Pecan pie lovers, this one’s for you! We’ve tried for some time to create the perfect vegan pecan pie, and after some pie struggles last year, we changed our vision a bit and boy are we happy with the result! Introducing: pecan pie bars with crunchy, buttery pecans and a shortbread-like crust.
With all the classic flavor of pecan pie, they’re undetectably gluten-free and vegan, and perfect for your holiday table. Even better? They’re made with simple methods (no food processor required!) and just 9 ingredients. Let’s make dessert!
Origins of Pecan Pie
In our search for the origins of pecan pie, we found a few theories. But the most common one is that it was invented by French settlers in New Orleans who were introduced to pecans by Native Americans. Recipes then appeared in cookbooks in Texas in the late 1800s. And by the 1920s, the company Karo began printing a recipe for pecan pie made with their corn syrup, turning the dessert into a nationwide sensation!
The following is not your usual pecan pie recipe but our inspired take on the classic dessert — made gluten-free, vegan, and without corn syrup.
How to Make Pecan Pie Bars
These pecan pie bars begin with a shortbread-like crust made by mixing almond flour, tapioca starch, and salt, then adding in vegan butter and maple syrup to form a dough.
The dough gets pressed into a baking dish and into the oven it goes!
While the crust bakes and cools, we make the filling with chopped pecans, melted vegan butter, maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, dairy-free milk, and tapioca starch. It goes over the par-baked shortbread crust and back into the oven.
After baking, the filling transforms into a crispy, gooey, buttery, majorly addictive masterpiece. You’ve been warned!
Lastly, it must cool before being sliced into bars. We know, it’s the hardest part! But it makes them perfect for prepping the day ahead to free up oven space for other Thanksgiving recipes.
We hope you LOVE these pecan pie bars! They’re:
Sweet
Buttery
Rich
Classic
Decadent
& BURSTING with pecan flavor!
They’re the perfect dessert for the holiday table or any time you have an abundance of pecans! Top them with Coconut Whipped Cream or Vegan Vanilla Ice Cream for extra decadence.
More Thanksgiving Dessert Recipes
- 1-Bowl Pumpkin Pie (Vegan + GF)
- Apple Pie Crumble Bars (Vegan + GF)
- Creamy Pumpkin Pie Bars (V + GF)
- Caramel Apple Cheesecake Tart
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo @minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
Pecan Pie Bars (Vegan + GF)
Ingredients
CRUST
- 1 ½ cups almond flour (can try subbing cashew flour, though we haven't tested it and can't guarantee the results)
- 1 cup tapioca starch (also called tapioca flour)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 6 Tbsp vegan butter, cold and cubed (we used Miyoko’s)
- 5-6 Tbsp maple syrup
FILLING
- 1/3 cup melted vegan butter (we used Miyoko’s)
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup brown sugar (see notes for substitutions)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp plain unsweetened dairy-free milk (we used almond milk)
- 2 Tbsp tapioca starch (also called tapioca flour)
- 2 cups raw pecans, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (176 C) and line an 8 x 8-inch baking dish with parchment paper.
- CRUST: In a medium mixing bowl, combine almond flour, tapioca starch, and salt. Whisk to combine and break up any clumps. Add cold vegan butter to the flours, and use clean hands, a pastry cutter, or a fork to cut the butter and mix it with the flours until the mixture looks like wet sand. It should hold together when squeezed, and there should be no clumps of butter larger than a pea. Add the maple syrup (starting with the lesser amount) and stir well until the dough comes together.
- Transfer mixture to the parchment-lined baking dish and spread evenly to distribute. If you are struggling to get it even, place parchment paper on top and use a flat-bottomed object, like a drinking glass, to press down firmly until it’s evenly distributed and well packed. Place crust into the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes until it looks pale and dry in the center and the edges just start to look golden.
- FILLING: While the crust bakes, make the filling. To a medium mixing bowl, add melted butter, maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, dairy-free milk, and tapioca starch. Whisk to thoroughly combine, making sure to break up any clumps of tapioca starch. Add in the chopped pecans and give it a stir to evenly distribute. Remove the crust from the oven and let it cool for 5-10 minutes.
