This Creamy Ube Pie is the holiday dessert you didn’t know you needed! It’s made with a homemade buttery pie crust and a rich and creamy yam filling. Enjoy a slice of this Filipino favorite chilled with a dollop of coconut whipped cream!
What is ube?
If you haven’t heard of ube, you’re in for a treat! This yam is often confused with taro, but ube is actually a completely different starch. Ube is a purple yam that originated from the Philippines, and it has long been a staple in Filipino cuisine, including this Ube pie! Ube can be found in various forms, but today we are using frozen ube. If you can’t find frozen ube at your local grocery store, check your nearest Asian market or even purchase it online!
It has a nutty vanilla-like flavor and pairs well with sweet desserts. Ube was such a large part of my childhood, and I am so happy to share another ube recipe with you.
Don’t let the impressiveness of this ube pie intimidate you! The ingredients are quite simple. If you’ve ever made our Vegan Apple Pie with Coconut Oil Crust, making ube pie will be a breeze.
Pie crust: We’ve included our fool-proof homemade pie crust recipe that requires coconut oil, flour, and sugar, but if you are short on time, opt for a store-bought pie crust. Most pie crusts in the freezer section of grocery stores are accidentally vegan because they are often made with oil instead of butter.
Cornstarch: Cornstarch is essential to helping this ube pie set and become a sliceable, thick consistency. We have not tested this pie using arrowroot flour and cannot recommend it.
Ube: You’ll need 16 ounces of frozen ube as well as ube extract. If you’ve made my Ube Pandesal, you should have some ube extract leftover in the pantry! As mentioned above, ube ingredients can be difficult to find in stores. I order ube extract on Amazon.
Vegan butter: For this recipe, you’ll need 1 stick of softened vegan butter. When doing any vegan baking, we always recommend using butter sticks instead of butter spreads. Some of our favorite brands are Country Crock and Earth Balance.
Coconut milk: Full-fat coconut milk is the secret to making this vegan pie extra rich and creamy!
Silken tofu: Silken tofu has the consistency of soft custard and is the perfect protein-rich addition to help add additional creaminess to the filling.
Vanilla extract: Optional, but highlights the vanilla-like flavor in the ube and adds additional flavor.
Chill the butter. Remove your vegan butter from the refrigerator. Using a sharp knife, cut the butter into small cubes. Place the butter in a freezer-safe container and set it in the freezer to chill for at least 10 minutes.
Blend together the dry ingredients and butter. In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, salt, and chilled vegan butter pieces. Pulse the mixture just until the vegan butter is processed into pea-sized pieces. Do not over-process.
Slowly add the ice water. Process in ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough begins to come together. It’s okay if small vegan butter pieces are visible in the dough.
Chill for 30 minutes. Shape the dough into a smooth disk, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to set.
Roll out the dough. On a clean, floured surface, roll out the dough from the center to the edges, picking up and rotating the dough as you go. Add additional flour as needed to prevent sticking.
Press the crust into a pie pan. Wrap the dough around the rolling pin and unwrap it into the greased pie pan.
Crimp the edges. Or add another crust design of your choice. Check out this helpful post: How to Crimp Pie Crust Like a Pro, for a few inspirational choices.
Blind bake the pie crust. Prick holes in the bottom of the crust, then cover the crust with a piece of parchment paper. Add pie weights or dried beans/rice to the crust to help prevent it from collapsing. Blind bake for 15 minutes or until the crust edges start to brown.
Prepare the Ube Filling
Add the ingredients to a high-speed blender. We recommend sifting the cornstarch in with a fine mesh sieve to prevent clumping.
Blend until smooth. The pie filling should be silky smooth, similar to our Vegan Pumpkin Pie filling.
Pour into the crust. Add the filling directly into the blind-baked pie crust and spread smooth with a spatula.
Bake. Bake the pie for 45 minutes, then remove from the oven and cool it completely at room temperature.
Chill overnight. For best results, allow the pie to continue to set in the refrigerator overnight.
Ube pie will keep for up to 5 days when tightly covered and stored in the refrigerator. We have not tested freezing this ube pie, but if you have had success, please let us know!
Make sure you tag us on Instagram @sweetsimplevegan and @consciouschris and hashtag #sweetsimplevegan if you recreate any of our recipes, we love to see your photos!
This creamy Ube Pie is the holiday dessert you didn’t know you needed! It’s made with a homemade buttery pie crust and rich and creamy yam filling. Enjoy a slice of this Filipino favorite chilled with a dollop of coconut whipped cream.
Ingredients
Crust
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegan butter
3 tablespoons ice water
Filling
¼ cup cornstarch
1 lb (16oz) frozen ube, thawed
2/3 cup (72 g) organic granulated sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) vegan butter, softened
3/4 cup coconut milk
½ cup silken tofu
1/3 cup (70 g) organic brown sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons ube extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Crust
Remove your vegan butter from the refrigerator. Using a sharp knife, cut the butter into small cubes. Place the butter in a freezer-safe container and set it in the freezer to chill for at least 10 minutes.
In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, salt, and chilled vegan butter pieces. Pulse the mixture just until the vegan butter is processed into pea-sized pieces. Do not over-process.
Process in ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough begins to come together. It’s okay if small vegan butter pieces are visible in the dough.
Pour the dough out onto a floured work surface. Shape the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap, and place it into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to rest for 10 minutes. Grease a pie pan, preheat the oven to 400°F, and sprinkle workspace and rolling pin lightly with flour.
Flour a clean work surface and roll out the dough from the center to the edges, picking up and rotating the dough as you go. It should be about 13 inches in diameter. Keep the work area and rolling pin floured to prevent sticking. Wrap the dough around the rolling pin and unwrap it into a greased pie pan.
Gently press the crust into the pan and up the sides. Trim the dough to about 1 inch beyond the edge of the pan. Turn the edge of the pastry under and press with your thumb and pointer finger to crimp around the edge forming a pattern. Crimp the edges as best you can to ensure that the crusts stick together.
Using a fork, prick the bottom of the crust. Place a piece of parchment over the crust and cover the bottom with pie weights, dry beans, or rice. Place the pie pan onto a large-rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the parchment paper and pie weights. Set aside.
Filling
Lower oven to 350°F.
Sift the cornstarch into a high-speed blender. Add all of the remaining ingredients and blend for about a minute or until smooth.
Pour the filling into the crust and spread it smoothly with a spatula.
Bake for 40-55 minutes. Remove and cool completely. For best results, chill in the refrigerator overnight to set.
Serve with your favorite vegan whipped cream, and enjoy!
Want our recipes delivered straight to your inbox?
the latest scoop:
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptRejectRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.