Vegan Chocolate Pie
Vegan Chocolate Pie
Vegan Chocolate Pie
Let’s talk about that moment when you are so blissfully lost in something you are eating, the sound of your fork hitting the bottom of the plate actually startles you. That was me and this creamy, pretzel-crusted Vegan Chocolate Pie.
One moment, I was standing innocently at my counter, a near-full dish of pie in front of me.
The next, I was staring at an almost empty pie dish wondering who had snuck into the kitchen behind me and eaten two-thirds of the pie while I wasn’t looking.
I do a 360 and…
Nope. Empty kitchen. That was just me. Eating the entire pie. Oops.
Fortunately, if ever there were a chocolate pie appropriate for polishing off solo, this vegan pie recipe (or perhaps this Vegan Pumpkin Pie) is the one to choose!
5 Star Review
“Delicious! This turned out great! And it was very easy to make. Creamy, smooth, VERY CHOCOLATEY mousse.”
— Sarah —
This vegan chocolate pie tastes like the decadent chocolate cream pie you’d expect at an old-fashioned diner, but the filling is:
- Completely vegan (!)
- Naturally sweetened (!!)
- Packed with protein (!!!)
- AND made from a lineup of nutritious ingredients that might just leave you feeling justified eating a slice for breakfast.
How to Make Vegan Chocolate Pie
Here’s how to make the vegan chocolate fudge pie of your dreams, my dreams, and the dreams of anyone and everyone who has ever wished that eating a slice of chocolate pie was the dietary equivalent of eating a salad.
Tip!
Without a crust, the chocolate filling can serve as an OMG-good vegan chocolate pudding that’s a bit lighter than my favorite Avocado Chocolate Mousse (another winning recipe for better-for-you ingredient sneaks).
Try the chocolate mousse on its own or sprinkled with bonus toppings such as:
- Whipped coconut cream
- Sliced bananas
- Fresh berries
- Granola
- Crushed graham crackers
- Crumbled Oreo cookies (Ben’s favorite and technically vegan too)
- Pretzels (my personal favorite)
The Ingredients
- Pretzels. To take this chocolate mousse filling to the next level, I poured it into a pretzel crust. I opted for a pretzel crust because I am hopelessly smitten with all things salty/sweet.
- Frozen Bananas. These sweeten the chocolate pie naturally and contribute to the filling’s rich, creamy texture. Plus now that there’s fruit involved, we can basically call this a parfait.
- Cocoa Powder. I wanted this recipe to taste as close as possible to a classic French silk pie, and that means we’re using chocolate in any way we can. Making this vegan chocolate pie with cocoa powder results in a pie that is both more intensely chocolaty and has fewer calories than if we used regular chocolate alone.
- Melted Dark Chocolate. Go as dark as you dare, and don’t skimp. The better quality your chocolate, the better the chocolate mousse pie.
- Almond Butter. Hello good fats, protein, and chocolate’s BFF.
- Unsweetened Chocolate Almond Milk. Nope, we are not stopping with the chocolate yet. I used unsweetened chocolate almond milk. You can find it both refrigerated and shelf stable sections of the grocery store.
- Tofu. WAIT! Please come back. I pinky swear that this does not at all taste like a chocolate pie with tofu.
Tofu In Dessert (It works!)
The tofu is here for texture purposes only. Once you blend it with the other ingredients, tofu makes the filling so lusciously creamy, anyone who tastes it will think it’s a chocolate mousse pie with cream cheese or pudding, not tofu.
The tofu also makes this vegan chocolate pie high in protein. Are you craving this for breakfast yet?
The Directions
- Prepare the crust and then bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for until golden.
- Place the crust the freezer or refrigerator to cool completely. DO NOT skip this step!
- Make the filling, then pour into the cooled crust. Refrigerate until set. Top, slice, and ENJOY!
Recipe Adaptations
If you don’t have pretzels on hand (or they’re simply not your thing), here are a few other equally delicious crust options:
- Vegan Chocolate Pie with Graham Cracker Crust. Add the filling to a graham cracker crust instead. I suspect it would be nothing short of magnificent.
- Vegan Chocolate Pie with Pie Crust. Classic French silk pie recipes call for regular pie crust, which is another tasty option. I have this recipe for Whole Wheat Pie Crust or Oil Pie Crust if you’d like to go this route.
