My friend Heather has a lot of food sensitivities and a very persnickity digestive system. She's been to a ton of doctors, natural digestive specialists, GI specialists, etc.. and still doesn't have clear answers. In our texts over the past week I told her that I was sad that I couldn't really bake or cook for her anymore, because I just didn't know what she could tolerate.
She said, "I just want pumpkin pie, and I know that YOU of all people can make me a pumpkin pie."
Well alrighty then Heather... no pressure, no pressure at all!
Impossible/Crustless Gluten-Free Paleo Pie 1 - made with arrowroot starch & egg yolks
So I quizzed her on all the basic ingredients of a pumpkin pie. What can she have? What can she not have? The base ingredients of any pumpkin pie are pureed pumpkin, sugar, eggs, milk, and spices.
She said that she could tolerate pumpkin and dairy, but she could only tolerate egg YOLKS - but no whites, and sugar was out. No sugar?? Hmm... AND she couldn't tolerate most sugar substitutes either, so no stevia, no "Swerve", and definitely no "Splenda".
"How about maple syrup", I asked? "OOHHHHHHHHHH yes!!", she responded, she could definitely have maple syrup!
So I thought, "Okay, I think I can work with this". I decided to make a "crustless/impossible" pie, because if I was going to make an actual crust, the only flour she can handle in large quantities is cassava flour, a flour that I don't currently have in my pantry.
Impossible/Crustless Gluten-Free Paleo Pie 2 - made with Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 GF flour & egg whites
I also asked Heather if she could handle arrowroot starch, a grain-free starch. She said yes, but in small quantities. So I decided to play with an "impossible" or crustless pie idea. Long ago, Bisquick created a whole series of "impossible" or "magic" casseroles. These casseroles and pies work by adding a little bit of flour or baking mix to the base ingredients of a recipe, and during the baking, a thin but crispy crust magically forms around all around the outside of the pie or casserole.
I realized years ago that the idea also works great in gluten-free dessert pies. Try out my Almond Joy Impossible Pie or my first crustless pumpkin pie with a pretty pecan edge!
I'm actually sharing three recipes below. One recipe is for a pie made with 3 large eggs, another pie made instead with 6 large egg yolks and another pie made with 6 large egg whites.
That way, whether you can have actual eggs, just egg yolks, OR egg whites... you can STILL make a pumpkin pie. Please note that my recipe is adapted from Elana Amsterdam's Paleo Pumpkin Pie. Also, if you need or prefer an egg-free VEGAN crustless pumpkin pie - try this one from Fat Free Vegan, OR Cheryl Harris' GF Vegan Sweet Potato or Pumpkin Pie.
*Crustless or "Impossible" Gluten-Free Paleo Pumpkin Pie 1 - Made with 6 egg yolks (for those with egg white allergies)
This recipe is: gluten-free, no added white sugar, nut-free, can be dairy-free
Printer-friendly recipe: https://tinyurl.com/yaa8vc8n
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup grain-free starch = arrowroot starch, cassava flour, tapioca starch, or a gluten-free all-purpose baking mix (not paleo) - I used arrowroot starch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (OR 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon + 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg + 1/2 teaspoon cloves)
- pinch salt
- 6 egg yolks
- 3/4 cup "milk" = half & half, coconut milk, or almond milk, or even canned dairy milk - I used half & half
- 1/2 cup sweetener = maple syrup or honey - I used maple syrup
- 1 (15 oz.) can canned pumpkin
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Grease a 9" pie pan and set aside.
- IF MIXING BY HAND:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the grain-free starch of choice, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Whisk until thoroughly combined.
- On top of dry ingredients add in egg yolks, milk of choice, and maple syrup or honey. Again, whisk together until all ingredients are well incorporated and smooth.
- Lastly whisk in canned pumpkin. Continue to whisk until very smooth and well blended.
- IF USING VITAMIX OR HIGH-POWERED BLENDER:
- Add all wet ingredients into blender: egg yolks, milk of choice, maple syrup or honey, and pumpkin. Blend on high or medium setting for a minute or so, until well incorporated.
- Add in dry ingredients: grain-free flour of choice, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Blend again on high or medium setting for another minute or so, until well blended and very creamy and smooth.
- TO BAKE:
- Pour pumpkin pie batter into the greased 9" pie pan, fill pan until it reaches edge. Do not overfill, you can always make pumpkin pie cupcakes with leftover batter!!
- Place pie pan on top of a baking sheet, just in case the pie spills over while baking.
- Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.
- Turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake an additional 20 minutes or until the center of the pie is no longer "jiggly" or a toothpick or knife inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.
- Let cool 20-30 minutes or longer. Serve with whipped topping or whipped cream if tolerated.
**Crustless or "Impossible" Gluten-Free Paleo Pumpkin Pie 2 - Made with 6 egg whites (for those with an egg yolk allergies)
This recipe is: gluten-free, no added white sugar, nut-free, can be dairy free, can be made paleo-friendly
Printer-friendly recipe: https://tinyurl.com/yaa8vc8n
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup grain-free starch = arrowroot starch, cassava flour, tapioca starch, or a gluten-free all-purpose baking mix (not paleo) - I used Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Baking Mix, so my pie wasn't technically paleo
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (OR 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon + 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg + 1/2 teaspoon cloves)
- pinch salt
- 6 egg whites
- 3/4 cup "milk" = half & half, coconut milk, or almond milk, or even canned dairy milk - I used half & half
- 1/2 cup sweetener = maple syrup or honey - I used maple syrup
- 1 (15 oz.) can canned pumpkin
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Grease a 9" pie pan and set aside.
