Easy Gluten-Free Crustless Pumpkin Pie

Easy Gluten-Free Crustless Pumpkin Pie

This recipe has all my favorites: 1) I love Thanksgiving. 2) I love pumpkin. 3) I love recipes that leave out potentially harmful foods like gluten, dairy, sugar, and eggs with ZERO sacrifice when it comes to flavor or texture. Check, check, and check! This crustless pumpkin pie is a perfect example of a swap so scrumptious, you’ll prefer it over the old, unhealthy version. One of the keys to this recipe is to trade a traditional crust for a bit of brown rice flour. The result is a dreamy texture that has the smooth, creaminess of traditional pumpkin pie filling and the light chewiness of pumpkin bread. SO good! Not only does losing the crust eliminate inflammatory gluten and empty calories, it also means this pumpkin pie comes together in a fraction of the time. (Still not sure why leaving out the gluten is a good thing? Check out this blog!) Next, we trade eggs for ground flaxseed. (Freshly ground is best to preserve the nutritional content.) The flaxseed provides healthy fats and protein that bind the ingredients together in the same way eggs do a traditional pumpkin pie filling. Of course, no eggs also means no chance of the painful cramps, bloating, fatigue, and other symptoms of egg intolerance! Instead, you get healthy omega-3s from a certified superfood, and the texture is just as rich and custard-like. Our final shift is away from sugar and evaporated milk to coconut milk and a low-sugar impact sweetener like stevia, monk fruit extract, or my own JJ Virgin Sprinkles. Between dairy and sugar, you’ve got a duo guaranteed to increase your chances of painful inflammation and weight gain. In contrast, the coconut milk and coconut oil in this recipe offer multiple health benefits instead. And you’ll still get sweetness without the impact on your insulin levels! I recommend two teaspoons of sweetener in this recipe, but every brand and palate is different. The goal is to achieve the sweetness of about 1/2 cup of traditional sugar, so read your labels and sweeten until it tastes right to you. (The great news is that, since this recipe is egg-free, you can taste the raw batter without any issue!) I can’t wait for you taste these adorable little pumpkin pies! I made them single-serving size because it works well with a crowd, helps with portion control, and it’s so darn cute. However, you can also make one large pie in a traditional glass pie dish. In that case, you’ll need to extend your bake time by about 5-10 minutes. As the recipe mentions, you can eat it warm, or cover, chill, and serve cold. You can top your pie with whipped coconut cream or yummy Vanilla Pro-Whip Dairy-Free Whipped Cream. However, I loved mine with nothing but a spoon... This recipe is just one more thing to be thankful for this holiday season. Enjoy!