- After the crust has cooled, add the filling to the crust, spreading it evenly and making sure the pecans are distributed throughout. Bake for 35-40 minutes. The edges should be bubbly and the filling slightly darkened in color. The middle should still be slightly wiggly when it’s done, so don’t worry! It firms up quite a bit when it cools.
- Let the bars cool completely before slicing. Once cooled, cut into 16 equal squares and serve! Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Not freezer friendly.
Video
Notes
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated with the lesser amount of maple syrup.
Marie says
Any good substitutes/recommendations if I can’t use Miyoko’s bec of cashew allergy? Sorry if this has been discussed, I tried to find the answer
Hi Marie, happy to help! Earth Balance would be another option. Hope you love it!
Marie says
Ty for the swift reply. Curious, could I just use regular butter? Or it would do something different chemistry wise? Thank you for your help
Hi Marie, that would work too!
Frances Mercado says
First of all, I want to thank you for all your fabulous recipes! Your site is one of the first I go to for new vegan recipes.
I saw the post below about subbing out the almond flour if gluten free isn’t necessary. Can you clarify whether the 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour is meant to replace both the 1 1/2 cups of almond flour AND 1 cup of tapioca starch/flour? Also, I’d like to use Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat pastry four instead of white flour. Do you think that would be problematic?
Thanks so much!
Thanks so much for the kind words and support, Frances! We’d suggest replacing the almond flour and tapioca starch with 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour because it will be more absorbent than almond flour. If it’s too crumbly or dry after adding the butter and maple syrup, you can add 1-2 Tbsp cold water until it just comes together. We think whole wheat flour might make them a little more crumbly, but if you try it let us know how it goes!
Julie Burge says
I could not stop looking at this recipe and decided instead of making another pie for thanksgiving, I’d make these as my stand-in for pecan pie. I’m not gluten free and tend to avoid those recipes. Glad I went ahead and gave these a whirl. Absolutely the easiest and most flavorful ‘pecan pie’ ever. I’m not gonna lie, the 1 cup of tapioca flour in the crust scared me as I’m vegan but not gluten free. Never needed to worry. I will definitely make these again. Made per the recipe. Came out perfection! Thank you again, Dana! Your recipes are fantastic.
We’re so glad you enjoyed them, Julie! Thanks so much for the lovely review. xo
Miranda says
I made this for Thanksgiving, and my family and I all loved it! I used a food processor to make the crust (and to chop the pecans) and it came out great. A definite keeper!
Amazing! Thanks so much for sharing, Miranda! We’re so glad you and your family enjoyed. xo
Nicola says
Delicious! Made yesterday exactly as recipe for Thanksgiving. Made it round 9” , no 8×8 pan. Definitely will repeat. Thanks Dana!
We’re so glad you enjoyed them, Nicola! Thank you for sharing. xo
Mlle. Lupita says
Made this with standard butter and whole milk and it turned out great. Except better than that…. have you ever seen So I Married an Axe Murderer where the Colonel Sanders puts an addictive chemical in his chicken that makes you crave it fortnightly? Yes?! Good ’cause it’s like that.
Ha! We’re so glad you love the pie bars! xoxo
Radmila Dolokhanova says
Hi! Making for thanksgiving tomorrow. After they finish baking, do you suggest keeping them in the fridge or room temperature for next day? Thanks!
Either way works well! We like them both ways. If storing in the refrigerator and you decide you like them at room temperature better, you can transfer to room temperature 1 hour before serving.
Tara Raynak says
I’m making a batch of these right now, and wondering if there might be a way to add bourbon to the filling g? Any suggestions? Would I need to use less of another ingredient- like maple syrup? Thanks in advance!
Ooo possibly in place of the dairy-free milk?
Meagan says
Can you use corn starch instead of tapioca starch?
Hi Meagan, other readers have had success using cornstarch. They just used half the amount of starch that is written in the recipe. You could also try arrowroot starch as a 1:1 swap! Hope this helps. xo
Madison Malouf says
If I doubled this, would it fit in a 9×13 pan? Or would you suggest a different size?
Thank you!
Hi Madison, yes, that size should be perfect! You might need to bake longer in step 5. Let us know how it goes!
Carol Krauthamer says
OMG! So great! I’ve spent years looking for the best Holiday worthy Pecan Pie recipe. I made it for a test run last night. It’s the best! I followed the recipe exactly, except used real butter.
