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This easy vegan strawberry pie is the perfect idea for when you want a lighter, summery dessert. It’s made with juicy, fresh strawberries and has no Jello and no gelatin, plus, it’s quick to prepare because the delicious filling is no-bake.
Use a store-bought or homemade crust, (regular or gluten-free) to make this impressive, from-scratch vegan dessert for family and friends!
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If the thought of making fruit pies is intimidating to you or if you've never made one and you're a first-time pie maker, this vegan strawberry pie recipe is a great one to start with.
It's a single-crust pie, so just a bottom crust, no top crust to bother with. The filling is no-bake and so easy to prepare.
Making it during this time of year, in the summer months during strawberries season, is ideal because that's when strawberries are at their best.
It makes the perfect summer treat and a crowd-pleaser for get-togethers, potlucks, and even summer birthdays as a substitute for cake if the birthday person is not into cake but still has a sweet tooth and would prefer a beautiful pie instead!
Before you head down to go through everything you need to know before making this eggless, dairy-free strawberry pie, check out these other simple vegan strawberry recipes you may also love:
Ingredients You'll Need
Lots of strawberries and a few other simple ingredients you likely have on hand are all you need. Keep reading for notes on each ingredient.
Ingredient and Substitution Notes
Pre-Made Pie Crust - You can use any of my pie crust recipes (vegan pie crust, vegan gluten-free pie crust) or you can use your favourite pie crust recipe. You can also use a pre-made, frozen store-bought pie crust, a store-bought or homemade graham cracker crust or for something different, you can use a vegan chocolate cookie crust, like Oreo, or a chocolate graham cracker crust.
If you use a graham or chocolate cookie crust, you will need to bake it before adding the strawberry filling or it will make the crust soggy, the pie won't slice properly, and it will be messy. Use the directions on the package for pre-baking the cookie crust.
If you use a traditional flaky crust (pastry), it will need to be fully blind-baked before you can use it for this recipe. To learn how to do it, read my step-by-step about how to blind bake a pie crust.
Fresh Strawberries - Fresh, in-season strawberries will give your pie the best flavour. The strawberries are the star of this recipe, so look for bright red, firm, undamaged berries. Frozen berries are great for many recipes, but they are NOT suitable for this one. They cannot be used because they contain too much moisture and don't have the same bright flavour as fresh berries. They're also extremely soggy when they thaw, so your pie will not have the proper texture.
Cornstarch - Some homemade strawberry pie recipes use Jello or other gel-type ingredients to thicken the filling, but since this recipe is made without Jello, cornstarch is what is used as the thickener. Without it, the filling will not thicken so this ingredient cannot be left out. If you want to make your vegan strawberry pie filling without cornstarch, arrowroot starch (also referred to as arrowroot flour or arrowroot powder) can be used instead.
Sugar - I use granulated organic cane sugar, but white sugar can also be used. If the berries you're using are very sweet, you can reduce the sugar slightly. See the recipe notes for more info. Make sure the sugar you use is vegan, if you aren't sure, buy organic since organic sugar is always vegan. I haven't made this recipe with any other types (like coconut sugar or brown sugar), a liquid sweetener (like maple syrup or agave), or any sugar alternatives to make it sugar-free.
Strawberry Jam - Just a small amount is used to enhance the flavour and to help with thickening. Seedless or with seeds will both work fine, store-bought jam or homemade strawberry jam will also work.
Lemon Zest - This ingredient helps to add dimension to the flavour of your pie, along with lemon juice and vanilla. Without these ingredients, the flavour of the pie will be flat. When zesting, use a microplane grater or one of the finer panels of your box grater. Zest the lemon before juicing it and don't zest too deeply. If you go deeper than the yellow skin, you will be grating pith (the white part of the lemon under the skin) and it will add a bitter taste. Wash your lemon very well before zesting it and I recommend using an organic lemon if possible.
Salt - Just a little is needed to balance the sweetness and flavours.
Lemon Juice - Freshly squeezed lemon juice is best, juice the lemon after you zest it (it's not easy to do it the other way around!). I don't recommend using bottled lemon juice, you will not get the same flavour as when fresh juice is used, but if it's all you have, it will work.
Vanilla - A little is needed to enhance the flavour.
