When a reader shared her recent love and photo of my Raw Strawberry Pie on my facebook page recently, I knew I wanted to post this strawberry recipe. This pie from Let Them Eat Vegan is absolutely perfect. Not only is it seasonal, beautiful, fragrant and delicious – there is no cooking required. Perfect summer food!
We are fortunate to enjoy the celebrations for BOTH Canada Day and the 4th of July here in White Rock. We live close to the U.S. border, so we have our own local festivities and fireworks for July 1st, and then take in the fireworks for Independence Day the following weekend.
The kids absolutely love getting double-duty fireworks in the summer. Me… I’m not the biggest fan of fireworks. I liken myself to animals that are very sensitive to the sounds. Nice to look at, not nice to hear. At least not too close!
What we all enjoy this time of year, however, is this Raw Strawberry Pie.
This dessert takes full advantage of seasonal strawberries. It’s beautiful to look at, and better to eat. I love it with a scoop of “Lemon-Scented Coconut Whipped Cream” (from LTEV), or a touch of vanilla vegan ice cream. The recipe follows, along with a few other sweet and savory vegan food ideas for your weekend fun.
Wherever you live, fireworks or not, this Raw Strawberry Pie is a holiday weekend win! Hope you enjoy it, guys. x Dreena
Raw Strawberry Pie
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 cup raw pecans
- 3/4 cup raw walnuts
- 1 cup pitted dates packed
- ¼ tsp sea salt scant
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
Filling:
- 3 cups fresh strawberries measured whole if small, or cut in half if large; these are for filling, you will need extra for garnishing if desired
- 3/4 cup raw cashews see note, unsoaked
- 3-4 tbsp pure maple syrup start with 3, adjust to taste
- 1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Couple pinches sea salt
- 1 tsp lemon zest stir in after pureeing
- Extra strawberries for garnishing optional
Instructions
Prepare the crust: Place all the crust ingredients in a food processor and pulse briefly until crumbly and the mixture will hold together when pressed with your fingers. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pie plate, pressing it evenly into the pan. Prepare the filling: Place all the filling ingredients, except the lemon zest (and starting with 3 tablespoons of the agave nectar/maple syrup), in a high-powered blender (I use Blendtec). Puree for a minute or so at medium-high speed until completely smooth and no texture of the cashews remains. Taste, and add the remaining tablespoon of agave, if needed, to sweeten, and puree again. Once smooth, stir in the lemon zest. Pour the filling into the crust, then cover with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and place the pie in the freezer for at least 5 to 6 hours to set. After this time, the pie will be partially set, but can be sliced. You can freeze it longer, and remove the pie about 20 minutes before serving, to slice easily. Serves 6-8.
Recipe Notes
ngredients 411: It is preferable to use unsoaked cashews because they have less moisture, and then can absorb some of the moisture from the strawberries as the pie sets. If using local seasonal berries, they tend to be softer and juicier than imported. Opt for another 2 tablespoons of cashews to help absorb the extra juices.
Now for some other festive vegan recipes…
Sweet
Raspberry Pudding Parfaits!: Layer my Raw Raspberry Almond Pudding as parfaits with non-dairy yogurt OR Lemon-Scented Whipped Cream (LTEV) along with fresh raspberries and/or blueberries!
Strawberry-Goji Smoothies: Easy-peasy, brighten up with a few fresh berries on each, voila!
Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches: Have you forgotten about my Snifferdoodles? Ok, keep it classic with chocolate chip cookies if you must. 😉
Apple-Of-My-Eye Pie: Nothing more American than apple pie, right? Us Canucks love it too.
Savory
Chickpea Ratatouille: It’s certainly bright and colorful and boasting red. Maybe add a bowl of blue corn chips on the side for a 4th of July potluck?
Veggie Burgers: Hearty recipes for burgers that HOLD together, and are full of flavor!
Dips: From a Creamy Artichoke Spinach, to Hummuses (Hummu? Hummi? we need a plural, people!), and Olive Tapenade, this dippy gal has got you covered!
Too hot to Cook?: Try one of these cool, hearty salads – or quickly transform your greens, leftover grains, and spuds with these no-cook pasta sauces or an oil-free dressing!
What are your fave recipes for this holiday weekend?
(p.s. Don’t miss any plant-powered updates, subscribe here!)
Monika
Do you place the strawberries before or after it comes out of the freezer?
Wendy
I made this for Father’s Day dinner. It was such a massive hit with all family
members, young and old. Thank you for such an amazing recipe – well, all
your recipes are amazing. I’ve been a fan for a long time!
Alexis D'Arcy
My pie is in the freezer! Love this recipe. The filling is no healthy and life changing! Thank you, Dreena!!
Alexis D'Arcy
******I meant soooo healthy! Sorry!
Dreena
🙂 thanks Alexis, so pleased you tried the recipe and excited to enjoy it!
Julie
Dreena how do you think this will hold up if its served outside, in the heat? It will probably be out for a bit ~ maybe an hour. I’m looking for a couple desserts for a family party ~ none of them are vegan, so I’m thinking this pie would be great! It looks so delicious!
Tanya M
How can I make this nut free?
Adrienne
I successfully made this recipe once and would like to try it again. Do you think it would work with frozen strawberries? Have you tried blueberries?
Dreena
Yes, blueberries should work beautifully! I haven’t tried it, but they should be fine. If you’re using frozen strawberries, it will be best to partially thaw them, b/c it will be challenging to puree them frozen. Good luck!
ashley a
She didn’t make it up. Juliano who brought raw mainstream made this recipe up but SO many people want to look like a hero in other peoples eyes by misleading them into thinking that SHE thought up the recipe. SHE PLAGERIZED THE RECIPE!
