I love pumpkin and sweet potato pie. For Thanksgiving this year, I made this vegan pecan sweet potato pie modifying a recipe from Dr. Andrew Weil's squash pie recipe.
For my pie, instead of squash, I used 3 cans of Farmers Markets Foods brand organic sweet potato I got at Whole Foods.
I omitted the brandy to make the pie alcohol-free.
I used arrowroot because I like it better as a thickener and it's GMO-free. With cornstarch, unless you get organic, it's most likely going to be made from GMOs because corn is one of the top GMO crops in the world.
Instead of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves, I used 2-3/4 teaspoons of Pumpkin Pie spice because it's sold in one jar and easier.
I bought a pre-made organic vegan pie crust by Wholly Wholesome because Whole Foods had it on sale for $3.50 for two pie shells - a bargain and less work. On a side note, Wholly Wholesome also makes whole wheat and spelt pie shells, and a gluten-free pie shell. Over at Oh She Glows, there is a wonderful post on three ways to make vegan pumpkin pie including a nice vegan, gluten-free crust recipe.
Back to my pecan sweet potato pie, after pouring the filling into the pie shell, place all the pecans on top. I tented the pie crust edges with aluminum foil to help prevent burning. Make sure to bake the pie in the middle rack and not too close to the top heat source of your oven so the pecans won't burn.
At the 35 minute mark of baking, check on your pie to make sure the pecans aren't blackening. Mine started to darken a little so I laid a piece of foil on top of the pie. I didn't seal the foil, I just let it rest on the pie.
It's important to make this pie a day ahead of time before eating because the time overnight in the fridge is crucial to the filling firming up.
For the dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, soy-free whipped cream, here's our recipe.
Enjoy!
