This vegan lemon pie will be your new favorite, taking minimal effort to pull together before you sit back and let it chill. And the taste of lemon is so poppin' fresh, you’ll feel like you’re biting into a light citrus cloud. No joke.
Cook the pie crust. Follow directions on the package if using a store-bought vegan pie crust. Once cooked through, set aside to cool.
Next, make the pie filling. Add coconut milk, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest, and salt to a medium pot and whisk together. You want to make sure the cornstarch isn’t clumpy and has dissolved in the liquid. Turn the heat on medium-high and continue to slowly whisk, to prevent the mixture from sticking to the bottom. Like making pudding, your mixture will start to thicken; once you feel it start to thicken up, WHISK LIKE CRAZY AND DON’T STOP. After the mixture becomes pudding-thick, remove from heat.
Allow the lemon pudding to cool COMPLETELY, about 30-45 minutes. Stir in lemon extract and half of the container of whipped topping (approximately 1 cup).
Transfer to pie crust, and spread evenly in shell. Top with remaining whipped topping and lemon zest (optional). Refrigerate immediately for at least 4 hours (or overnight is best) before slicing.
Notes
The pie filling and topping is naturally gluten-free, so this pie can easily be made gluten-free by purchasing a vegan gluten-free crust, or making your own from scratch.
There are two store-bought pie crusts I’ve seen that are naturally vegan. The first one is by Wholly Wholesome, available in both gluten-free and regular pie crusts. The second is from the brand Marie Callender’s, and is accidentally vegan but contains wheat. Of course, you can make your own pie crust too.
I love using So Delicious brand coconut topping, but you can also use Truwhip. Cool Whip is dairy-free, and not coconut-based, although I prefer the coconut-based toppings.
I prefer using full-fat coconut milk, but you can also use light/fat-free if you prefer. Both will work here.
If you don’t want to use coconut, you don’t have to!! I think the coconut makes this pie creamier, but you can swap the canned coconut for a plant-based milk of your choice. As mentioned above, you can also use Cool Whip is that’s more your speed.
This recipe can easily be doubled to make two, 9-inch round pies. Or, you can make one 9 x 13 sheet pan and cut into squares for parties. To do this version, you’ll have to make a homemade pie crust. I recommend making a no-bake graham cracker or ginger snap cookie crust, which pairs beautifully with lemon. Just press it firmly into the pan before adding the filling on top.