Want more easy vegan desserts? Have a look through all of my vegan dessert recipes for some more ideas!
How to Make It
(Note: I’ve outlined the step-by-step on how to make this recipe here, but find the full recipe, ingredients, and directions in the recipe card at the end of this post.)
1. Put half of the chopped strawberries in a medium pot and using a potato masher or a fork, mash the strawberries until no large pieces remain.
2. Add the cornstarch and whisk until it has fully dissolved into the mashed strawberries. If there are any cornstarch lumps, press them with the back of a spoon to get rid of them.
3. Add the sugar, jam, lemon zest, and salt.
4. Mix again until everything has combined. The mixture will look a little cloudy but that's okay, the cornstarch is causing that, but once the cornstarch cooks and activates, the mixture will become more translucent.
5. Cook the mixture until it bubbles and then lower the heat and simmer until it thickens.
6. When the cooking time is up, the mixture will be thick and bright red. Remove the pot from the heat.
7. Add the other half of the chopped strawberries to the pot.
8. Mix well until everything has been combined.
9. Carefully add the mixture to the fully cooled, baked crust. You'll notice that the mixture is not very firm, it will firm up during the chill time.
10. Smooth the top of the pie and place it in the refrigerator to chill and finish firming up.
It's tempting, I know, but don't let temptation cause you to let the pie chill for less time than what is stated in the recipe below. If you chill for less time, the pie will not firm up completely.
Once the chilling time has ended, remove the pie from the refrigerator and carefully slice it. Since this pie is thickened with cornstarch and not gelatin, the filling does not fully solidify, it won't be as sturdy as other pies, it will still be soft, but firm after it has been chilled.
Serve with dairy-free whipped cream (homemade coconut whip or store-bought whipped cream are both great!). This is not an overly sweet pie, so it would also be great served with a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream.
You can also keep it simple by garnishing your easy strawberry pie with some additional fresh sweet strawberries.
Find a list of vegan whipped cream brands to look for in this article: "Is Cool Whip Vegan."
Storing Leftovers
This delicious pie does not last too long and is best served on the day it was made; however, you can store any leftovers in the pie dish, covered with plastic wrap, aluminum foil, or a pie plate cover, and in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Always serve it cold, and always keep any uneaten pieces refrigerated, don't let it come to room temperature.
The berries in the pie will begin to "weep" (a fancy way of saying "release moisture") after a few hours and you'll notice it even more after the pie has been sliced since the liquid will sit at the bottom of the pie pan. To avoid this, which will make the pie soggy, use the pie up as quickly as possible.
Recipes that are thickened with cornstarch do not freeze well since the texture changes when defrosted, this pie is no exception. The berries will also retain a lot of moisture and then release it once thawed making them soft and mushy. I do not recommend freezing it.
For more delicious pies to try, look through all of my vegan pie recipes.
Tips for Success
- Measure and have all your ingredients ready to go before starting. This will make the process run smoothly, quickly, and easily.
- Measure your ingredients correctly. I highly recommend using a scale and my weight measurements when making this recipe. (This is the scale I have)
- Cornstarch can be difficult to measure properly since it clumps up, so I highly recommend using a scale to measure it. If you don't have one, use the scoop and level method outlined in my article about how to measure flour the correct way. Too much or too little cornstarch will result in a filling that is way too thick or too thin.
- Make your crust in advance and make sure it is fully cooled before using it for this recipe and keep it in the pie plate it was baked or bought in.
- Don't chill the pie for less time than stated in the recipe. It needs to chill for the correct amount of time so the pie filling reaches the proper firmness.
- Don't use frozen strawberries! They are not suitable for this recipe, they contain too much moisture and will result in a soggy, low-flavour pie.
- Take note of the chilling time before preparing. The pie requires sitting in the fridge for several hours to firm up before it's ready to serve, so keep that in mind if you are preparing it for a special occasion and need it for a certain time.
- Eat it quickly! Make it the day it needs to be served for the best results. Leftovers don't keep well because of the moisture from the strawberries and will only last a few days (see the "Storing Leftovers" section above)
- Read this post from top to bottom before you start. It's not difficult to make but I’ve included a lot of tips and tricks I've gathered while extensively testing this recipe, things you may not think of. Also, read through the full recipe before getting started.
- Follow the recipe exactly as it’s written for the very best results.
