Thanksgiving Cranberry Pie Recipe ~ Vegan (2024)

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Your tongue will do the tangy tango when you bite into this divine Thanksgiving Cranberry Pie recipe. Every bite is full of a flaky, classic pie crust, and a homemade pie filling, using fresh cranberries. Topped off with a sexy and lustrous, totally vegan streusel crumble topping for the perfect holiday pie.

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Cranberry Pie Recipe

Did you know that you could turn your homemade cranberry sauce into a pie filling?! If not, you’ve been missing out on an obsession you didn’t realize you needed. I’m just as obsessed with Stuffing, Dinner Rolls, and Potatoes Au Gratin at Thanksgiving time. However, the day just isn’t complete without a slice of this tangy, mouth-watering pie!

The History of Pie

Pies have been around for many many years – since ancient times. All kinds of variances have been passed down. This version that I’m showing you today is your classic fruit pie rendition. To be more specific, historians credit the ancient Egyptians with the first version of a fruit pie. Ancient Greeks are said to mention it next in history. However, it seems fruit pie, as we know it today, was created in the 1500’s in England and brought over to America with some English settlers. This cranberry pie recipe shouldn’t be confused with Nantucket cranberry pie recipe, which is actually a cake!

How to Make Cranberry Pie Recipe with Fresh Cranberries

Prep – Bake the crust according to the packaged directions. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Make the cranberry sauce – In a medium saucepan, add the cranberries, juice, and sugar. Bring to a simmer. Cook for a few minutes on medium heat until all the berries have burst. Remove from heat. Stir in the vanilla and orange zest. Allow to cool.
Make the topping – Combine the sugar and flour in a bowl. Mix well. Grate the chilled butter over the top. Mix with your hands until a wet sand mixture appears. Don’t overwork.
Assemble and bake – Pour the sauce into the prepared crust and top with the streusel. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove and allow to cool. Enjoy!

Recipe Tips + Variations

Does it need to be refrigerated? – That’s one of the great aspects about this recipe – it doesn’t have to be refrigerated. Keep it in a dry, cool place, covered, for up to 3 days. You can definitely store it in the fridge if desired, just keep it covered.
Can it be frozen? – I don’t suggest freezing it as it will turn out soggy later on once it starts to thaw.
Reheating – You can pop a slice into the microwave or oven to reheat it, if desired. It still tastes dangerously delightful at room temperature.
Make your own crust from scratch – If you don’t want to use a store-bought crust, you can use the crust from this Vegan Pumpkin Pie!
Pre-cook the crust – Pre-cooking the crust ensures the bottom fully cooks through and doesn’t end up soggy once the pie filling is added.
Can I use canned cranberry sauce for the filling? – You will absolutely hate it if you use canned cranberry sauce. This recipe isn’t meant for that style of sauce and it will turn out soggy and gross. In other words, absolutely do not sully this pie with canned sauce. Thank you!
Use other fruits – If desired, you can always swap out half of the cranberries for apples, blackberries, or raspberries. Be sure to peel the apples and dice them into pieces about the size of the cranberries.
Add nuts – Candied walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts would be delicious added to the top of this pie recipe.
Make it crustless – Skip the crust altogether! Just dump the cranberry filling into a baking dish, top with the streusel, bake, and enjoy with some dairy-free ice cream on top!
Serve the filling by itself – The filling is basically a divine cranberry orange sauce. So, you can serve it as a side dish at your holiday gathering along with Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes, Classic Bread Stuffing, and Vegan Holiday Roast!

Can I Make this Pie Ahead of Time?

If you make all the components of the pie and store them separately, it can definitely be made ahead of time! Technically, you can make the pie and then serve it a couple of days later. However, I think it’s at its best when it’s fresh out of the oven. So, if you prepare all the elements of the pie, you can just toss them together on Thanksgiving or Christmas day, bake for 10 minutes, and voila, you’ve got a fresh and quick awesome pie.

Is Pie Healthy?