- No Bake Vegan Chocolate Pie. If you’d like to keep this a 100% no bake chocolate pie, since the filling is already no bake, all you need to do is use a no-bake pie crust recipe like the one in this no-bake Chocolate Ganache Tart.
However, you decide to serve this vegan chocolate pie, leave all pretenses of self-control behind.
As I learned in the kitchen the day this easy chocolate pie came into my life, it is not the sort of dessert that allows it.
Fortunately, thanks to this vegan chocolate pie filling’s lighter ingredient lineup, you can let loose and know that you’re doing dessert (or, ahem, breakfast) in a more nourishing way.
Storage Tips
- To Store. Store leftover pie in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.
- To Freeze. Pie can be tightly wrapped and frozen for up to 1 month. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Storage Tips
If you’d like to make just the filling and eat it like a chocolate pudding or mousse, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. The banana flavor will become slightly more pronounced, but it will still be yummy.
Recommended Tools to Make this Recipe
- Pie Plate. When in doubt, a classic white pie plate is the way to go. This one will last a lifetime.
- Pie Server. Even though a fork is really all you need for digging into this vegan pie.
High-Powered Blender
A blender with a high-powered motor will give you the smoothest, silkiest filling.
Chocolate Mousse Pie with Pretzel Crust
Ingredients
For the Pretzel Crust:
- 3 1/2 cups whole mini pretzels or thin pretzel sticks, use gluten-free pretzels to make the pie gluten free
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter or vegan butter (1 stick)
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
For the Chocolate Mousse Pie Filling:
- 12 ounces soft, extra soft, or silken tofu (1 package) (I used soft; do not use any variety of firm tofu, as it will not have the proper creamy texture)
- 1 cup frozen banana slices about 5 ounces
- 1/2 cup almond butter or other nut butter of choice
- 1/4 cup unsweetened chocolate almondmilk
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 8 ounces good-quality chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips, about 1 1/3 cups (I used Trader Joe’s 72% dark chocolate bar), dairy free if needed
For Bonus Topping (Optional):
- Whipped coconut cream chopped chocolate, extra crushed pretzels
Instructions
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Make the crust: Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, pulse the pretzels until they form mostly fine crumbs with a few more textured pieces remaining throughout. If you do not have or prefer not to use a food processor, place the pretzels in a ziptop bag and crush them with a rolling pin (you may need to double up the bag if it gets any small holes).
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Melt the butter in a large, heatproof bowl in the microwave. Add pretzel crumbs (you should have about 1 1/2 cups; make a few extra or subtract as needed) to the bowl with the melted butter. Add the sugar, and then stir until evenly moist and combined. The crumbs should hold together easily when pressed. If they do not, add 1 to 2 tablespoons additional melted butter. Press the crumbs into the bottom and up the sizes of a 9-inch pie dish. Bake for 8 minutes, until golden and fragrant. Set aside to cool slightly, and then place in the freezer or refrigerator to cool completely. Do not proceed with the recipe until your crust and pie dish are at or below room temperature.
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Make the filling: While the crust cools, place the tofu, frozen banana, almond butter, chocolate almondmilk, and cocoa powder in a blender. Blend until completely smooth. In a microwave-safe bowl or in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt the chocolate, and then add it to the blender and blend again until very smooth, stopping to scrape down the blender as needed. Try your very best not to eat the entire thing right then and there.
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Pour the filling into the cooled crust and smooth the top. Refrigerate until set, at least 6 hours or overnight. When ready to serve, top with whipped coconut cream, chocolate, and pretzels as desired. Slice and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Pie can be tightly wrapped and frozen for up to 1 month. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Store leftover pie in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.
- If you’d like to make just the filling and eat it like a chocolate pudding or mousse, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. The banana flavor will become slightly more pronounced, but it will still be delicious!
- More crust options: If you prefer not to do a pretzel crust, you can swap a graham cracker crust, regular pie crust, or simply enjoy the filling on its own as a delicious vegan chocolate mousse.
Nutrition
Related Recipes
Just because you’re vegan, doesn’t mean you can’t have your cake AND eat it too! Here are more of my favorite vegan dessert recipes:
READ: Vegan Chocolate Pie