No-Bake Vegan Strawberry Pie
This no-oil, no-bake crust can be a little difficult to get out of the pan, so consider lightly oiling the pie pan first. Dusting the pan with a sprinkling of crushed nuts may also help keep the pie from sticking.
Ingredients
• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 8 medjool dates, pitted and roughly chopped
• 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats (use certified gluten-free oats if gluten is a concern)
• 2-3 tablespoons apple juice
• 1 12.3-ounce package Morinu organic firm silken tofu
• 2 medjool dates, pitted and chopped
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds, ground in a blender or coffee mill
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
• 1 vanilla bean (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
• 1/2 cup apple juice
• 2 teaspoons agar powder (or 2 tablespoons agar flakes)
• stevia, erythritol, or other sweetener to taste
• 12 ounces strawberries, stemmed and sliced
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Instructions
1. Before You Begin: Place the cashews in a small bowl and add water to cover them by about 1 inch. Set aside to soak for at least 2 hours or in the refrigerator overnight.
2. Crust: Place the 8 chopped dates into a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the oats and process until crumbly. With the machine running, add 2 tablespoons of apple juice. Continue to process until mixture begins to adhere together. If necessary, add more juice a teaspoon at a time, but be careful not to add too much. You want it to be sticky but not wet. Press into the bottom of an 8-inch pie pan and up the sides about 1 inch. Set aside.
3. Filling: Drain the cashews and place them in the blender (a Vitamix or other high-speed blender works best, but others should be able to do a good job). Add the tofu, 2 dates, lemon juice, chia seeds, and lemon rind. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and use a spoon to scrape out the seeds inside; add them to the blender. Blend on high speed until completely smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides to make sure all ingredients are incorporated.
4. Taste the filling mixture and add sweetener to taste. (I increased the lemon flavor by using NuNaturals Lemon Stevia.) Leave the mixture in the blender as you continue with the next step.
5. The next steps require you to work quickly. Heat the 1/2 cup of apple juice in a small sauce pan. As it's heating, sprinkle it with the agar powder. Stir and heat until agar dissolves and juice begins to boil. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute after boiling. Quickly, add the agar mixture to the contents of the blender. Put the top on the blender and blend at high speed until well-blended. Scrape down the sides and blend again briefly. Pour into the prepared crust and smooth the top. Refrigerate until chilled and set.
6. Top with sliced strawberries before serving.
Variations
You can also make this as a crust-less pie and subtract 142 calories and 1 gram of fat from the total.
If being sugar-free isn't important to you, consider using a strawberry glaze instead of plain strawberries.
Preparation time: 40 minute(s) (plus 2 hours soaking time and additional chilling time) | Cooking time: 5 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 6
Nutrition (per serving): 277 calories, 52 calories from fat, 6.2g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 60.2mg sodium, 559.6mg potassium, 51.7g carbohydrates, 6.1g fiber, 33.3g sugar, 8.9g protein, 8.2 points.
Nutrition (per serving) without crust: 135 calories, 44 calories from fat, 5.2g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 58.9mg sodium, 281.9mg potassium, 18g carbohydrates, 2.6g fiber, 11.4g sugar, 6.5g protein, 4 points.
Originally found here
