“Sometimes I wake up in the morning thinking about pumpkin pie.” Damien Echols
The most delicious vegetarian Pumpkin Pie, the best I’ve baked to date, probably the easiest filling ever with fresh pumpkin puree. This eggless pie was a 10/10, the buttery pastry from scratch a winner too. That quote above by Damien Echols truly reflects my sons’ thoughts these past mornings as fall arrived, just what inspired me to bake this pumpkin pie.
I’ve baked several pumpkin pies/tarts every fall over the years for Thanksgiving, yet rarely since I stopped baking with eggs. It’s been years since I baked this very delicious Dulce De Leche Pumpkin Walnut Quinoa Tart in 2018, almost forgot about it. That tart was to celebrate the walnut harvest festival in California with California Walnuts India, a visit to the orchards that completely changed the way I connected with walnuts.
An eggless or vegetarian pumpkin pie seems daunting at first, a recipe I often think wouldn’t work well enough or set enough for the true pumpkin pie feel. The other thing that concerns me is making a vegetarian or rather egg free pumpkin pie with fresh pumpkin puree as there are loads of comments on different recipes that said it just isn’t the same as canned pumpkin puree.
Well I’m glad to report that I had no problem whatsoever with fresh pumpkin puree. I was fortunate enough to find a butternut squash here locally, so I used half of that and half of our regular Indian yellow pumpkin or peela kaddu as it is locally referred to. I love that our local ‘peela kaddu‘ is available year round, is less that an quarter of the price of the butternut squash and works just as well! Also, the filling has just a clutch of normal pantry ingredients, no condensed milk or agar agar etc. Cornflour or corn-starch {depending on where you live} helps the pie to set to the right consistency and I was quite chuffed at the neat slices! More about the eggless pastry and one of my favourite tart tins later!
One bite down and all my fears vanished! Say hello to the best pumpkin pie ever, the only involved part of the recipe is the pastry from scratch and perhaps roasting the humble pumpkin. I honestly really immersed myself in both and enjoyed this very much. That rewarding taste on the other side made it all so worthwhile. The great thing is that you can break up the process over a couple of days, and then it feels like no work at all.
Autumn is here and at the risk of repeating myself each time the season changes to a new one, this has to be my favourite season and the lines by Charmaine J. Forde couldn’t have captured it better … “I am falling in love with autumn, the smell of warm cider, the orange color leaves, pumpkins everywhere, and the crisp breeze.”.
The pastry was a great surprise. The Easy Flaky Butter Pie Crust recipe on Inspired Taste has great reviews and is my best one yet. This pie used 2/3 quantity since I was making a single crust 8″ pie, so I’ve squirrelled away the remaining 1/3rd, saving it for another bake soon. The recipe is definitely a keeper, and with just flour, butter, water, salt and sugar, it results in a rich, buttery, delicious crust!
As for the tart tin, it’s another great online find, a tin I’ve used last year for this Eggless Strawberry Frangipane Tart. I absolutely love the whimsical, fluted edges, somewhat different from all my other tart tins, one that works beautifully for baked pastry shells. I also love the quality, the finish and how sturdy this baking mould feels.
I’ve always believed that tarts and pies make for great desserts, offer endless possibilities and wish they found a place on the tea table or dessert table more often. I have a ton on these on the blog, in my cookbook and on Instagram.
The possibilities are infinite, the flavour combinations mind boggling. Think tiramisu tart, cheesecake tart, Biscoff tart, salted caramel tart and so many more. Getting back to pumpkin, this Walnut Chocolate Pumpkin Tart is another great combination. Wholegrain & eggless, it’s packed with healthy delicious walnuts. The recipe can go vegan with a few changes, so if chocolate is something you’re looking for this Thanksgiving, this might be a good idea.
Of course, if you’re looking as staying traditional, I’m quite pleased to add this vegetarian Pumpkin Pie to my list of favourites, hopefully to yours too. With fall here and Thanksgiving round the corner, there couldn’t be a better time to try this tasty vegetarian Pumpkin Pie!
Delicious Vegetarian Pumpkin Pie
Simple & very delicious vegetarian Pumpkin Pie with the easiest filling ever using fresh pumpkin puree. This eggless pie was a 10/10, the buttery pastry from scratch a winner too. A store bought pie shell and canned puree will get this into the oven in 5 minutes, that simple!!
-
1 food processor
-
1 Bowl
-
1 Oven
-
1 Rolling Pin
-
Clingwrap
-
1 Fork
-
1 Offset spatula/knife
-
1 whisk
Tart pastry
- Recipe from Inspired Taste Link below, also mentioned above
Pumpkin pie filling
- 300 g fresh pumpkin purée
- 115 g cream 25% fat
- 100 g desi khaand / light brown sugar
- 24 g cornstarch / cornflour
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Pie shell
-
I used the flaky pie crust recipe from Inspired Taste and required a 2/3rd quantity for this 8″ pie. Please check the recipe on that blog. There’s very good information shared, plenty of tips, do’s and don’ts etc. I rolled out the pastry and lined the tin, poked it with a fork, then placed it in the freezer overnight as I intended to blind bake the next morning. It worked quite well. Make sure the baked shell is completely cool before adding the pie filling.
Pumpkin pie filling {Vegetarian, egg free, eggless}
-
Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Taste and adjust sweetness if required.
-
Preheat the oven to 170C.
-
Pour the filling into the cooled, baked pie shell and bake for approximately an hour. Cover loosely with a sheet of aluminium foil towards the end if the edges are overbrowning. Allow the pie to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate overnight. Serve with a lightly sweetened vanilla chantilly cream.
