A decade ago, a reader named June emailed me asking for a good dairy-free soy-free pumpkin pie recipe. Unfortunately, all of the tried-and-true recipes she found were vegan versions made with tofu.
I had received this request so many times during the holidays that I knew I had to come up with a reliable milk-free and soy-free recipe before the next Thanksgiving. And after several rounds of pumpkin pie trials, I created a recipe that my family thinks is one of the most delicious pumpkin pies they have ever tasted, dairy-free or not. And many of you agree! Since I first posted the recipe, way back in 2009, this dairy-free soy-free pumpkin pie has become a beloved recipe in so many households.
Today I’m giving this post a big update with some new photos that I recently took and several reader tips. But the time-tested recipe remains untouched.
This is The Best Dairy-Free Soy-Free Pumpkin Pie
This delicious recipe for dairy-free soy-free pumpkin pie uses everyday ingredients and is a great make-ahead option. We now consider it a staple on our Classic Dairy-Free Thanksgiving Menu.
As a kid, I remember how the famous Libby’s Pumpkin Pie recipe would leave a soggy crust when stored overnight. But this recipe keeps a nice firm crust, allowing the filling to firm up and the flavor to develop as it chills in the refrigerator. In fact, Tony and I actually prefer this pie after a night of refrigeration.
For additional dairy-free holiday dessert options, you can enjoy more of my recipes in Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook. Need it now? Go Dairy Free is also available in all major eBook formats.
Reader Feedback: Dairy-Free Soy-Free Pumpkin Pie
You can read tons of comments on this post, but many of you left feedback on our social media or on my other blog (where I originally posted this recipe). Here are some of those comments, which include answers to many of your questions!
How Does It Taste?
I have been making this recipe since I went dairy free over 5 years ago. I have had people who don’t like pumpkin pie love this recipe. ~ Anna
This is by far my family’s favorite! been using thus recipe for several years now. its amazing! ~ Summer
My daughter is severely allergic. We have this every Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Everyone can’t believe it is not dairy. ~ Michael-ann
THANK YOU!! Made this last night and it turned out absolutely amazing, it was my practice run before thanksgiving which this year will be entirely dairy/soy free so i can eat everything!!! Thanks again .. I’m headed for another slice right now! ~ Trinidy
Finally, a dairy free pumpkin pie that tastes great!! I tried three different dairy free recipes last year and they were all disasters. I used coconut cream instead of milk and it was perfect. ~ Susan
This is the best pumpkin pie I have ever had! ~ Katy
I have made your pumpkin pie recipe for the last two years and it’s a big hit! In fact, we prefer it to the traditional recipe! ~ Becky
I wanted to make a pumpkin pie that would also satisfy my guests who are not dairy-free, and this recipe was absolutely PERFECT. I will make this time and time again! For gluten-free, I did use the pecan crust recipe from the Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook though, which I thought was a great compliment. ~ Sharon
We made this pie, two of them actually, for a group of people. We are gluten and dairy free, and one of our friends sons is soy free as well. Every single person said it was the best pumpkin pie they ever tasted! I am back to make it for Thanksgiving today! ~ Lisa
But Can You Taste the Coconut?
Didn’t taste like coconut – all pumpkin pie. Making another one tomorrow to use my 2nd “Wholly Wholesome” pie crust (from Whole Foods). Thanks again for the recipe! ~ Amy
Can I Make It Sugar-Free?
I just want to say, “Thank you” AGAIN! This recipe is just AMAZING!!! I have made it 5 times in the last year! It’s past New Year’s, but, I don’t care. This pie is SOOO good and soo guiltless (I use xylitol sweetener). I also tried stevia. The taste was great, but it did cause the pie to pull away from the crust. ~ Adelaide
Did You Try Any Other Modifications?
For the first time ever my dairy allergic daughter was able to eat pumpkin pie! And she loved it, as did everyone else who ate it. I tweaked it just a bit by adding an extra egg white and about a 1/2 TBS of cornstarch. The texture was absolutely identical to traditional pumpkin pie. Can not wait to make this again (and again, and again, and again…)!!! ~ Kim
I have made these twice and rave reviews. And shared it with Kim who commented above! I too tweaked it some and subbed 3/4 cup coconut crystals for the white and brown sugar. And I used 3 large eggs in mine. ~ Deb
I tried this recipe with EnerG egg replacer, and it worked fine. I also used soymilk instead of coconut milk, since I am allergic to dairy and eggs, but not soy. Usually my pumpkin pies are a little watery, so I used just a little less milk than it called for (between 3/4 and 1 cup). I thought it was very flavorful pie, and although it didn’t stand up quite the way a pie with eggs does, it was close enough that the filling didn’t leave the crust when I served it. THANK YOU for this lovely recipe, I’ll probably use it for years to come. ~ Victoria
My daughter is 21 and never been able to enjoy pumpkin pie and that was her wish this Thanksgiving. Thanks to your recipe it made 2 pies. I used 3 eggs and 1/2 tsp of cornstarch. My husband said it was even better than “regular” pumpkin pie. ~ Carol
Special Diet Notes: Dairy-Free, Soy-Free Pumpkin Pie
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, optionally gluten-free, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, and vegetarian.
For an egg-free and vegan soy-free pumpkin pie, several readers have had good luck substituting a powdered egg replacer like Ener-G for the eggs. I also recommend aquafaba as a substitute. The egg-free version rises up a little less.
