This vegan cherry pie is bursting with sweet and gooey cherry filling between two layers of flaky crust. An indulgent treat that's perfect with a scoop of dairy-free vanilla ice cream!
This vegan cherry pie is my favorite thing about summer. Most of the year you can't find fresh cherries, but for now, they're everywhere, and they make an amazing pie.
Like some of my other favorite fruity pies such as vegan apple pie, and vegan blueberry pie, this one comes together with ease. You'll need to pit the cherries and mix them up with some other filling ingredients. It's up to you whether you make your crust or buy it. And from there, it's just a matter of assembling and baking.
Let's talk about how it's done!
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Cherries. I used fresh Bing cherries for this recipe. Rainier cherries or another variety of sweet cherries can be substituted with absolutely no issues. While I think frozen cherries would work, I haven't tested the recipe with them.
- Sugar. Use organic sugar to keep the recipe vegan.
- Cornstarch. This is the thickener for our vegan cherry pie filling, so don't leave it out.
- Vanilla extract.
- Almond extract.
- Salt.
- Flour. You only need a little bit of this for rolling your dough.
- Vegan pie crust. You'll need enough dough to make a double crust, which means to buy two crusts if using store-bought, or make a double batch if you use my homemade vegan pie crust recipe. If you use store-bought crust, make sure to buy dough that you can shape yourself as opposed to pie shells in disposable dishes. Also check the ingredients as many brands contain lard or butter. I like Wholly Wholesome organic pie dough.
- Vegan butter. Look for brands such as Miyoko's and Earth Balance where regular butter is sold at your supermarket.
How It's Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
- Pit your cherries. You can use a cherry pitter or a chopstick, but I prefer to simply dig out the pits by hand. Some of your cherries will split in half if you do it by hand, and that's totally fine!
- Make the filling. Add your cherries to a large mixing bowl, along with the sugar, cornstarch, vanilla and almond extracts, and salt. Stir everything well.
- Use a rolling pin to roll out one of your crusts and drape it into the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate. Press the dough down so it conforms to the bottom of the plate.
- Spoon the filling mixture into the crust.
- For your top crust, you have the option of doing a basic top crust like I did with my vegan blueberry pie or lattice to crust.
- Basic top crust: Roll your second pie crust out, lay it over the filling, then trim both the top and bottom crusts. Pinch them together to seal and cut some slits in the top crust.
- Lattice top crust: Roll your crust out and cut it into strips, then weave the strips in a lattice formation as you lay them over the filling. Trim the lattice then tuck the edges of the bottom crust over the top crust and pinch to seal. Check out this tutorial on how to make a lattice crust for more guidance.
- Crimp the edges of your crust using a fork or your fingers.
- Brush the top of your crust with melted vegan butter and sprinkle it with some granulated sugar.
- Pop the pie into the oven and bake it until the filling is bubbly. Be sure to check on your pie after about 20 minutes of baking and cover the edges of your crust with foil. This will keep them from burning.
Tip: It's really important with a recipe like this one to make sure the juices in the filling are bubbling before you remove the pie from the oven. This will ensure that your cornstarch is activated and can work to thicken the filling.
- Let your pie cool completely before slicing and serving it. This will take about 4 hours.
Tip: Because this pie takes so long to cool, consider making it the day before serving. Otherwise, get started early in the day.
- Serve and enjoy! I like my vegan cherry pie with some non-dairy whipped cream or vegan vanilla ice cream!
Leftovers & Storage
Vegan cherry pie will keep in a sealed container at room temperature for about a day, in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days, or in the freezer for about 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure! Just use your favorite vegan gluten-free pie crust. Give this one a try.
I'm sure you can, but you'll also need to increase the amount of sugar. I'd start with an extra ¼ cup, taste-test the filling, and add more from there.
More Vegan Pie Recipes
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Vegan Cherry Pie
This vegan cherry pie is bursting with sweet and gooey cherry filling between two layers of flaky crust. An indulgent treat that's perfect with a scoop of dairy-free vanilla ice cream!
Ingredients
- 5 cups fresh cherries, pitted (about 2 pounds of cherries)
- ¾ cup organic granulated sugar, plus more for topping
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- Pinch salt
- Flour, for rolling the crust
- 2 batches vegan pie crust (or use store-bought vegan pie crust - see Note 1)
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 375°F.
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Stir the cherries, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla extract, almond extract, and salt together in a large mixing bowl.
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On a lightly floured work surface, roll out one of your pie crusts into a large circle, about 13 inches in diameter. You can invert your pie plate over the dough circle to get an approximation of the diameter. The dough should be 2 inches greater in diameter than the plate.
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Drape the dough in the pie plate and gently press so that it conforms to the inside of the plate.
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Spoon the filling into the dough-lined pie plate, smoothing out the top with a spoon.
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Roll the second pie crust to a circle slightly larger than the pie plate, about 10-inches in diameter.
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Slice the second crust into 1-inch strips. Weave the strips in a lattice formation over the fillings. (Notes 2 and 3)
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Tuck the edges of the bottom crust over the edges of the top crust, gently pinching them together to form a seal.
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Brush the top crust with melted butter and sprinkle it with about a tablespoon of sugar.
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Place the pie into the oven and check it after 20 minutes. Once the edges start to darken, cover them with foil or a pie shield.
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Bake the pie for a total of about 50 to 60 minutes, until the filling is bubbling throughout.
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Remove the pie from the oven when it's done and place it on a cooling rack. Allow the pie to cool completely before slicing, about 4 hours.
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Slice and serve.
Recipe Notes
- Buy pie dough that can be rolled, as opposed to premade pie shells in disposable baking dishes. Also be sure to check for ingredients such as lard or butter. I like Wholly Wholesome brand, which is vegan.
- These instructions are for a lattice crust. If you prefer to make a basic top crust, simply roll the dough out as instructed, drape it over the fillings, then trim the top and bottom crusts together. Pinch the edges to seal and optionally crimp them with a fork or your fingers. Cut a few slits in the top crust before baking.
- For more guidance on how to make a lattice crust, see this tutorial.
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