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This Pecan Cream Pie recipe is easy, requiring only 9 ingredients and incredibly delicious. Made with coconut cream and naturally sweetened with dates, it’s vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, and refined sugar-free (but you’d never know!).

Slice of creamy pecan pie on a plate with a fork.
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Why this recipe works

I’ve always been a fan of pecan pie. In fact, I’d probably say it’s my favorite. Whether it’s Thanksgiving or Christmas, pecan pie has always been my preferred holiday dessert (sorry pumpkin pie lovers).

A classic pecan pie recipe requires eggs and butter, and although there are vegan replacements for these, I wanted to make a healthier version.

I advocate a healthier, whole food plant-based diet so I wanted to see if I could make a pecan pie using mostly whole or minimally processed foods.

Success!

Rather than loading it up with a bunch of sugar and maple syrup, this pecan pie is sweetened naturally with dates and apple sauce. It also doesn’t require any oil in case you follow a Nutritarian diet as defined by Dr. Fuhrman.

But don’t think this pie lacks any flavor! It’s still sweet and delectable. You’ll definitely be wanting seconds and guests will be asking for more. It’s that good!

Ingredient notes

This pie only require 9 easy to find ingredients (including salt!). Short and sweet! Reference the recipe card at the bottom for exact measurements.

Pecan cream pie crust ingredients.
Crust ingredients
Pecan Cream Pie filling ingredients.
Filling ingredients
  • rolled oats or oat flour
  • almonds
  • dates
  • ground flax
  • apple sauce
  • coconut cream — or full fat coconut milk (canned)
  • nut butter — creamy almond butter or peanut butter
  • pecan halves
  • pinch of salt

Ingredient Substitutions

If you can’t find dates to make a date syrup, you can replace with maple syrup, brown rice syrup or blackstrap molasses. Just keep in mind this will change the final texture and flavor.

You are welcome to use any nut for the crust if you can’t find almonds and any nut butter for the filling will do. I made this with peanut butter but almond butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter for a nut-free version would work too.

What equipment do you need

One 9-10 inch pie pan or springform pan.

A metal mixing bowl — this is best for whipping the coconut cream

A hand mixer — necessary to make the coconut whipped cream. Alternatively you can buy vegan whipped cream.

A blender or food processor. I’ve found a food processor to work best but you can make it work in a blender you may just need to scrap down the sides more often.

How to make pecan cream pie

This creamy pecan pie is very easy to make with only 9 ingredients needed. Plus, the only thing you have to cook is the pie crust!

It is almost a no-bake recipe. You are welcome to use a pre-made pie crust if you prefer which will cut down on time in the kitchen even more.

Pie crust ingredients blended in food processor.

To make the crust, simply blend everything together in a food processor and then pack it down into your pan and bake.

Pie crust pressed into pan.

What’s nice about this recipe is that the crust is the only thing that needs to bake and you can make it in advance so you can free up your oven for any other holiday cooking the day of.

Coconut cream being whipped with hand mixer.

For the filling, whip the coconut cream until fluffy and peaks form. The key here is making sure the coconut cream, mixing bowl, and whisk from the hand mixer has been properly chilled before whipping the cream.

You can see a more detailed tutorial of how I make coconut whipped cream in this Watermelon Dessert Pizza recipe.

Date past blended in blender.

Then blend the remaining filling ingredients together in a food processor or blender and gently fold them into the coconut whipped cream.

Filling smoothed out into pie crust.

To assemble the pie, spoon the filling into the pie crust and top with pecans. Make sure the pie crust is cooked and cooled before adding your coconut cream filling. Then chill for at least 15 minutes to allow it to set up.

Make ahead

You can prep pecan cream pie in advance and store it covered in the refrigerator for a few days. You can also freeze this pie though it will change the texture.

You can also freeze the pie but it will alter the texture. Still just as tasty, but a more denser texture.

Pecan cream pie topped with pecans.

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Slice of creamy pecan pie on a plate with a fork.

