Fan of apple cider donuts? Let me introduce you to its just-as-tasty cousin: vegan apple cider pie! Rich, delicious, and full of flavor. A must for your Thanksgiving pie list!

I have been a huge fan of apple cider donuts ever since I had them at a quintessential New England apple picking day 5+ years ago. I remember being introduced to a crispy cinnamon-sugar coating on that same day for the first time, too. My mind was doubly blown. But I digress... putting apple cider into donuts is a great and seemingly useful concept but why in the world would anyone want to add apple cider to a pie that already has a few pounds of the real thing, aka apples themselves?

I had nothing to lose and possibly lots to gain by giving it a try. Allow me to explain. The order of my sweet tooth's preferences goes as follows: baklava, apple pie (!!), kunefe, keskul, sobiyet, sutlac... notice something? The second one is the only non-Turkish dessert and is relatively easier to make, so naturally I consume lots, and I mean lots, of it following October. Therefore even if the recipe turned out not-so-great / a-waste-of-time, I knew I'd still happily eat all my trial batches anyway.

Turns out... the extra effort to go back to the grocery store because you forgot to put the apple cider in your bag after paying for it with your hard-earned money and to spend an extra 20 minutes reducing it is worth it! There is a significant additional depth of flavor that I can't wait for you to taste for yourself!

Ingredients You Need for Vegan Apple Cider Pie

For the Crust:

1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour (plus more for dusting)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
8 oz unsalted vegan butter, cold (I prefer Miyoko's, or Earth Balance non-palm oil)
½ cup cold water

For the Filling:

2 cups apple cider
4 tablespoon cornstarch*
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
3 pounds of apples, peeled & sliced ¼ inch (Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, and Braeburn— about 7 medium-sized apples in total for original recipe)

For Topping:

2 tablespoon vegan milk (I prefer soy)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

How to Make Vegan Apple Cider Pie

Let's start with the most intimidating part of our recipe: the crust! Using store-bought pie crust is totally fine, but you'd be missing out on the therapeutical effects of kneading pie dough.

Step 1: Make the Vegan Pie Crust

No need to reinvent the wheel here. I am not a trained pastry chef, so I follow what trained pastry chefs tell me to do. Because if I learned anything from baking over the years, it is that baking is a very precise science. Pretty much nobody does it better than Serious Eats. This is why I followed their old fashioned pie dough recipe and only switched the butter to Miyoko's to make it vegan. It turned out fantastic, as it was supposed to.

To make the pie crust from scratch, whisk the flour with sugar and salt in a large bowl. Cut cold vegan butter into 1-inch cubes and smash the cubes flat.
Add cold water and knead the mixture into a ball. Laminate the ball by rolling into a 12-inch square, and folding in half a few times. Use extra dusting flour as needed. Divide the block in half using a sharp knife. Chill for at least half an hour.
Roll each piece of dough into a 13-inch disk (for 9-inch pie plate), using dusting flour to prevent sticking.
Smear extra butter onto the pie plate to cover all surfaces, then thoroughly dust with flour. Place rolled out pie dough disk onto the pie plate and chill for at least 2 hours.

Step 2: Make the Filling

Start by bringing the apple cider to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Keep boiling to reduce until only ½ cup is left (original recipe), this should take about 20 minutes. Cool reduced cider.

Combine the cooled, reduced cider with the rest of the ingredients for the filling, except the apples. When the mixture is fully homogenous, add in the sliced apples.

After your crust has been chilled for at least 2 hours, you may spoon the filling into your pie crust. Place the lattice-strips or a full disk of pie dough over the filling. Cut excess dough as necessary.

Step 3: Brush & Bake

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Brush with soymilk. Mix sugar and cinnamon, then sprinkle for topping.

Bake at 425 degrees F for 20 minutes until golden brown. Reduce heat to 375 degrees F and bake for another 30 minutes, or until deep golden brown.

Let cool at room temperature for at least 2 hours before serving.

looking for other Thanksgiving desserts?

Try these other dessert recipes for your next feast:

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📖 Recipe