Hi friends! I’m reintroducing you to two of my most popular recipes for the holidays.
Chocolate Pumpkin Pie & Festive Chickpea Tart
Two holiday pies: one savory, one sweet!
Shall we start with sweet? But of course.
Chocolate Pumpkin Pie
This Chocolate Pumpkin Pie is from one of my earlier books (eat, drink & be vegan) and is one of my all-time favorite recipes.
And it’s also one of yours! I hear from readers all the time about this pie. It’s tried and true, you can’t go wrong with it for the holidays.
Why such a hit?
- Unexpected. We don’t often see pumpkin pie in chocolate form. It’s positively fabulous!
- This Chocolate Pumpkin Pie is SO darn easy to make. Melt chocolate, puree with pumpkin filling and a couple other ingredients… done!
- It doesn’t use vegan dairy replacements like vegan sour cream and vegan cream cheese (a lot of pumpkin pie recipes tend to). Yet, it is incredibly rich and decadent.
- Decadent! Did I mention it’s decadent? Really is, a little slice is very satisfying.
Chocolate Pumpkin Pie
This pie is rich and decadent, so a little slice will do!
Ingredients
Filling:
- 1 1/4 cups non-dairy chocolate chips
- 1 can 14-oz/415-ml organic pumpkin pie mix (I use Farmer’s Market Organic brand)
- 2 tbsp unrefined sugar
- 2 tsp arrowroot powder
- 1/8 tsp rounded sea salt
- 1 prepared pie crust of choice optional – this pie is so rich, you can really make it without any crust
- 2 tbsp non-dairy chocolate chips optional (for garnish)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425º F. Fit a metal or glass bowl over a saucepan on medium-low heat and filled with several inches of water (or use a double-boiler). Add 1¼ cups chocolate chips to bowl and stir occasionally as water simmers (not boils), letting chocolate melt. While chocolate is melting, in a food processor, add pumpkin pie mix (scraping out everything from can), sugar, arrowroot powder, and salt. Purée until very smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Once chocolate is melted, add to food processor and purée with pumpkin mixture, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Pour mixture into pie crust (scraping out all filling) and tip pie back and forth gently to evenly distribute filling. Sprinkle on 2 tablespoon chocolate chips. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F, and bake for another 35 minutes, until pie is set (the center may be soft, but it will set further as it cools). Carefully remove from oven and place on cooling rack. Let cool completely before slicing, refrigerating if desired.
Notes
Notes:
You can use any pie crust of choice, including a storebought pastry crust or graham crust.
Try garnishing with “Macadamia Maple Cream” or “Celestial Cream” (both recipes in eat, drink, and be vegan).
Next, our savory pie!
Festive Chickpea Tart
This Festive Chickpea Tart is from Let Them Eat Vegan. People often ask “what do you have as a main for the holidays?”… well this is it! At least, one of the options for a main.
I typically pick up a storebought crust to fill this pie, or I bake it without a crust (just shave off 5 or so minutes from the baking time). It’s quite easy to make, and has become such a reader favorite!
Definitely serve up with my Traditional Cranberry Sauce (below), and a great gravy. You can try the Rosemary Gravy in LTEV, or my new favorite HOMESTYLE GRAVY p. 108, .
Festive Chickpea Tart
Move over faux turkeys! This savory tart takes center plate with its combination of chickpeas, crunchy walnuts, spinach, and seasonings nestled together. This dish is elegant enough to serve for holiday gatherings, but also easy enough to make for a family dinner any time of the year.
Ingredients
- 1-2 tbsp water
- 1 cup onion diced
- 1/2 cup celery diced
- 4-5 medium-large garlic cloves minced
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- Few pinches freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups chickpeas reserve 1/3 cup
- 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tsp tamari
- 1/2 tsp ground sage
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 3/4 cup walnuts toasted, see note for nut-free
- 1/3 cup rolled oats optional, see note
- 1 – 10 oz pckg frozen chopped spinach thawed and squeezed to remove excess water (about 1 cup after squeezing)
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme chopped (or 1 tsp dried thyme added to puree)
- 1 prepared whole-wheat pastry pie crust thawed (see note)
- 1 tsp tamari
- 2 tbsp walnuts (see note for nut-free) chopped (for topping, no need to toast beforehand)
Instructions
- Add water, onion, celery, garlic, salt and pepper in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook 9-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and turning golden. In a food processor, add chickpeas (except reserved 1/3 cup), lemon juice, tamari, sage, salt, and sautéed mixture, and partially puree (not fully like hummus, but leaving some chunkier consistency). Add toasted walnuts and oats, and briefly pulse to lightly break up nuts. Transfer to a bowl, and stir in spinach, cranberries, parsley, thyme, and reserved chickpeas. Transfer mixture to pie shell (or lightly oiled pie plate, see note), smoothing to evenly distribute. Brush tamari over top. Sprinkle on walnuts. Bake in preheated oven at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes, until tart is golden on edges and top. Cool 5-10 minutes, then serve with cranberry sauce, a spoon drizzling of oil/balsamic vinegar slurry, or other sauce of choice. Serves 4-5.
Notes
Oats Note: The rolled oats, while lending some structure to the tart, can easily be omitted.
Pie Shell Note: This tart can be made without the pastry crust, if needed. If you want to make the tart without the crust, simply prepare the pie plate with a spray of oil (or wipe), and then bake for about 5 minutes less.
