Why you’ll love this dairy free pumpkin pie
Believe it or not, Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and I’m already hard at work testing pies and casseroles and all sorts of pumpkin-related things. I wanted to make sure you were prepared for the holiday with the best dairy free Thanksgiving recipes because I don’t want you to miss out on your favorite dishes just because they have dairy in them.
Pumpkin pie has been a tricky one for me. Traditional recipes call for evaporated or sweetened, condensed milk, which tend to be hard to substitute. So to keep things simple, I decided to make my pumpkin pie with coconut milk in place of evaporated milk. I did change the ratio of liquid-sugar-eggs just a little to make sure we didn’t end up with a soft, gooey mess when it came out of the oven. See also: Are eggs dairy?
More dairy free pumpkin recipes: dairy free pumpkin cookies / roasted garlic pumpkin hummus / pumpkin dinner rolls / pumpkin cream cheese muffins / pumpkin risotto
A few notes on pie crust:
I should start by saying that I am a fan of store-bought crust. I don’t think it’s worth the energy to make your own, especially since dairy free cooking can be so complicated and time-consuming. If you have a favorite pie crust recipe, than definitely use it. To give myself a little more crust to work with for the edge, I always roll mine out just a little.
Do I need to pre-bake the crust for pumpkin pie? You don’t need to blind bake your crust for this recipe, but it wouldn’t hurt. The process of blind baking just allows the crust to crisp up a little more, so you don’t end up with a soggy crust.
Melissa’s tips + tricks:
- Choose the right coconut milk. I recommend using a full-fat, canned coconut milk that contains about 60% coconut. If your coconut milk contains too much water, you will end up with a soggy, mushy pie.
- If you have a pie crust shield, use it when baking your pie to prevent the crust from getting too brown.
- Check doneness by inserting a toothpick into the very center of the pie. If it comes out clean, it’s ready.
- Serve your pie with dairy free whipped cream or your favorite dairy free vanilla ice cream.
More dairy free Thanksgiving recipes: dairy free green bean casserole / homemade stuffing / vegan scalloped potatoes
Dairy Free Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
- 1 store-bought pie crust, or
- 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup canned full-fat coconut milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
Instructions
- Prepare your crust. Preheat your oven to 425˚F. Roll your crust to fit your pie plate and trim or flute the edges as desired.
- Blind bake the crust. Crumble a piece of parchment paper to make it more pliable, then add it to your crust and fill with pie weights. Then, bake the crust for 15 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven and carefully remove the pie weights. Allow crust to cool completely before filling.
- Make the filling. In a large bowl, mix remaining ingredients with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour into cooled pie crust and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350˚F and continue baking for 40 – 45 minutes, or until filling has set.
- Bake the pie. Remove from oven and allow pie to cool completely before loosely covering. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
Hi! I’m going to try this for our family in a few days. Is unsweetened coconut milk what I should use? Thanks!
Yes, but I you need to use the canned, full-fat kind, not the stuff you buy in the refrigerated section.
Does the pie taste like a pumpkin pie or more coconut pumpkin? wanted to try almond milk but seems like it will be too off in ratio.
I personally think it tastes like pumpkin pie, but we are probably a little more used to the taste of coconut, so if you aren’t normally dairy free, there might be a small hint of coconut for you. I wouldn’t try almond milk though because it won’t have the right fat-water content.
So glad your recipe came up when I searched for a dairy free pumpkin pie. My mother in law made this for my daughter for Thanksgiving. She ate the whole pie within three days, it is a GREAT recipe! Thank you so much for sharing and making my (dairy free) daughter so happy not to miss out on Pumpkin pie!
You can use Almond Milk but it requires reducing it. Start with Extra Creamy Almond Milk. Pour 2-3 times the amount needed into a saucepan and simmer down until thickened. Measure out as much as needed in recipe. It takes a while but makes a nice pumpkin pie!
Whenever I get canned coconut milk there is always a semi-solid part and then a part that is more liquidy. Should I use the solid part or mix it all up together? Thanks!
You should try to mix it all together, but if you don’t, I would opt for the thicker semi-solid part. You definitely don’t want the liquidy part, which is actually coconut water that has separated from the coconut milk.
It DEFINITELY tastes like coconut, even if you only use half the can of coconut milk and double your spices.
Mine has been baking for about an hour and it’s still runny~ what did I do wrong?
Did you make changes to the recipe at all?
Mine is doing the same thing still VERY shaky /liquidy in center. No did not alter recipe 😔
I’m curious if the pie turned out ok in the end? Did it set once it was cooled?
Mine also has been baking for 45 minutes and is still quite runny, and at this point the crust is looking burnt. I didn’t alter the recipe at all, followed it exactly. Something is off unfortunately, just commenting to let you know
Great recipe! Do you think I can use sweetened condensed coconut milk instead of regular canned coconut milk? Thank you so much!
You definitely could, but your pie will be sweeter than if you used regular coconut milk.
If you use sweeted condensed alternative milk, then reduce the brown sugar.
By the way, this is the best non-dairy pumpkin pie I have ever had!!! Loved it and so did my family!
Melissa, thank you so much for this recipe! Since discovering my dairy allergy, I thought my pumpkin pie eating days were forever in my past – until now! This is the best pumpkin pie I have ever had, dairy or no dairy. I made two in a matter of four days, and there are only two of us in the house. Then over the next six days we also made your dairy free green bean casserole and your dairy free hamburger stroganoff. So good, and again, even better than the originals with dairy! My husband and I thank you, thank you, thank you for all the effort you put into perfecting your recipes and sharing them with us. We will definitely be trying more!
I made this as pumpkin pudding in custard cups. The grandchildren loved it.
I used a half-cup of sugar and it was still plenty sweet.
Ionly need dairy free for one, could I cut in half and use a 4 in pan, suggestion on baking time???
That’s a good question! I don’t have 4 inch pans to test it in, but I would guess about 30 minutes, give or take a bit? I would also recommend trying it out ahead of time so you aren’t let without pie for the dairy free guest. If you try it, I would love to know how they turn out!
Has anyone tried this with Trader Joe’s Coconut Cream? It’s very thick … maybe too thick?
I think it would be ok! It’s better to use something thicker than something thinner! If you try it, I would love to know how it turns out.
I have-& It’s very good!!
I’m very excited to make this pie! My daughter recently become dairy/ Lactose intolerant and she has been so disappointed.
I like to use fresh pumpkin, what would the exchange be for canned pumpkin?.
Yes. Just make sure you really get the excess water out of it or the pie will be soggy!
Is it better to use canned coconut MILK or canned coconut CREAM? Excited to make this for Thanksgiving, thanks for the recipe!
You could honestly use either as long as they are mixed together well and not separated.