Pumpkin Pie with & without Pecan Topping

Three years ago I decided to do a completely healthy Thanksgiving, I’m always up for a challenge!  I love pumpkin and pecan pie and can never decide between the two, so I always end up eating both and feeling miserable afterwards. Giving up my dessert for Thanksgiving is never an option, so I decided to combine my two favorite Thanksgiving pies into one and make it healthy and guilt-free! Over the years this pie has gotten better and better… once you try this you’ll never go back to plain pumpkin pie again!

Karina’s Gluten-free Goddess blog had a delicious gluten-free pumpkin pie recipe, so I decided to tweak it a bit to make a completely sugar-free pumpkin pie. Her recipes are always to die for, so I knew it would be fantastic! I added a pecan topping and made that sugar-free too, but was slightly disappointed. Xylitol does not caramelize and while it was still tasty and doable… I like the updated version I’m sharing with you today the best using coconut palm sugar and coconut nectar. If your health is in a state where you need to be completely sugar free or you don’t like pecans, you can make the pumpkin pie without the pecan topping. It is delicious all by itself and nobody will ever know that it is healthy!

This creamy, silky-smooth pumpkin pie is actually crustless. The buckwheat flour is baked into the pie and actually makes a beautiful light crust all on its own! I don’t know about you, but I was never a big fan of pumpkin pie crust anyway… it was always so bland and dry. So in this recipe you definitely won’t miss it, I promise!

To sweeten the pie I use xylitol and KAL liquid stevia. You’d think I get paid by them the way I always mention their specific brand all the time, but I don’t. The reason I’m specific is because powdered stevia tastes different than liquid and all stevia brands taste considerably different. I like the Kal liquid stevia because it doesn’t have a bitter aftertaste, and it is a good quality pure product. Another good brand is NuNaturals Alcohol-free Stevia, but they add “natural flavors”, which are hidden ingredients they don’t have to label. So I’m not a big fan of that one, although it does have a comparable taste of KAL. So beware if you try to exchange powdered for the liquid or use a different brand of stevia… it could taste horrible! It’s definitely worth the trouble of tracking down some KAL liquid stevia.

Xylitol is the second sugar-free sweetener that I use in this recipe. It has some great health benefits, but remember if you eat too much all at once it can cause stomach discomfort. So remember to practice moderation, like we should be doing anyway. It is a wonderful sugar-free option, but it is still a processed product and should be consumed in moderation.

While the pie itself is completely sugar fee the pecan topping has some raw coconut sugar and coconut nectar. Both are made from the coconut tree sap. For all of you Doug Kaufmann fans this would be considered a Phase 2 sweetener. It is a raw unprocessed sugar full of nutrients!

Coconut milk is used in place of the traditional highly processed condensed milk. Make sure you use the full fat coconut milk in the can, not the light version or from the carton, which is thin and overly processed.

This rich creamy pumpkin pie is as delicious as it is nutritious… and the best part is you won’t be missing out on dessert while sticking to your healthy holiday eating plan! Don’t wait until January, make smart choices now and get a head start!