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If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s possible to make a pumpkin pie without a single egg or drop of heavy cream and still get that same creamy, sliceable custard texture…this is your answer. Silken tofu blended with pumpkin puree and warm spices bakes into a pie that’s every bit as rich as the classic (minus the dairy and eggs).
save this recipe!Silken tofu is one of my favorite kitchen tricks because nobody expects it. Texture drives perception just as much as flavor does, and silken tofu blended smooth mimics the custard-like mouthfeel of a traditional pumpkin pie filling almost perfectly.
Once it’s baked into a pie with pumpkin, brown sugar, and pumpkin spice, the tofu disappears completely. What’s left is a pie that’s rich, silky, and impossible to distinguish from the version made with eggs and evaporated milk!
Notes from the test kitchen
Tapping out the air bubbles
Blending silken tofu incorporates a surprising amount of air into the mixture, and if you skip the tap-and-settle step, that air rises to the surface during baking and leaves the top of the pie cratered and uneven.
Cooling completely before slicing
Pulling the pie too early means slicing into a custard that hasn’t finished setting, and you’ll lose that clean, structured slice.
Key Ingredients
- Silken tofu: The ingredient doing all the heavy lifting here. Its neutral flavor and custard-like texture when blended make it a near-perfect stand-in for the eggs and cream in a traditional filling. Make sure you’re buying silken tofu specifically, not regular firm tofu, which has a completely different texture and won’t blend smooth.
- Pumpkin puree: Plain canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling, which comes pre-spiced and pre-sweetened and will throw off the whole recipe. Libby’s is a reliable, widely available choice.
- Granulated sugar and dark brown sugar: Using both brings a rounder sweetness than either alone. The brown sugar in particular adds a faint molasses note that plays well with the warm spices.
- Pumpkin spice seasoning: The whole flavor identity of the pie in one tablespoon. TO make your own, Combine 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon ground cloves for a close match to a tablespoon of premade pumpkin spice seasoning.
- Salt: Easy to skip mentally when a recipe is mostly sweet, but salt is what keeps the pumpkin and spice flavors from tasting flat. Don’t leave it out.
- Deep-dish pie crust: A store-bought ready-to-bake crust keeps this recipe simple. Most store-bought crusts don’t need to be blind-baked first, but if you’re using a homemade crust, blind-baking prevents a soggy bottom once the wet filling goes in.
Got leftover?
You’ll likely have a bit of pie filling left over. Rather than waste it, pour the extra into a small glass or ramekin and refrigerate it as a simple no-bake pumpkin custard. It sets up nicely on its own with no additional baking required.
Silken Tofu Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
- 1 15-oz can pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling
- 1 16-oz package silken tofu
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp pumpkin spice seasoning
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 deep-dish ready-to-bake pie crust
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F (232°C).
- Blend: In a blender, combine 1 15-oz can pumpkin puree, 1 16-oz package silken tofu, ½ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup dark brown sugar, 1 Tbsp pumpkin spice seasoning, and ½ tsp salt.
- Tap: Firmly tap the blender on the counter many times to remove the bubbles from the mixture.
- Assemble: Pour pumpkin mixture into 1 deep-dish ready-to-bake pie crust until mixture is level with the top of the crust.(You may have a little filling leftover. Pour it into a glass and refrigerate as a little no-bake custard!)
- Bake: Transfer pie to the oven on the lowest rack. Bake at 450°F (232°C) for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F (176°C) and continue baking for 45 minutes. Pie is finished when the crust is golden brown, and the pie is firm around the edges. It may still jiggle a little in the middle, but will continue to firm as it cools. If crust darkens too quickly, a pie shield or foil around the edges will prevent further browning.
- Cool: Let pie cool on the counter for at least one hour before slicing to allow it to fully set.After cooling on the counter, you can loosely cover and transfer it to the refrigerator until ready to eat.
- Serve: Slice into eight pieces, cleaning the knife between each slice. Serve with whipped cream!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist, and should be taken as an estimate. For the most accurate nutritional information, calculate it using the actual ingredients in your recipe.
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!
This looks so good! I don’t use sugar so can I use maple syrup instead? If so, how would I adjust the recipe?
I haven’t tested this one with maple syrup, but I think it might make the filling a bit too loose!
Same here. No sugar and prefer maple syrup.
Could we use firm instead of soft tofu and switch to maple syrup?
What kind of silken tofu? Firm, very firm, soft? Thanks.
Soft!
Do I need to place pie on a cookie sheet to bake?
You don’t need to. We haven’t found that this bubble’s over, but if you want to be extra cautious, you can!
This looks amazing! 😋 Could the sugar be substituted with maple syrup? And if so, how much?
We haven’t tested this one with maple syrup, so I really can’t say for sure. I would love to hear how it goes if you try it out!
It just came out of the oven!
Yay! Happy eating!
The Mori-Nu Silken tofu has different levels of softness. They all are silken but there is firm, soft, extra firm… which level of these Silken tofus do you like best for the pies? Thanks!
Thanks for pointing out the confusion, Rebecca! We used soft silken tofu.
My family loved this!
I’m so thrilled to hear it was a hit, Elisabeth!
This pumpkin pie recipe hit the spot perfectly! After seeing the huge pumpkin pies at Costco my pie craving was ignited. I wanted that pumpkin pie delicious flavor and texture without using eggs or dairy–this recipe is IT!
Love hearing that, thanks for trying it Sue!