If there’s a pie that you need to try this holiday season, it’s this vegan ube pie. No holiday is complete without a pie; this is the perfect dessert to add to your dinner table. It’s creamy and custardy, with delicious notes of vanilla and pistachio. This pie will make a statement, and everyone will be raving about it.
Every holiday season, I get excited about all the food! In particular, I look forward to the dessert table; I always get a little serving of everything to try it out. But the one thing I’ve never seen at any holiday table is an ube pie. In the Philippines, pies aren’t mainly a popular dessert. Yes, you get egg custard pie and buko pie, but you don’t see ube pie. Since pumpkin pie is so famous in America, I decided to switch things up and give the pie a Filipino twist.
If you haven’t heard about ube, it is a purple yam and a staple ingredient in Filipino desserts, such as ube halaya or ube pandesal. It has a mild and sweet flavor, which some have said is a cross between vanilla and pistachio. However, we don’t get fresh ube in America, so we find it in either a dehydrated powder form or frozen grated. In this recipe, we’ll be using frozen grated, which you can find at an Asian grocery store or a Filipino specialty store.
✨ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- This vegan ube pie will make for the ultimate Filipino holiday treat!
- It's the easiest pie recipe ever. All you need to do is blend all the ingredients and pour them into the pie crust. Waiting to dig in will be the most challenging part.
- This pie is bursting with an incredible, rich, ube flavor that will tantalize your taste buds!
✏️ Ingredient Notes
- Pie Crust - I used my homemade pie crust recipe, which gives the flakiest crust ever, but if you’re short on time, you can use store-bought vegan pie crust.
- Ube - For this recipe, you’ll need both frozen grated ube and ube extract. You can find these in an Asian or Filipino specialty grocery store. If you don’t have an Asian store near you, you can check out Weee!, where they sell both online.
- Ube Halaya - In addition to frozen grated ube and ube extract, I added ube halaya for a boost of ube flavor.
- Coconut milk - Full-fat coconut milk will give this pie a rich and creamy flavor.
- Silken tofu - Adding silken tofu will add to the creaminess and give this pie that custard texture.
- Sugar - I use both granulated and brown sugar in this recipe, as they give the right amount of sweetness to the pie. Using a combination of both sugars will give this pie more flavor!
- Vanilla Extract - Adding vanilla will bring additional flavor and enhance the “vanilla-like” flavor in the pie.
- Cornstarch - Since we are not using eggs, cornstarch is essential to help bind and set this ube pie. It will also help with the consistency of this pie, making it thick and creamy.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
🍴 How to Make Vegan Ube Pie
Top Tip: Use a food scale to weigh out the ingredients. That way, you'll only need one or two bowls, and you won't have to wash a bunch of measuring cups!
Step 1: Make the pie crust according to the recipe. While your crust is chilling in the fridge, preheat the oven to 400° Fahrenheit. After 30 minutes, remove the crust from the fridge and dock the bottom with a fork.
Step 2: Place a piece of parchment over the crust and cover the bottom with the pie weights, dry beans, or dry rice. Bake the crust for 12 minutes.
Step 3: Carefully remove the parchment paper and pie weights. Place the crust back into the oven to bake for another 10 minutes. Remove it from the oven. The crust should be dried out and starting to brown. Allow it to cool to room temperature. Reduce the oven heat to 350° Fahrenheit.
Step 4: Add all the ingredients for the ube filling to a blender. First, blend on low, then gradually turn it to high to combine. Blend until smooth.
Step 5: Pour the ube filling directly into the cooled pie crust and smooth the surface with a spatula. Cover the edges of the pie crust with a pie shield or aluminum foil to prevent them from burning. Pour hot water into a separate baking tray and place it on the bottom rack of the oven. Then, place the pie on the top rack and bake for 40-45 minutes.
Step 6: Remove the pie from the oven and let it cool at room temperature. Transfer the pie to the fridge to set overnight. Slice and serve the ube pie as desired.
⭐ Expert Tips
- Plan ahead. It’s best to make this pie a day before serving it, as it needs time to cool and set in the fridge.
- Easy transfer. Placing the pie pan on a large rimmed baking sheet will make it easier to transfer the pie in and out of the oven and distribute the heat evenly throughout the baking.
- Set it in the fridge. When your pie has completely cooled, please place it in the fridge to set it and then serve it the next day!
💭 Common Questions
I typically find mine at an Asian or Filipino specialty grocery store. But if you don’t have one near you, you can order both from Say Weee!
I have not tried making this sugar-free, so I can’t say how it’ll turn out. If you’ve tried it, please let me know!