Pecan Cream Pie

5 from 3 votes
Author: Rachel
This Pecan Cream Pie recipe is easy, requiring only 9 ingredients and incredibly delicious, made with coconut cream and naturally sweetened with dates. It's vegan, oil-free, gluten-free, and refined sugar-free (but you'd never know!).
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 8

Method

  • oven
  • Food Processor or Blender
  • Hand Mixer/Electric Whisk
  • Metal Mixing Bowl

Ingredients 
 

For the crust:

  • cup rolled oats or oat flour
  • 1 cup almonds
  • ½ cup dates roughly 8-9 small dates, pitted
  • 2 tbsp ground flax
  • 2 tbsp apple sauce
  • 1 tbsp water
  • pinch of salt

For the filling:

  • 1 can coconut cream stored in refrigerator overnight
  • 1 cup dates pitted, or 1¼ cup date paste
  • ¾ cup hot water omit if using date paste
  • 2 tbsp apple sauce
  • ¼ cup nut butter
  • pinch of salt

To decorate:

  • 1 heaping cup pecan halves

Instructions 

  • The night before, place the can of coconut cream in the refrigerator. An hour before preparing, place your metal mixing bowl and whisk into the refrigerator.
  • Place the dates from the filling in a bowl with the hot water to soak for about 30 minutes.

For the crust:

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
  • To make the crust, add all ingredients to a food processor and blend until the mixture comes together.
  • Press the mixture flat into a 9 or 10 inch pie pan and bake for 10 minutes in the oven. Remove and let cool.

For the filling:

  • Remove the coconut cream, mixing bowl and whisk from the refrigerator. Scoop out the hardened cream from the can into your mixing bowl, leaving behind the water/liquid at the bottom of the can. It isn't needed for this recipe (but you can save it to add to smoothies).
  • Using a hand mixer, beat the cream for 3-5 mins until fluffy. Place in the fridge while you complete the next step.
  • In your food processor, add the dates with the hot water that they had been soaking in. Blend until it becomes smooth and forms a date paste. Then add in the apple sauce, and nut butter and blend until smooth.
  • Remove the coconut cream from the fridge and gently stir in the date mixture, adding a pinch of salt.
  • Spoon the filling into the pie crust base, and top with pecans. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes to set up.

Notes

Storage: Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Can also freeze for longer but this will change the texture.
Serving suggestion: Top with a dollop of dairy-free whipped cream!

Nutrition

Calories: 437kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Sodium: 6mg | Potassium: 569mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 100mg | Iron: 3mg
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Want to eat healthier but don’t know where to start?Get a free customizable meal plan and stop the struggle!

Recipe adapted from Vancouver With Love

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This Vegan Pecan Cream Pie is not only incredibly delicious but it's also gluten-free, oil-free, refined sugar-free, and made with only 9 healthy ingredients! It's so easy to make and the perfect dessert recipe to have on your holiday menu. It's a healthier, lighter, and fluffier version of traditional pecan pie but so irresistible you'll be wanting seconds. #pecanpie #easypecanpie #vegandessertrecipe #homemadepecanpie

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10 Comments

  1. Hi. If we use a can of coconut whipping cream (which is thickened already with tapioca starch) – how much of it do I use? I see that I would only have used a partial can of coconut milk. Ty

    1. It ends up being about 1 1/3 – 1 1/2 cup of coconut cream. I haven’t tried it with canned coconut whipping cream so you may have to adjust the dates as well if it has added sugar. Let me know how it goes – happy cooking 🙂

  2. This looks delicious 😋. I’m wondering if this can be made without the dates? My husband and I don’t like them but I’m allergic to dairy. Thank you. 💜

    1. Thank you, DeeDee! You won’t actually taste the dates in it, they just add the sweetness. You could try maple syrup instead but I haven’t tested it so can’t guarantee that it will turn out the same. Hope this helps!

    1. Hi Cassie, I used a 13.66 oz can of coconut cream which is about 400mL. I would measure by volume instead of grams. About 1/5th of the can was coconut water/liquid that I didn’t use and the rest was the cream so that’s about 320mL of cream. Hope this helps!

  3. Absolutely fascinating!!
    I don’t currently have the equipment (or a kitchen, lol) to pull this off, but I’m definitely saving this for later!
    (& will pester the land lady to make it in HER kitchen! lol! 😉