A couple of years ago, when my mom, dad, and I initially started eating ‘plant strong’, Thanksgiving seemed a mystery. We have always gone out to eat for dinner, with such a small family and a chance to getaway, it gave a nice reprive from cooking, stress and the perfect timing of every side dish known to man. Tracking down a restaurant with vegan options in our getaway in Chicago was easy, there are plenty to be found, but every year, the weekend before Thanksgiving, we would cook and eat a traditional Thanksgiving meal. I loved when we did this because it was more like we were having an extra fancy Sunday dinner, rather than a pressure filled day of madness.
I was always in charge of desserts (obviously), my favorite part of the feast. Several years ago, I made a crazy decadent  chocolate pecan pie from a cookbook called ‘Death by Chocolate’. It was one of those desserts you could really only eat a few bites of before your head started spinning from all the butter/sugar/corn syrup what have you. While it was well received, I really wanted to re-create it somehow for our newly vegan Thanksgiving dinner. This is where Laura at The First Mess came to the rescue! At this time, I was not an avid food blog reader, but searched on Taste Spotting for ‘vegan pecan pie’ and came up with her lovely recipe for Chocolate Pecan Pie, bingo! I made it and it was a huge hit. I kept it in the back of my mind for a while, wanting to try it out again with a bit of tinkering. I made the crust less of a centerpiece (because I secretly don’t love crust and the work that goes along with it!) and put more chocolate in the filling. Without surprise, it was a success! Feel free to adjust the crust options to your preferences, but for me, this oat and date crust did the trick.
So thanks, Laura, for saving this girl’s hope for a vegan pecan pie not filled with all the junk, you are pretty awesome. I’ll just go have another slice, ok?
My little kitty helper in the kitchen. He loves to let us know he is right by our feet and would like pets please and thank you!
Chocolate Pecan Pie with Oat and Date Crust
Ingredients
- For the crust:
- 1 cup rolled or old fashioned oats
- 12 dates (pitted)
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- For the filling:
- 3/4 cup almond milk
- 1/4 cup cornstarch or potato starch
- 1 small banana (mashed finely)
- 3/4 cup dark chocolate (melted)
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup pecans (chopped)
- 1/4 cup pecans halves (whole)
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease pie plate and set aside.
- To prepare the crust: In the bowl of a food processor or blender, blend the oats, dates, vanilla extract, almond milk and flaxseed. If mixture is not blending properly, add a tiny bit of almond milk until the mixture forms a dough. Press the dough into the pie plate. The mixture may not reach all the way up the sides or may only cover the bottom of the plate. That is ok! Bake the crust at 400 F for 15-20 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- To prepare the filling: In the bowl of a food processor or blender, blend together the banana, starch, and almond milk (or any non dairy milk). Transfer mixture to a medium bowl. Stir in the melted dark chocolate, maple syrup, chocolate chips, vanilla extract, chopped pecans, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, and salt. Pour the mixture into the pre baked pie crust. Place the leftover pecan halves on top of the pie. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-30 minutes or until center is set.
- Remove pie from oven and let cool at room temperature for an hour. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving.
Laura says
Love that you added more chocolate and made it all about the filling. I LIVE for that pie in the fall. Happy Thanksgiving to you 🙂
The Frosted Vegan says
Thanks Laura! : )
Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl says
Gorgeous pie and ultra pretty kitty!
The Frosted Vegan says
Thanks Pamela, he’s a cutie!
Catherine @ Chocolate & Vegetables says
I love pecan pie, but like you, hate all the junk that can come with it (I feel like most commercial pies are basically a thick layer of corn syrup with a topping of pecans, bleh). This recipe looks like a winner!
The Frosted Vegan says
Thanks Catherine! I’ll take double chocolate over corn syrup any day : )
SuperCutePetContest says
Kitty helpers are the best! Mine love it when I drop something (as long as it isn’t chocolate!). That pie looks fantastic!
Oh My Veggies (@ohmyveggies) says
I’m a bad food blogger and we decided to get Whole Foods for Thanksgiving and my husband made sad eyes at me over their chocolate pecan pie because I wanted to get pumpkin instead. I won the argument and we got the pumpkin (my family always has pumpkin!), but maybe I should make this to make it up to him! 🙂
The Frosted Vegan says
I am jealous of your Whole Foods Thanksgiving! Sometimes it’s too much hassle to make ALL the things when there aren’t many people around to eat it. I won’t lie, I didn’t make a thing except this a few days before : )
Kathleen says
I would like to replace the banana. I might try sweet potatoes or cherries. I don’t dislike bananas but they have a tendency to overpower the flavor of everything. Looks delicious and healthy.
The Frosted Vegan says
Hi Kathleen! In place of the banana, you could also try silken tofu, which would still have the creamy texture without the banana taste!
Kim @ What's That Smell? says
This sounds incredible! I am grain-free, i wonder if I could use almond or coconut flour in place of the oats?
The Frosted Vegan says
I think that would work just fine! Let me know if you try it!
Kim @ What's That Smell? says
Will do!
Inger Wilkerson says
The pie looks delicious and this has to be the healthiest pie crust ever created!
The Frosted Vegan says
It seems wayyy easier than regular pie crust, sometimes all the butter is just too much! : )
bakerbynature says
So I’ve never had chocolate pecan pie… MUST do ASAP.
The Frosted Vegan says
Oh girl, MUST DO!
Live Learn Eat (@LiveLearnEat) says
I love pecan pie SO MUCH, that looks amazing!
Tracy says
So is there pumpkin in the crust? It’s in the crust ingredients list but not in directions for making the crust?
The Frosted Vegan says
Hi Tracy! That is my mistake, there is not. I think originally I was going to put pumpkin in, but I ended up not putting any in!
Kri says
Well, I had an interesting adventure– please note that you included pumpkin pie puree under the list of ingredients for the crust! It sure didn’t come out looking like something that would turn into a crust, but I baked it anyway… and it’s not a crust, but it sure was a tasty snack! I ate that version, and then started over, this time, with no pumpkin puree in the crust…
I may make this on purpose, some time, just for the healthy soft-cookie-like snack it made. Give it a try some time! 🙂