Question: What is the shelf life?
YAY! We’re so glad this recipe was a winner for you! Thank you for the lovely review! It will keep for 3-4 days.
Dalatias says
These are labeled as not freezer-friendly. Just curious: what happens to them when frozen and then thawed and served? What’s the downside?
Hi Dalatias, the texture isn’t as good and they become soggy.
Dalatias says
Thanks. Good to know. I may freeze a few just to see how soggy they get. Honestly, I’m a dessert slut, so if these are as amazing as all the rave reviews lead me to believe, a little sogginess is not going to dampen (haha) my enthusiasm for them. :-)
Brenda Schellenberg says
Hello!
Love your recipes and healthy gf and low sugar ideas! I used the vegan butter you recommended last holiday season (Miyoko’s) twice and I got blisters in my mouth twice….which means it was from gluten. I see that the last ingredient in the Miyoko’s vegan butter is mushroom extract. Most mushrooms are grown in a medium that always has a glutenous grain, or is has cross-contamination like millet. Portabellas and creminis do not. I also get really bad mouth blisters from the fresh organic Shitake mushrooms at Costco or other places. Calling all of those companies I learned that they can’t afford to use certified gluten free grains in their sawdust medium for growing mushrooms.
So…..What other vegan butter or technique do you recommend? I can have professionally made Ghee. I can’t make it on my own since I don’t get out the protein well enough (casein). So chilled ghee? :)
Thanks!
Brenda
Oh no! Sorry you had a reaction to it, Brenda. We think the flavor of ghee might be too strong, but we haven’t tested it. Another brand would be Earth Balance, but we’re not sure if that’s one you’d do well with?
Geneva says
I just want to pop in here to say that I cannot use butter *or* vegan butter due to various conditions – so for almost all baking I sub in avocado oil at 3/4 of the amount (so if recipe says 1 cup butter, I use 3/4 cup avocado oil – or olive oil in some cases – and usually add a bit more salt to make up for loss in flavor) — and can report that it worked with this recipe just fine!
I miss the oil, maple syrup, salt, vanilla, etc in a separate bowl and then mix that with all dry ingredients by hand.
Seeing that you’re in some of the same boat as me, I hope this works for you!
Thanks so much for sharing your experience, Geneva!
Heather says
Wow! If you are thinking about making these, stop thinking and just do it! They are fantastic!! I made them as written. The only obstacle was cutting them. Next time, I’ll remove from the pan before they cool completely. Even with a parchment lined pan, they were very difficult to cut and remove. Other than that, these were a huge hit!
Whoop! We’re so glad they were a hit, Heather. Thank you for sharing! xo
Tina says
Would this recipe work if I used it with a tart pan instead of bars? Your recipe looks delicious as is but I want to make it for my daughter (who’s vegan) for Thanksgiving.
Hi Tina, we think that would work great. Let us know if you try it!
Eva says
Looks delicious! Could I use a food processor, rather than my hands or a fork, to “cut” the butter and mix it with the almond flour? Seems that would be quicker, but I’m curious if it would yield the wrong consistency for the dough?
Hi Eva, we think that could work! It might make it a bit less flaky though.
Wendi C says
Could you use an Almond/Coconut milk blend in place of Almond milk?
Yes, that would be fine!
Tracy St. Romain says
Finally! A cholesterol free version of my favorite holiday sweet that taste as good as it looks! This recipe is AMAZING! So rich and buttery.
We’re so glad you enjoy this recipe, Tracy! Thank you for the lovely review! xo
Donna Mashburn says
My son is vegan and type 1 diabetic so I am wondering if I can sub swerve brown sugar and sugar free maple syrup.
Hi Donna, we haven’t tested with those modifications, but we think it would work. Let us know if you try it!
Karen Ferguson says
Hi! This looks amazing and I will definitely be making this Thanksgiving! Do you think I could also make another whole 8×8 pan and then send the whole thing in the mail? When received they could cut it into bars?
Thanks for your wonderful recipes!
Hi Karen, we’re excited for you to try it! We think they might spoil depending on how hot of a temperature they’re exposed to when traveling! It might work, but we’d be a little hesitant!
Wendy says
Is there a way to reduce the sweetness?
Hmm, we wouldn’t recommend reducing the sweetener in this one because it will impact the texture too much.
