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sweet potato pecan pie

November 13, 2013 by zenbelly 29 Comments

I have no idea what came over me when I decided I needed to make this sweet potato pecan pie. It’s not even my kind of dessert, really. I blame it on the Fall, which is when I tend to randomly get obsessed with foods I don’t normally like, and am suddenly hell-bent on recreating them.

IMG_2985

sweet potato pecan pie

When the idea of sweet potato pecan pie hit me like a ton of bricks last week, I immediately got online and started researching recipes. Holy. Sugar. Batman.

One of the recipes I looked at had:

1/2 cup cane syrup in the sweet potato filling
and
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup in the topping.

My teeth hurt just thinking about it.

And no, the above isn’t from a Paula Dean recipe, in case you’re wondering. When scrolling through recipe searches, there are some that I just don’t open, based on the “chefs” that wrote them. Paula is on that list. She gets no love from me.

My version of this recipe is still nowhere near sweetener free; that just won’t happen with this type of pie. But since sweet potatoes are already sweet, I added just a little honey to the filling, and cut back on the sweetener in the topping by more than half. And I only used a touch of corn syrup. Just checking if you’re still reading. 😉

IMG_2977

sweet potato pecan pie

For the crust:
1 ½ C pecans
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons arrowroot (plus more for dusting)
1 tablespoon coconut flour
⅛ t salt
2 tablespoons butter, (coconut oil for a dairy-free version)
2 tablespoons honey
1 egg yolk

For the sweet potato filling:
1 1/2 cups cooked mashed sweet potato
2 T honey
1 t cinnamon
½ t ground ginger
½ t freshly grated nutmeg
1 egg

For the pecan topping:
1 cup pecans
3 eggs
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Make the crust:

  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • In the bowl of your food processor, pulse the pecans with the arrowroot, coconut flour and salt 8-10 times or until they are as finely ground as you can get them without turning it to butter.
  • Add the butter, egg yolk and honey and blend until combined.
  • Press the dough into a pie pan and set aside. Wipe out the bowl of your food processor. (you’ll use it again)

Make the filling:

  • Blend the sweet potato, 1 egg, spices, and honey in the food processor until well combined. Spread into the prepared crust.
  • Top the crust with the remaining 1 cup of  pecans; you can either arrange them decoratively, or just pour them on.
  • In a medium bowl, beat together the 3 eggs, honey, coconut sugar, and vanilla extract. Pour the mixture over the pecans.
  • Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the crust is browned. Cover it loosely with foil and bake another 15-20 minutes, or until the filling is set.
  • Allow to cool before serving.

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Filed Under: Dessert, Thanksgiving, Vegetarian Tagged With: glutenfree sweet potato pecan pie, paleo pecan pie, paleo pie, paleo sweet potato pecan pie, sweet potato pecan pie, thanksgiving paleo desserts

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Comments

  1. Alima says

    November 13, 2013 at 6:46 pm

    Yum!! You’re on a roll with the holiday recipes! Can’t wait to try this!

    Reply
  2. Sally JPA says

    November 13, 2013 at 7:10 pm

    Holy crap, this looks good. I’m salivating reading it.

    Reply
  3. Kristi says

    November 13, 2013 at 11:46 pm

    If I don’t have coconut sugar, could I sub something else? It looks delicious!

    Reply
    • zenbellyblog says

      November 14, 2013 at 9:16 am

      cane sugar or brown sugar would be the closest texture wise. Not sure if you use those. As far as sweetness, any sweetener will work, I’m just not sure about the consistency…

      Reply
      • Kristi says

        November 27, 2013 at 6:24 am

        Another silly question, should I put it in the fridge until we serve it tomorrow? Or is it ok to be left out. My house smells awesome now, btw!

  4. Amy Ayers says

    November 15, 2013 at 8:01 am

    This is just gorgeous! I can’t wait to start writing out my Thanksgiving menu.

    Reply
  5. Rachel Ball (@grokgrub) says

    November 16, 2013 at 10:57 am

    For a second I thought the ingredients listed at the very top were the ones you used, and was about to say “Who are you, and what have you done with Simone?” ;-P

    Reply
    • zenbellyblog says

      November 16, 2013 at 12:52 pm

      hahaha I felt dirty just writing it 😉

      Reply
  6. Pam says

    November 16, 2013 at 3:57 pm

    Can tapioca flour be substituted fir the arrowroot? The pics look awesome! And I really want to make this!

    Reply
    • zenbellyblog says

      November 16, 2013 at 6:22 pm

      Thanks Pam! Tapioca should work. I’ve used arrowroot and tapioca interchangeably in a bunch of recipes, and it tends to work great.

      Reply
  7. Jenn says

    November 23, 2013 at 1:31 pm

    I just made this for my sister who was recently diagnosed with celiac disease. A combo of 2 of the best pies on Earth!!!! Thank you for sharing the recipe!!!

