This Pumpkin Pie (AIP/Paleo) recipe might actually be easier than traditional recipes. You bake the crust, and the refrigerator does the rest. Time saved!
It is embarrassing for me to admit, but it has taken me two years to finally achieve a pumpkin pie without eggs, gluten and processed sugar. Why should I be embarrassed, though? I mean, inventing baking recipes on the AIP is unbelievably challenging! It’s like trying to fix a truck without a wrench. 😂
If you have ever felt disappointed by your attempts to bake on the AIP, let me let you in on a secret: my first rendition of this pie went straight into the trash. It was a gross soupy thing that was the color of something no one – and I mean no one – would want to eat. 😳
But then I figured out what happened.
I was baking the filling in the pie shell.
Why is that a problem? Wellllll… in a traditional pumpkin pie, there is usually an egg (not AIP), which will solidify when exposed to heat. And, dear reader, do you know what happens when you expose gelatin to heat?
Yep. Soup.
Once I figured this out, I was on my way. This is as close as I could come to my favorite pre-AIP pie recipe. I will tell you that some testers have found it not sweet enough. Understandable, since most pies aren’t for people on a healing diet. I like it! But let me know what you think. Do you miss all that brown sugar, or are you happy with the level of sweetness?
The crust
My pie crust recipe is free of sugar. This is for two reasons: I use the crust for savory dishes like my Mini Chicken Pot Pies, and again… the whole sugar thing.
I promise you that the crust will break, but it is suuuuper forgiving. If a piece breaks off, just moosh it back on. If one side of the pie has less dough at the edge, take a bit of dough from the other side, roll a cylinder, and stick it to the skimpy edge. (I did that in the very pie pictured!) Just don’t freak out about it, K? Who needs that kind of stress???
Happy baking, everyone! 🍂🥧🍂
💗,
Wendi
Pumpkin Pie (AIP/Paleo)
Course: DessertCuisine: AIP, PaleoDifficulty: Easy8
servings25
minutes5
minutes1+
hourThis Pumpkin Pie (AIP/Paleo) recipe might actually be easier than traditional recipes. You bake the crust, and the refrigerator does the rest. Time saved!
Ingredients
One AIP Pie crust
1 15-ounce can organic pumpkin purée
1/4 cup 1/4 pure maple syrup
2 TBSP 2 blackstrap molasses
2 TBSP 2 cassava flour
1 tsp 1 cinnamon
1/2 tsp 1/2 ground cloves
1/4 tsp 1/4 ground ginger
1 tsp 1 alcohol free vanilla
1 13.5-ounce organic heavy coconut cream
1 TBSP 1 gelatin
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Make pie crust dough. Roll between two pieces of parchment paper to about 12″ in diameter. (Using parchment paper keeps the crust from getting dried out from too much flour.) Press into a 9-inch pie plate so there are no bubbles at the bottom. Crimp edges, and prick the bottom and sides with a fork. (This will keep it from bubbling up when you bake it.) Once prepared, bake for 25 minutes, or until golden. Meanwhile…
- Combine pumpkin, syrup, molasses, flour, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and vanilla. Set aside.
- Place the coconut cream in a small saucepan with no heat under the pan. Sprinkle gelatin over it. Let sit to soak in (“bloom”) for 5 minutes. Heat the pan over medium-high heat, whisking until all gelatin has dissolved, about 1 minute. Let cool for only 5 minutes, whisking occasionally.
- Stir the coconut cream mixture into the pumpkin mixture. When it is well-combined, pour into prepared/cooled pie shell. Refrigerate until set, at least one hour.
Notes
- To make the leaf shapes as shown, roll out any dough scraps you may have leftover, and cut out shapes. (You might have enough dough to make one pumpkin shape for the middle of the pie.) Place them on a parchment-lined sheet, and bake alongside the pie shell. Watch that they don’t burn. They may need less time to bake than the whole pie shell.
