How to Make French Silk Pie Vegan
Instead of using dairy or eggs, this vegan French Silk Pie is made with full-fat coconut milk. It gives the pie a creamy texture, without an overwhelming coconut flavor. When you open a can of coconut milk, it might look solid on the top, with liquid on the bottom. You’ll be using the whole can for this recipe, so it doesn’t matter if it has separated in this case. Paired with unsweetened baking chocolate and coconut sugar, this dairy-free recipe has the perfect balance of sweet, chocolate flavor, without using any refined sugar.
How to Thicken It
Since this recipe doesn’t use eggs, it gets thickening help from a vegan gelatin called agar agar. I buy it as flakes at the store, so make sure you buy the flakes, too. (It’s also sold in powdered form, but measurements for that will be significantly different.) If you can’t find agar agar flakes, the closest substitute would be powdered gelatin, but keep in mind that’s not vegan or vegetarian. (My guess is that 1/2 teaspoon would be a similar swap for the 1 teaspoon of agar flakes.)
An alternate option might be to use 1/4 cup of arrowroot or tapioca starch instead of the agar, but I haven’t had the chance to test this myself yet. I’ll report back if I do, and I hope you will, too! If you don’t need this recipe to refined sugar free, try my Vegan Chocolate Fudge Cake, which is thickened using chocolate chips.
Vegan Pie Crust Options
It’s important to start with a baked pie crust for this recipe, since the filling only needs to be chilled to set. You can use my Oat Flour Pie Crust or my Almond Flour Pie crust, both of which are vegan. (This one is photographed with my Almond Flour Pie Crust.)
Dairy-Free Whipped Cream Topping
For a classic French Silk Pie, you’ll want to use a full batch of coconut whipped cream for the topping. (That’s what is pictured here. If you want more whipped cream, you’ll need to make a double batch.)
If you’d rather buy a whipped topping to save yourself some effort, there are tons of vegan whipped cream options at the store, too! I hope you’ll enjoy this vegan French Silk Pie soon. I can’t wait to hear what you think of it!
This recipe was updated on November 5, 2020 with a better crust & photo tutorials. The pie has been a fan favorite for 7 years, so I didn’t change the filling, other than to note that 1 teaspoon or 2 teaspoons of agar flakes will “work” for this recipe. I prefer it with just 1 teaspoon for a softer chocolate layer.
More Vegan Desserts
Looking for another vegan dessert idea? Try these crowd-pleasing recipes below.
Vegan Pecan Pie The Best Vegan Pumpkin Pie Baked Apples (easier than pie!) Gluten-Free & Vegan Chocolate Cake Chocolate Pots de Creme Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars Almond Butter Blondies
If you try this Vegan French Silk Pie recipe, please leave a comment below letting me know how you like it! And if you make any modifications, I’d love to hear about those, too. We can all benefit from your experience. — Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite pie flavor?
