After an entire week full of vegan Thanksgiving recipes for the perfect cornbread stuffing, spinach dip for appetizers, squash and fennel soup, gingered orange cranberry sauce and Brussels sprouts, we thought it only fitting to finish off the week with the ultimate pumpkin praline pie! Everyone at our cooking class with Rip Plus Tan and Annie Campbell flipped for this rich, sweet, cozy dessert and we know you will, too. Plus, don’t forget to bookmark our downloadable recipe for vegan pie crust—it’s easy, versatile and just plain tastes great without any animal products, to boot!

• PUMPKIN PRALINE PIE, inspired by Annie Campbell's Great Grandmother Francis’ pie recipe which won honorable mention at the first Pillsbury bake-off at the Waldorf-Astoria, Grand Ballroom, in New York in 1933

• ingredients:

  pumpkin custard filling
  1 – 15 oz can of organic pumpkin
  1 ½ cups of rice milk, or milk of choice
  ¼ cup of corn starch
  ½ cup of brown sugar
  1 T. molasses
  1 t. vanilla
  1 t. cinnamon
  ¾ t. ground ginger
  ½ t. ground clove

   praline layer
  4 T. earth balance butter, softened
  ½ cup of pecans, finely chopped
  ½ cup of brown sugar, packed 

  1 vegan pie crust*

• to make the pie:

  Press or roll pie crust into a 9’’ pie dish.  To make the praline layer, combine earth balance butter, pecans and ½ cup of brown sugar in a bowl.  Gently press the praline combination into the bottom of the prepared pie shell.  Bake in a 450 degree oven for 10 minutes.  Cool at least 2 minutes.

• Important next step:

  Once you remove the prepared pie shell from the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees!

• to make the pumpkin filling:

  While the crust is baking, combine the rice milk and cornstarch in a medium bowl and beat until the cornstarch is blended without lumps.  Add ½ cup of brown sugar, molasses, vanilla, cinnamon, ground ginger and cloves.   Once well blended, add the pumpkin and mix well.

• Assembling the pie:

  Pour the pumpkin custard filling into the slightly cooled prepared pie shell and bake in a 350 degree oven for 50-55 minutes, until just set in the center.  The pie shouldn’t jiggle if slightly nudged.  Cool and refrigerate overnight.  Serve with maple whipped topping.

• tips:

  Pie can be made up to two days in advance and refrigerated.

• *Vegan pie crust:

  ingredients
  1 ½ cups flour**
  3 T. sugar
  ¼ cup of vegetable oil
  ¼ cup organic applesauce
  ** For a gluten-free pie crust, substitute ¾ cup of almond flour and ¾ cup of brown rice flour

  to make pie crust: Combine flour and sugar and add oil and applesauce.  Gently mix with a fork and press into a 9’’ pie dish.  Gently press crust up the sides of the dish. 

   if the pie recipe calls for a pre-baked crust: Bake crust for 10 minutes in a 400 degree oven.