Here’s a fabulicious twist on holiday Pumpkin Pie – make it with squash and add a crunchy chocolate crust! Chocolate and butternut squash taste luscious together. Butternut squash is much easier to prepare than fresh pumpkin – just peel, cube, and steam, for an easy pie from scratch instead of canned. Wait a minute! Canned food isn’t Paleo, and I’m a proponent of using real ingredients as close to their original state as possible.
Truthfully, I prefer the sweet flavor of squash. However once it’s baked in a pie with spices it’s hard to tell the difference between pumpkin and squash. Every pie deserves a topping, and my favorite for this is Instant Coconut Whipped Cream. I used a food processor for the crust, and a blender for the filling. Pour the filling into the crust up as high as you can, since the filling shrinks a bit as it cools. Depending on the exact volume of your pie pan, you might have a cup of filling left over. If so, just pour into a ramekin and bake for 25 – 30 minutes. This recipe makes one 9-inch pie, serves 6-8.
Butternut squash has a rich, natural sweetness, that I prefer to pumpkin. Plus it’s easier to peel, cube and steam!
Press the crunchy crust into a 9-inch pie pan with your fingers.
Butternut Squash Pie hot out of the oven!
Top with Instant Coconut Whipped Cream and enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 Recipe Instant Coconut Whipped Cream
- 1/2 cup almond meal or hazelnut meal
- 1/4 cup pure cacao powder
- 1/2 cup sweetener such as Just Like Sugar Brown natural chicory root sweetener, or 4 teaspoons PureLo Lo Han Sweetener by Swanson, or raw honey, or your favorite sweetener.
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon unprocessed salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 2 tablespoons filtered water
- 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1 cup nuts such as almonds, pecans, soaked and toasted if possible (See All About Nuts)
- 1/2 cup thick unsweetened coconut milk, such as Native Forest organic Full-fat coconut milk
- About 1/2 cup (or a bit more) sweetener such as Just Like Sugar Table Top natural chicory root sweetener, or 4 teaspoons PureLo Lo Han Sweetener by Swanson, or 1/3 cup raw honey, or your favorite sweetener.
- 4 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 heaping teaspoon unprocessed salt
- Zest of 1/2 orange
- Zest of 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1 1/2 inches fresh ginger root chopped or grated, or 1/4 teaspoon ground
- 1 1/4 cups butternut squash, peeled, cubed, steamed lightly until soft, and drained very well
Instructions
- Prepare the Instant Coconut Whipped Cream, and chill.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a food processor, add the almond meal, cacao, sweetener, cinnamon, salt, vanilla, coconut oil, water, and coconut flakes. Process well until it is a fine mush. Add the nuts last and pulse them in briefly so the pieces are big and crunchy, yet small enough that the mixture is pliable in your hand.
- Press into a 9-inch pie pan. Pre-bake for 8-10 minutes so it will be crispy!
- While the pie crust bakes, in any blender or food processor, add the coconut milk, sweetener, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, orange zest, lemon zest, and spices. Mix well until it is smooth and liquefied.
- Add the steamed squash and process until smooth and creamy. Sweeten to taste and adjust the spices to your taste.
- Pour filling into the pie shell. Bake 45 to 55 minutes. Let cool for 1 hour in the pan on a rack. Serve with Instant Coconut Whipped Cream. Oh yum!
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