogenated vegan cream cheese for the tofu. The results were yummy!