Pie isn’t healthy in the aspect of fat and sugar. I mean, it is a dessert, which is rarely healthy in the first place, unless purposely made that way. The crust is made with whole wheat flour which is good but still has lots of fat. The filling is very sugary and the topping is as well. However, it’s the holidays! Stick with vegan and organic ingredients of course and indulge a little. Enjoy your holidays and eat the pie.

More Plant Based Desserts

Homemade Apple Pie Filling
Vegan Pumpkin Bread
Vegan Shortbread Cookies
Vegan Salted Caramel Sauce
Vegan No Bake Peanut Butter Cookies
Vegan Olive Oil Cake
Vegan Apple Pie with Ricotta.

Thanksgiving Cranberry Pie

Your tongue will do the tangy tango when you bite into this Thanksgiving Cranberry Pie recipe. Every bite is full of a flaky, classic pie crust, and a homemade pie filling, using fresh cranberries. Topped off with a sexy and lustrous, streusel crumble topping for the perfect holiday pie.

Print Recipe

Prep Time:5 minutes mins

Cook Time:35 minutes mins

Total Time:40 minutes mins

Ingredients

1 whole wheat pie crust frozen, store bought

Cranberry Filling

12 oz fresh cranberries (one bag)
1 orange squeezed
1-2 tsp orange zest optional
4 tbsp sugar white, brown, raw, coconut
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp tapioca

Vegan Streusel Topping

1/2 cup granulated sugar or light brown sugar
1/2 cup flour all purpose or whole wheat pastry flour
3 Tbsp chilled vegan butter I used Miyoko’s European

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Bake the pie crust according to the directions on the package if you like your crust extra done, otherwise cook 5 minutes less. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Make the Orange Cranberry Sauce / Filling

In a medium sauce pan add the fresh cranberries, orange juice and sugar and bring to a simmer. Cook covered for a few minutes on medium heat until all the berries have burst. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract and orange zest. Allow to cool.

Make the Streussel Topping

In a medium size bowl combine the flour and sugar until fully combined. Use a microplane grater and grate the chilled butter on top. Use your hands and work the grated butter into the flour mixture until it resembles the texture of wet sand but do try not to overwork it. In case you do just pop the mix in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes to harden up a bit.

Assemble your Pie

Preheat your oven to 400”F.
Transfer all the cranberry filling to the baked pie crust shell. Top with all the streusel topping and bake another 10 minutes until the topping is golden to your liking. Check after 5 minutes to make sure things don’t get overdone for your taste.
Remove the pie from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Allow to cool off completely before serving.

Notes

Does it need to be refrigerated - That’s one of the great aspects about this pie - it doesn’t have to be refrigerated. Keep it in a dry, cool place, covered, for up to 3 days. You can definitely store it in the fridge if desired, just keep it covered.
Can it be frozen - I don’t suggest freezing it as it will turn out soggy later on once it starts to thaw.
Reheating - You can pop a slice of this pie into the microwave or oven to reheat it, if desired. It still tastes dangerously delightful chilled.
Make your own crust from scratch - If you don’t want to use a store-bought crust, you can use the crust from this Vegan Pumpkin Pie!
Pre-cook the crust - Pre-cooking the crust ensures the bottom fully cooks through and doesn’t end up soggy once the cranberry pie filling is added.
Can I use canned cranberry sauce for the filling - You will absolutely hate this pie if you use canned cranberry sauce. This recipe isn’t meant for that style of cranberry sauce and it will turn out soggy and gross. In others, absolutely do not sully this pie with canned cranberry sauce.
Use other fruits - If desired, you can always swap out half of the cranberries for apples, blackberries, or raspberries. Be sure to peel the apples and dice them into pieces about the size of the cranberries.
Add nuts - Candied walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts would be delicious added to the top of this pie recipe.
Make it crustless - Skip the crust altogether! Just dump the cranberry filling into a pie dish, top with the streusel, bake, and enjoy!

Nutrition

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Cranberry Pie, plant based, vegan desserts, Vegan pie

Servings: 6 people

Calories: 368kcal

Author: Florentina

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