It's a festive twist on my vegan lemon meringue pie. This isn't one of my quick Christmas desserts, but most of the work can be split across two days, so you're not making pastry, curd, and meringue all at once.
If you're planning a full Christmas dessert table, try my vegan gingerbread chocolate tart or browse my collection of vegan Christmas desserts for more festive pies, cheesecakes, cakes, and make-ahead options.
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Why this recipe works
A true Christmas centerpiece. The deep red cranberry filling and snowy torched meringue make this the kind of dessert that earns its place in the center of the table.
Tart rather than overly sweet. Cranberries, orange, and lemon give the curd enough acidity to balance the sweet Italian meringue and buttery pastry.
The work can be divided over several days. The pastry dough and aquafaba can be prepared ahead, the filled pie can set overnight, and the meringue is the only element I prefer finishing close to serving.
Completely eggless and dairy-free. Cornstarch thickens the cranberry curd while aquafaba creates the glossy Italian meringue, without needing eggs or gelatin.
Key ingredients
Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Cranberries: Both fresh and frozen cranberries work, and there's no need to thaw frozen berries first. You want the berries to burst and soften during cooking so they blend into a smooth curd.
Fresh citrus: I use both the juice and zest. Orange rounds out the sharpness of the cranberries while lemon keeps the filling bright. Freshly squeezed juice gives a noticeably fresher flavor than bottled.
Vegan pie crust: I use my flaky vegan pie crust. You can prepare the dough ahead, which makes this pie much more manageable for Christmas.
Cornstarch: This replaces egg yolks as the thickener for the cranberry curd.
Vegan butter: Use firm block-style vegan butter rather than spreadable margarine. It gives the curd richness and also helps it firm up once chilled.
Vegan Italian meringue: My vegan Italian meringue uses aquafaba in place of egg whites and gives you a glossy, marshmallow-like topping that's stable enough to pipe and torch.
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How to make it
Here's a visual overview of this recipe. Please refer to the detailed card at the end of this page for full written instructions.
For the pastry, I get the best result using an aluminized steel pie tin set on a preheated metal baking sheet. It gives the base more direct heat and helps the pastry bake crisp and evenly before the curd goes in.
When making the cranberry filling, rub the citrus zest into the sugar first. You're looking for the sugar to become slightly damp and intensely fragrant - this releases the citrus oils rather than leaving all the flavor in larger pieces of zest.
Give the cranberries enough time to fully burst and soften before blending. Once strained, return the puree to the pan with the cornstarch mixture and cook until it becomes thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. If the curd is still very fluid at this stage, chilling won't magically give you a firm pie.
Let the hot curd cool slightly before pouring it into the completely cooled pastry shell, then refrigerate it until firmly set. Six hours is the minimum, but I much prefer leaving it overnight.
I make and add the meringue after the filling is fully set, preferably on the day I'm serving the pie. Torch it just before bringing it to the table for those caramelized peaks and the best-looking finish.
Christina's recipe tips
Use an aluminized steel pie tin, rather than a glass pie dish. It conducts heat more effectively and gives me a crisper pastry base.
Preheat the baking sheet. Putting the pie tin onto an already-hot metal tray helps give the bottom crust a head start.
Don't skip straining the cranberry mixture. It removes cranberry skins and citrus zest and gives you that really smooth, glossy curd.
Save what's left in the sieve. The cranberry solids are too good to throw away. Loosen them with a little orange juice and use them like cranberry sauce.
Let the pastry cool completely. Adding warm curd to a warm crust encourages moisture to soften the pastry.
Torch carefully. Move the flame continuously rather than holding it over one spot; aquafaba meringue can color very quickly.
Make Ahead & Storage
This pie looks elaborate, but splitting the work across two days makes it much easier for Christmas.
Up to 2 days ahead: Make the pie crust dough and refrigerate it. You can also reduce the aquafaba for the meringue and keep it chilled.
