Paleo Pumpkin Pie
This Paleo Pumpkin Pie is super creamy and healthy enough to eat for breakfast. This recipe is a wonderful gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and dairy-free alternative to enjoy this holiday season.
Happy November! I’m sort of in shock that the year is this far along already. It feels like summer was five days ago, not five months ago, and it definitely doesn’t feel like I’ve already been out of college for six months.
That sentence made me cry inside a little.
Growing up, everyone always tells you to appreciate your time as a kid. These are the days when a year seems to stretch on fooooreverrrr and you don’t have to worry about real-life stuff like bills and taxes and work. “Appreciate it,” they say, “cause you’ll want it back when you’re an adult.” Well, years definitely no longer seem to take forever. It’s more like I blink three times and another month has gone by. Doesn’t it seem that way?
I measure my week in recipes. Which to get done, which ones to repromote, and which flavors and ingredients to start brainstorming for the upcoming seasons? I must say, the holidays are one of the best times to be a food blogger, especially a baking blogger, even if it did sneak up on me a little bit this year.
Without school getting in the way of my incessant holiday baking, my kitchen has been a whirlwind of cookies, bars, and pumpkin pie to prepare myself and all of you for the holidays. The season has left me full of sugar and craving something a little more wholesome.
Turns out, what I need to clear my sugar haze is Paleo Pumpkin Pie! It’s designed to be dessert but all of the ingredients are so wholesome that you won’t feel guilty having a slice of pie as your post-Thanksgiving breakfast.
Does this Paleo Pumpkin Pie taste like the real thing?!
It absolutely does! The filling of this paleo pumpkin pie is super luscious. Beyond the pumpkin, it’s full of good-for-you and super delicious ingredients. It’s creamy, thanks to the coconut milk and almond butter, and the maple syrup sweetens it up just enough. The maple syrup’s complex flavors pair so well with the pumpkin and help to bring out all of the warm spices.
For spice, the recipe uses a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and cardamom. The result is a warm and flavorful pie. I love the way it turned out. If you’d prefer a shortcut, you can substitute 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice for all of the spices. If you like a lighter touch with your spices, use half of the recommended amounts for a subtle flavor.
Happy baking, my friend! Hope this pie makes your dessert (or your breakfast) a little bit tastier :)
If you’re after a vegan version of pumpkin pie, try this Paleo & Vegan Pumpkin Pie!
PrintPaleo Pumpkin Pie
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 70 minutes
- Yield: 1 9" pie 1x
- Category: Dessert
Ingredients
For the crust
- 2 cups blanched almond flour
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup coconut oil (solid)
- 1 egg (beaten)
For the filling
- 1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin puree
- 2 eggs (room temperature)
- ½ cup coconut milk
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons creamy almond butter
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom
Instructions
For the crust
- In a medium bowl, stir together the almond flour, coconut sugar, and salt. Add in the coconut oil and using a fork (or your fingers), cut into the almond flour until the coconut oil is in mostly incorporated. Stir in the egg until the dough is slightly moist and forms a ball. There may be streaks of coconut oil running through your dough.
- Press the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in the freezer while you prepare the filling, or place in the refrigerator if not using immediately (can keep in fridge for up to 1 week).
- When ready to bake, roll out your dough in between two sheets of parchment into a 12-inch circle. Lay dough into a 9-inch pie dish (not deep dish). Place in the freezer while you prepare the filling.
For the filling
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients for the filling until completely smooth and combined. Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the the center of the pie doesn’t jiggle. Let cool for at least two hours before serving to let set.
Wow, this looks delicious! Pinning :)
How do you keep the crust from burning? I’ve made this several times and it’s so delicious! My son actually requested it for his birthday it’s that good. But the crust always gets black.
Hi Laurie, it could be the pan that you’re using – metal turns to darken things faster than glass does.
Well if that isn’t the prettiest pumpkin pie! And I can’t believe it’s Paleo! I can enjoy it guilt free. You bake the best things Rachel : )
Definitely a guilt free breakfast pie!
no one would be able to tell that this pumpkin pie is healthified! ITs absolutely gorgeous!
1) You are brilliant. This pumpkin pie looks amaaazzee.
2) I totally agree, where has the year gone?! Christmas is right around the corner >.<!!
