I know, I know, Thanksgiving is over, so you’re probably over the pumpkin-spice foods and pumpkin pie! But in my book, pumpkin pie is a food that can be eaten year-round, which is why I’m sharing with you this delicious recipe!
I’m not going to lie and tell you that I’m a perfect intuitive eater, or that I listen to my body and eat what I want when I want it. I’m slowly working at getting to that point, but I still have work to do when it comes to eliminating old eating disorder thoughts/behaviors and replacing them with intuitive eating behaviors.
Although I may not be where I need to be just yet, I have learned a lot so far in terms of changing my mindset around food, and one of the biggest steps I’ve taken is realizing that you can enjoy food whenever you want it. There’s no special rule or law that says you can only eat pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, that you can only eat breakfast foods for breakfast, that you can only have S’mores in the summer, or that you can only have Christmas cookies in December. I don’t know how our society got around to thinking these things (and I’ll admit that I also fell victim to these thoughts), but it’s time we change these thoughts once and for all! And that starts by allowing yourself the freedom to eat the foods you want to eat, whenever you want to eat them.
The other day when I was craving a big old slice of pumpkin pie, my mind started spitting off a million reasons why I shouldn’t have that pie: 1) it’s not Thanksgiving 2) there’s no special occasion 3) I didn’t work out that day to “earn” my food… the list goes on and on. But as soon as these thoughts came up, I quickly did my best to shut them off. And the only way to shut them off was to make the dang pie and eat it. So that’s just what I did.
I’ve made this pie a few times now in the past month, and I think I’m finally to the point where I’ve perfected it! And I’m also to the point where I don’t really want to eat pumpkin pie for a while now! But the beauty is that now I know I can have pumpkin pie whenever I want – there’s no special occasion needed! So next time the craving for pumpkin pie strikes, whether it’s in the middle of summer of the day of Thanksgiving, you better believe I’ll be honoring it and giving myself the pie I want. Or any food, for that matter. Because life is too short not to eat the foods we want!
Anyways, back to this pie. It’s completely grain-free and dairy-free, making it a great alternative for those with food sensitivities or allergies. It’s not as sweet as a traditional pumpkin pie that you might buy at the store, but you can always play around with the ingredients and adjust them based on your preferences. Personally, I don’t like overly-sweet pies, so this pie is perfect for me. But if you’re someone who wants a little bit of a sweeter pie, then by all means.. increase the amount of sugar that you use in this recipe!
The first step for this pie is making the crust, which takes less than 5 minutes to whip up. I’ve made this using walnuts instead of pecans, using almond butter instead of coconut oil, and also using a little less sweetener, and each time, the pie has turned out fantastic. It’s all about finding which ingredients work best for YOU!
Once the crust is made, pop it in the oven for a few minutes to partially bake, and get started making the filling.
As far as the pumpkin goes, I’ve made this using fresh pumpkin and canned pumpkin, and I personally like the taste and consistency you get from using fresh pumpkin. However, I know that pumpkins (unfortunately) aren’t available year-round, so if you’re making this recipe at a time when they’re not in-season, you can always use canned pumpkin! You can even get creative and use mashed sweet potato or butternut squash for a fun variation! Again, it’s all about finding what works best for you and your taste buds!
And in terms of the sweetener you use, you can mix things up and use whichever one you like. I’ve made this with honey, with maple syrup, and with silan (date paste), and they all tasted good to me! Personally, I enjoyed it best when I used silan, but all three versions were great!
If you’ve kept up with my latest posts, you probably know by now that I’m a huge fan of tahini, specifically from the company Soom. Like huge fan! And now, I’m so happy to share with you that Soom has launched a new product called silan, which is a sweetener similar to honey or maple syrup, except for the fact that it’s made from dates. And because it’s made from dates, it offers tons of nutritional benefits! But if you want to learn more about Silan and why it’s so good, head over to Soom’s website ASAP!
Once everything is all mixed up, pour it into the par-baked pie crust, and stick it right back into the oven. Let it bake until the center is set and starts to brown a bit, but be careful to watch the edges of the pie crust to make sure they don’t burn too much!
After about 30 minutes, remove the pie from the oven and allow it to cool completely. I’ve found that once it’s no longer steaming hot, sticking it in the fridge or someplace cool for a while helps it to set much faster.
If you’re impatient and can’t wait to dig in, you can certainly slice yourself a nice, big slice once it’s cooled! However, for absolute best results and maximum flavor, give it a few hours (or overnight, if you can wait!) to chill and let the flavors really blend together. I know it can be hard to wait, but it’s so worth it!
Then, slice yourself up a nice big slice, grab a fork, and dig in!
You can even add a scoop of ice cream or some whipped topping for the full pie effect! Or if that’s not your thing, just eat the pie plain, as-is. It’s still just as tasty and delicious this way!
Paleo Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups almond flour
- ¾ cup walnuts or pecans
- 1 TBSP coconut oil
- 1 TBSP almond butter or an additional 1 TBSP coconut oil
- 2 TBSP honey or maple syrup
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. ground ginger
Filling
- 2 cups steamed fresh pumpkin or 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
- ½ cup unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ½ tsp. maple extract optional
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp. ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp. ground ginger
- ¼ tsp. ground cloves
- ¼ tsp. ground cardamom
- 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 9″ pie plate with non-stick cooking spray and set aside for now.
- Crust: Add the walnuts (or pecans) to a food processor and process until they have turned into a coarse flour. Add the rest of the crust ingredients and process for 15-30 seconds, or until a dough forms.
- Press the dough into the greased pie plate, spreading it up the sides and covering the bottom. Poke a few shallow holes in the crust with a fork to keep it from bubbling during baking.
- Bake the crust for about 10 minutes, or until just lightly browned. It will finish cooking later with the filling.
- Remove the crust from the oven and let it cool for 5-10 minutes while you prepare the pie filling.
- Filling: Combine all of the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer to mix until everything is smooth and creamy.
- Pour the filling into the partially-baked pie crust and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the center is set and just slightly browned. If the crust starts to brown too quickly, you can always cover the edges with foil or a pie shield and continue baking.
- Once finished baking, turn off the oven and crack the oven door just slightly. Leave the pie in the oven for 10 minutes with the door partially cracked, and then remove the pie from the oven to cool completely.
- Allow the pie to cool, and then refrigerate it for a few hours before serving.