Troubleshooting
Why Didn't My Strawberry Pie Set?
This can happen for a few reasons: 1) You used too little cornstarch. I highly recommend weighing cornstarch rather than scooping it. Not using enough will result in a filling that is too thin and watery. 2) You didn't cook the filling long enough. Cooking the strawberries does two things, it cooks and activates the cornstarch so it thickens the filling and cooking also reduces some of the water from the strawberries. If you don't cook it for enough time, these things will not happen resulting in a pie filling that is too loose and runny. 3) Your cornstarch has expired. Make sure that it's fresh before starting to make the recipe.
Why Can I Taste Cornstarch in the Filling?
This can happen for two reasons: 1) You used too much cornstarch. I highly recommend weighing cornstarch rather than scooping it. Too much will result in a filling that is too thick, rubbery, and tastes like cornstarch. 2) You did not cook the strawberries long enough. Cook it for the proper amount of time so the cornstarch fully dissolves and does its job of thickening the filling.
If You Make This Recipe...
Please let me know! Leave a star rating and comment below telling me how your fresh strawberry pie turned out and you can even post a picture on Instagram and tag me so I can see it! I'm @delightfuladventures on Instagram.
If You Like This Recipe...
You may also like these other summer berry desserts:
Vegan Strawberry Pie
Suggested Equipment:
Ingredients:
For the filling:
- 2 pounds (907g) fresh strawberries, divided washed, hulled, and halved or quartered (see note below)
- 3 tablespoons (24g) cornstarch (arrowroot starch can also be used, see note below)
- ½ cup (100g) organic cane sugar (⅓ cup (67g) if strawberries are very sweet)
- 1 tablespoon (20g) strawberry jam
- ½ teaspoon (2g) lemon zest
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (freshly squeezed, see note below)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- coconut whipped cream for serving, optional
Instructions:
Prepare Pie Crust:
- Make either my vegan pie crust or my vegan gluten-free pie crust recipe, blind-bake the pie crust and then fully cool it. This can be done a day in advance.
Prepare Strawberry Filling:
- Divide the chopped strawberries in half. Set one half aside and place the other half into a medium pot.
- Using a potato masher, mash the strawberries until there are no large pieces left.
- Add the sugar, strawberry jam, lemon zest, and salt to the pot and mix well.
- Place the pot over medium-high heat and cook until the strawberry mixture starts to bubble (roughly 5 minutes). Once it starts to bubble, turn the heat down to low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often until the mixture has thickened.
- Once the cooking time has ended, remove the pot from the heat and add the lemon juice and vanilla extract, mix well.
- Add the remaining half of the strawberries and mix well.
- Carefully pour the strawberry mixture into the prepared pie crust, smooth out the top using a rubber spatula, and then carefully transfer the pie dish to the refrigerator. Chill for at least 4 hours.
- After the chill time has ended, remove from the refrigerator, slice and serve plain or with garnishes like dairy-free whipped cream. (See above for more suggestions)
Recipe Notes:
- Please read all of the information above, as well as the notes below before making this recipe.
- Make my vegan pie crust or my vegan gluten-free pie crust for this recipe and make sure it's fully cooled before adding the strawberry filling. If you don't want to make your crust, you can purchase a pre-made crust but it will need to be blind-baked before using, read the directions on the package.
- A cookie crust, like graham or Oreo, can also be used, you will need to bake it before adding the strawberry filling or it will make the crust soggy, the pie will not slice properly, and it will be messy. Use the directions on the package for pre-baking the cookie crust.
- Chop your strawberries into halves but if they are very large strawberries, you can cut them into 4ths or even 6ths. The pieces need to be bite-sized.
- If you don't have or can't use cornstarch, use arrowroot starch instead, the same amount.
- If you are using in-season strawberries that are very sweet, you can cut back on the sugar and just use ⅓ cup (67g).
- I highly recommend using freshly squeezed lemon juice for the best flavour, but if you don't have a fresh lemon, you can use store-bought bottled lemon juice.
- Cover and store leftovers in the fridge for up to three days.
- The calorie count is for 1 slice of 8 made using my easy vegan pie crust and does not include any toppings or garnishes. Nutrition data is only to be used as a rough guide, click here to learn how nutrition data is determined on this website.
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