Thank you!! And I know – what the heck, it’s totally freaking me out! But Christmas cookies are coming :D
“My weeks are measured in recipes” <– so, SO true!! And that's probably why time flies by even faster. We aren't exactly measuring it by minutes or hours or days, but by tastes and successes and fails (those are the rough recipe testing days!) and photo shoots. I feel like I blink and half the year goes by! But this pie looks absolutely amazing, especially that crust. Thanksgiving can't come soon enough!
Thank you so much, Amy! It’s so true and crazy…and a week of fails definitely feels like a lot longer than one full of successes, haha.
OMG, I need this in my life, like, right this second ;) I’ve started to reduce the gluten in my life (a sad, sad day) so I’m super excited about this paleo situation!
What a great pie! I can’t believe you made the crust paleo and everything! I’ve been out of college for two years now and it’s still really weird to me haha. Time just needs to sloooow down. :) Pinned!
A pumpkin pie healthy enough I can eat for breakfast and dessert?! Yes please with extra ice cream on top.
I’ve made a million pumpkin creations thus far, but the one thing I’ve been craving over everything lately. Good old-fashioned pumpkin pie! Looks delicious!
Surprisingly it is hard to find a good, simple, healthy pumpkin pie recipe but i think you nailed it! This is exactly what i am looking for when i want to make a fall dessert!
Thank you so much, Vicky & Ruth!
The holidays sneak up on me every year! I just can’t believe how fast time is going by, and now as a mom I feel it even more :( Your pumpkin pie looks absolutely perfect, Rachel! Love how healthy you made it!!
Yay for holiday baking season!! I’m in shock too that it’s here already – this year is moving just way too fast! This pie sounds just wonderful!
I know, it’s so unreal!! Thank you, Ashley.
I tell my kids to appreciate their lives as kids all the time! I can certainly say that years go by faster and faster for me all the time. This pie looks delicious, and is such a nice, healthier alternative to all the bad stuff around the holidays. This looks scrumptious!
Thanks so much Marcie!!
I love a pie that’s healthy enough for breakfast! Looks fabulous! :)
My mom is on a paleo diet and I have seriously been searching EVERYWHERE for a pie I can make for her at Thanksgiving this year! I think I just found it. This seriously looks SO perfect, Rachel!
This looks so delicious! I love how you make recipes that meet all my needs, I don’t need to adapt at all! This is going on my Thanksgiving list for sure.
ugh, everyone was def right-as you get older time starts to move sooo fast!
This pie is brilliant! I love how you made pumpkin pie healthy, but still super delicious!
Oooh I love the sound of a healthier pumpkin pie, and I can imagine all the coconut milk and almond butter in the filling would give a really lovely flavour <3
I can't believe it is November already either – someone told me yesterday that it is only 7 mondays until Christmas and I was just like WHAAAT?! So crazy.
SEVEN Mondays til Christmas?! That’s mind-blowing. Where the heck did this year go?! Thanks for the sweet words, Claudia!
Oh my goodness, this looks absolutely perfect for a paleo thanksgiving pie! I love the crust ingredients, I just started using coconut sugar in recipes and am totally in love with it, so this is a must make!
Oh I love pie season so much; this looks so amazing Rachel!
Oooh! I love the addition of almond butter and cardamom in this! I would totally eat this for breakfast without any regrets:) Pinned!
Do you think I could use sweet potato instead of pumpkin? Thank you
Hi Jennifer. I haven’t tried it, but it shouldn’t be a problem to sub in sweet potato for the pumpkin. Enjoy!
I never leave comments but this was the best paleo dessert I’ve ever made or eaten. I subbed swerve for maple syrup due to being in wt loss mode but wow! Thank you so much for this recipe!
Woohoo! Thanks for making my day, Courtney! So glad you loved the recipe, and great to know that Swerve works well as a sugar substitute here.
Looks great! I am allergic to almonds…. could I substitute rice flour?
Hi Danielle! I don’t really use rice flour so I’m not exactly sure how it would perform in this recipe. I’d go with a GF All Purpose Flour, like Bob’s Red Mill. For the almond butter in the recipe, you can substitute any other nut butter or sunflower seed butter. Enjoy!
Do you use canned coconut milk or unsweetened coconut milk from the carton and fridge?
Hi Marissa, I used canned coconut milk here.
Do you use culinary coconut milk or the very thin coconut milk that comes in large cartons?
Hi Elly, I use full fat canned coconut milk from a can, not the thin stuff from the carton.
