Most of you who guessed yesterday’s mystery food were right: Pumpkin or Squash Pie is a good enough answer on this test. But, if I were the kind of teacher who demands exact answers (and I used to be), you would have had to have written “Impossible Fat-Free Gluten-Free Vegan Cushaw Pie” in order to get full credit.
What the heck is that? Well, do you remember these cute squashes?
I did a little research into cushaw squash and found that much of the pumpkin that we buy in cans is actually cushaw and its close relatives; it’s less stringy than pumpkin and makes better pies. So I feel like it’s okay to call this a pumpkin pie even though it originated from a crazy little crookneck squash called a cushaw.
So that’s the “cushaw” part of the name. What about the “impossible” part?
If you grew up with a mother who relied on Bisquick baking mix, as I did, you may remember their Impossible pies. What you did was mix Bisquick in with the pie ingredients, and as the pie baked, a sort of crust formed on the bottom and sides. I’m not too embarrassed to say that the first cheesecake I ever made was the Bisquick Impossible Cheesecake–and it was really good. Flash forward to the present when I’m looking to get rid of the most fattening part of the pie–the crust–and the idea of a vegan Impossible pumpkin pie hit me.
So I went straight to my favorite cookbook–Google–and started looking for info on Impossible pies. I no longer use Bisquick, so I wanted to see if people had made this work with flour, and I was happy to find that they had. In fact, Something in Season and Bob’s Red Mill both had gluten-free versions of the pie, so I knew it could be done without Bisquick.
What remained to be seen was whether or not it could be done without oil or dairy products. I did a whole lot of substituting, but I’m happy to report that the pie was a success: Though the inside is more like a custard than a regular pumpkin pie, a slight crust formed along the bottom and sides of the pan, so you can actually pick up a slice of this pie and eat it like a piece of pizza. But it’s dangerously addictive, as shown by the fact that my husband ate about 6 pieces of it yesterday!
Impossible Vegan Pumpkin Pie
(click for printer-friendly version)
1 1/2 cups soymilk
1 tbsp. Ener-G egg replacer*
1/4 cup water*
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups pureed or mashed cooked pumpkin (or cushaw or winter squash)
1/2 cup rice flour (or flour of your choice–not whole wheat, which makes it gummy)
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. ginger powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9-inch deep dish pie pan with cooking spray. (I used a Pyrex pan, and it came out with no sticking.) A deep dish is recommended because this pie will rise a lot during cooking but will fall back down as it cools.
Put the first five ingredients in the blender, and blend well. Add the pumpkin, and puree. Add the remaining ingredients and blend on high for 2 minutes, stopping to scrape the sides a couple of times to make sure everything is thoroughly blended. Pour into a pie pan and bake for about 60 minutes. The top and edges should be brown, but the edges should not be over-done. (Since this is a custardy pie, using the standard toothpick or knife test does not work; it will remain somewhat moist in the center, but it shouldn’t be uncooked.)
Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the counter. For best results, refrigerate until chilled before eating.
*If you don’t have Ener-G egg replacer, you can omit it and the 1/4 cup water and use any other replacement for two eggs. Of course, if you’re not vegan, you could use two eggs, but why not give the vegan version a chance?
Makes 8 servings, each containing 153 Calories (kcal); 1g Total Fat; (7% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 34g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 264mg Sodium; 3g Fiber.
When you serve this pie, don’t feel obligated to tell your family or guests that it’s crust-free, fat-free, gluten-free, or vegan, but if they do wonder what’s left after so much is left out, tell them “Flavor, pure, delicious flavor!”
Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free gluten-free
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I'm SusanV, and I love good food. Join me as I create delicious dishes made with whole foods and without a lot of processed fat and sugar. 
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{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
oh dear susan, this is a simply miraculous recipe! one in a life time! now, the problem that arises for me is that i have everything in the house for this recipe except for the flour. luckily i have a food processor and some rolled oats. do you think i could sub oat flour? i noticed it tends to be fairly absorbent.
John, I haven't tried it with oat flour (just rice and whole wheat) so you would be exploring new territory. If you try it, please leave a comment telling how it came out.
I will say that whole wheat flour gave it a flavor and gluey texture that I did not like. Maybe if you use oat flour you should use a little less than the recipe calls for.
Hi, love the website.
I'm posting from the UK and pumpkin is slightly less commonly used here in cooking (other than the Halloween period to make 'faces'…) Forgive me for asking but please can you tell me how to cook the pumpkin?
I know this is probably like asknig how to cook toast but I've never actually cooked pumpkin before.
Thanks!
This is great! I was searching for a GF pumpkin pie for my son's first GF Thanksgiving. This is perfect. Thanks!
This is the first time in my life I eat pumpkin pie. How could I go without it for all these years? It's heavenly! Thank you for the wonderful recipe! I'm having a hard time leaving some slices for my flatmates, thank god it's fat-free
LOVE this site! I'm wondering how this would taste with Mamey Sapote either as a substitute for the pumpkin or on the side as "ice cream" (just freeze, blend and serve). I just started hearing about this tropical fruit and a lot of raw foodists say it tastes a little like pumpkin and vanilla with chocolate undertones. you can wikipedia the fruit and equadorianfooddelivery.com sells it. Also… Susan, have you ever tried cooking with chia seeds? The gel from soaking them is supposed to be another good vegan egg substitute (perhaps cheaper too?) and grinding the dry seeds makes a GF flour – 20% protein and more Omega-3's than flax. http://bit.ly/1bJY8r
This is my favorite pumpkin pie ever. I made it all last fall and am about to make it tonight. Thanks Susan for the great recipe.
