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These Vegan Pumpkin Tarts are an easy and delicious dessert, made without eggs or dairy. You can whip up the filling in no time, without turning on your oven!
Why You’ll Love these Pumpkin Tarts
This healthy dessert comes together in just about 20 minutes of effort, and then they will chill to perfection in your freezer. Keep in mind these vegan tarts won’t have the exact same texture as a tradtional pumpkin pie. This is more of a frozen dessert, that’s totally fruit-sweetened!
If you like the idea of serving perfectly portioned pumpkin pie “ice cream” desserts to your holiday guests, this recipe is for you.
If you would rather have a dessert with the texture of pie, try my Vegan Pumpkin Pie, instead. It’s also sweetened with dates, and has a more traditional, baked texture. In fact, it’s the best pumpkin pie I’ve ever made!
How to Make the Crust
To prepare the crust for these no-bake tarts, you’ll simply need to pulse the walnuts in a food processor, along with maple syrup, coconut oil, and salt. The coconut oil helps to act as a binder, so the crust will solidify when chilled.
Note: If you would rather use dates to help bind the crust, you can do that, too! I’d use about 6-8 dates as a substitute for the maple syrup, and pulse them with the walnuts until the mixture is sticky.
When the mixture looks relatively uniform and crumbly, you can press it into the bottom of 9 paper liners in a muffin pan. Place it in the freezer to chill while you make the pumpkin filling.
How to Make the Filling
This no-bake vegan pumpkin pie filling couldn’t be easier. Just toss everything in the blender, and blend until smooth! I tried to use as little liquid as possible in this recipe, to keep the texture creamy, rather than “icy.”
The more liquid you have to add, the more icy of a texture these final pumpkin tarts will have. So, start with just 2 tablespoons of almond milk, then add 1 tablespoon at a time until the filling blends smoothly.
Spoon the filling evenly over the 9 crusts, then smooth the top. Pop them in the freezer to set, which should take about 2 hours.
These frozen pumpkin tarts can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months, but be sure to keep them in an airtight container. I like to make them no more than a week in advance, if I plan on serving these for a holiday meal, just to make sure the flavor is as fresh as possible.
Serve topped with coconut whipped cream, and a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice, for an extra-pretty presentation!
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil , melted
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the filling:
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 to 4 tablespoons almond milk
- 1/4 cup coconut oil , melted
- 3/4 cup Medjool dates , pitted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (see notes)
Instructions
- Line a standard muffin tin with 9 parchment cups, and set aside.
- In a large food processor, combine the walnuts, maple syrup, coconut oil, and salt together. Pulse briefly, until the dough sticks together when pinched between your fingers. Scoop the dough by heaping tablespoons into the 9 parchment cups and use your fingers to press down and form a crust for each cup. Place the pan in the fridge to set while you prepare the filling.
- To prepare the filling, simply combine all of the ingredients in a blender, starting with just 2 tablespoons of almond milk, and blend until completely smooth. Add more almond milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed, to make the filling blend smoothly. (If your dates aren't soft enough to blend easily, soak them in warm water for 10 minutes beforehand.)
- Remove the pan of crusts from the fridge, and spoon the batter evenly into the 9 cups. Smooth the tops, then place in the freezer to set completely, about 2 hours.
- When the center of the filling is firm to the touch, the tarts are ready to serve! Remove the paper cups while the pumpkin tarts are still frozen. They will get softer as they come to room temperature, so be sure to serve them within 15-20 minutes of pulling them out of the freezer. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Need More Vegan Holiday Dessert Ideas?
Try one of these fan favorites!
- Vegan Pecan Pie
- Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars
- Vegan Pumpkin Bars
- Dairy-Free Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Chocolate Pots de Creme
- Vegan French Silk Pie
If you try these Vegan Pumpkin Tarts, please leave a comment below letting me know how you like them! And if you make any modifications, I’d love to hear about those, too. We can all benefit from your experience.
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Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite holiday pie?
Thanks for the quick response! I figured that would work but I had already hit send. Lol
Haven’t used butter in so long almost forgot about it. Hoping to find a better alternative. Just found out a couple weeks ago he’s allergic to dairy and nuts.
Could you tell me what I could substitute for coconut oil? My little one is allergic.
Thanks
Real butter should work!
Make these over the weekend. Used pecans because I didn’t have walnuts. Doubled the recipe to use entire can of pumpkin. Absolutely delicious. Better than traditional pumpkin pie!
I made these for a family event and they were AMAZING!!! I liked them more than regular pumpkin pie. I plan to make really mini ones for Christmas in a mini muffin tin. Can’t wait!! Thank you!
Megan, these treats were amazing! I had a sugar pie pumpkin in my CSA box and this recipe put it to good use after some time in my slow cooker. I’ll be making these at thanksgiving. Thank you!
These look great! Two questions: Do you strain your fresh pumpkin puree (like with a coffee filter) before using it in a recipe? Also, do you think you could bake these?
With my new baby, I haven’t been able to make my own pumpkin puree lately, so I used the boxed kind– which is probably slightly less moist than the homemade version, depending on how you prepare it. I’m not sure how they’d turn out baked, but please let us know if you give it a shot!
Made these today and they are yummy! I didn’t have any walnuts so I used macadamias, which made for a delicious crust. My only issue was that the filling stuck to the paper cups quite a bit. They were in the fridge for 8+ hours before I tried one, and it was just really hard to get it out of the paper. Anyone else have and solve this problem? Thinking I’ll freeze the rest and see if that helps.
How do you continue to come up with these recipes? So I don’t have to turn on my oven, I don’t have to cut anything up, it is raw and actually good for me and it tastes like a dessert? WOW! You are amazing! I can’t wait to whip a batch of these up. I was concerned about what I was going to do when everyone else was eating pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. Now I know. I will have a batch already made in the fridge and pull out my own special indulgence. When the ladies ask what I am eating I can share your site and recipe. You rock my world!
My favorite holiday pie is pecan… but I only let myself have a bite or two!
Last year during the holidays I made pecan pie with the normal crust but substituted coconut nectar for the corn syrup. Everyone loved it and they didn’t know it was sugar free. Yogis year I plan to try it the same way except using a grain free crust like this recipe.
I made these yesterday for an evening dessert and my hubby and I both loved them. The crust, though, after being in the refrigerator all day with the filling on top became a bit moist. Did yours do that? In the photos above it looks dry and crumbly which is what I wanted. They were delicious but I’m wondering if I need to make some adjustments the next time I make them?