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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 are the perfect companions to cool fall weather.
I was never actually a big pumpkin pie fan in the past. But in the past couple of years, I’ve fallen in love with the combination of coconut and pumpkin together. So I decided to create a pumpkin pie recipe that uses those flavors. It turned out great!
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 as traditional pumpkin pie but can accommodate those who avoid dairy and gluten.
For the Crust
I have an almond flour pie crust recipe that I use for most of my pies. It’s a press-in pie crust rather than a roll-out crust, which actually is a lot easier to use. You’ll need to pre-bake the crust for about 10 minutes before pouring in the filling.
For the Filling
I don’t use a lot of refined sweeteners like white sugar or corn syrup. So in this pumpkin pie, I use honey or maple syrup. Just whisk it together with pureed pumpkin, eggs, and spices, and the filling is done! I make my own pumpkin pie spice, so it’s always on hand.
For the Topping
Some of my kids claim that pumpkin pie simply can’t be eaten without whipped cream. If you agree, then I recommend making your own. That way you avoid all the mystery ingredients in store-bought versions. It’s also super easy and fast to do (provided you have an electric mixer!).
Just add heavy cream to a bowl and whisk with a hand mixer or stand mixer at high speed until fluffy. I like to add a little vanilla extract to mine. You can also add a little honey or maple syrup while it’s whisking to make it sweet.
If you don’t do dairy, you can make whipped coconut cream. In fact, even if you do eat dairy I recommend the coconut whipped cream. That coconut/pumpkin combination is so tasty.
More Thanksgiving Favorites
We have a lot of other Thanksgiving recipes that we’ve modified to fit our lifestyle. In fact, I wrote a whole post about it. It includes everything from appetizers, to sides, to additional dessert ideas. I also wrote out step-by-step instructions for pulling it all together and included a printable to hang on the fridge while you work.
Grain-Free Pumpkin Pie Recipe
Servings
Equipment
- Pie pan
Ingredients
For Crust
- 1 batch pie crust
For Filling
- 15 oz canned pumpkin (or 2 cups homemade pureed pumpkin with excess liquid drained)
- 3 eggs
- ¼ cup honey (or maple syrup)
- 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
- Lightly grease a 9-inch pie pan with coconut oil.
- Prepare pie crust according to the pie crust recipe instructions.
- While the pie crust is baking, use the pie crust bowl (no need for extra dishes!) to combine all the filling ingredients except coconut milk.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Use an immersion blender or food processor and mix the pumpkin filling thoroughly. A hand-mixer will not get it as smooth! The pie filling should be smooth and spreadable.
- Add a small amount of coconut milk if needed to thin slightly.
- Spoon the filling over the baked crust and smooth and bake for about an hour or until center is no longer jiggly. It will set more as it cools.
- Cool completely.
- Top with coconut cream or whipped heavy cream and some chopped pecans.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
Notes
Feel free to tweak the spice and sweetness levels to your family's liking! You can also substitute stevia, but the honey helps the pie hold together better.
I saw these pumpkin bars the other day and it reminded me of a recipe a friend was telling me about. She says that her husband’s family didn’t like pie crust so they grew up eating a crustless pumpkin pie that was more like a bar. Maybe I’ll do some experimenting…
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What is your favorite Thanksgiving dessert? Any other recipes you want healthy versions of? Tell me below!
If I make this in advance, how would I store the pie until serving?
It can be stored at room temperature. If you’re making it more than a few days in advance though it would probably be best to put it in the fridge.
Hi WM, I’ve been enjoying the bone broth recipe in your book, The Wellness Mama Cookbook. Have you written other cookbooks ? I do the Paleo Diet, and am always looking for cookbook that solves the dairy, gluten free, egg free challenges. Baked desserts is a hard one. We all enjoy variety. Please consider more cookbooks !! Thanks, Miss Cathy
Really good recipe. Have made it for a few years, with the recipe crust or with frozen gf crusts.
Slightly less sweet which is fantastic.
I saw a picture of individual pumpkin pie. Can I use this recipe and how many would it make.
Can we freeze this pumpkin pie? If yes, for how long?
