Healthy Pumpkin Pie with Almond Crust

My my my… pumpkin stuff everywhere is cropping up.  Today I slow cooked a pumpkin and found that I had enough puree to create two pumpkin-y recipes and use the seeds for chocolate bark!  I’d say that is a deal compared to buying a can.

While this recipe might seem labor intensive, I assure you, it’s not!  Use the food processor, and you will find it to be a huge asset when making the crust.  Also, the filling is quite simple when used with a mixer to speed things up.  The only time consumer is the bake time (which doesn’t count.)  Best part?  The recipe is fairly healthy!  The crust is a Paleo savvy crust, using an Almond meal, and the filling is made without all the heavy sugars and milks.  If you want to add more sugar or use Stevia, etc. by all means do, but I like to downgrade the sugar we consume in our home when it comes to baked goods.

How did it taste?  I need to put an honest review for you all.  If you are health savvy, than you will appreciate and love the recipe.  My husband and I enjoyed it, as it gave us the flavors of fall that we look for.  The crust was outstanding.  However, if you are a sweet tooth junkie, this will not be sweet enough and I would definitely recommend to use the Stevia instead of the minimal brown sugar.

As they say in the south… “Happy Fall Ya’ll!”

Recipe for the Almond Crust:

• 2 cups Almond Meal (if you can’t buy it, take your food processor and grind  – but not too much or it will turn to butter)
• pinch of salt
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1 egg

Place all ingredients into food processor and pulse until a dough ball forms.  Take out and press neatly into a 9″ pie plate.  Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350º.

Recipe for the filling:

• 2 cups fresh pumpkin puree (or one can of pure pumpkin)
• 1/2 cup 1% milk
• 3 eggs, beaten
• pinch of salt
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• a dash of the following: cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon)
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar (If you are a sweet tooth junkie, omit this and use 1 Tbsp of Stevia instead)

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and pour into the cooked almond crust.  Bake for 45 min (or until center is set) at 350º.