Whether you’re a fan of tofu, vegan, or just want to experiment with a healthier pumpkin pie, this recipe is for you…
Tofu Pumpkin Pie
The result is just as tasty as “regular pumpkin pie,” though the texture of the pie I actually baked was a bit on the soft side. I’ve listed suggestions in the recipe below (see optional ingredients) to help firm it up, if you want. It also seems like a lot of pumpkin pie recipes I’ve seen call for 3/4 to 1 cup of sugar, which seemed like a lot! So, I reduced it a little by using only 2/3 cup sweetener. I thought maple syrup would give it a good flavor, and it did. But, the liquid-y sweetener may have added to the soft texture. Consider using part of all of a dryer sweetener, like granulated sugar, using a portion brown sugar or adding molasses for a rich flavor.
By the way, my MIL said I could tell you guys that she really enjoyed this pie, even though she’s not vegan. I think it’s a good sign when you can get your omnivore friends and family to enjoy vegan eats.
Tofu Pumpkin Pie
Here’s a healthier pumpkin pie recipe that is also vegan (so long as you use a vegan pie crust, of course). The texture is a bit on the wet side, which may be impacted by my use of maple syrup as the sweetener of choice. I’d normally experiment with the recipe variation suggestions before posting them. But, in the interest of getting it up in time for Thanksgiving, and since my family still loved the pie, soft texture and all, I figured it was okay. Feel free to try sugar for the sweetener or add some corn starch (or flour) to firm up the pie. If you experiment with the sweetener or try adding corn starch, let me know how it goes in a comment!
Prep time: 5 minutes
Bake time: 60-65 minutes
Total time: 65-70 minutes (plus time to chill the pie in the fridge – I let mine chill overnight)
Yields: 1 pie
*Vegetarian, Vegan if you use a vegan pie crust and vegan whipped cream)
Ingredients:
- 1 15-ounce can canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 12.3-ounce box firm silken tofu, drained (I used morinaga brand – in the International aisle, not refrigerated)
- 2/3 cup maple syrup (or sub 1/3 cup sugar and 1/3 cup brown sugar or 2/3 cup sugar + 1 teaspoon molasses – see note above)
- 2 tablespoons corn starch (or flour), optional (see note above)
- 3 teaspoon pumpkin pie seasoning
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 9 inch prepared pie crust (I used a ready-to-fill all natural pie crust)
- whipped cream, optional, to serve with the pie (I made some with a hand held mixer and heavy whipping cream, but there are some good vegan options out there)
Directions:
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F
- Combine pumpkin, tofu, maple syrup, corn starch (if using), pumpkin pie seasoning, and salt in a food processor. Process until evenly combined. Note: you can also hand whisk the ingredients, but the tofu may be a bit lumpy.
- Pour into pie crust, spread evenly, and bake for approximately 60-65 minutes or until set (when a toothpick inserted into the pie comes out almost clean).
- Let cool and place in refrigerator to set or keep till ready to serve. Note: I made mine the day before our Thanksgiving celebration to save time on the big day for other preparations.
- Serve with whipped cream. Enjoy!
Reader question: What are the must-have Thanksgiving desserts on your family’s table?
Years ago I tried to make a peanut butter tofu pie and had issues with the inside too. I’d love to give it another go and this one sounds great!
Go for it! It was still really good, even though it wasn’t as firm as I’d hoped. But I do think adding some corn starch or flour would help fix that. 🙂
I cannot imagine Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie! Yours looks great! My hubby’s family doesn’t like pumpkin pie (what?!) and they requested a lemon merangue (sp?) pie, so I am making my very first one of those this year!
My husband’s family doesn’t do pumpkin pie either. But, they always have so many other delicious things, I always forget! How did the lemon meringue pie turn out? 🙂
Task 1: Look up giant pumpkin pucitres.1.What’s the biggest pumpkin you can find reliable sounding information about? What are its physical dimensions?a.From pumpkinnook.com I found a pumpkin that produced the new 2011 world record. The pumpkin belongs to Jim and Kelsey Bryson from Ormstown, Quebec, Canada. Their pumpkin weighed 1,818.5 pounds. They broke the record at the Prince Edward County Pumpkinfest on October 15, 2011.2. Use mathematical ideas to compare the biggest pumpkin you can find reliable sounding information about to a “typical sized pumpkin.”a.Well from what I research a medium size pumpkin is between 8 to 15 pounds. I will consider that as a “typical sized pumpkin.” I guess to compare the biggest pumpkin to the “typical sized pumpkin” you can just divide 8 to 1818.5 pounds and can say that you can get 227.31 8 pound pumpkins into an 1818.5 pound pumpkin. You can also us 15 pounds and divide and say you can get 121.25 15 pound pumpkins into an 1818.5 pound pumpkin.Task 2: Listen to a story about giant pumpkins.1.Based solely on the story, write a sentence or two about why you think giant pumpkins are not mathematically similar to regular-sized pumpkins.a.Base on the story I think they’re not mathematically similar to regular-size pumpkins because the giant pumpkins grow at different rate. They grow base on how heavy they already are. The heavier they are the faster they grow because of gravity. The heavier the pumpkin the force of gravity has more to tug on.Task 3: Look at the hard math.1.Write a bulleted list of some of your thoughts as you read the article. Include at least a few points about the figures in Hu’s article.•So spherical pumpkins stay a typical size because their cells do not divide as frequently as flat pumpkins that become giant pumpkins.•So to weight a spherical pumpkin you just use its circumference, but to weight a flatten pumpkin you average 3 measurement of the pumpkin’s circumference.•As weight increase so does the strain. The increase of the strain causes gravity forces to pull on the pumpkin causing it to grow larger.•So the more stress on the pumpkin the faster the cells divide. The faster the cells divide the bigger the pumpkin gets. The bigger the pumpkin gets the more gravity pull.i.Am I wrong or right?Looking at Fig 2 was a little confusing. I was having a hard time trying to determine what Fig 2(a) was stating. On the x-axis was label max/weight and average/weight. Well which is which?Looking at Fig 5 gave me a better perspective of the relation between time and weight for giant pumpkins. The 2005 pumpkins grow rate was the fastest in the 20 to 40 days range.
I used 2/3 cup brown sugar with 1 tsp of real maple syrup. I also added 2 Tbsp of flour. The consistency was perfect!