Raw Vegan Pumpkin Pie Recipe: No-Bake, Six Ingredients, Damn Delicious

A collective favorite element of the holiday season is the Pumpkin Pie, hands down. I fondly recall making a breakfast of pumpkin pie the morning after the feast orgies that are Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. I made my switch to vegan knowing I could keep my seasonal pie feasting on the menu; in fact it's even better now! Easier to make, nutritious, and lower in calories, this is pie you can eat guilt-free, knowing your absorbing loads of nutrients along the way.

Crust: 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, 1 cup pumpkin seeds, 1/2 tsp sea salt, 1 cup pitted dates
Syrup: 1 cup pitted dates, 1 1/4 cup water
Filling: 4 cups pumpkin, peeled, seeded, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 1 1/2 pounds whole, before peeled), 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (or more to taste), 1 tbsp psyllium powder

Directions: 

1) Powder: To make the curst, process sunflower seeds into a fine powder in your food processor. Use this to "flour" the bottom of the pie dish.

2) Crust: Next, process pumpkin seeds and salt into a coarse meal. Slowly add 1 cup dates to your "Dough" then press it into the pie dish and set it aside.

3) Syrup: To make syrup, blend 1 cup dates with water until smooth. Set it aside.

4) Filling: To make filling, process small batches of cubed pumpkin and cinnamon into a puree. Slowly add the syrup. Process until completely smooth. Place pumpkin filling in a bowl and hand mix in psyllium powder really well.

5) Assemble:  Scoop the pie filling in to the crust and smooth it to resemble a baked pie. You can eat it immediately but it will hold better once it's been in the fridge overnight or at least for thirty minutes.

Notes: I used my vitamix blender (order one here and get free shipping!) for the whole recipe. Your food processor would work beautifully. If you're using a standard blender the filling will be trickier, cut your pumpkin into smaller pieces and blend everything slowly. This recipe was adapted from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen, an excellent book raw vegan beginners. I always adapt the recipes so they have a little less fat and salt.

This will keep for a week in the fridge- not that it will be around this long! It'll be gobbled up before too long! By the way, you can replace the four cups of pumpkin with sweet potato or butternut squash and yield a similar delicious pie! Mine is served in the photo about with delicious walnut milk (recipe here) that I blended with 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, goes perfectly with the pie and it's reminiscent of Horchata, a Mexican rice milk my mom used to make, highly recommended!

Make Plenty for Friends and Enjoy! What's your favorite holiday menu treat? Got any recipes to share? I'd love to read 'em.

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