    Reply
  8. Juan Carlo says

    February 4, 2014 at 1:18 am

    Great! Thanks for sharing. I’m a big fan of your site and I really love all the recipes that you are sharing with. I already tried this sweet pecan pie and my entire family love it was well. Can you grant my simple request? I found this great article and hopefully you make your own recipes of these awesome healthy desserts. Here’s the article: http://juancarlothecaterer.com/blog/eating-healthier-2014-desserts/

    Reply
  9. Amy says

    November 15, 2014 at 9:50 am

    Making this for Thanksgiving! Two of my favorite pies in one!! Whoo! My question: how many days in advance could I make this pie? Would it keep in the refrigerator if I made it two days in advance? Thanks! Loving your book, btw!!! 🙂

    Reply
    • zenbellyblog says

      November 15, 2014 at 10:49 pm

      So glad to hear you’re loving the book! The pie should be fine for two days. Just make sure to let it get to room temp before you serve it. Have a great Thanksgiving!

      Reply
      • Amy says

        November 22, 2014 at 10:08 am

        Thank you, Simone! HAPPY THANKSGIVING to you and your family! 🙂

      • Amy says

        June 1, 2015 at 1:34 pm

        Hi Simone! I meant to come back to tell you how much my family and I enjoyed this pie for the holidays! 🙂 I had to bake it a little longer (about 15 or so more minutes) for it to set in the middle, but it turned out beautiful and I got to enjoy the best of both my favorite pies!!! 🙂 Thank you! Looking forward to your new book!

      • zenbellyblog says

        June 1, 2015 at 6:50 pm

        Aw thanks so much, Amy! I’m so glad to hear it. And thanks for your support! 🙂

  10. soslik says

    November 24, 2014 at 12:00 pm

    are you using toasted or raw pecans?

    Reply
    • zenbellyblog says

      November 24, 2014 at 8:32 pm

      Raw. They get toasty in the pie 🙂

      Reply
      • soslik says

        November 25, 2014 at 6:12 pm

        thanks! can i by any chance make in a tart pan like this? http://www.amazon.com/Le-Creuset-Stoneware-1-45-Quart-Cherry/dp/B001HSO22Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416967891&sr=8-1&keywords=le+creuset+tart+pan i am making 2 pies and only have 1 pie dish..would it fit in this tart pan?

      • zenbellyblog says

        November 26, 2014 at 11:36 am

        I don’t see why not! I’m sure it will look very pretty in there 🙂

  11. anye76 says

    November 29, 2014 at 8:41 am

    can you sub anything for coconut flour? allergic to it such a bummer. having very hard time finding non coconut flours in desserts. just wondered if you’ve used any others. giving the fact that most flours aren’t really interchangeable

    Reply
    • zenbellyblog says

      November 30, 2014 at 11:28 am

      I just add a little to the crust, which helps is stay together. You could just add 1-2 tablespoons more of arrowroot, and it should work fine!

      Reply
  12. Bronwen Grebe says

    January 22, 2015 at 10:32 am

    You got me with the corn syrup – I got really sad for a split second! Can’t wait to try this one. Looks soooooo good!

    Reply
  13. Donna in Inwood says

    November 18, 2018 at 5:25 pm

    So I’ve informed my Thanksgiving hostess that I am going to make this pie and bring it with on Thursday (along with your cranberry sauce with mandarin oranges- yay!).
    HOWEVER, I am getting a little bit antsy because so far I been unable to locate any sweet potatoes.
    Weird, yes?
    I have gone to all my usual stores and farmers market, and I can report that there are no regular yellow/orange sweet potatoes available at any of these places in Manhattan.
    Now, there are things that are similar to sweet potatoes that are available — I could get purple sweet potatoes, for instance, or Japanese sweet potatoes (the ones with purple skin and white flesh).
    I can also find yams, which are the right color at least — nice and orange. But they’re not quite sweet potatoes.
    So given these options, what would you suggest? Can I substitute one of these alternatives, or should I bag the recipe and make a different kind of pie altogether?
    Thanks.

    Reply
    • zenbelly says

      November 18, 2018 at 6:18 pm

      I think orange yams will work just fine! If you’re worried though, the cranberry curd tart would be my second pick!

      Reply
      • Donna in Inwood says

        November 19, 2018 at 8:57 am

        haha so funny — I’m having the exact same conversation with my hostess. I sent her a picture of that cranberry tart, and told her she could pick.
        My guess is she’ll go for the cranberry — how beautiful is that picture???

        Anyway, thanks. I think we’ve got all the bases covered. Happy Thanksgiving.

      • zenbelly says

        November 20, 2018 at 10:31 am

        It’s a photogenic tart, that’s for sure! Thanks, Donna! Happy Thanksgiving to you, too.

  14. Donna in Inwood says

    November 20, 2018 at 10:30 am

    So this is in the oven right now, and it looks and smells dee-vine!

    I will just say in case anyone is interested, I considered baking this in my ceramic pie dish, but I went with the old pyrex glass dish instead.
    The ceramic dish (which is one those pretty fluted Emile Henry things) is at least an inch deeper, and I was afraid the recipe volume wouldn’t be enough to fill it up.
    But I was wrong. Once you pour the topping on it, the dish gets very full. I’m sure it’ll be fine but I was kinda wishing I’d used the deeper ceramic dish instead.
    Cheers.

    Reply

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Hello, and Welcome! I'm so glad you're here. Why? Because my most favorite thing is to help home cooks feel like pros in their kitchens. A little about me... I've been cooking professionally for a long time - around 25 years - and ...

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