Finally a tofu/soy free pumpkin pie! I can’t have soy so I plan to sub Almond Milk for the Soy Milk..can’t wait to make this!
I tried making this pie, and it is delicious! Only trouble was that it didn't really make a crust – turned out more like a custard in pie shape. I used spelt flour – maybe that's why? I also used 2 T. of flaxmeal and 4 T. of water for the egg replacement. Keep cranking out those yummy recipes!
I made this for Turkey Day tomorrow and it is delicious!! I got creative (not really) and made mini pies with a muffin tin, because I have to do all of my baking with a toaster oven which will not hold a pie plate. They are so cute and tasty!! Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
I just made this for Thanksgiving and it was DELICIOUS! Everyone at the dinner loved it, and had no idea that it was vegan
Thanks so much for this great recipe. I'm making it for the next holiday (pumpkin pie is good with Christmas, right 
)
I have tried to make this twice and neither time did I end up with a pie. The first time I subbed in Pamela's flour and had pumpkin pie soup even after adding 30 minutes to cooking time (it was tasty, though!). Second time I followed the recipe exactly, determined to get it right. It's not soup, but I never got it to a point where it could be sliced, so we just pretended like it was pumpkin pie mousse and scooped it into bowls. I have no idea how the rest of you are getting these nice pie slices. The flavor is great, though! Thanks for all of the wonderful recipes!
Kumquat, I'm sorry that yours hasn't come out thick enough to slice. The one explanation that comes to me is that your pumpkin puree may be more watery than what I used. I have the best results when I drain it well through cheesecloth before using it in this recipe. You could also try doubling the cornstarch to see if that makes it stiffer. If you like it as mousse, maybe you won't mind giving it one more shot?
I tried this recipe twice last week, learned some things the first time and then made changes and the second time was successfully served at a kid's birthday party, at their request. I wrote up a review, including my learnings, and gave it a great recommendation on my blog.
http://wildflowermorningrecipes.blogspot.com/2009/12/impossible-pumpkin-pie.html
You are amazing!!!! (once again)
I used brown rice flour and this pie was delicious! Also, I added a 1/4 cup of ground flax, which gave it a nice texture.
Hi again Susan!
I have truly been on a pumpkin/squash kick this year, and a few days ago I ended up with a half cup of canned pumpkin puree after making pumpkin pancakes and pumpkin raisin oatmeal cookies. . .so, I had the idea to cut this recipe in fourths, and make two little pies in pyrex pudding dishes. . .I used freshly grated ginger and nutmeg, and Wow!! these were great! Before I had used buckwheat flour as the thickener, as Karina suggests, and like that, but this time I did use the brown rice flour, and I really liked its effect too. Now I am going to have to make another big one, or a bunch more little ones!!
(Actually, too, believe it or not, this was my first time putting freshly grated nutmeg in a recipe. I have been intimidated by the impression that I thought I needed a nutmeg grater. . .but I just used my ginger grater, and it worked fine. My son and his girlfriend gave me the idea because they just use their cheese grater. It's funny when these moments occur that make you see something you thought was unobtainable is really right at your fingertips! And WOW–what a great taste–I am a convert now
)
Thanks again, this is a great recipe–happy holidays to you and yours, too.
xo
moonwatcher
Just made this (I think it's the second time, but I can't recall), and did a little addition from Susan's Pumpkin Bites by making a little topping with crystalized ginger and steel cut oats. It looks splendid!
I simply can't believe how easy this recipe is.
Good Morning!!! blog.fatfreevegan.com is one of the most excellent innovative websites of its kind. I take advantage of reading it every day. All the best.
I've made this recipe three times now, twice with canned pumpkin and last night with acorn squash that I cooked. It was easy to make and delicious every time, but every time the texture and appearance were different. I don't care (since it's delicious), but I have yet to get anything that looks like your beautiful picture. It does come out of the pan with no sticking, but this last time the sides rose up so high while baking that some fell over the edge and to the bottom of the oven. It sinks right back down as it cools. Many thanks for the yummy adventure.
I made this over the weekend, and it was a resounding FLOP
I’m not sure what I did wrong, but it was not at all pie-like, not even a little bit. The thing didn’t set up, and even after 90 minutes, it was still just a pudding with chewy edges. I used sweet potatoes, regular white flour, and ‘So Delicious Coconut milk’, so I don’t know if any of those changes are what ruined it. It still tasted good, so we just pretended it was a pudding with random chewy bits. Some day I might try it again, and I’ll try using the brown rice flour and soy milk, since maybe those are the key…
Jess, sorry for your bad experience! I would guess it was the flour. When I made it with whole wheat flour, the consistency was entirely different (i.e. bad) from when I used rice flour. I think it’s the gluten, so I really recommend using gluten-free flour only for this recipe. Sweet potatoes could also be a factor, but I don’t think the coconut milk would make a difference.
Susan,
I have three pie pumpkins on my counter do not want to go buy a pie crust, which is what I used to do. I searched for how to make a vegan pie crust and found this recipe.
I am looking forward to giving this a try this weekend. I’ll let you know how it turns out. The reviews are good ones, so I will definitely use brown rice flour and flax as an egg replacement with almond milk.
Do you think using arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch and a natural sugar such as turbinado instead of white sugar will do fine? I think I might even experiment with using honey or agave instead of sugar. Have you tried that?
So glad I found this recipe. Looking forward to trying it.
April
April, I haven’t tried honey or agave–I would be afraid the moisture content would be off and the pie wouldn’t set. Arrowroot should be fine, though I think you should use only 2 teaspoons because arrowroot is a stronger thickener. Hope you like it!
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