Nuts Note: For a nut-free option, use pumpkin seeds. You can reduce the amount in the filling if you prefer.
Note: Serve with Traditional Cranberry Sauce (below), or a gravy. Try Rosemary Gravy from LTEV or HOMESTYLE GRAVY, Plant-Powered Families. This recipe is also a reader favorite, from eat, drink and be vegan.
Traditional Cranberry Sauce
You’ll never buy another store-brand cranberry sauce after you’ve tasted this one – and, it’s a breeze to make!
Ingredients
- 1½ cups fresh cranberries rinsed (see note)
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar optional
Instructions
- In a pot on medium-high heat, combine ingredients and bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. Once boiling, reduce heat to simmer for 10–15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cranberries have broken down. (Reduce heat is sauce is sticking or is simmering too rapidly.) Once sauce has thickened, taste test, and add balsamic vinegar for a touch of sourness if desired. Serve warm or chilled. Makes about 1 cup.
Notes
Note: Frozen cranberries can also be used; just continue simmering until cranberries break down into entire mixture thickens and becomes deeper in color.
I hope you enjoy this Chocolate Pumpkin Pie & Festive Chickpea Tart! x Dreena
What are your favorite vegan holiday recipes?
Kelly Twomey says
Hi Dreena,
I’m making my entire Christmas menu from your recipes! So excited! The chickpea tart is going to be the centrepiece and it’s just wonderful to have a wholesome, healthful meal to serve (rather than the traditional with excess fat, salt etc)
Anyway, I’m trying to make my life easier by making some stuff ahead of time and wondered if you’ve had success freezing the chickpea tart and thawing it for dinner?
Thanks so much for this blog. Love it.
Kelly
Dreena says
Hi Kelly!
Yes, I know quite a few folks that have been freezing the tart and then thawing for Christmas Day. Another option is to make the filling in advance, store in a bowl, and then fill the crust when you are ready to bake it. Hope that helps – thanks for your kinds words. 🙂
Rebecca Stucki says
Thanks for posting the chickpea tart here, Dreena. I want to try it. I tried finding it in ED&BV but couldn’t locate it. Which section is it in? I have the Kindle version, which is difficult to search.
Dreena says
Sorry just getting back to you Rebecca. It’s on p. 128, at the end of “your main squeeze” chapter. 🙂
Rebecca Stucki says
I was looking in the wrong cookbook – sorry!
Nancy Nurse says
Hi Dreena, I live in Europe and cannot find non-dairy chocolate chips? Can you help or suggest a place I might purchase them online perhaps? Can’t WAIT to make that Chocolate Pumpkin Pie. It looks like something out of this world!
Dreena says
Hi Nancy, sorry for the delay. Are you able to order through amazon? I know amazon (in US) sells non-dairy chocolate chips. Also, there is vegan essentials (veganessentials.com) but I imagine shipping would be terribly expensive. Do you have any natural foods stores that can start stocking them? Sometimes if you ask for them to bring in a specific item they will do so. Not sure if that has helped… oh, one other idea, if you have some specialty chocolate stores, they usually carry bars or chips of dark chocolate – check the ingredients, usually dairy-free! Good luck.
Linda says
Hey Nancy
I live in Europe too, so perhaps I can help. In case you live in a German-speaking country or in Britain I can name some online stores for you. Also, you can find plain dark vegan chocolate almost everywhere. You could simply by that and chop it up – works fine!
Dreena says
That’s great of you, thanks Linda.
Overseas Vegan says
Hi Dreena, I can’t get canned pumpkin or pimpkin pie mix over here in Europe. I have resorted to steaming and purreeing my own pumpkin to make pies, bread etc. Can you give a substitute for the pumpkin pie mix in the pie recipe? I assume it also has spices in it? Thanks for the help!
I purchased LTEV a few weeks ago and so far we have been loving everything we made from it! By the way, I turned the gingered broccoli side dish into a great, easy and speedy lunch with the addition of chickpeas. Very tasty indeed!
Dreena says
Yes, the pumpkin pie mix has spices – and also some sweetener. If you are using your own puree, I’d suggest adding about 2-3 tbsps of coconut sugar (or other unrefined sugar), and either 1 – 1 1/2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice, or a combination of about 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp allspice, 1/8 – 1/4 tsp nutmeg, and a few pinches of cloves. That should give you enough of that pumpkin pie flavor that is comparable to a mix – but def adjust to taste – puree the spices/sweetener and add more if you like (note that you won’t need it too sweet b/c the choc chips will also sweeten the pie). Hope that helps. 🙂
Food and Loathing in the Steel City says
I just got Let Them Eat Vegan from the library and after looking through, I came online to see if the chickpea tart was online because I won’t still have the book by the time Thanksgiving rolls around (unless I buy it, which I very well may). I’m thinking about making this for Thanksgiving basically for myself and my China Study-reading uncle, but I’m not sure yet what to go with for the centerpiece. I like that it can be done without a crust. At first, I was thinking the chickpea cutlets from Veganomicon, but I don’t like that it has vital wheat gluten in it — this takes away that problem and also adds spinach, which I dig. Can anyone give feedback on how successful of a Thanksgiving certerpiece this is? I’m looking for TASTY and HEALTHY.
Dreena says
Melissa, the tart is a pretty popular recipe. I first shared it when writing for VegNews years ago, and then on my older blog. If you google it you’ll come up with some reader reports giving many ‘thumbs up’.