So, we’ve already established that Thanksgiving is just around the corner. We’ve also established that it is impossible to pass through the entertaining season unscathed by the dietary restrictions of the ones you love.
Luckily, this gluten free pumpkin pie has nothing to do with that. Seriously. You don’t have to be plagued by a single dietary restriction to love this pie
Here’s why you want to make this pie. One, it’s delicious. Two, the crust comes together in about 5 minutes with a few pulses of a blender. There is no refrigerating/waiting/rolling involved. Three, it’s delicious. I may have covered that already.
Much like my favorite “pumpkin bread” recipe, this pie is the culmination of everything I love about fall. It has a deep spicy pumpkin-y flavor (quick reminder-when I say pumpkin I mean butternut squash, I hope that’s clear by now), a nutty crust, and a light and creamy coconut milk based filling.
Several years ago, I came across a recipe for pumpkin pie on 101 Cookbooks. What initially caught my eye was the fact that Heidi had swapped the heavy cream (traditionally a pumpkin pie standby) for coconut milk. I had been looking for a cream-less version of my favorite Thanksgiving treat because, at the time, I was living in Macedonia and couldn’t find real cream. I could only find “hopla,” which is to cream what margarine is to butter. Ironically, I had no problem finding coconut milk.
So in desperation I tried her pumpkin pie recipe, but I have never looked back. Not only does coconut milk have less calories than heavy cream, I think it’s creamy, slightly sweet flavor actually makes for a tastier pie.
Over the years, I’ve adapted Heidi’s filling recipe slightly and these days I almost always pour it into an almond, pecan, oat crust. The crust is quicker and easier than a traditional pie crust, and it happens to be gluten free! As we discussed, its always good to have at least a few gluten free recipes up your sleeve when you’re feeding a crowd!
If it is important to you that this recipe is gluten free, don’t forget to use gluten free oats!
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1 cup pecans
- 1 cup oats
- 5 tablespoons butter (softened)
- 5 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (mix 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon cardamom)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups of mashed roasted butternut squash
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup coconut milk
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
- Pulse almonds, pecans and oats in the blender until the mixture begins to look like coarse sand.
- In a medium bowl combine oat-nut mixture, 5 tablespoons brown sugar, 5 tablespoons butter and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
- Press nut mixture into a pie tin, taking care to ensure that the crust is evenly distributed on the bottom and sides of the pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees for ten minutes and then remove from oven and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine squash 1/2 cup brown sugar, vanilla extract, salt and coconut milk and stir until smooth. (If I have a particularly stubborn batch of squash, I sometime take this mixture for a quick zip in the blender, but usually just use a whisk.)
- Add the eggs one at a time, stirring after each one to completely combine.
- Gently pour the squash mixture into the pie crust and return to the oven for about 50 minutes, until the sides are firm but the middle of the pie remains a bit jiggly. Allow to cool completely before serving. (I like mine to sit in the fridge for a few hours before I serve it.)
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