We are totally gluten free, and we’ve seen scores of people who have felt better once they’ve cut out the gluten. We don’t really miss it, because grains aren’t a great source of nutrients compared to other foods. Grass-fed and full-fat dairy can be a wonderful source of nutrients, as can pastured eggs. But, they are two of the foods people are most commonly allergic to, right behind gluten.
It’s pretty easy these days to find gluten free pumpkin pie, or at least a gluten free crust, but if you have a sensitivity to dairy or eggs, you might think that pumpkin pie is totally off the (Christmas) table―but fear not! This recipe comes to the rescue!
We use grass-fed gelatin to “set” the pie and hold it together in place of eggs, and use canned coconut milk to replace the dairy.
The crust is made with pecans, but if you have a sensitivity to nuts, or you’re doing the Autoimmune Protocol and you are avoiding grains, dairy, eggs, and nuts, you can use coconut flakes in place of the pecans.
Or, you can just pour the filling into ramekins and bake it to make pumpkin pie custard!
The origins of this recipe: I was inspired by this recipe but wanted to modify it to add a little more spice and creaminess. Instead of the crust in that recipe, I instead adapted another recipe from Beyond Bacon for pie crust made with lard, using coconut oil instead of lard because it’s a sweet dish, and pecan meal instead of almond meal (because pecans + pumpkin = heaven).
As a side note, it’s super yummy to use grass-fed beef tallow or pastured pork lard if you’re making savory meat pies like chicken pot pie, and far better for you than junky hydrogenated fats like Crisco!
I modified the spice blend from the first recipe, using inspiration from The Paleo Mom’s pumpkin pie recipe, plus I added some cinnamon. (Because, of course, my Rebel nature means that I can never use a recipe exactly as written, even if it’s my own.)
If you post photos of your creation on social media, tag us (@flourishfundamentals) so we can cheer you on!
Ingredients
- ½ cup pecan meal (use coconut if on Autoimmune Protocol)
- ½ cup coconut flour
- ¼ cup tapioca flour + extra for dusting
- ½ cup coconut oil
- Generous pinch of salt
- 3 Tbsp ice-cold water
Instructions
- Put coconut oil in freezer for 10 minutes.
- Add dry ingredients to a food processor and pulse a couple times to combine.
- Cut up the coconut oil into 1 inch chunks and add to the food processor.
- Pulse until the coconut oil is broken up into pea-sized chunks.
- Add 1 tablespoon of ice water, pulse until just incorporated, then add the second and third tablespoons the same way.
- Dump of the contents into a large bowl and form a flattened disk with your hands.
- Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for 30 minutes or until you are ready to use it.
- When you are ready to make the crust, preheat the oven to 350° F.
- Use a rolling pin to roll out the piecrust on a flexible cutting board or silicone mat, using tapioca flour as needed to keep the crust from sticking.
- Put the pie pan upside down on top of the pie crust and invert the silicone mat so that it falls off and into the pie dish. This won’t be perfect; it will need some work to patch up the crust and make it look pretty!
- Use a fork to poke holes in the bottom of the crust, then pre-bake the crust at 350° for 20 minutes. Use a shield for the edges if they start to look too brown.
This post originally appeared December 2014 and has been updated for December 2019.
Leave a Reply