Leila Revel says
This recipe sounds delicious. Do you think it would turn off the same if I use non-vegan butter?
It would definitely work and probably be even more delicious!
Emily says
Hi,
This looks delicious! Can I use regular butter in this recipe? Thanks!
Yes, that will work! Enjoy :)
Bethois says
I LOVE YOUR RECIPES–AND YOUR COOKBOOK!!!
Question: Would it work for this recipe to swap out vegetable oil for the melted vegan butter?
Thank you!!!
Thank you so much for your kind words, Bethois! We wouldn’t recommend vegetable oil in this recipe. The vegan butter in the crust needs to be cold for a flaky texture. In the filling, vegetable oil wouldn’t taste good, unfortunately!
Candy says
These bars are A M A Z I N G!! A sure hit at any dessert table or holiday gathering! If you love pecans then this dessert is for you!
We’re so glad you love the recipe, Candy! Thank you for the lovely review! xo
angie says
Can you substitute all purpose flour if you don’t need these to be GF?
Hi Angie, that should work! We’d suggest replacing the almond flour and tapioca starch with 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour because it will be more absorbent than almond flour. If it’s too crumbly or dry after adding the butter and maple syrup, you can add 1-2 Tbsp cold water until it just comes together. Let us know how it goes!
Jessica says
So extremely disappointed. I wanted this to turn out good. I followed the recipe exactly, except I baked the crust 10 mins longer than what was said because it was very raw after 15 mins. The butter from the filling mixed into the crust and it’s just one big, sloppy mess. I let it cook completely before cutting and it still turned out so mushy. I made this for a potluck at work and now I’m extremely sad the night before, because I had hoped this recipe would hold up. Big fail on this one.
Oh no! We’re so sorry that was your experience, Jessica. This recipe is usually a reader favorite! Is it possible one of the measurements got mixed up? It almost sounds like there was too much butter?
Ingrid says
Used monkfruit and Trader Joe’s maple milk as well as half agave half maple syrup, this came out soo good!!! Fighting the urge to eat it in one sitting.
Whoop! We’re so glad they turned out well. Thank you for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications, Ingrid! xo
Danielle says
I love this recipe! These are a hit at holidays and I have also used the recipe with my own modifications to make a couple different desserts. I will use the crust to make a peach pie and just use less sugar and maple syrup for the filling, just enough to coat the fruit. and on top I will do a an oat crumble (I would put the extra pie crust but I don’t want it to burn while baking, do you think it would?)
We’re so glad you enjoy the recipe, Danielle! Thank you for sharing! We tried something similar to that actually and the top didn’t burn, but the bottom got kind of soggy from the peaches. Still tasty though!
Barbara Lindberg says
This is delicious as I made it last night. I used arrowroot and it didn’t stick together. I have looked for tapioca starch versus flour and in my area, it is considered the same thing. I will try it next time. Thanks for this yummy vegan version with less of a strong sugary taste. Perfect!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Barbara! Thank you for sharing! Tapioca starch and tapioca flour are the same thing. Feel free to use either!
Eric Abbott says
Wonderful taste, texture, and appearance! Was thrilled to taste our version! One question though, because I must track and log what I eat due to type 2 diabetes, when examining your recipe, what was your quantification of “bar”… grams, ounces, etc? (What I found was 16 servings.)
The nutritional information was specifically the first thing I looked at, but a “bar” can be small, or 3″x3″x1″, etc. The size of the bar would change the nutritional information as consumed. Please advise.
Sincerely,
Eric A.
Hi Eric, we calculated the nutrition for 1 bar/serving out of 16 total for the recipe. Hope that helps!
Eric Abbott says
Hello,
Thanks for your response, but it didn’t answer my question.
Hi Eric, for an 8 x 8 inch pan, 16 servings would be ~2 inch x 2 inch bars.
Karen Kelley says
Incredible!! My husband has had “AlphaGal” syndrome 3 yrs (nothing from a mammal- meat & dairy), and his sensitivities have increased to many other things (e.g. eggs, corn, sea salt, turkey, basil). 😕 I made these according to your recipe, except used 1/4C each Turbinado sugar & Coconut sugar, & didn’t chop the pecans! He is thrilled with how they turned out! I think I’ll go w straight Turbinado sugar next time. (Brown sugar has molasses in it, which contains AlphaGal)
Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications, Karen!
