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Perhaps the only thing that sucks about Thanksgiving is that after a heavy meal, as much as you'd love to, it's hard to get down with a big bulky dessert. That's why this light and creamy pumpkin flan is going to seriously change your holiday dessert game! And for a holiday where there's tons of cooking to do, you will be extra-psyched that this crowd-pleasing dessert takes less than 15 minutes of prep time, and requires no baking at all.
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Look, there's a time and a place for vegan pumpkin pie, vegan pumpkin cheesecake, and vegan apple pie. But those are finicky projects that might overcomplicate your prep day. So don't stress! These heavenly pumpkin flans take just fifteen minutes of prep time, and then the fridge does the rest while you prepare the main course.
Ready to impress yourself and exceed the expectations of everyone you serve dessert to? Time to get flan-tastic!
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🥰Why this is the best pumpkin flan recipe
✊ Vegan AF & GF: Like all my vegan Thanksgiving recipes, no animals harmed, no canned evaporated milk or gross egg yolks to separate, no compromises, and no dang cholesterol either. Looking for gluten-free vegan recipes for your guests? This just happens to be one that will blow them away!
🎃 More Than a Hint of Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice: This flan is loaded with a carefully balanced blend of aromatic spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves, making it taste like a creamy bite of autumn. I also wrote the recipe to be sweetened with natural, less processed sweeteners like coconut sugar and maple syrup, to make it guiltlessly yummy beyond words.
🥵 Doesn't Book Up Your Oven: Many traditional flan recipes require careful baking in a special flan pan and a finicky water bath. This creamy flan is too easy, fast, and foolproof for all that nonsense.
⏱️ Downright Lightning Fast to Prep: You can prep this in just twenty minutes. It's a great make-ahead dessert, so you can impress your guests without any stress the day of Thanksgiving, when there are other projects you need to focus on.
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like all of the vegan recipes I publish here, I first had it tested by a pretty massive international team of recipe testers. Wherever you are in the world, it's been tried, tested, and celebrated-so you know it'll work for you and your family too.
🥧 Show Them Vegan Thanksgiving Can Be Better
✌️Join thousands of other vegan cooks from all around the world in this FREE program as we share recipes and plan our Thanksgiving menus together.
🎃Ingredients for pumpkin flan
Coconut Sugar
A lower glycemic sweetener means it won't spike your blood sugar as much, which leads to the traditional after-Thanksgiving energy crash. Coconut sugar brings a deep caramel-like flavor to the recipe.
You can swap it out for brown sugar or palm sugar, which is my fave sweetener for Southeast Asian street food desserts like Filipino suman, Vietnamese taro pudding, Malaysian klepon, and bubur cha cha from Singapore.
Of course, you can also make this recipe with regular white sugar, but I would suggest you add a half teaspoon of molasses to it for flavor.
The Spices
While you can totally swap all of these out and just use a pumpkin pie spice, I have carefully balanced the heat and flavors of these spices to hit just right. I especially love having just ginger in the caramel sauce.
The dried ginger I love most is Buffalo ginger from Burlap and Barrel. It really is the most intense-smelling and nuanced dried ginger I have found anywhere on the planet!
The Milk
While you can for sure make this autumnal flan with unsweetened soy milk or oat milk, my preference is to use canned coconut milk. It's not as strong tasting as the coconut cream you might use to make Vietnamese coconut ice cream bars, but it's got the perfect amount of fat to make this dessert feel super-rich without needing dairy or eggs at all.
Rum (optional)
Rum adds a touch of complexity and warmth to the flan, bringing out the flavors of the spices. If you prefer not to use alcohol, you can swap it out with any plant-based milk of your choice without affecting the texture.
Agar Agar Powder
Agar agar powder is a sea vegetable-based alternative to gelatin and is a popular ingredient in Asian desserts like Filipino gulaman and banh flan (which is Vietnamese crème caramel). My strong recommendation is to use agar powder instead of agar flakes or sheets, as it's a lot more accurate to measure and dissolves more easily.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯Variations
Vegan Pumpkin Flan with Candied Pecans & Whipped Cream
Top your pumpkin flan with a little vegan whipped cream and garnish with candied pecans to make it look even more impressive!
Pumpkin Crème Brûlée
Making this recipe into a vegan pumpkin crème brûlée is actually super easy! You can completely skip making the caramel. Just make the custard base and pour it into wider, shallower ramekins.
And then, as I demonstrated in my vegan crème brûlée recipe, once the custard has set, just sprinkle the tops with sugar and torch them until crispy and deeply golden brown.
Vegan Eggnog Flan
That's right m'love. You can swap out the coconut milk and pumpkin puree in this recipe, and use vegan eggnog instead to make a legendary Yuletide banger that will prevent Santa from ever sliding down your chimney with coal for you again!
50 stunning holiday classics designed to win over even the most anti-vegan guests.
📖How to make Pumpkin Flan perfectly
Absolutely nail this impressive Thanksgiving dessert the very first time you make it by following these step-by-step photos with helpful tips. Or scroll down to the bottom of this page for the easy-to-print recipe card.
