Easy and Delicious Pumpkin Pie

This easy and delicious pumpkin pie recipe is a hit, even with people who do not normally like pumpkin pie. Why? Because the flavour and texture can be adapted by using peanut butter and crunchy apples. The healthier ingredients mean that several various diets, like paleo and gluten-free, can eat it too.

“It would be hard to go back to plain-Jane pumpkin pie after eating this.” ~ Mr. Coconut

Pumpkin

Pumpkin is particularly high in vitamin A, along with other vegetables like sweet potatoes and spinach. Vitamin A is important for vision, growth, cell division, reproduction and immunity; it also has antioxidant properties. The recommended daily amount of vitamin A is 900 micrograms (mcg) for adult men and 700 mcg for adult women.

A Fast and Easy Crust

We have customized our favourite paleo pie shell recipe from Elana’s Pantry. It’s delicious and perfect for us “non-pastry chefs”. The original recipe used a shallow pie plate but we feel that pie deserves a deep pie plate (~2″). If you do not have a deep plate (bakeware at thrift stores is super cheap, FYI), do not fear, because the extra filling with some additional egg makes extraordinary french toast batter. YUM.

The original recipe also used coconut oil in the crust. We’ve tried it and the flavour doesn’t jive with the pumpkin filling. Try using avocado oil or another light-flavoured oil.

Pumpkin Filling – DELICIOUS

If you buy canned pie filling, be sure to get 100% pure pumpkin. If you have puréed pumpkin in the freezer we recommend using it up within 2 months to avoid freezer burn. Recently, we used some that was about 8 months old and it had the freezer-burnt smell. It was all we had though and once it was baked with the seasonings no one knew.

Whipped Bean Cream

You may have heard of whipped coconut milk to use as a vegan option for whipped cream. I’ve had it and think it’s great, but sometimes I find that coconut fat like that is too strong of a flavour… and I’ve wondered if it makes me feel poorly, at times. So, I went to work creating something that is like it, but less coconutty. The Whipped Bean Cream is not Paleo, like the pie itself, so stick to just whipping cold coconut fat instead, if you prefer.

What I had on hand were cooked navy beans, some medium-fat coconut milk, and the kitchen staples. Out of these came the whipped cream. Mashed navy beans thicken the milk, although if you have a really thick brand brand of coconut milk, you may not need as many beans. If you don’t have dried navy beans or time to soak and cook them, I suspect another light-coloured and light-flavoured canned legume, like chickpea, would work as well. We were quite delighted with the end result and how well it paired with the pumpkin pie.

We also used this whipped bean cream in our Mississippi Mud Pie – The Healthy Way recipe. The only change we made was cooking the beans in the Instant Pot with a cinnamon stick, which give the whipped bean cream a light and very balanced cinnamon flavour without browning the colour.

Solutions For The Adversaries

For some people, they cannot stand the mushy texture of pumpkin pie. A solution: lay sliced apples on the bottom of the shell and pour the filling on top. Honey crisp and pink lady varieties work well. I prefer it without the apples, but Tim (who is a textures guy) likes it with. A matter of personal preference.

The second reason is that the pumpkin flavour can be too strong. This is where the nut butter comes in. Using 3 tbsp of peanut or almond butter gives it a background hint of nuts, while using 4 tbsp gives it some nut butter gusto (amen!). Use whichever amount you or the person you aim to please prefers. Other nut and seed butters work beautifully as well.

Paleo Pumpkin Pie

5 from 1 vote

A pumpkin pie with a surprising nutty flavour that will have you and your guests craving more!

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Cook Time 1 hour hr

Servings: 1 pie

Course: Dessert

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 2½ cups almond flour
• 3 tbsp avocado oil
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• 1 egg
• 2 cups pumpkin puree
• 3 eggs
• ½ cup coconut milk canned, thick
• ½ cups maple syrup
• ¼ cup almond or peanut butter
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• ⅛ tsp clove

Optional

• ginger powder
• ground cardamom
• apple thinly sliced

Whipped Bean Cream

• 1-1½ cups cooked navy beans ¾ cup dried or another white light-tasting bean
• ½ cup coconut milk fat from a can
• 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 2 tsp vanilla
• ¼ tsp Himalayan sea salt

Method

 

1. Soak navy beans for 12+ hours in the fridge, replacing water X2-3.
2. Cook navy beans in instant pot for 9 minutes, high pressure, and vent naturally.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F
4. In a small bowl combine all the crust ingredients. Using a large spoon or electric mixer, mix all ingredients until a dough forms.
5. Line a pie plate with parchment paper and pat the dough into the pie plate. You can use your thumbs and index fingers to pinch the crust into a corrugated edge, or keep it simple and flatten the edge.
   
6. Combine all filling ingredients into a blender, or use a hand blender and a bowl and mix until thoroughly combined.
7. Optional: layer the crust with very thinly sliced apples
8. Pour the filling into the pie shell and carefully place in the preheated oven on a middle rack.
9. Bake pie for approximately 55-60 minutes.
10. While pie is baking, prepare the Whipped Bean Cream by puréeing the cooked navy beans in a bowl using a hand mixer. Add all other ingredients and blend again until smooth.
11. Remove pie from oven and let it sit at room temperature until it cools. Once cool, transfer to the fridge to fully cool, along with the whipped bean cream in a separate container. Add the whipped bean cream fresh to each piece when serving the pie.

Bon appétit!