Emily says
Can I use regular butter instead of vegan? Thanks!
Hi Emily, yes, that would work!
Jamie says
Is there another ingredient I can use instead of Tapioca starch?
Hi Jamie, other readers have had success using cornstarch. They just used half the amount of starch that is written in the recipe. You could also try arrowroot starch as a 1:1 swap! Hope this helps. xo
Teri Taylor says
Has anyone tried freezing these? I know it says not freezer friendly, but I’m just curious as to why they wouldn’t be. Thank you!
Hi Teri, you can try freezing them, but the texture won’t be as good and might be soggy after thawing.
Karen Kelley says
I froze them overnight so we could cut them neatly, & they were fine! (I used Avocado oil plant butter)
Amanda says
Can I use regular GF flour?
Hi Amanda, we haven’t tried this recipe with GF flour and can’t guarantee results, but it might work. We suggest checking the texture of the dough in the photos and trying to replicate it. You might need slightly less flour!
Liketoeat says
I really loved the pecan pie filling. However, I realized that I didn’t have any tapioca starch in the house so had to substitute it with corn starch 1 to 1. My results with this substitute was that certain parts of my crust turned out very crumbly and overall had a sandy aftertaste. I’m thinking maybe I should have reduce the amount of corn starch to reduce the sandy taste? Despite that, the bars tasted delicious, and I feel tasted better days after I made them.
We’re so glad you enjoyed them! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
Janet says
So good! A must every holiday season, in my home.
Yay! We’re so glad you’re enjoying them, Janet. Thank you for sharing! xo
Dr. J says
I have been cooking holiday meals for 40 years, and nearly every Christmas and Thanksgiving I make a pecan pie because it’s everyone’s favorite. I have literally a dozen variations in my recipe archives, and can say with some authority that I have finally found THE PERFECT PECAN PIE. I know, I know: technically these are bars, but I don’t care! They’re absolutely perfect! And the crust — where has this been all my life? These bars got rave reviews at our Thanksgiving dinner yesterday. They’re my new go-to holiday dessert.
Amazing! Thanks for the glowing review, Dr. J!
Eugenia says
AMAZING! I don’t particularly like pecan pie, but thought I would give this a shot. I used coconut oil for the crust, instead of vegan butter. I also subbed coconut sugar for brown sugar and used 1 cup pecans and 1 cup walnuts. The result was absolutely amazing. Wonderful texture and fantastic flavor. We can’t get enough of it! I like it cold, straight from the fridge, while my husband prefers it in room temperature. Either way its delicious. Thank you so much for sharing such wonderful recipes. I made several of your recipes for yesterday’s Thanksgiving dinner and they were all a hit. I’ll try to leave comments for each one of them.
Woohoo! We’re so glad you enjoyed these bars, Eugenia! Thanks for sharing your modifications!
Judy says
This is amazing. I’ve been on the hunt for a healthier, vegan version of pecan pie, and this hit all of the right notes. I made it for the first time today, and took it to a small family Thanksgiving gathering. I was set to take the leftovers home, but my brother-in-law requested a trade for pumpkin pie. What could I say?! I will definitely be making this on a regular basis. Thank you so much.
Love it! Thanks so much for the review, Judy!
Joyce says
Our persimmon tree decided to give us more fruit than we know what to do with, so I decided to use some dehydrated ones (soaked in hot water & blended) for the filling in place of the maple syrup. I did a 1:1 swap by volume. They turned out!! The filling has a sweet fruity flavor from the persimmon and pairs so well with the buttery pecan. I love this recipe!
I also had to swap out the tapioca starch due to allergies. Subbed Corn starch and cut the amount by half (as advised by the internet) worked perfect!
Wow! Those sound amazing, Joyce! Thanks so much for sharing. xo
Tracy says
Too much butter in the crust – I had to cook it (crust only) an additional 15-20 minutes to dry it out.
The center never set completely, even after cooking an additional 10-15 minutes.
Overall, strange flavor to the filling; but the crust tasted like a good, crispy cookie.
Hi Tracy, we’re so sorry that was your experience! This recipe is a reader favorite, so we wonder if something went wrong. Did you make any modifications? What brand of vegan butter were you using?