Vegan Chocolate Pie is rich, smooth, and creamy. With a decadent filling that you'd never guess is whole food plant-based, and a sweet, crisp crust, this pie will be a Thanksgiving hit.
I'm the first to admit that I'm not a huge fan of chocolate. Last year my family tried a vegan chocolate pie for Thanksgiving, and while it was good, I knew I could make it even better.
Like something you'd actually want to serve to non-vegan friends and family.
This chocolate pie is SO tasty. It's got a deep, rich chocolate flavor. It's sweet, but not sickeningly so. And the texture is divine! It is silky smooth and creamy.
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Before you ask: this vegan chocolate pie has no tofu.
Many vegan pies use tofu to create that smooth and creamy texture. I'm not against using tofu like this, but I know my non-vegan friends and family definitely don't want tofu in their Thanksgiving pie.
There IS a secret ingredient though... as I detail below.
Why I love this Vegan Chocolate Pie
- Dietary needs - this recipe is dairy-free, plant-based, oil-free, gluten-free, and refined sugar-free
- Decadent dessert - this pie is rich and thick. It's a deep dish pie, which is great for when you want a huge slice
- Quick and easy - this pie is not a lot of work. The crust is easy and doesn't require any rolling or pre-baking. And the filling comes together in just a few minutes in your food processor
- No-Bake - technically, you do need to bake the crust. But the filling is no bake, saving you valuable oven time on Thanksgiving or Christmas
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
Crust Ingredients
- Rolled Oats: We're going to use rolled oats to make oat flour. Oat flour makes a great pie crust, it has a neutral flavor, but is strong and not crumbly.
- Pecans: Pecans add nuttiness and a bit of fat that makes the crust rich and flavorful. You can also use another nut like almonds.
- Salt
- Maple Syrup: I find that adding sweetness to a vegan pie crust really creates flavor.
- Vanilla
Filling Ingredients
- Acorn Squash: the secret ingredient! Acorn squash has a soft, smooth, and light texture when steamed. And when you add in all the chocolate, you can't taste the squash at all. Acorn squash is even slightly sweet, contributing to the overall sweetness of the pie.
- Medjool Dates: the filling of this pie is completely fruit sweetened. Medjool dates have a rich, caramel-like sweetness, and when blended create a thick texture to complement the squash.
- Chocolate: the key to a rich chocolate flavor is using two forms of chocolate: an unsweetened chocolate bar and unsweetened cocoa powder. For an ultra light texture we'll grate the chocolate bar using a handheld cheese grater or box grater.
- Non-Dairy Milk: any non-dairy milk will work - I used soy milk
- Nut Butter: you can use any nut butter like cashew butter or almond butter
- Vanilla
- Almond Extract: almond extract adds a warm, sweet, nutty flavor that enhances the nut butter flavors and deepens the overall chocolate flavor of the pie
- Salt
- Chopped Pecans: if you'd like, serve this pie with chopped pecans on top
How to make Vegan Chocolate Pie without Tofu
Step 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Step 2. In a food processor combine the oats, cashews, and salt. Process until finely ground. Add the maple syrup and vanilla. Cover and pulse until mixture starts to come together.
Step 3. Using wet hands, press about half of the mixture onto the bottom of a 9" deep dish pie plate (I used this pie dish.) Press the remaining mixture up sides, building up edge slightly. Bake 25-30 minutes or until light brown. Let cool.
Step 4. Steam the squash for about 15 minutes, until tender. Let cool briefly.
Step 5. Make date paste. Blend the dates in the food processor until they form a ball.
Step 6. Add the squash, shaved chocolate, cocoa powder, milk, nut butter, vanilla, almond extract, and salt. Process until smooth.
Step 7. Spread filling in the baked crust. Chill at least 1 hour before serving.
Step 8. To serve, sprinkle with the pecans.
FAQ & Expert Tips
I highly recommend a food processor for this recipe. Dates can be tricky to blend, so a food processor is best.
If you'd like to use a high-power blender, most blenders should work well.
Alternatively, mash the squash by hand and purchase date paste instead of blending your own dates. Then, mix all the filling ingredients thoroughly before pouring into the crust.
Pie pan sizes are so confusing. There are a lot of different shapes and sizes. This pie works in an 9" deep dish pie pan.
To see if your pie plate will work, measure across the top from edge to edge. Then measure the height by placing your ruler on the outside of the dish. A standard pie dish will be 1" to 1.5" deep, whereas a deep dish is closer to 2" deep.
The pie dish I used for this recipe is considered a deep dish when you bring the crust all the way up the sides. I like this pie dish because if you want a regular-depth pie, like this recipe, you can use the same dish and only bring the crust up to the lower rim.
This recipe is great to make a day or two before you'd like to serve it. The pie needs to be refrigerated anyways, so feel free to make the entire dish a day or two before you'd like to serve it.
Store this Vegan Chocolate Pie in the fridge for up to a week.
You can also freeze this pie if you have leftovers. Remove the pie from the dish and wrap tightly in plastic wrap before placing in another container.
Recipe Prayer
Thank you God for this pie. We are grateful to enjoy it with family and friends. Amen.
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Chocolate Pie (No Tofu)
Equipment
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 Cups Rolled Oats
- ¼ Cup Pecans
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- ½ Cup Maple Syrup
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla
Filling
- 6 Cups 1-inch pieces peeled acorn squash approximately 1 pound, 1 ½ large squashes
- 12 Ounces Pitted Medjool Dates about 24 dates
- 4 Ounces 100% Cacao Unsweetened Chocolate grated
- ⅓ Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- ¼ Cup Non-Dairy Milk
- 2 Tablespoons Nut Butter such as pecan, almond, etc.
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
- ½ Teaspoon Almond Extract
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Cup Chopped Pecans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a food processor combine the oats, cashews, and salt. Process until finely ground. Add the maple syrup and vanilla. Cover and pulse until mixture starts to come together.
- Using wet hands, press about half of the mixture onto the bottom of a 9" deep dish pie plate (I used this pie dish.) Press the remaining mixture up sides, building up edge slightly. Bake 25-30 minutes or until light brown. Let cool.
- Steam the squash for about 15 minutes, until tender. Let cool briefly.
- Make date paste. Blend the dates in the food processor until they form a ball.
- Add the squash, shaved chocolate, cocoa powder, milk, nut butter, vanilla, almond extract, and salt. Process until smooth. Depending on the size of your food processor you may need to blend down the squash before adding the remaining ingredients.
- Spread filling in the baked crust. Chill at least 1 hour before serving.
- To serve, sprinkle with the pecans.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate.
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