Step One
Sim Simmer, Who's Got The Keys To My Bimmer?
In a small saucepan, melt sugar, maple syrup, ginger powder, vanilla extract, and salt. Cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally for 5-6 minutes, until the mixture thickens and becomes syrupy.
Step Two
The Flansylvania Polka:
Pour the caramel into the bottom of six small ramekins, tilting them to ensure an even coating. Set these sweet vessels aside.
Step Three
Let Me Be Your Flantasy:
In a saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk together the coconut milk, pumpkin, rum (if using), cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, sugar, and vanilla extract.
Step Four
Ned Flan-ders:
While the pot is heating to a gentle simmer, mix together the agar agar powder and cornstarch with the plant-based milk in a small bowl using a fork or a tiny whisk.
Step Five
Simmer Down Now:
Once the saucepan contents are simmering, gradually add the cornstarch slurry while stirring the mixture for an additional 2 minutes, until the flan mixture is smooth and slightly thickened. Remove from heat.
Step Six
Pour Decision Making:
Evenly pour the flan base into the prepared ramekins over the caramel layer. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or until fully set.
✅ Or pipe the still-warm custard into some vegan pumpkin donuts as a filling.
Step Seven
Flan Halen:
Run a knife around the edges of each ramekin and invert them onto plates.
✅ It's likely that some caramel will remain in the ramekin. Just use a spoon and scoop out the good, thick stuff onto your flan.
Step Eight
Try to Keep Your Clothes Flan:
Optionally garnish with crushed gingersnap cookies and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
💡Vegan Thanksgiving Meal Ideas
Start your holiday meal with a bowl of rich carrot lentil soup topped with chili oil and roasted chestnuts. I like to serve this soup with either some pan-fried wedges of vegan cornbread, or hot, fresh Moroccan rghaif.
For the main event, go for a vegan turkey roast with crispy skin, stuffed with either vegan cornbread stuffing or classic vegan stuffing with chestnuts and herbs. It's a showstopper, and significantly less creepy than the human baby-shaped tofu turkey I sometimes serve to freak my non-veg guests out.
Of course, sides are the real fun of Thanksgiving. I mean, it's between them and listening to your relatives argue about politics or whatever, right?
My fave sides to serve include candied yams, vegan green bean casserole, and of course, a mountain of dairy-free mashed potatoes drowning in either vegan brown gravy, mushroom gravy, or vegan sausage gravy.
Bourbon cranberry sauce or cranberry ezme are on the menu, and that's a 100% fact.
👉Top tips
- Chill Properly: Allow the flan to set in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or preferably overnight. Any shorter of a time, and you can risk your flan falling apart a bit when you transfer it onto a plate.
- Unmold with Care: When unmolding, run a butter knife or paring knife along the edge of the flan to release it from the ramekin. If it doesn't come out easily, briefly dip the ramekin in warm water to help loosen the caramel before flipping it onto a plate. Once loose from the ramekin, you can place the serving plate on top of the ramekin and flip them both together to reduce chances of flan sliding across your floor, where your dog will fall deeply in love with it.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
Store vegan pumpkin flan in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Make sure it's fully cooled before refrigerating to maintain the right texture.
I wouldn't recommend freezing pumpkin flan. In some cases, it can have a weird, grainy texture upon being thawed, which ruins the smooth mouthfeel the unfrozen flan normally has.
Full-fat canned coconut milk is hands down the best for a creamy texture. If you want a less rich flan, you can make this recipe with unsweetened and unflavored soy milk, almond milk, or oat milk instead.
If your flan isn't setting, it might have needed more time to cook. The other thing that can cause it not to set is if the agar agar or cornstarch was old and ineffective.
✌️Other autumnal desserts your family will love:
Unlock a discounted bundle of classes that walk you through vegan Thanksgiving menus with detailed video instruction from Chef Adam Sobel.
Easy Pumpkin Flan Recipe with Ginger Caramel
Equipment
- Fork
Ingredients
Caramel:
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar or brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon dried ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Flan base:
- 13.5 oz. coconut milk
- ½ cup canned pumpkin
- 4 teaspoons rum optional
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar or brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ teaspoons agar agar powder
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch tapioca starch, or arrowroot
- ½ cup unsweetened plant-based milk
Optional garnishes:
- 2 tablespoons gingersnap cookies crushed
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- To make the caramel, combine the maple syrup, coconut sugar, ginger powder, vanilla extract, and salt in a small saucepan. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 5-6 minutes, until it thickens slightly and becomes syrupy.
- Pour the caramel into the bottom of six small ramekins, tilting them to evenly coat the base. Set aside.
- In a saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk together the coconut milk, pumpkin, rum (if using), cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, sugar, and vanilla extract.
- While the pot comes up to a gentle simmer, using the tines of a fork or a tiny whisk, mix together the agar agar powder, cornstarch, and plant-based milk in a cup or small bowl.
- Once the contents of the saucepan have reached a simmer, gradually add the cornstarch slurry while continuing to stir the content of the pot for another 2 minutes, until the flan mixture is smooth and slightly thickened. Remove from heat.