- IF MIXING BY HAND:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the grain-free starch of choice, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Whisk until thoroughly combined.
- On top of dry ingredients add in egg whites, milk of choice, and maple syrup or honey. Again, whisk together until all ingredients are well incorporated and smooth.
- Lastly whisk in canned pumpkin. Continue to whisk until very smooth and well blended.
- IF USING VITAMIX OR HIGH-POWERED BLENDER:
- Add all wet ingredients into blender: egg yolks, milk of choice, maple syrup or honey, and pumpkin. Blend on high or medium setting for a minute or so, until well incorporated.
- Add in dry ingredients: grain-free flour of choice, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Blend again on high or medium setting for another minute or so, until well blended and very creamy and smooth.
- TO BAKE:
- Pour pumpkin pie batter into the greased 9" pie pan, fill pan until it reaches edge. Do not overfill, you can always make pumpkin pie cupcakes with leftover batter!!
- Place pie pan on top of a baking sheet, just in case the pie spills over while baking.
- Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.
- Turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake an additional 20 minutes or until the center of the pie is no longer "jiggly" or a toothpick or knife inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.
- Let cool 20-30 minutes or longer. Serve with whipped topping or whipped cream if tolerated.
***Crustless or "Impossible" Gluten-Free Paleo Pumpkin Pie 3 - Made with 3 whole large eggs
This recipe is: gluten-free, no added white sugar, nut-free, can be dairy free, can be made paleo-friendly
Printer-friendly recipe: https://tinyurl.com/yaa8vc8n
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup grain-free starch = arrowroot starch, cassava flour, tapioca starch, or a gluten-free all-purpose baking mix (not paleo) - I used arrowroot starch
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (OR 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon + 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg + 1/2 teaspoon cloves)
- pinch salt
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup "milk" = half & half, coconut milk, or almond milk, or even canned dairy milk - I used half & half
- 1/2 cup sweetener = maple syrup or honey - I used maple syrup
- 1 (15 oz.) can canned pumpkin
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Grease a 9" pie pan and set aside.
- IF MIXING BY HAND:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the grain-free starch of choice, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Whisk until thoroughly combined.
- On top of dry ingredients add in eggs, milk of choice, and maple syrup or honey. Again, whisk together until all ingredients are well incorporated and smooth.
- Lastly whisk in canned pumpkin. Continue to whisk until very smooth and well blended.
- IF USING VITAMIX OR HIGH-POWERED BLENDER:
- Add all wet ingredients into blender: eggs, milk of choice, maple syrup or honey, and pumpkin. Blend on high or medium setting for a minute or so, until well incorporated.
- Add in dry ingredients: grain-free flour of choice, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Blend again on high or medium setting for another minute or so, until well blended and very creamy and smooth.
- TO BAKE:
- Pour pumpkin pie batter into the greased 9" pie pan, fill pan until it reaches edge. Do not overfill, you can always make pumpkin pie cupcakes with leftover batter!!
- Place pie pan on top of a baking sheet, just in case the pie spills over while baking.
- Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.
- Turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake an additional 20 minutes or until the center of the pie is no longer "jiggly" or a toothpick or knife inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.
- Let cool 20-30 minutes or longer. Serve with whipped topping or whipped cream if tolerated.
Kitchen Notes:
- Impossible/Crustless Paleo Pumpkin Pie 1 - Note that this recipe calls for added baking powder, while the others do not. Since this recipe is made around using egg yolks as part of the fat and as a binder, it could end up a bit dense since egg yolks do not do much in the leavening department. Baking powder helps make this pie less dense than it would be otherwise. However, if you want to make the pie FULLY paleo, leave out the baking powder, it will just be a bit more dense. Need something to do with all those extra egg-whites and you're not making Pumpkin Pie #2 here? Check out this post!
- Impossible/Crustless Pumpkin Pie 2 - In a similar vein, as the first pie can be dense without egg whites, this pie, is more fluffy and almost has more of a cake-like appearance than the yolk pie. I wanted to make this pie for myself, because I didn't know what else to do with 6 egg whites! (AND I love, I mean LOVE pumpkin pie!) Although this post has a ton of great uses for extra egg whites! Need to figure out what to do with extra egg YOLKS? Check out this post! Personally I like to just add them to the next morning's scrambled eggs!
- Need a vegan, gluten-free crustless pumpkin pie? I'll share these again because they are so pretty and so good! Try Susan Voison's version on her fabulous blog, Fat Free Vegan or Cheryl Harris' GF Vegan Sweet Potato or Pumpkin Pie.
- DO NOT OVERFILL YOUR PIE PAN!! If you have leftover pumpkin pie batter/filling - and you probably will, I always do whether I'm using a crust or not... you can make pumpkin pie "cupcakes". Line a cupcake pan with liners, spritz the liners with non-stick spray, and then fill the liners 1/2 to 3/4 full with pumpkin pie batter/filling. If you want to make the tops pretty, add the half of a toasted pecan on top of each "cupcake". Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Serve with a big ol' dollop of whipped cream or whipped coconut cream. This is such a cute & fun dessert for kids on Thanksgiving!
Have a great November ya'll!!
To share your comments, questions or thoughts about this recipe, please visit me on the GLG Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Gingerlemongirlblog
