A holiday treat, this Vegan Bourbon Pecan Pie is dairy and egg free with a hint of molasses, maple and a taste of bourbon! Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Rodelle. Thank you for supporting brands that help support Vanilla And Bean. All opinions are my own.
We’re getting down to the wire with Thanksgiving so close. December holidays will be here before we know it. I’m feeling ready…
Ready for a break that is! hehe. How about you?
After making an egg-based Bourbon Pecan Pie, I was asked by Bob, a Vanilla And Bean reader, if anyone had tried making my recipe without eggs. I hadn’t heard from anyone who did, so I got to work on this vegan pecan pie recipe.
First, I started working on the crust. After some trial and error I finally came up with a Coconut Oil Pie Crust that’s flakey and tender. Then I got to work on the filling.
I tried aquafaba in direct replacement of the eggs, but I ended up with a too loose filling. Perhaps I didn’t bake it long enough? I ended up freezing the filling to be used later as an ice cream topping. At some point I’ll go back to the drawing board on aquafaba, but wanted to try something different.
I recalled reading a recipe from The Washington Post, by Joe Yonan, some time ago about vegan pecan pie. Joe uses a roux to thicken his recipe so I thought I’d give it a go! I used coconut oil, flour, and bourbon to make the roux. And this worked, but I boiled the sugar mixture too long upon initial cooking. I had to go back to my baking books and review sugar cooking temperatures from firm ball to hard crack stage. I ended up with a candy Vegan Bourbon Pecan Pie! But at least I was on the right track.
After decreasing the flour just a bit, not bringing the filling to a boil on the stovetop, and baking it for just the right amount of time, I finally got the consistency I was after.
What I love about this vegan pecan pie is the richness of the filling. It’s loaded with pecans, a hint of maple and molasses. The bourbon is noticeable but not overwhelming. I also use brown rice syrup instead of the traditionally used corn syrup to avoid GMOs and the over-the-top sweet typical of corn syrup.
The texture of this vegan pecan pie recipe is different from an egg-based, custardy pecan pie but still smooth and rich in its own eggless right. And it’s good for me anyway, as someone who is trying to avoid eggs unless they come from the farm down the street.
Rob nor our neighbor is complaining! They’ve devoured most of it, and I’ve had to resist after having WAY too much pecan pie over the past several weeks.
I use Rodelle’s Organic Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract, an aromatic and rich vanilla that’s sourced from an association of over 3,000 farmers who collectively make up an employee-owned cooperative. Their vanilla beans and extracts are truly farm-to-table and produce rich, earthy notes that tie the flavors of this pie together beautifully.
Find more inspired recipes from Rodelle at their website, Facebook, and Instagram.
Make this pie using my Coconut Oil Pie Crust and serve it warm with a big ol’ scoop of Vegan Bourbon Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and a good drizzle of melted chocolate.
Vegan Bourbon Pecan Pie
Ingredients
- 1 Blind Baked Coconut Oil Pie Crust + leftover dough for leaf decorations*
- 2 C Pecans whole, 245g
- 2 Tbs Coconut Oil solid
- 3 Tbs All Purpose Flour
- 1/4 C Bourbon 50g
- 1 C Brown Rice Syrup 322g
- 2/3 C Dark Brown Sugar 132g
- 1 Tbs Molasses
- 2 Tbs Maple Syrup
- 2 tsp Bourbon Vanilla Extract I use Rodelle
For Finishing and Serving:
- Nut Milk
- Cane Sugar
- Extra pie dough cut into leaf or festive shapes* see note
- Vegan Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
- Melted Chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (180C), setting the oven rack in the center of the oven. Toast the pecans for about 10-12 minutes or until fragrant. Rough chop and set aside.
- In a medium sauce pot, add the coconut oil and heat until shimmering. Turn the burner down to low and add the flour whisking until a paste forms. Turn the burner off and whisk in the bourbon until smooth. To the flour mixture, add the brown rice syrup, sugar, molasses, maple syrup and extract. Turn the burner back on to medium low and whisk until ingredients are throughly mixed. Continue whisking occasionally until bubbles just start to form around the edges. Remove from heat immediately and add the chopped pecans. Stir, then pour the mixture into the blind (par) baked pie crust and spread it evenly.
- Brush the edges of the crust with nut milk and sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 30-35 minutes. When done, the crust will be golden-brown and the pie will bubbly, loose and not set. Allow to set over night to firm up before decorating with pie dough cut outs* and/or cutting into the pie.
- To cut into the pie, spray a sharp knife with pan spray. Using firm pressure, cut into the pie, wiping the knife off each time to clean it before cutting again. Rewarm individual slices for about 3-4 minutes in a 325F (163C) oven. It will melt if over-heated.
- Serve with vanilla bean ice cream and chocolate drizzle.
- Store the pie covered, at room temperature for up to three days. Some of the sugar will leak out a bit as it sets, but it can be scraped up with a spoon easily when slightly warmed.
Notes
Nutrition is provided as an estimate and courtesy. If this information is important to you, please verify it independently.
Hi, i am a follower and receive your emails all the time. I came by today to pin a recipe that was sent and ended up pinning a dozen more…your slide show at the top is genius!! It’s so easy to go along and pick out the ones I want…I ended up on this one…seems you like the bourbon …ha ha…thx for the amazingly brilliant recipe slide show!! Keep up the good work…June
Hello June! Thank you so much for stopping by via Pinterest, pinning and joining the Vanilla And Bean community! Thank you too for your feed back on the slide show at the top… I’m testing some new functions so it’s really helpful to receive feedback. Indeed I AM a bourbon fan – lol! You too?
Not sure if you’ll still see this comment Traci, but my sister-in-law made this pie for us a while bak and it was delicious! I want to make it this weekend (though will opt for a store-bought crust), but am having a terrible time finding brown rice syrup in my local stores. Do you think I could swap Coconut Nectar in its place? I’ve seen that I could swap honey or corn syrup instead, but worry it would be too sweet. Thanks!
Hi Cheryl! Thank you for your note. I’m sorry you’re having trouble finding brown rice syrup. I’ve never worked with coconut nectar so I can’t say if it will work or not. Cara (a commenter below) used in part cane syrup instead of brown rice syrup – but I don’t know what that is either – maybe karo/corn syrup? I think you’re right about corn syrup and honey, but that may be a compromise? I wish I could help more. :/
Whipped this out for Thanksgiving this year – it was fabulous, and so easy! I did make a few modifications. First, I couldn’t find brown rice syrup, so I used cane syrup instead and it worked perfectly. I used Bob’s Redmill Gluten Free 1 for 1 AP flour instead of regular AP flour. I also used a vanilla bourbon and added about half a teaspoon of salt; the mixture was so delicious I almost didn’t want to share it with the pie!
I baked it twice – during the first test bake, I was thrown off by the fact that it’s not supposed to set and over-baked it (pecan candy for sure). The second time, I realized that you can sort of watch the progress of the bake (the middle looks different from the outside until it’s done) and hit it right on the money. Thanks for this fabulous staple recipe!
Love reading your note, Cara! Thank you for coming back and sharing your tips and experience with us! Indeed, the not supposed to set goes against baking rules, right? I hope you were able to salvage the ‘pecan candy!’ lol… I found it was delicious on ice cream! So happy you enjoyed the recipe and the process! What fun!
This is the most amazing pecan pie ever, the ingredients are so good!!! I made this last year and we were so amazed by how great it turned out. I cant wait to make tomorrow for thanksgiving!! This is the recipe I am most excited to make!!! :)