Here you have it folks, delicious and simple raw vegan mini cherry pies! Growing up in the South, I’ve definitely had my fair share of pies. So I guess you can call me a “pie connoisseur”. So, I thought I’d make mini cherry pies for my friend who was in town visiting me.
Lately I’ve been craving a naturally sweet, fruity pie and obsessing over experimenting with making raw vegan desserts. I had some cherries leftover from my cherry garcia banana ice cream so I thought why not satisfy my craving the healthy way?
The pie crust is simple, just 2 ingredients: dates and almonds.
Honestly, it tastes a little like cookie dough. Okay, a lot like cookie dough. I could eat it just on its own!
Completely 100% naturally sweetened with dates, the filling only has 5 ingredients: cherries, dates, coconut, chia seeds, and vanilla. It’s dangerously delicious. I had to stop myself from eating it right out of the bowl.
Sweet red cherries give these mini pies a sweet taste with a little hint of tart. Plus, they’re known to be filled with a unique set of antioxidants that have anti-inflammatory properties and have a calming effect. They have a lot of melatonin which soothes irritability, insomnia, and headaches.
After making the 2-ingredient crust, you pop them in the freezer.
Then, after you add in the cherry filling, you have to put them back in the freezer and wait a couple of hours for them to firm up. It’s worth the wait! So, if you’re having an overly stressful and busy day, just eat some pie and you’ll feel better!
I decided to make mini pies because not only are they absolutely adorable, but they’re the perfect snackable size. So you can have a couple and it’s no biggie! This makes a big batch of a little over a dozen pies which lasted me for the whole week.
But if you’re feeling extra generous, have a potluck to go to, or are heading to dinner with your family, you FINALLY have an easy option that everyone will enjoy.
I had a friend taste-test these this weekend (qualifier: she’s not vegan, gluten-free, or anything, she’s just trying to eat healthier and has a major sweet tooth). She LOVED these and kept asking me if she could have more.
I guess you could say these have the official seal of approval! You don’t have to be vegan, gluten-free, or refined sugar-free to indulge in wholesome desserts. For those of you avoiding sugar, a little every now and then doesn’t hurt. My biggest piece of advice- just live a little & treat yourself because you deserve it!
Raw Mini Cherry Pies
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 1/2 cup almonds
- 1 1/2 cup dates
For the filling:
- 2 cups pitted fresh cherries
- 1 cup pitted medjool dates
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 2 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
Instructions
- Pulse the almonds in a food processor until it becomes a flour-like consistency.
- Add the dates and process until it sticks together.
- Line a muffin tin with saran wrap and press the crust into the bottom and up the sides of the pan.
- Place in the freezer while you make the filling.
- For the filling, process cherries, dates, and vanilla in a food processor until smooth.
- Fold in the shredded coconut.
- Spread the cherry mixture evenly into your crust.
- Freeze for 3-4 hours.
- Enjoy your pies!
6 Comments
Hi Laura, Could you use frozen cherries in this recipe?
Hi Anna! I haven’t tried using frozen cherries before in this recipe, but I imagine because it’s a frozen dessert it should work as well. I think it might be harder to blend together though, so maybe let them thaw for a little bit before making the filling. Please let me know how it turns out!
I really want to make these today but I do not have a food processor. Any suggestions. I just have a regular blender but I do have almond meal.
Hi there! If you have almond meal, that’s great and it’ll definitely work for the crust. I’d try blending 1 1/2 cup almond meal with the 1 1/2 dates until you get a stick mixture for the crust. And for the filling, you should be able to blend all the ingredients and then stir in the chia seeds at the end! Please let me know how they turn out 🙂 I hope you like them!
These were amazing. Thank you for the info regarding using the almond meal. I ended up just smashing all the ingredients by hand. They were so yummy, filling, and easy.
You’re welcome! I try to make my recipes as easy as possible so you don’t even have to leave home to get anything! And I’m glad to hear you liked them 🙂