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Healthy pecan pie

This healthy pecan pie is solely sweetened with dates; it has no refined sugar. It is totally vegan and gluten free. And most importantly it is delicious! A show stopper at every Thanksgiving celebration!
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Resting time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 12 slices
Calories 310 kcal

Equipment

  • 8 inch Pie pan (pref. with removable bottom)
  • food processor or high speed blender

Ingredients
  

Pie crust

  • 1 cup pecans
  • ½ cup almonds
  • ¼ cup dates
  • 2 tbsp ground flax seeds
  • 1 tsp pumpkin spice*
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 tbsp water

Pie filling

  • 1 can coconut milk (1 can of 400 ml)
  • 1 cup dates
  • ¾ cup water
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil
  • ¼ cup almond butter (other nut butter work as well. Just keep in mind that if you use peanut butter it will change the flavor of the filling substantially)
  • ¼ tsp almond extract

Pie topping (all optional, but totally worth it so recommended)

  • 1 handful pecans
  • 2 tsp coconut sugar
  • ¼ tsp cinnamon

Instructions
 

  • The night before preparing this pie, cool a can of coconut milk in the refrigerator. The cream of it will harden and float to the top. You will just be using this creamy part.
  • Preheat the oven to 350F/ 175C
  • To prepare the crust, place all ingredients in a food processor and blitz.
    Or alternatively, grind nuts in a blender and set aside in a medium sized mixing bowl. Then break down the dates into small pieces in the blender. Add them to the mixing bowl together with the rest of the crust ingredients. Knead into a dough with your hands.
  • Press the mixture into a pie or tart pan and up the sides (you want the sides to be around 1/2 cm (1/4 inch) thick).
  • Bake for 8-10 minutes in the preheated oven until crispy and golden brown. Take the pie base out of the oven and let it cool completely.
    For easy removal (if you are not using a pie pan with removable bottom) place your cooled off pie base in the freezer for 5 minutes. Then put a cutting board or plate on top of the pie pan, flip it over and knock on the bottom of it and it will come loose.
  • While the crust is baking in the oven, prepare the filling. Start by opening the refrigerated can of coconut milk. Scoop out the hardened/thick cream into a large bowl. Whisk with an (electric) whisk for 3 minutes until the cream is fluffy. Place it in the refrigerator while you are working on the next step.
  • Blitz dates and water in a food processor to make a paste, add coconut oil, almond extract and nut butter until fully incorporated.
  • Take the fluffy coconut cream out of the refrigerator and add ¾ of it to the date mixture. Gently stir to combine it all. Place the remaining coconut cream back in the fridge.
  • Pour the filling into the cooled off pie base. Refrigerate your pie. After 15 minutes take it out to swirl the remaining coconut cream on it and use a tooth pick to make a pretty design. This is for decoration only, so it is totally optional.
    Place your pecan pie back in the refrigerator for at least an hour. After an hour your pie filling will still be a bit wobbly, but hardened enough to cut. For best results I would recommend cooling the pie at least 3-4 hours or even overnight.
  • To top your pie, toast pecans in a skillet. You can use 'whole halves' or chopped ones.
    To give it an extra crunch you can melt some coconut sugar in a skillet, once it has melted, take it off the heat, add the pecans (and some cinnamon) to it and stir to combine. Transfer to a plate to cool off and top your pecan pie with it.
  • Refrigerator the pie until you are ready to serve it.

Notes

*pumpkin spice blend
 
Nutritional information:
the information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.