I have made strawberry pie recipes long before Damien turned vegan. Classic strawberry filling mainly contains gelatin, and the crust is washed with egg yolk. In this vegan version of the strawberry pie, all the animal-based ingredients have been removed, but I can guarantee that the flavors stay unchanged. Like my vegan blueberry pie, I created this vegan strawberry pie recipe, making sure the fruit pie filling was easily sliceable. To do so, I am using a combination of the classic cornstarch and sugar-thickened strawberry sauce with agar agar. The addition of this natural algae powder firms up the pie filling, and mixed with the quartered strawberries, it makes each slice hold its shape to perfection. This vegan strawberry pie is the perfect addition to your Christmas desserts or a vegan Thanksgiving dessert as a swap to the classic vegan pumpkin pie.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Vegan Pie Crust – You can use store-bought vegan crust or any of my vegan crust recipes. My easy vegan pie crust is what I am using here. It’s buttery and flaky, made from vegan butter, iced water, and flour. But, if you are after a vegan, gluten-free pie crust, try my almond flour pie crust. Fresh Strawberries – Hulled and quartered. I know some recipes with half the strawberries, but the pie slices are fragile, and the filling runs out easily with bigger pieces of strawberries. Cornstarch – This works as a thickening agent and creates the glossy strawberry filling. Sugar – Feel free to use any granulated sweetener you like. Unrefined options are also great, but the filling color won’t be as vibrant if your sugar is dark. Lemon Juice for a light tangy flavor. Vanilla Extract for flavor Almond Extract is a French-inspired aroma I love to add to fruit pie, but totally optional. You can skip or replace it with vanilla extract. Salt to enhance flavors Agar-agar – optional, but truly adds firmness to each slice and a jelly-like texture as well.
Making The Pie Crust
Making Vegan Strawberry Pie Filling
Prebaking The Crust
Assembling Vegan Strawberry Pie
Serving Vegan Pie Crust
Serve the next day with any of the following toppings
Coconut whipped cream Vanilla ice cream Vegan Whipped cream – use lentil cream – I used Flora Cream or heavy vegan whipped cream. Dust of powdered sugar Vegan Custard
Expert Tips To Make Vegan Fruit Pies
Adjust sugar regarding fruit sweetness. I always provide two levels of sweetness for fruit pies because depending on how ripe your berries are, you may want to cut down on sugar. Cool down all ingredients. This is a must before assembling a fruit pie. If you stir warm ingredients together, you overcook the fruits, they get mushy. If the crust is too warm as well, the filling moistens the crust and it is soaked and hard to slice. Use fresh strawberries – Fresh strawberry pies taste the best because the fresh strawberries add texture the pie. If you are using frozen strawberries, expert a soft, filling. You can cook the 2 cups of frozen strawberry directly in the saucepan. But, the remaining 3 cups must be thawed and drained from their juice before stirring in the sauce. This prevents the crust from becoming soggy. Make the crust a day ahead. Since you need cold ingredients, it saves time the day you intend to serve the pie. You can also freeze the prebaked crust up to 1\one month before making the pie.