Dreena
Ashley, please read my reply below. This is entirely my recipe.
ashley a
I chuckled when I read “YOU created this pie.” This pie has been served in Juliano’s restaurant for the past 20 years! Juliano was the one who brought raw into the mainstream. This is the only industry where talentless housewives and hippies say, “I think I’ll be a “professional” raw food chef and then go about giving raw foods a bad name because they don’t have the talent of mixing flavors together like a professional chef does.
All the same I can forgive the exageration about you inventing raw or this pie because you are encouraging a possitive thing.
Dreena
Ashley, sorry you are so upset. I don’t know Juliano, have never been to the restaurant. I create all of my recipes, I’ve been writing cookbooks since before 2000 and have been vegan for 20 years. I stand by my work, and have the rounds of recipe testings in my office. I created this particular recipe over 6 years ago. If there are similarities, it is coincidence, and with respect, I am not asking for your forgiveness.
Rebekah
This pie looks absolutely divine. I am excited to try it!
I’m bringing your kale-slaw for 4th of July! It’s always a hit, and people are often surprised at how much they are enjoying eating kale.
Darkchocolatekryptonite
Can I use almonds instead of cashews for the filling? I have all the other ingredients!
Dreena
I haven’t made it with almonds in the filling. Almonds aren’t quite as creamy as cashews, so the filling may be a little drier – but you can try.
Cucumber
This was so delish! 10/10 for creativeness.
Mindy
I love to make raw pies. I never saw a raw strawberry pie before, nice and different from the ones I usually make (raw applesauce pie and frozen banana “ice cream” pie, if you were wondering).
Really nice to discover this blog, thanks!
Vanessa
I LOVED this pie!!! I’ll definitely be making this again and want to experiment with other berries too. So very yummy. Thank you!
Jackie U.
Looks incredile good. I will make crust this same way but I won’t add cinnamon. My husband hate this spice. 😉
John@ The Bread Makers
This recipe looks really good. I can’t wait it give it a try.
Alisa
Oh my goodness, that brilliant pink hue is so inviting Dreena. Beautiful pictures, too. I want a slice now!
Kristina
hummi. definitely hummi. 😉
and this looks amazing, for Canada Day, July 4th or… a random Sunday night! we have fresh berries from the farmers market, and I have a random free Sunday evening, I just may make this!
happy week to you!
Sandra Tranmer
This looks wonderful and, as I’m trying to stay away from grains due to digestive problems, it would still enable me to enjoy dessert 🙂
Lisa
I made this last night and it was great! The filling tasted only slightly like cashews and I only mention that because I have 2 little girls who hate nuts, so this is good for them too. Crust was awesome! Next time I will chop the nuts separate from the dates initially then mix together. The dates just forced everything into a sticky ball. Thank you for the recipe!
Dreena
Great! Glad you loved it Lisa, thanks for the feedback. 😀
Lisa
Beautiful, beautiful,, beautiful!!
Tiffany
Wow! Dreena, this looks incredible!!! I’ll definitely have to put this recipe on my summer to do list!
By the way, I’ve been thinking about your last post “Am I vegan enough? Am I healthy enough?” I definitely believe we can’t hold ourselves to other people’s standards…we need to enjoy our lives the way we see best. The “I am healthy?” question is something we all strive to achieve yet I think there needs to be a balance because we can’t stress ourselves out trying to eat perfectly. Its great to eat whole grains 80-90% of the time but if you do go out and want pasta and all the restaurant has is white…then to me that’s totally okay. I definitely feel the pressure to be perfectly healthy but thats just not realistic. I also adhere to a vegan diet 98% of the time…its hard to admit but I do have an ice cream once in a while or if I’m at a wedding and they serve cake I’ll take a bite and soon after realize it wasn’t worth it because my taste buds have changed. It’s about the collective effort toward veganism that we need to recognize not the unrealistic standards we press upon one another to adhere to.
Just thought I would share my thoughts. I really enjoy your posts! Thank you for sharing your journey and inspiring the rest of us to do the same 🙂 xoxo Hope you have a beautiful weekend!
Allison
I’ll definitely make this for the 4th- anything with cashews is tasty. And I agree with Anna, LTEV is the best! I put an ‘x’ on the page of each recipe I make, and this book has a ton of ‘x’s!! Thank you for all the recipes, it makes cooking enjoyable.
Dreena
<3 I so appreciate that, thank you Allison.
Anna {Herbivore Triathlete}
That strawberry pie looks incredible! I love LTEV, best cookbook ever! The other recipes look great as well, I know I can always count on you Dreena!
Dreena
My, thank you Anna. That is meaningful as that book was a long labour of love! Thank you.
Amy Beinfest
Are the strawberries on top in addition to the 3 cups in the filling? Want to make sure I have enough!
Dreena
Oh, thanks for catching that Amy. Those are extra, to garnish if you like. I will add that note to my recipe – thanks!
Davida @TheHealthyMaven
Happy Canada Day! This recipe is definitely on my radar for my Canada Day Potluck on Monday 🙂
Dreena
Thank you Davida, and wishing you a Happy Canada Day as well – hope you love the pie!
Tanya A
So excited about this recipe! I plan to make it for my knit night group next week!
Dreena
Glad to hear it! Thanks Tanya. 🙂