- 1½ cups all-purpose or whole wheat pastry flour
- 1½ teaspoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons oil (your baking oil of choice)
- 3 tablespoons cold water
- ½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg or allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs (see egg-free note above for vegan option)
- 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup regular, full-fat, canned coconut milk (see Notes below)
- Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl and whisk to combine. Make a well in the flour, add the oil and water, and stir until it forms dough.
- Press the dough into a 9-inch pie pan.
- Preheat your oven to 425ºF.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugars, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg or allspice, cloves and salt.
- In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Beat in the sugar mixture, pumpkin, and vanilla until smooth. Fold in the coconut milk.
- Pour the filling into your unbaked pie crust and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350ºF and continue to bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a knife inserted comes out clean. It may be a bit wobbly still, but it will firm-up as it cools.
- Allow the pie to cool on a wire rack for 2 hours (Be patient! This is important). For the firmest pie, refrigerate it for 4 hours or more before serving.
Spice Cheat: In a pinch, you can substitute the spices with 1½ to 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice.
259 Comments
Delicious! I can’t eat dairy because it triggers migraines, so I needed a dairy- free alternative. It was good the day I made it, but when I had a second piece the day after, it was ABSOLUTELY PERFECT! Next time I will make it a day ahead of time! Thank you so much for this recipe!
Wonderful! And thank you for the feedback Jennifer.
DAIRY FREE NORMALLY INCLUDES EGGS TOO. ?
You’re in luck – this recipe is dairy free! I think you are referring to vegan recipes. It’s common to confuse eggs with dairy. Here’s a post that explains it -> https://www.godairyfree.org/ask-alisa/are-eggs-dairy
And I have included egg-free options for this recipe 🙂 See the post above!
I love this pie! I do need clarification on the baking part! I forget each year what I ultimately do. After 15 minutes of baking at 425 do you keep the pie in the oven while the temperature reduces to 350 and then once down to that temp, start the 50 minutes of cooking time or start it as soon as you change the temp on the oven (and not wait for it to get down to 350)? Thanks!
Yes, just simply turn the oven down. You don’t need to remove the pie. If you are concerned about the pie crust edges overcooking at any point, then I would tent the edge with foil.
Is there anything that could replace the eggs in the recipe?
See the egg-free note right above the recipe.
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Can you use just pumpkin pie spice in substitute for each one separately?
You can!
Delicious! Could hardly taste the coconut & went over great with our group!
Awesome! So glad you all enjoyed it Jessie.
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I have made this pie in the past and loved it – but last night I forgot to turn down the temperature after the initial 15 minutes in the oven; about 20/25 minutes later (after the initial 15) I realized my mistake and pulled the pie out . I have to say it came out fantastic – tasted great, had great texture. The crust, of course, was a little overdone, but I think protecting it with foil might do the trick. Just thought I would pass this on as I will definitely bake it this way again.
That’s fabulous! Thanks for sharing this Clair and I’m so glad the pie still worked out.
Can you make the pie the day before, but cook it the next day. Or would it be best to cook it all together and than bring it out of the refrigerator when ready to serve?
You can prep it ahead, but I would store the filling separate from the pie crust, and fill it just before baking. That said, I recommend baking the whole pie the day before and chilling overnight for the best flavor and consistency! Pumpkin pie loves being made ahead.
What about using a vegan butter instead of canola oil for the crust? I’m trying to avoid a grocery trip! Haha
I’ve made this pie with this crust, too Tara – http://www.godairyfree.org/recipes/dairy-free-buttery-pie-crust – it uses dairy-free butter instead of oil.
I’m making this for Thanksgiving but want to check on the amount of coconut milk. We should use one cup – 8 ounces – in this recipe, not the entire 13.5 oz can? The traditional recipe calls for a 14 ounce can of condensed milk, so want to make sure that we should not not use an equal amount of coconut milk.
I hope you can let me know as soon as possible…the pie in the photo looks delicious!
Thank you!
Hi Mary Ellen, yes the amount here is correct!
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Hi Alisa,
Do you find that the pie has a hint of a coconut flavor? Or do the spices mask the flavor? My spouse is not a huge fan of coconut and loves pumpkin pie–we both prefer non-dairy.
Thank you!
No coconut flavor, have no worries Michelle! If you’re really concerned, you can use light canned coconut milk, but do not use coconut milk beverage (it’s too thin). I like it best with full-fat coconut milk (richer!). Trust me, I just made this pie again and it just tastes like delicious pumpkin pie 🙂
For your gluten free crust, you say to roll out half of the dough? Do you only use half of the recipe?
Yikes, that should say 2 pie crusts! I fixed that and the instructions OJay. I also added the amount of the mix in cups, so you can divide in half and just make 1 crust, if desired. Thanks for pointing this out!
Awesome, thanks Sarah!
I’m going to take a shot at veganizing this and will let you know how it goes! Your photos look divine!
I have never made a pie using coconut milk before. Do you only use the thicker portion of the milk for this recipe, or do you also use the water that has separated out?
Hi Amber, you’re using the coconut milk as is. So at room temperature, and give it a good shake. You shouldn’t have a separate cream and water portion. At room temperature and when shaken, it should be a fluid, thick, creamy liquid.
Thank you!
Has anyone tried this at high altitude? I’m sure it will need to bake longer, but I’m not sure how long.
Yes, I’m actually at high altitude Lora. I’ve never had to make adjustments. Baking time can vary a bit based on humidity levels, but not by much.
Can you make this crustless? More like a custard?
It’s just like traditional pumpkin pie in consistency. It may work fine, but I’ve never tried it crustless.