I made this recipe for the first time and we absolutely loved it. I used a 9.5-inch pie dish however, and the crust in this recipe wasn’t enough to cover the sides. I first added another half crust recipe, and that still wasn’t enough, so I ended up doubling the crust recipe to cover the entire bottom and sides of the pie dish.
Thank you for all of your amazing recipes. ?
This recipe is wonderful! Thank you so much for it, this is my second time making it except for I was brave and tweaked it a little!
I followed the recipe exactly but instead of 1/4 cup of honey I used 1 tablespoon of honey and 1 tablespoon of Maple syrup along with 4 spoonfuls of stevia in the raw.
(For people who don’t like their pie over powering with sweetener, I personally like mine just sweet enough to enjoy the flavor.)
And I nearly doubled the spices,
1 Tablespoon of Pumpkin Pie Spice along with 1 tsp. Of cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp nutmeg (or a little more I love nutmeg), and 1/4 tsp cloves.
I made a gluten free oatflour crust (which I tweaked also) which did perfectly (only with sitting in the fridge for several hours since the oil it uses is coconut)
I baked the pie in a Toaster Oven on 325 for 40 minutes because I like the pie to set just enough yet be moist and soft (like pie should be) and then let it sit in the fridge over night as the flavors mix.
Also, I used a glass pie dish, I can’t vouch for metal as I don’t know the difference in how fast which cooks or how evenly distributed it would be.
Thanks! Plan on making her pie tonight (day before THE BIG DAY) and think I’ll use some of your tweaks!
Hi! Thanks for trying my tweaks!! Just remember to add more sweetener (honey or maple syrup) because I seriously don’t like sweet desserts. I enjoy them slightly sweet to where I can just taste the flavor so I would highly recommend you use more sweetener to your preferred sweetness.
Also, I found that the original spices in the recipe, when using pumkin pie spice, weren’t full of spice flavor which is why I added all the extra. Just becareful and make sure you enjoy being able to taste the mixture of the spices. Some people prefer just tasting more of the pumpkin and only using the spices to throw in a little flavor, like using a pinch of salt with the sugar in smoothies/milkshakes to make it pop.
🙂 I hope your thanksgivings great!
I made this recipe last night for guests. It turned out beautifully. It looked so perfect. I never eat processed sugar and I completely avoid grains. I have to say I found this recipe to be a bit bland. I would rather eat canned pumpkin puréed with a banana some milk and pumpkins spices. I won’t be making this again.
My husband said it the best tasting pie I ever made ….. Love it!!!! Thanks so much!
Sounds tasty! But what about honey heating? What do you think about toxins which can make in?
What size pie plate does this recipe call for? The photo looks like several small pies and the recipe doesn’t indicate size. Thank you.
This is a wonderful recipe. I had to make a double-batch of everything for a big pie module, but thankfully I had enough of ingredients. One can also whip up some egg whites with a bit of lemon & honey and add on top instead of whipping cream — a fabulous combination. I am happy to share the pictures with you. Where to send them?
Help. I am reading all of the wonderful comments but I did not experience the same wonderful results. It took an hour and 40 minutes for mine to stop giggling at such low temp. (325F). I used real homemade pumpkin purée and only 1/4 cup of full fat coconut milk to get custard consistency. Batter was delicious. But the final product tasted like pumpkin omelette! Texture and flavour:(. Also the oils from the pie crust bubbled over and dripped all inside my oven! (I used pecans because of almond allergy) I am still trying to get that oily black sticky substance off the floor, walls and glass of my oven. It’s like tar!!:,(. Did I do something terribly wrong??
How did you make the pumpkin puree… did you pre-roast or boil the pumpkin?
I made this pie for the first time yesterday, it was delicious! I’ve “taste tested” so much of it I’m going to make another one today. I forgot to add the vanilla and like another person commented I’m going to try a little salt in the crust so I’m looking forward to tasting today’s version. I was also thinking of making a banana and nut milk ice cream to go with it like the olden day’s when we had vanilla ice cream with our store bought pumpkin pie. Thank you for sharing this recipe.