I would try to find something similar in viscosity, like a dairy-free heavy whipping cream that doesn’t contain coconut milk. If you can’t find something like that, you can use dairy-free milk - I recommend soy or cashew!
🥣 Storage & Reheating
- Store this vegan ube pie tightly covered, in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- I do not recommend freezing this pie as it will start affecting the texture as it thaws.
❤️ More Recipes You'll Love
Did you try this recipe? Please leave a 5-star ⭐️ rating and comment below! Tag @flouredframe on Instagram & Facebook!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Ube Pie
Equipment
- 9-inch pie plate
- Mixing bowl
- High-speed blender
- Pie shield optional
- Rimmed baking sheet
- Wire cooling rack
Ingredients
- 454 grams Frozen grated ube (thawed the night before, see notes)
- 300 grams Full-fat coconut milk (canned)
- 100 grams Granulated sugar
- 100 grams Light brown sugar
- 100 grams Silken tofu
- 145 grams Vegan ube halaya
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-3 teaspoons ube extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 35 grams cornstarch
- 1 Pie crust (you can also use a pre-made pie crust)
- Vegan whipped cream (for topping)
Instructions
Pie Crust
- Make the pie crust according to the recipe.
- While your crust is chilling in the fridge, arrange the oven racks so that one is in the middle and one is on the bottom. Preheat the oven to 400° Fahrenheit.
- Remove the crust from the fridge and dock the bottom with a fork. Place a large piece of parchment over the crust. Fill the entire pie crust with the pie weights, dry beans, or dry rice. You need enough to fill the bottom and sides. Place the crust on the middle rack and bake for 12 minutes.
- Carefully remove the parchment paper and pie weights. Place the crust back in the oven to bake for another 10 minutes. Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool to room temperature. Reduce the oven heat to 350° Fahrenheit.
Ube Filling & Bake
- Add all the ingredients for the ube filling to a blender. Blend on low first, then gradually turn it to high to combine. Blend until smooth.
- Pour the ube filling directly into the cooled pie crust and smooth the surface with a spatula.
- Cover the edges of the pie crust with a pie shield or aluminum foil to prevent them from burning.
- Fill a separate baking pan halfway with hot water. Carefully place it on the bottom rack of the oven. Then, place the pie on the middle rack and bake for 40-45 minutes. It’s okay if you see cracks; that is normal.
- Remove the pie from the oven and let it cool at room temperature. Transfer the pie to the fridge to set overnight. Slice and serve the ube pie as desired.
Notes
- Do not mistake ube as a purple sweet potato or taro. These 3 are completely different from each other. Ube is a purple yam, and not a potato. And taro is a root vegetable that comes from the taro plant. It’s a light lavender color and completely inedible when raw.
- Where can I find frozen grated ube and ube extract? I typically find mine at an Asian or Filipino specialty grocery store. But if you don’t have one near you, you can order both from Say Weee! (Only ships within the U.S.)
- Plan ahead. It’s best to make this pie a day before serving it, as it needs time to cool and set in the fridge.
Jessica says
Hi,
Can I use ube halaya for this?
Jess xx
Floured Frame says
Hi Jess,
I haven't tried making this with ube halaya, so I'm not sure how the pie will turn out. The reason why I didn't use ube halaya is that most people have a hard time finding vegan ube halaya.
ines says
i made this over the holidays (christmas + nye) and not only is it insanely beautiful its so delicious. im obsessed.
Floured Frame says
Aw thank you!! I'm so glad you loved it, it's definitely very delicious!
Camilo Velasco-Overson says
Hi,
Is there a possible replacement you might recommend for the coconut milk? I love coconut but unfortunately it doesn’t love me back </3 I would love to try out this recipe even though I am allergic to coconut! My partner is Filipino and I want to surprise him with an ube treat that I can eat too.
Thanks so much,
Camilo
Floured Frame says
I'm sorry to hear that! So, before I suggest something, I wanted to let you know why we use coconut milk in this recipe. Because this recipe uses mostly frozen ube, which doesn't have a strong flavor on its own, Filipinos always use coconut to bring complement it. It's what gives ube that distinct flavor. While I do use ube extract, I didn't want it to overpower the natural flavors, mostly just to boost it.
So for you, I would try a neutral-tasting milk, I prefer soy. I would avoid using any type of nut/oat milk as they are mostly just water and you need some fat and protein from the milk to help stabilize this pie. Then probably add more of the ube extract, maybe 2-3 teaspoons more? Taste as you go!