Hands down, pumpkin pie is one of my favorite desserts, ever.
There’s something about it that’s so comforting and just utterly delicious.
But while pumpkin pie is certainly one of the healthier pies out there—it is made from pumpkin, after all—it’s still packed with sugar, and isn’t exactly going to help you reach your goals if you’re trying to build muscle, lose weight, or just get leaner overall.
So that’s why I set out to create a pumpkin pie that I could not only feel less guilty about eating during the holidays, but one that was actually healthy—so healthy it could be eaten every day for the next few months for breakfast and be counted as the healthy part of your 80/20 diet.
And I did it! It took a couple of failures, but I ended up with a pie so amazing I may not feel the need to make a regular pumpkin pie ever again.
To be totally honest, I didn’t set out to make this pie crustless on purpose. I tried making a couple of crusts with protein powder, then nuts, but kept finding that while I really liked the filling, I could care less about the crust. Since I’m not a huge crust fan anyway, I decided to go ahead and just make it crustless. But don’t let this stop you from adding a crust—a graham cracker crust would probably add a nice touch, as would a nut based one. Be creative and experiment to your heart’s content.
Oh, and feel free to make one big pie instead of two mini ones. I made mine mini because I’m the only one in my household that will eat any form of pumpkin pie and it seemed easier to control my portions that way. Plus, they look cute.
Now for the pumpkin protein pie recipe:
Ingredients:
1 can organic pumpkin
1 cup low fat cottage cheese
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (regular milk will work too)
2 eggs
2 servings vanilla protein powder
1/2 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1 1/4 t pumpkin pie spice
1/2 t toffee flavored stevia drops (you can find these at Whole Foods or similar stores—but feel free to substitute with the sweetener of your choice)
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Blend thoroughly until the majority of the cottage cheese chunks are gone.
Pour into two lightly oiled mini glass or ceramic pie pans or one regular sized one. Once it’s hot, stick the pies in the oven!
Cook for 40 – 45 minutes, or until the pies starts to puff up. Don’t worry if they look a little too puffy—they’ll deflate on their own after a few minutes.
Let the pies cool on a wire rack, then stick in the fridge for an hour or two. Top with a little cinnamon, greek yogurt or whipped cream, and enjoy!
Macros (per 1/4 mini pie or 1/8 big pie):
Calories: 104
Protein: 12g
Fat: 3g
Carbs: 7g
Fiber: 2.5g