Vegan Thanksgiving Dessert Recipes

This easy vegan pumpkin pie gets its structure from aquafaba (the leftover water from a can of chickpeas) whipped up into a meringue-like foam. When it’s combined with pumpkin and poured into a gluten-free pecan crust, you would never know beans had anything to do with this vegan pumpkin pie recipe.

Make classic apple crumb pie vegan-friendly with this easy dairy-free flour crust. Take your dessert to the next level by whipping up a can of coconut cream into vegan whipped cream to dollop on top.

One batch of dough does double duty as both the crust and streusel topping to make one of the easiest desserts around.

There are plenty of granola bar options at the grocery store, but they're also easy (and often healthier) to make at home. Feel free to vary the add-ins to your taste, swapping 2 cups of any combination of small (or chopped) dried fruit, nuts, seeds and/or chocolate chips for the dried cranberries and nuts in this version. We tested several sticky sweeteners, including maple syrup and honey, but found brown rice syrup held the bars together the best.

With all due respect to baklava, we've found a new favorite Lebanese dessert. This rich, moist cake is sweetened with carob molasses and has a hit of anise. We may or may not have fought over it in the Test Kitchen.

This easy, comforting pear crumble is sure to please. Serve it as is or with low-fat ice cream.

Coconut macaroons meet dark chocolate truffles in these little treats. Inside the snap of the dark chocolate shell lies the tender coconut-cocoa filling: a mix of naturally sweet dates, cocoa and coconut flour. Coconut flour is a healthy way to add decadent coconut flavor to this coconut-dark chocolate truffle recipe and other baked goods. It packs a whopping 5 grams of fiber per 2 tablespoons (with only 2 grams of total and saturated fat). Look for coconut flour near other gluten-free flours.

Use whatever fresh or frozen fruit you have on hand to make this old-fashioned crumble. Typical crumble topping has as much as a half cup of butter--ours has just a bit of canola oil and, for richness, chopped almonds, which are full of healthy monounsaturated fats.

Coconut whipped cream, also known as vegan whipped cream, is the perfect topping for any dairy-free or vegan dessert. It's light, creamy and entirely plant-based. Like regular whipped cream, you can also add flavoring--citrus zest, espresso powder or a different extract--to this basic recipe to customize the flavor. Refrigerating the can of coconut milk or cream overnight allows the fat/cream to separate from the liquid and solidify.

Magical aquafaba--the liquid from canned chickpeas that often gets poured down the drain--mimics egg whites in these airy vegan meringue cookies. The other magical thing? These cookies require just three ingredients! Save the chickpeas themselves for hummus, stew or any one of our other recipes that call for canned chickpeas.

Sturdy apples are flavored with cinnamon and vanilla in this slow-cooker apple compote. Top with low-fat vanilla ice cream and a sprinkling of toasted walnuts for dessert.

Sticking to its food-waste mission, L.A. Kitchen created this dessert to work with almost any fruit you have on hand. We've done it here with pears and apples, but you can use berries or even tropical fruits instead. The addition of dried fruit adds a concentrated hit of flavor you won't get from fresh alone.