Several years ago, Cheryl Snavley submitted a dairy-free coconut cream pie recipe for a spring contest that we held. Today, we’re giving this phenomenal dessert post an update. The pie is infused with coconutty goodness at every level. There’s coconut oil in the crust, coconut milk and coconut in the filling, and coconut whip and toasted coconut on top. If you like coconut, you’re going to love this pie!
Dairy-Free Coconut Cream Pie made the Old-Fashioned Way
Cheryl’s original dairy-free coconut cream pie recipe was a little sweet for our testers, so we recently updated it with a more balanced profile. You can disregard some of the comments on this post about the pie being too sweet. Now it’s rich, creamy, and we think perfectly sweet. But we also have some additional notes to help you adjust the sweetness as desired.
- Flaked Coconut: We use unsweetened, but also like using unsweetened coconut in the pie, but sweetened coconut for the garnish. If you want a sweeter pie, you can definitely use sweetened coconut throughout.
- Coconut Milk Beverage or Creamer: We use unsweetened coconut milk beverage in plain or vanilla or an unsweetened creamer like nutpods, depending on what’s available. But you can use a gently sweetened coconut milk beverage or creamer if you like a sweeter filling.
- Coconut Whipped Cream: I love using my homemade recipe, because you can sweeten it to taste and it tastes fresher. But brands like So Delicious CocoWhip and Gay Lea Spray Whip are good shortcuts.
Special Diet Notes: Dairy-Free Coconut Cream Pie
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, optionally gluten-free, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, and vegetarian.
For egg-free coconut cream pie, please see our Best Vegan Coconut Cream Pie Recipe.
- 1⅛ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- ¼ cup ice water
- ⅓ cup + 1 cup unsweetened or sweetened flaked coconut, divided
- 1 (14-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
- 1⅓ cups dairy-free plain or vanilla coconut milk beverage or coconut creamer (see post above)
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup all-purpose flour (see Gluten-Free Option below for starch option)
- 2 large eggs (for egg-free, see post above)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 batch Coconut Whipped Cream (can sub store-bought dairy-free whipped topping)
- Preheat your oven to 400ºF.
- Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl, and whisk to combine.
- Add the coconut oil, and whisk until coarse crumbs form.
- Stir in the water until the dough comes together.
- Shape the dough into a ball with your hands, and place it on a lightly floured surface.
- Roll the dough out to a circle bigger than a pie plate.
- Transfer the crust to your pie plate and gently press it in. Fold under the edge and shape as desired.
- Bake the crust for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden. Let it cool completely.
- Lower your oven temperature to 350ºF.
- Spread the ⅓ cup coconut evenly over a baking sheet. Bake, stirring often until the coconut is golden, about 5 minutes.
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together the coconut milk, sugar, flour, eggs, and salt until smooth. Whisk in the milk beverage or creamer.
- Place the pan over medium-low heat, and bring to a boil stirring constantly. Continue cooking and stirring for a few minutes, or until the mixture is thickened.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the remaining cup coconut and vanilla extract.
- Pour the filling into the cooled pie crust, and level out.
- Refrigerate the pie until set, about 4 hours.
- Spread the coconut whipped cream evenly on top of the pie filling, and top with the toasted coconut.
- Store the pie, covered, in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days. It can also be frozen and thawed at room temperature.
More Dairy-Free Old-Fashioned Pie Recipes
Classic Lemon Meringue Pie
The Best Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pie
Traditional Double Crust Apple Pie
21 Comments
I’d love to try this but do you have any clue as to how many calories are in this pie? I’m counting my intake and I don’t want to go over.
Ooh, I don’t, but it is coconut cream, so probably a bit high in calories. Maybe a smaller slice 🙂
do i need to chill the can of cream of coconut and scoop out the pulp or use the whole can unchilled? and do i also need to chill the culinary coconut milk too?
Hi Paula, this isn’t my personal recipe, but I would assume use only the solid cream portion after chilled. For that amount of sugar, I would want at least 1 cup of the cream and lately those packages have been a little thin / watery at times.
thank you
I’ve tried the whipped topping 3 times and it won’t thicken. Very frustrating and a waste of ingredients. Used the chilled (in fridge overnight) culinary coconut milk, powdered sugar and vanilla.
That is very bizarre Donna. I’ve never once had the Culinary Coconut Milk not thicken – it gets almost too thick! You have the “Original” (green label) not the “Lite” (blue label) correct? Did you chill the coconut milk until it set before blending?
Yes on the green label and I even had it in the freezer for an hour one time. I’ve also chilled it overnight in the fridge.
Donna, that is very bizarre. I’ve never had that brand not thicken up. Keep in mind, you shouldn’t be attempting to whip it until you’ve chilled the coconut and it has formed a cream. If it doesn’t thicken, then it’s a bad batch – get another brand and use that one in another recipe (like curry). Once thick, then whip in the other ingredients – nothing wasted. See my note in the post “It should be very thick and spoonable once chilled”. You do not want to use it in this particular recipe if not. I’m sorry that the topping is not working out for you, but I hope you’re enjoying the rest of the pie!
My sister is allergic to all dairy products …. Milk, cheese and egg. Can you help me with a recipe for coconut cream pie that won’t send her into anaphlastic shock.?
Hi Juanita,
This is a great coconut cream pie recipe that is dairy-free & egg-free – http://www.godairyfree.org/recipes/vegan-coconut-cream-pie
You also might like these tasty little no bakes – http://www.godairyfree.org/recipes/mini-vegan-coconut-cream-pies
This pie is great! Quick and easy to whip up. I found the first time I made it, it was a little too sweet. I cut the sugar the next time and it is perfect! Thanks for the recipe ?
Awesome! So glad you loved it Talia.
Just tried to make the toping, whipped with hand mixer for almost 15 min. But it still did not thicken up. Followed the receipt exactly . The pie turned out good. (Have not tried it yet, made it for my father in law who can not have dairy.
What brand of coconut milk or cream did you use? It should have already been a very thick cream straight from the can or small carton once chilled. It doesn’t “thicken up” but starts thick. Did you use coconut milk beverage instead? Glad the rest of the pie worked out well for you!
I just made this pie and omitted the 3/4 cup sugar from the filling. I’m so glad I did because the pie is STILL way too sweet! And I love sweet things. I wonder if you used unsweetened coconut milk, plus a small amount of cream of coconut and coconut creamer, if it would work better. It’s a great recipe – nice, thick custard filling – just way, way too sweet. Thank you!
Good call Gina! It does sound quite sweet. I think you could use full-fat coconut milk (canned, unsweetened) in place of the cream of coconut.
Do you think if I used tofu or ground flaxseeds + water instead of eggs that it would still turn out ok? Or is there another egg substitute you would recommend? I have a niece and nephew who are allergic to eggs/dairy/nuts, Thanks!
That’s a tricky one – I’m not completely sure what the best substitute would be. I would probably try subbing full fat coconut cream for the creamer and increasing the amount to around 7/8 cup to cover the eggs. Otherwise, I think gelatin might be a good sub, but I’m not sure in what amount. Tofu could also work. For some reason, I’m not leaning toward the flaxseed option – doesn’t seem a good fit.
Can’t wait to try! How many ounces can of cream of coconut?
It looks like the standard can size is 15 ounces.