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Looks fabulous!!! Thanks for the tip about using just the filling in ramekins. Right now I don’t have an oven, only a stovetop (we have a built in oven and they have to cut the countertop to even get the oven out… too much hassle right now). I’m definitely gonna try this. I make the pumpkin gnocchi all the time. It’s fabulous.
Oh perfect! Now you can have sort of pumpkin pie, even without an oven! P.S. I’m really glad you like the gnocchi. 😁
SO timely with Thanksgiving just a week away. Thank you!!
You’re so welcome! I hope you like it! 💕
Is there anything you can use in place of the blackstrap molasses?
Hi, Kathi! Do you dislike molasses? My favorite pumpkin pie recipe used brown sugar, and I wanted that same taste. Since brown sugar is a combo of white sugar and molasses, I added the molasses to approximate the taste. It does provide a little bit of sweetness. Since the recipe calls for a small amount, I imagine you could just leave it out, but consider using it. The pie will taste better! 🙂
The crust was so easy to work with and the filling was tasty but I didn’t think they complimented each other well. The crust was a bit too bland bringing down the flavors in the filling and my husband said it was a bitter after taste. In non aip crusts I’ve made there is a tblsp or two of sugar, wondering if I can add some coconut sugar or maple sugar to mimic that? The filling by itself though, I could eat all day!
Hi, Megan! Yes, you can add some coconut sugar. I purposely left it out because I wanted to create a pie crust that could work for savory dishes as well, like my mini chicken pot pies. If you like your crust sweeter, feel free to add some sweetness. Please tell your husband that he gets props from me for even trying an AIP pie! 😀 To be sure, AIP baking is just not the same as what we knew before. Be well! <3
If I could figure out how to review this I’d give 5 stars! Made it for Thanksgiving–my sister is on the AIP diet–and we both loved it. The crust and filling were both really light and perfectly flavored. Thanks for coming up with this!
Aw, Amanda! That makes my heart so happy! Thanks for taking the time to write. 🙂
Does this pie freeze well?
Oh, I’ve never tried it! It might? But I don’t want to tell you the wrong thing. You could try just making a half batch of the filling poured into small dishes to test it. Anybody else here tried freezing it…?
I can’t have gelatin sure to histamine intolerance. Is there a substitute for it? This looks amazing!
Hi, Sheena! So the gelatin is the thing that is going to hold it together. Without it, you would have pumpkin soup in a pie crust, which would be very, very sad. Dang, without eggs on the AIP, we’re kinda stuck… I wish I could give you happier news! Sorry! 😩
Sheena, agar agar is a vegan gelatin substitute, it’s low-histamine and it should work!
Wendi, I just discovered your beautiful website during this night of insomnia. I can’t wait to try some of your recipes!
Hi, Julie! 👋 I’m so glad that your night of insomnia had a happy ending! 😁
is there a replacement for the heavy cream? I only have two cans of coconut milk and a can sweetened condensed coconut milk . thanks!
Hi, Brittany! It all depends on the kind of coconut milk you have. If you have the kind in a can (with no added gums), you could probably fake the coconut cream this way (and I haven’t tried it, but this is what I would do): Refrigerate one can overnight so that the fats rise to the surface. Scrape these solids off the top of the can, but discard the watery stuff. Now, take your other can and whisk it together so that it’s smooth. Replace the solids that you scraped off the other can into its can, and fill that can to the top with the mixed coconut milk from the other can. Whisk that together until smooth. Now you’ll have something that resembles thick coconut cream. It’s the long way around, but you’ll have pie! 😀 (I hope this makes any kind of sense!)
This pie was excellent! I have not yet done an aip round but this recipe gives me encouragement that I can do it!
AWESOME! If my pie recipe has given you the boost you need to go for it on the AIP, I’m thrilled! That’s the best compliment you could give me. Thank you, and best of luck to you!!! 🙂
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I can’t have coconut. I’m allergic. Is there a substitute?
Hi, Sarah! I wish I knew of a coconut sub because though I’m not allergic, I find I’m sensitive to it. I do not know of a sub that will work for this recipe. Sorry. 😩