Vegan Acorn Squash Pie

It even looks like a real pie!

I have a fascination, nearing the border of obsession, with vegan baking. I love reading about and looking over recipes for vegan baked goods. I have only known deserts like pies and cookies and muffins to be loaded with eggs and butter or other tasty ingredients. I am intrigued by the alternatives, not because I am vegan, I am excited that there are other ways to accomplish desert.

Last week, acorn squash were $0.50 EACH at one of the markets in town, so of course, I bought 4. I had no idea what I was going to do. I made three dishes that I will be sharing, one of which was pie. I was very skeptical about using acorn squash to make what I have always known as pumpkin pie but now I am a believer.

Seriously, this was the best pumpkin pie I have ever eaten. I hope my Grandma S., my dad's amazing mother who is famous for her pies, never reads this. Using her phrase, she would slap me silly. I am not the only one who thinks so. Z. is out of town so I had two of our friends over for dinner and they loved this pie!

This is all that remains after a delicious meal with friends

I think there are a few reasons why this pie is so good. The first is the flavor. I love pumpkin pie but I think acorn squash has a lot more flavor. This is my first pie made from fresh squash and my life will never be the same. I had no idea that using fresh squash would make such a difference. Preparing the fresh squash did not take nearly as much effort as I thought. The squash was so tender after roasting that after removing the flesh from the skin, I was able to use a potato masher to mash the pumpkin to the proper consistency rather than going to the effort of processing the squash in the food processor.

After roasting some acorn squash for dinner the other night, I realized this squash is incredibly sweet so the pie did not need very much added sugar. This let the flavor of the squash be the star of the pie. The lack of eggs also helped the flavor of the squash shine through. There was nothing in the pie to temper or hide the flavor of the squash.

The ingredients

While researching pumpkin pies, I learned that because this is a custard pie that a crust is not necessary. I just did not feel like making a crust and I could not bring myself to buy a prepared crust from the store. One of the crust-less pie recipes suggested adding apple slices to add substance. I picked an apple variety that I knew to be slightly tart when raw so it would not be overwhelmingly sweet when baked. The apples were a hit!

Ready to go into the oven.

If nondairy milk is something you do not normally drink, there are a few alternatives. Regular milk would be just fine as long as you are not sharing this pie with a vegan. Or, in my case, I purchased a single-serving 8 ounce box of vanilla soy milk.  I really wanted to add vanilla but did not have any in the pantry so the vanilla soy milk did double duty.

I have no idea where this recipe first appeared. While searching, all of the recipes for vegan pumpkin pie without tofu were variations of this recipe. I found the recipe in the Vegetarian Times archive, as well as numerous blogs, like here, here, and here. After reading some of the comments, I was concerned that my pie would not be set up enough after only spending a couple of hours in the refrigerator, so I only added 1/2-3/4 cup of soy milk. I was very pleased with the result. The other change I made to the original recipe was to reduce the amount of sugar. I added 1/2 cup granulated sugar. This was the right amount for myself and my guests. Enjoy!

Crust-less Acorn Squash Pie

1/2-1 apple, such as a Fuji or Granny Smith, peeled, cored, and cut into wedges
2 cups pureed acorn squash *
3/4 cup non-dairy milk, such as soy milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch or arrowroot powder
1 teaspoon vanilla (or omit and use vanilla soy milk)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. and spray a pie pan with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Place apple slices in a single layer in the bottom of prepared pie pan.
3. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients until smooth and blended. Pour mixture over apple slices carefully and smooth top.
4. Bake 10 minutes.
5. Turn oven temperature down to 350 degrees F. Bake until filling is set, about 50 minutes.
6. Cool on wire wrack then cool in refrigerator at least one hour. May be made a day ahead and refrigerated overnight.

* To prepare squash, preheat oven to 400 degrees F., cut in half, and scoop out seeds. Place squash halves on an oiled baking sheet. Bake 30-40 minutes, or until very tender. The skin comes easily when the squash is cool. Scoop out flesh and either process in a blender or food processor until smooth, or smash with a potato masher until smooth.