This delicious vegan sweet potato pie is made without dairy or eggs, and no coconut. With a spiced sweet potato filling in a homemade flaky pie crust, it's the perfect vegan Thanksgiving dessert.
Make the pie crust: Prepare the pie crust recipe through to step 6.
Preheat your oven to 210°C (410°F). Remove the dough from the fridge and allow it to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes before rolling it out. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a circumference wider than your pie dish. Carefully lift the pastry into the tart tin using your rolling pin.
Very lightly grease the base and sides of a 10.5" (26cm) pie dish with a little oil or vegan butter. Gently press the dough into the base and sides of the tin, being careful not to stretch it. Use scissors to trim off the excess pastry around the edges of the pan. To crimp the edges of the dough by pinching it with your fingers. You can also crimp the edges using a fork. Pierce several holes into the base of the pastry using a fork.
Blind bake the crust: Take a sheet of parchment paper and cut it into a circle slightly larger than the pie. Rest it on top of the pastry and fill the base with baking beads (or dried beans, rice, or lentils). Blind bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the baking beads/dried beans, turn down the oven temperature to 175°C (347°F) and bake for another 15-20 minutes, until the pastry is lightly golden. Place the pie dish on a cooling rack and cool to room temperature.
Make the filling: Cook the sweet potatoes in boiling salted water for 25-30 minutes, until tender. Transfer the potatoes to a colander and run the cold tap over them. Once cool enough to touch, carefully remove the skins.
To a high-speed blender, add the cooked sweet potatoes, soy milk, and silken tofu and blend until smooth. Add in the butter, granulated and brown sugar, cornstarch, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, and blend again until completely smooth and creamy. Pour the filling into the par-baked pie crust.
Create a pie crust shield (foil tent): To prevent the pastry from baking too fast. Take a sheet of foil that's as long as the circumference of the dish and fold it in half. Carefully place it around the pie dish so that you can turn it in to cover the visible pastry. (image in blog post)
Bake at 175°C (347°F) for another 45-55 minutes, until the pastry has browned and the top of the pie has set with a little jiggle.
Allow the pie to cool to room temperature for at least an hour. Meanwhile, prepare the topping.
Make the topping: Make a batch of Italian meringue, and use a spatula to scoop it on top of the pie once it has cooled completely.
Storage
Store covered or in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3-4 days.
Notes
Vegan butter: Take this out of the fridge to sit at room temperature for 30 mins to 1 hour. Make sure you use vegan block butter NOT spreadable butter from a tub. I use flora plant butter which is nut-free, coconut-free, and gluten-free.
Some sugar in the US is not vegan, if in doubt use organic sugar.
If you can't find silken tofu, you can simply omit it. The filling won't be as creamy.
If using a 9" or 9.5" pie dish, cut the pie crust recipe down to ¾, and reduce the filling to ⅘ of the original recipe. Keep an eye on the oven for the last 5-10 minutes as both the pastry and filling may need about 5-10 minutes less baking time.