I’m very much looking forward to tasting this but I had some concerns about the crust… It was never sticky enough to roll out! I even added more coconut oil and a little bit of coconut milk hoping to make it come together better but it never did. I ended up just pressing it into the pan and I think it worked alright but I’m not sure what I did wrong …
How odd! Thankfully, because the crust is gluten-free, you can’t really overwork it so pressing it in is just fine. I hope it turned out well, Rachael!
I made this yesterday and it was the most delicious pumpkin pie I’ve ever made (my family’s words ;-)), BUT the crust! I ended up pressing it in too because when I tried to lift it into the pan, it fell apart. Also, it crumbled after baking. It’s a keeper, though!
Sorry you had trouble with the crust!! But I’m so thrilled to hear that your family enjoyed the pie regardless :)
Hi Rachel! Can you tell me if there is another non dairy substitute I can use in place of the coconut milk? I am on the FODMAP diet and coconut milk is not okay. Hoping for a substitute so I can eat some yummy pie.
Hi Kristin, I haven’t tried anything but the coconut milk so I can’t make any guarantees but you should be able to use any non-dairy milk. Enjoy!
Hi Rachel,
If the pie has to set for 2 hrs- do you then re-heat before serving? Thanks!
Hi Anjelee, you can serve it either chilled (my preference), or heat it back up for 30 seconds per slice in the microwave if desired. Enjoy!
Hi Rachel! I just recently started using coconut milk in smoothies, but have never used it in baking. I have canned full fat coconut milk but not sure what part of it goes into the pumpkin pie filling. Are you supposed to use the “watery’ part, the solid “cream” part of it, or a combination of both? Can you point me in the right direction because I really like the looks of that pie!!
Hi Suzanne, for this recipe you can use it all stirred together or just use the top solid cream part of it for an ultra rich, creamy texture. Enjoy!
Hi Rachel! I’ve had my pie in the oven for an hour and the middle is still super jiggly but the edges are burning! Any suggestions for next time? Thank you!
Hi Lauren, you could bake it at a lower temperature next time. For now, you can tent it with foil to prevent the edges from getting any darker!
How would an oatmeal crust work?
I’m not sure, I’ve never used an oatmeal crust with this recipe!
Ok thank you I’ll try it with almond flour, also was wondering if flax egg would work?…. and if the filling can be put together a day in advance ?
Hi Danielle, I’d recommend using my vegan pumpkin pie filling instead – it can be found here: https://bakerita.com/paleo-vegan-pumpkin-pie/
Never, in my life, have I liked pumpkin pie. But THIS recipe has changed me… and I love that it’s Paleo, or I would not have tried it. Kudos on the extra spices- a cook after my own heart. The first one, meant for Thanksgiving, lasted two days (did I mention that I, alone, was eating it?…). I haven’t stopped thinking about this recipe, and am now making it for the second time in a week, this time with roasted Kabocha squash pureé (no pumpkin right now). I think it might even be better with Kabocha than pumpkin! Anyway, thanks for sharing this one, I’m a believer!
I’m so thrilled to have made you into a pumpkin pie convert! Using Kabocha sounds absolutely amazing – I want to try that too. Hope you adore it :) enjoy!
Wow, this healthier pumpkin pie is soo good! I loved the crust, especially the crispy edges. I did not have cardamon so I just added a tad more cinnamon. I didn’t feel guilty at all about eating several pieces. The consistency and sweetness were perfect.
THANK YOU for posting this recipe, I’ll be making this frequently when the craving for pumpkin stirs within.
A+++
SO happy to hear you loved the pie!! It’s a family favorite around here, too :) so thrilled to hear it’s your new go-to. Enjoy!
Can i increase the almond butter and use some almond mild in replacement of the coconut milk? TIA
Hi Lindsey, I can never make guarantees with anything I haven’t tested, but that should work out just fine :)
Am I able to make this ahead of time and freeze it in a pie pan? I absolutely LOVE this recipe and am getting ready for the holidays :)
Hi Brittany, I haven’t done that with this recipe specifically but pumpkin pie generally freezes really well, so I’d think yes! Just make sure to wrap it really well so you don’t get any freezer burn.
Hi this looks so good! Could the maple syrup be replaced with granulated sugar?
Hi Sara – that should be okay, but you’ll probably want to add an extra 1/4 cup coconut milk to make up for the liquid of the maple syrup. Enjoy!
Can you make this ahead of time and freeze it? I won’t be in town for Thanksgiving but still want to make a healthy dessert for my family!
Hi Anna, pumpkin pies tend to freeze super well so that should be totally fine!