What would Thanksgiving (or fall!) be without something pumpkin? Whether it is a spiced pumpkin latte or pumpkin pie, the taste and scent of pumpkin is a perfect companion to cool fall weather.
I was never actually a big pumpkin pie fan in the past. In the past couple of years, I’ve fallen in love with coconut and pumpkin … and this recipe is a good combination of both. It is grain free and can be made completely dairy free as well.
A Better Pumpkin Pie
If your family considers pumpkin pie a part of the Thanksgiving feast, consider this healthier option this year! It has all the same flavors of traditional pumpkin pie, but can accommodate those who are gluten free and dairy free. This recipe also uses natural sweeteners in place of the sugar or corn syrup used in many pumpkin pies.
Give it a try!
Grain-Free Pumpkin Pie Recipe
Ingredients
For Crust
- 1 cup almonds or pecans or almond flour
- 3 TBSP coconut oil plus some to grease pie pan
- 1 egg
- ¼-½ tsp cinnamon or to taste
For Filling
- 1 15 oz can of pumpkin or 2 cups homemade pureed pumpkin with excess liquid drained
- 3 eggs
- ¼ cup honey or maple syrup or to taste
- 1 TBSP pumpkin pie spice or 2 tsp cinnamon and ¼ tsp each of cloves ginger, and nutmeg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- coconut milk to thin
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Lightly grease a 9-inch pie pan with coconut oil.
- If using whole nuts grind them in a high-powered blender until they are a floury texture.
- In a medium-sized bowl mix together ground nuts or almond flour and remaining crust ingredients.
- Press into bottom and sides of pie pan and bake 10-15 minutes until barely starting to brown.
- Meanwhile, in the same bowl (no need for extra dishes!) combine all the filling ingredients except coconut milk and mix using an immersion blender or food processor. A hand-mixer will not get it as smooth! The pie filling should be smooth and spreadable, but not really pourable.
- Add a small amount of coconut milk if needed to thin slightly.
- Spoon the filling over the crust and smooth and return to oven for about an hour or until center is no longer jiggly. It will set more as it cools.
- Top with coconut cream or whipped heavy cream and some chopped pecans.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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What is your favorite Thanksgiving dessert? Any other recipes you want healthy versions of? Tell me below!
Blackstrap Molasses Benefits (+ Cooking and Beauty Uses)
Do you have suggestions for folks with nut allergies? I’d love to make this at the holidays but my mom is allergic to all nuts. Maybe no crust?
You can skip the crust, or shredded toasted coconut works pretty well too if she can have that…
How would one go about making the crust with coconut? Would i just use the same recipe but sub the nuts for coconut?
Coconut flour would be a good sub.
what can one use instead of nuts for the pie crust?
Pepitas (aka shelled pumpkin seeds) work just wonderfully.
Sorry, what is coconut cream?
Robyn, I made this today and had the same experience with my crust. I also sopped up the extra foam with paper towels. Looking forward to having this tomorrow!
I made this yesterday and it came out great! One comment…the coconut oil in the crust was bubbling/foaming a lot while baking, but I just soaked it up a bit with a paper towel after taking it out of the oven. Not sure if this is a normal occurrence since I’ve never baked with it before. Thanks for the recipe!
I had the same experience. but in the end the pie turned out really good.
I used the equal amount in ghee and didn’t have an issue 🙂
THANK YOU for this. For the past few years, I’ve been gluten-free, and I’ve made it through the holidays fine. But this is the first year that my kids are GF, and I’m a little concerned about how large family gatherings are going to go! That’s why I volunteered to bring some desserts 🙂
We’ll be making this for sure. And I’m looking for a GF apple dessert, too (**hint, hint**)
Thanks, Katie!
Wow, my mouth is totally watering now. I’m down with it.
You might want to wander by my blog. The astonishing results of a Wheat-Free life keep adding up like compound interest. New design, fresh content.
I’m having a blast, you know, just being who I’ve always wanted to be. Me!
Just made it! Really a great recipe. I used fresh butternut squash and thawed it for the recipe. Prior to cooking the filling it was really runny and very pourable (didn’t add any coconut milk), however it cooked up great in 1 hour. Put a little less honey this time but will measure next time as it needed more to make the flavors pop. Might add more cinnamon also. The crust was great. Thanks for a great recipe!
Is the pie crust in the picture one that was baked from the recipe in this post?
Nope, its just a stock photo I had. I’m going to update as soon as I bake it again, but this is not one that lasts long at our house so I haven’t been able to get a picture yet 🙂
Oh thank you – I’m “flirting” with gestational diabetes and need to cut out the carbs but was getting really bummed out about Thanksgiving. This recipe makes things look a little better, lol!