- Pour the flan base evenly into the prepared ramekins over the caramel layer. Refrigerate the flans for at least 3 hours, or until fully set.
- To serve, unmold the flans by running a knife around the edges of each ramekin and inverting them onto plates. If some caramel sticks to the inside of the ramekin, use a spoon to scoop it out onto your plated flan.
- Optionally, garnish with crushed gingersnap cookies and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Notes
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Romeo Romeo says
Flavors were great, not too sweet either. However, I think the texture was off for me. How long should you simmer the liquid? I did it until it came up to a certain temp (to dissolve the agar powder) then I let it cook for another 5 min. But it took a while to get to 185f, so it was thick by the time I got it into ramekins. I think I had it on the stove for about 10-15 min all together. I let it get to a slow simmer, hence why it took a while. Anyway the results this morning was almost rubbery like texture. Not smooth and creamy like the flan that I once knew (my Latina mom makes non vegan flan all the time and I can assure you this isn’t what I remember). Of course it will be different, as the vegan ones aren’t usually cooked in the oven and recipes used agar, plus it’s pumpkin. I even went less with the agar, I used only 1 tsp. What do you think went wrong? Also I’m not sure if I was suppose to strain the cooked liquid, I would this next time too for a smoother texture. Anyway flavors were amazing, just need to get that texture right! I will try again. Best
Adam Sobel says
To me, it sounds like this just got qay overcooked. No need to strain the flan for sure. It really just needs to start bubbling, and you are good to go. My guess is some of the liquid evaporated out and the whole thing got more condensed.
Romeo Romeo says
Ahhh thanks for the reply! Okey next time I will only let it get bubbly, then I’ll take it off the fire. I was worried the agar wouldn’t dissolve as that has happened to me before. I find agar to be so interesting to work with. Again the flavors were amazing! I didn’t realize this was CS recipe until I posted my question! Your recipes are always so amazing for me, as I do have CS cookbook! We use to visit CS too in the city, we miss it so very much! I will def try this recipe again and try not to duck it up next time! Best
Jessica says
I am wanting to make a dairy free and egg free dessert using durian for my boyfriend birthday who loves durian. Was thinking of using this recipe and swapping the pumpkin for purées durian. Any thoughts on this? Also wondering if more coconut milk can be used in place of the milk alternative?
Adam Sobel says
Yes and Yes! That should work fine. I LOVE durian so much. If I were swapping it out in the recipe, I might also replace a small amount of the coconut milk with durian puree so that the flavor is even more pronounced. Let me know how it comes out!
Marna says
yeah...ya need, seriously Need, to make this....I had little confidence in myself but followed directions to a T and it was....I have to say, with great confidence, it was fantastic! IAND to top it off...it was so easy!!! What was I thinking? Served it to total non-vegans and everyone of them LOVED it...being popular in my own house is soooooooooo cool!!!
Thank you again, Chef!
Adam Sobel says
Love ya Marna. So glad you are popular in your house. You are so goofy, plus you love border collies, so you are ok in my book.
Cheryl Macklin says
Simple to make and absolutely delightful! I didn’t have any rum on hand, but it was still delicious. I am looking forward to making this again.
Kimbi Walton says
This was an easy and pretty dish. It's so nice to have a vegan caramel layer.
K.P. says
Delicious! Enjoyed by my toddler and omni husband! I'm excited to have this easy dessert recipe on hand!
Mikaela says
5 stars for being delicious and also extremely easy to make. I love that it contains ingredients I already have - didn’t even have to go the store! Can’t wait to make it again.
Danielle Johnson says
Can I use a pie tin in instead of ramekins?
Adam Sobel says
You absolutely can as long as its one of those smaller pie tins. A bigger one might be tricky to transfer the flan out of without breaking it.
Jennifer says
Not only it sounds excellent, but it looks like a top notch dessert I would absolutely have even if I’m all filled up! I love this one!
Adam Sobel says
Thanks Jennifer! I think you will love this one ❤️
Carol says
Hey Adam. I'd love to triple this recipe for our crowd on Thanksgiving. Think it would work in muffin pans or should I "invest" a pittance in a 1.5 qt flan pan? And if made ahead, does it need to be stored in the ramekin, pie tin, etc?
Thanks. I know you're busy!
Adam Sobel says
The problem with a muffin pan, is that you are going to have to remove all flans at the same time. That's not 100% a deal breaker though.
First, go around the perimeter of each cavity (I hate to use that word) with the tip of a knife. Place a sheet pan over the muffin tin, and then invert both together. As soon as it's flipped, transfer each flan onto its own plate, and spoon up the caramel from the baking pan onto the top of each flan.
Ines says
Hi Adam,
The pumpkin flan sounds and looks delicious! Could I substitute potato starch (or something else) for the corn starch and if so, would it be the same amount? I have problems with corn and corn products. Thank you!
Adam Sobel says
Hey Ines! Yep. almost any starch would work. My top two recommended alternatives to cornstarch are arrowroot and tapioca starch.
-Adam ❤️