The day before serving: Blind-bake the pastry, prepare the cranberry curd, fill the cooled crust, and refrigerate the pie overnight until completely set.
On the day: Prepare the Italian meringue, spoon or pipe it over the cold pie, then torch it. I prefer doing this fairly close to serving so the meringue looks its best.
Once topped, the pie can be kept covered in the refrigerator for around 2-3 days, although the meringue is at its best when fresh.
If you need to freeze it, freeze the pie without the meringue for up to 1 month. Thaw it in the refrigerator, then add fresh meringue before serving.
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Cranberry Meringue Pie
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 batch vegan pie crust *makes extra dough - see note 1
Cranberry Curd Filling
- 250 g (1 ¼ cups) granulated sugar
- 1 orange zest
- 1 lemon zest
- 400 g (4 cups) fresh cranberries *see note 2
- 270 ml (1 cup + 2 tablespoons) orange juice freshly squeezed
- 80 ml (⅓ cup) lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1 cinnamon stick optional
- 2 star anise optional
- 80 ml (⅓ cup) non-dairy milk
- 50 g (5 tablespoons) cornstarch
- 100 g (3.5 oz) vegan butter
Meringue Topping
- 1 batch vegan Italian meringue
Instructions
Up to 2 days in advance:
- Prepare the pie crust dough and chill until ready to use. Reduce the aquafaba for the meringue topping and refrigerate until ready to use.
At least 8 hours ahead / or the day before serving:
- Preparation: Lightly grease a 9-inch pie tin with oil or vegan butter, dust it with flour, and then knock off any excess flour so it is lightly coated. You can also add a round of parchment to the base. Preheat your oven to fan 190°C/374°F or conventional 210°C/410°F. Also, preheat an aluminum tray or baking sheet in the oven.
- Pie Crust: Using a rolling pin, roll out the chilled dough to ⅛-inch in thickness so that it is an inch larger than the circumference of the tart tin. Use the rolling pin to carefully lift the pastry over the tin and use your fingers to ease the pastry into the sides of the tin.Use a knife or pastry scissors to cut around the edges, then gently press the edges down with a fork. Pierce several holes into the base of the pastry using a fork.
- Cut a circle of parchment paper slightly larger than the pie tin. Scrunch up the parchment, and place it on top of the dough. Fill the base with pie weights (you can also use dried beans, rice, or lentils). Par-bake it for 20 minutes.
- Carefully remove the baking beads and parchment and continue to bake the crust for another 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Cool completely to room temperature while you make the filling.
- Cranberry filling: 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".
- Add the cranberries, orange juice, lemon juice, cinnamon stick, and star anise and bring to a simmer. Cook for 10-15 minutes until the cranberries have burst and softened.
- Cornstarch Paste: Meanwhile in a small bowl whisk the non-dairy milk and cornstarch and set aside.
- Blend: Carefully remove the cinnamon stick and star anise. Transfer the cooked cranberry mixture to a food processor or high-speed blender and blitz until smooth. Pass the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve back into the saucepan.
- Thicken: Add the cornstarch paste to the saucepan with the pureed cranberry mixture and cook for 3-5 minutes until thickened. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cold vegan butter. Set aside to cool slightly for 10-15 minutes.Then pour the curd into the cooled pastry shell and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or until set (preferably overnight).
- Topping: Prepare the meringue topping and spoon or pipe it on top of the set pie. Torch the topping before serving with a blow torch.
Notes
- Pie Crust: The pie will use about ¾ of the pie crust recipe, you can make a full batch and freeze the remaining crust for other recipes or adjust the quantity to make less.
- Cranberries: Can be swapped for frozen cranberries, no need to defrost them first.
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How long do you imagine the merengue will hold up? Think it would be possible to travel with it?
Hi Danielle,
You can keep it out at room temp for a couple of hours or the day of serving it, it should be fine depending on the distance!