Pumpkin-Nog Pie | vegan, oil-free, gluten-free

I know Thanksgiving has come and gone, and I’m sorry for not getting this recipe up before then, but hopefully some of you are looking for just the right vegan pumpkin pie recipe for the Christmas holiday.  PumpkinPie2014I’ve been “scolded” by readers in the past for not having a pumpkin pie recipe on my blog.  Oops.  I’ve been making vegan pumpkin pies for years but have never been 100% satisfied with them.  Flavor is always yummy – pretty hard to screw that up, but the texture is where I felt improvement could be made and until I made it, I didn’t want to share a recipe.  Vegan pumpkin pies, or those not using sweetened condensed milk, often come out too soft for my liking. I like a firm pumpkin pie and this pie fits the bill.  In fact, it’s so firm that you don’t need crust at all! You can bake it directly in a pie plate! So, if you like a gooey, mushy pumpkin pie, don’t make this one!  I also ADORE non-dairy, eggless eggnog (i.e. soy nog), and have combined the yummy pumpkin with it in this pie.

For Thanksgiving this year, I created a gingerbread crust for this pie at the request of my daughter.  The crust was yummy, however, combined with this already spiced pie, it was a bit overpowering.  My suggestion for this pie filling is to use it with a mild flavored crust.  You can buy a pre-made plain wheat crust, or make your own, of course.  I really despise working with dough – makes me anxious – which is partly why I was happy to create a crust made from oats, dates, walnuts, etc.  Fatfreevegan.com has a yummy Oatmeal Cookie Crust that would work well too.

Also, if you don’t like eggnog, feel free to substitute any other type of nondairy milk.