Raw Pumpkin Pie
Fair warning on this one…it is a little time consuming but boy, is it worth it. I have had a couple of “pumpkin” pies that are made with cashews and carrots with pumpkin pie spice. They were good but tasted like carrot pie with cinnamon and nutmeg! Wanting a real pumpkin pie, but knowing that the challenge would be to get the starch taste out of it to make it palatable, I dehydrated it and then, softened it up again! Never going over the 116 degrees, the enzymes, vitamins and minerals are still intact!
Pumpkin is full of carotenoids which are really good at neutralizing free radicals. Pumpkin is also high in lutein, which helps protect your eyes and prevent macular degeneration. Full of antioxidants, pumpkins also have a lot of common nutrients, like iron, zinc, and fiber. Good for you and so good to eat! You will need to start this the day before. Actual time making it is not bad, but you will need to do a little soaking and dehydrating.
Raw Pumpkin Pie
SERVES 12
Crust
- 2 cups pecans (previously soaked and dried)
- 4 dates (soaked until soft)
- Put pecans into food processor with dates. Process until well ground.
- Press into 8″ tart pan
, wrap with plastic wrap or paper towels and place in refrigerator.
Filling
- 1 medium sugar pumpkin (not the kind you carve for Halloween) about 5 cups chopped
- 3 cups water (divided)
- 1/2 cup agave (or liquid sweetener of your choice)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup (not raw but used in raw food cooking)
- 1/2 cup coconut butter
- 1/2 cup cashews (soaked for at least 4 hours)
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- The day before you will start preparing the pumpkin. This is important because if you used the pumpkin completely raw, it would have a very unpleasant starchy quality to it.
- Peel the pumpkin and slice in half. Slice into 1 inch slices. Chop the slices into pieces that are about 1/8th inch thick. So, the slices will look like a 1″ square that is 1/8″ thick.
- Place on dehydrator screens and dehydrate at 116 for about 3-4 hours. Make sure you remove them before they are hard!
- Place dehydrated pumpkin in a bowl. Cover with 2 cups of the water and let sit for about 3 hours. You can do this the night before and just put it in the refrigerator and leave it.
- Soak the cashews and dates at the same time and you will be ready to rock in the morning!
- In the food processor, place all ingredients except the remaining 1 cup water and cashews. Process until it becomes a mash.
- Add the cashews and process until well mixed.
- Transfer half the mixture to the vitamix. Add 1/2 cup water and blend until smooth. This will require some patience and the plunger but the results are well worth it.
- Repeat with remaining filling and 1/2 cup water. Mix the two batches together then spoon into the crust. Refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours before serving.
Eva wrote on October 10, 2010
So my dinner is over – the pie was not a hit….it was ok, but my guests said it was missing something -I made only half the filing as I did not use a deep dish – and did not want to make 2, but you certainly would get 2 pies with the filling.
It was good, but I could taste the coconut to much, and i did not add extra….it was a little on the sweet side, and did not set as well as I’ld hoped it would – I even added some lecitin granuals…I use that in my raw cheesecakes and it sets really nice….any suggestions as to how to make it taste more like pumpkin pie – i even tried adding more of the spices….maybe i had too many cachews…i did add a the whole 1/2 cup to the recipe and only made half…..
Eva wrote on October 10, 2010
Started my pumpkin pie last night, I fell asleep so left the pumpkin in the dehydrator one hour longer than scheduled, but after soaking it’s plump and looks ready to go!
My food processor broke yesterday!!!!! Cr@! – but i have a Breville blender (top of the line 1000 watts) and it acts like a food processor – so I hope I can achieve the same results.
Wish me luck – i will let you know how it turns out!!!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Karen wrote on October 3, 2010
Love your website. The recipes all look amazing. I made this pie yesterday and although I do not have a vitamix I do have a good food processor. The flavour is awesome but it is still a bit gritty. I was just wondering does the vitamix make it completely smooth?
Shels wrote on August 26, 2010
I cannot wait to try this. Is there any substitute for coconut butter? I can’t get my hands on that no matter where I look, and online is so pricey. :/
stephanie wrote on October 12, 2014
She has a recipe for you to make your own http://www.rawmazing.com/homemade-coconut-butter/
Roy wrote on March 24, 2010
Can you get sick from eating punkin pie mix, prior to placing in the oven.
Susan wrote on March 24, 2010
I have no idea about pumpkin pie mix out of the can or other recipes, but this doesn’t have anything to make you sick if you eat it raw. The pumpkin has been through the dehydrator and all of the other ingredients are fine.
Roy wrote on March 24, 2010
Can you get sick from eating raw punkin pie mix,prior to placing in the oven.
Toni G wrote on November 27, 2009
We made this wonderful recipe. We dehydrated the finished product to reduce the liquidity even after refrigerating overnight. We will reduce the water added in the final step next time. I must say after the dehydrating it looked “baked”, what a wonderful presentation to all of our “cooked” friends ;). I must mention, the recipe made twice as much pumpkin filling as was needed for one 8″ pie plate. I suggest to either double the crust recipe or 1/2 the pumpkin filling recipe. Taste wonderful! Thank you!
Susan wrote on November 28, 2009
That certainly could be possible as I used a deep dish pan.
Trish wrote on November 25, 2009
Those look like some delicious alternatives for Thanksgiving!
Sue Burley wrote on November 24, 2009
Just bought me a sugar pumpkin!! Going to make this tomorrow. Love pumpkin, can’t wait to taste it.