Vegan Cranberry Meringue Pie

This delicious cranberry pie is the perfect dessert for the holiday season. It's a bright and fruity take on my vegan lemon meringue pie.

Made with seasonal cranberries, fresh orange and lemon, and a hint of warming spices like cinnamon and star anise. The homemade vegan pastry and curd filling can be made in advance, and then topped with eggless meringue or whipped cream before bringing to the holiday table.

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🧾 Ingredients
🔪 Instructions
💭 Recipe Tips
💬 FAQs
🥧 More Favorite Thanksgiving Pies
📖 Recipe

🧾 Ingredients

Here's everything you need to make this cranberry curd pie:

Ingredient Notes

Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.

Vegan Pie Crust: I use this homemade pie crust recipe which can be prepped up to 2 days in advance of making the pie.
Fresh Cranberries: You can also use frozen cranberries, no need to defrost them first.
Granulated Sugar: The cranberries alone are quite bitter so sugar is needed for the perfect balance of sweet and tart flavor. I recommend organic white sugar as brown sugar will affect the bright red color of the curd.
Cornstarch: This is used to thicken the cranberry custard filling. You can use ground arrowroot powder in place of cornstarch if needed.
Fresh Juice: A combination of freshly squeezed orange juice and lemon juice complements the tart cranberries. Make sure you use freshly squeezed, and not the bottled stuff!
Citrus Zest: We're using the zest from one whole orange and lemon. You can also use lime zest instead of lemon if you prefer.
Non-Dairy Milk: I use soy milk, but feel free to use almond milk or oat milk instead.
Vegan Butter: It needs to be block-style butter, not spreadable margarine from a tub. The butter adds richness to the filling, and it also helps it to firm up and set in the fridge!
Vegan Italian Meringue: This vegan meringue recipe is made without eggs, instead it uses aquafaba and tastes just like toasty marshmallow fluff!

🔪 Instructions

Here are step-by-step images showing how to make this vegan cranberry pie recipe. Please refer to the detailed printable recipe card at the end of this page for full measurements and written instructions:

Step 1: First prepare and blind-bake a batch of vegan pie crust (you can find more detailed step-by-step images on this pie crust recipe).

sugar with orange and lemon zest rubbed into it in a white saucepan.

Step 2: Add the sugar, orange zest, and lemon zest to a saucepan and use your fingertips to rub the zest into the sugar until the sugar crystals feel "wet".

cooked cranberry sauce in a pan with a spoonful being held up.

Step 3: Add the cranberries, orange and lemon juice, cinnamon stick, and star anise and bring to a simmer. Cook for 10-15 minutes until the cranberries have burst, softened, and resemble cranberry sauce. Carefully remove the cinnamon stick and star anise.

cranberry and citrus mixture blended in a food processor jug.

Step 4: Transfer the cooked cranberry mixture to a food processor or high-speed blender and blitz until smooth. Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk the non-dairy milk and cornstarch and set aside.

cranberry sauce being passed through a fine-mesh sieve into a saucepan.

Step 5: Pass the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve back into the saucepan and add the cornstarch paste.

cranberry curd in a saucepan coating the back of a spatula.

Step 6: Cook for 3-5 minutes until thickened and the cranberry mixture coats the back of a spoon.

thickened cranberry curd in a saucepan with a whisk.

Step 7: Remove from the heat and whisk in the cold vegan butter. Set aside to cool slightly for 10-15 minutes.

cranberry curd pie before going into the fridge to set.

Step 8: Pour the cranberry curd into the room temperature pastry shell and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or until set (preferably overnight).

cranberry pie with piped meringue topping.

Step 9: Prepare the meringue topping and spoon or pipe it on top of the set pie.

cranberry curd pie with torched meringue topping.

Step 10: Torch the topping before serving with a blow torch and decorate with sprigs of fresh rosemary and more fresh berries.

💭 Recipe Tips

Use an aluminized steel pie tin, rather than a glass pie dish to make sure you get the flakiest pie crust that bakes evenly.

Preheat your baking sheet in the oven before blind-baking the pie crust to help it bake thoroughly from the bottom of the pan.

Save leftover cranberry mixture. After blending, sieving, and separating the cranberry mixture, save the part from the top of the sieve to use as you would cranberry sauce. If needed, you can rehydrate it with a little more orange juice in the saucepan.

a slice of vibrant cranberry curd pie with meringue topping on a ceramic plate.

💬 FAQs

How to store cranberry pie, and can it be kept at room temperature?

You can keep it out at room temp for a few hours or the day of serving it. Otherwise, store it in an airtight container, or on a plate covered with plastic wrap in the fridge. For best results, the meringue topping will hold in the fridge for up to 2-3 days.

As another option, you can prepare the pie crust and curd filling a few days in advance and top with the meringue on the day of serving.

Can it be frozen?

I do not recommend freezing the pie with meringue topping as it can weep while defrosting. Instead, store leftover pie in the fridge for 2-3 days or freeze in an airtight container without the meringue topping for up to a month.

Can I make this a no bake cranberry pie?

Sure, since the cranberry filling is cooked on the stove and doesn't require baking, you can opt for a different crust. For a no-bake version, use the cookie crust from this vegan key lime pie. You can also go for vegan store-bought pie crust to make life a little easier if you're short on time.

Can I make this cranberry meringue pie gluten-free?

Yes! You can use GF all-purpose flour (such as King Arthur measure for measure) to make the pie crust, as some other readers have already reported it works wonderfully.