Makes one 9 inch pie

You know how vegan recipes are always like “This ain’t your grandma’s puddin’ pie!” Well, this is your grandma’s puddin’ pie, only it’s vegan! Smooth, cool and creamy pudding in a classic graham cracker shell.

Because of its classic simplicity, this is a great recipe for the pie making n00b. To make life even easier, you have our permission to use storebought crust here. For added grandma love, serve with vegan whipped cream and shaved chocolate. You can make your own whip, but there are also two brands that I can recommend. There’s Healthy Top, which is nut-based and shelf stable, so it’s perfect if you need to have it shipped. And there’s also soy-based Soyatoo, which you can find in the dairy case at most Whole Foods stores. I recommend the boxed kind, though, not the bottle. The nozzle sometimes doesn’t work and there’s nothing more disappointing than a bottle of whipped topping that doesn’t work.

You can use a pastry bag fit with a wide tip to pipe perfect little swirls around the perimeter of the pie, or simply top each slice with a dollop. Strawberries or raspberries make the perfect sweet garnish.

If you’re making your own crust, use 1 3/4 cups cookie crumbs (chocolate, vanilla or graham), add 4 tablespoons oil or melted margarine, 3 tablespoons sugar and 1 tablespoon non-dairy milk of your choice. Press into a shallow 9-inch metal pie tin and proceed with the recipe.

This recipe is in Vegan Pie In The Sky. Amazon just put up a preview, so click to look inside!

1 prepared 9 inch cookie crust, storebought or homemade



3 cups almond milk, divided

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Pinch salt

3 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract



Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake the crust for 10 minutes, remove from oven and let cool.

In a small (2 quart) sauce pan, combine 1 cup of almond milk and the cornstarch. Use a fork to whisk until the cornstarch is good and dissolved. Whisk in the remaining milk, the sugar, cocoa powder and salt. It’s okay if the cocoa is a bit clumpy at first, it will dissolve eventually.

Bring mixture to a boil, whisking occasionally. Keep a close eye because once boiling, you want to lower the heat and bring to a slow rolling boil. Whisk consistently until mixture is thickened, which should be about 7 minutes.

Add chocolate chips and mix to melt. Stir in vanilla. Pour the pudding into the prepared pie shell and let cool for about 15 minutes on the counter, just until it stops steaming like mad. To keep a skin from forming, place a circle of parchment paper over the filling. Refrigerate and let set for at least 3 hours.