Paleo Sweet Potato Pecan Pie

Rafael Chung Recipes Thanksgiving September 20, 2016 | 0

From Thanksgiving, to Christmas, to New Year— and pretty much every day in between—everything is about food. These holidays are usually celebrated over a feast of turkey, casseroles and pies. Everyone loves a slice of warm, delicious pie topped with freshly whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream. No end-of-the-year holiday is complete without pies. There are so many to choose from, but this year I decided that we will make a Paleo Sweet Potato Pecan Pie.

The reason it is called a Sweet Potato Pecan Pie is because it is the best of both worlds. I love Pecan Pies, but am not a big fan of the syrupy filling. It is always so heavy that I am usually done after one slice. So instead of the syrup filing, I decided to use a sweet potato pie filing.

Paleo Sweet Potato Pecan Pie:

Crust:

1/2 Cup Nut Meal (Cashew Meal)
1/2 Cup Otto’s Natural Cassava Flour
1/4 Cup Coconut Flour
1 Tsp Vietnamese Cinnamon (you can use Chinese cinnamon for spicier flavor)
1/4 Tsp Allspice Powder
1/2 Tsp Ginger Powder
1/4 Tsp Ground Cardamon
1/8 Tsp Ground Cloves
3 Tbsp Grassfed Butter/Ghee (Chilled)
1 Tbsp Almond Milk
2 Vital Farms Free Range Large Eggs

Sweet Potato Filling:

1 lb Mashed Sweet Potato
1/2 Cup Honey or Coconut Nectar
3 Vital Farms Free Range Large Eggs
1/4 Cup Coconut Cream
2 Tbsp Grassfed Butter/Ghee
1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Tbsp Vietnamese Cinnamon (again, Chinese cinnamon is spicier)
1/2 Tsp Ground Nutmeg
1 Tbsp Lemon Zest

Top Pecan filling:

1/4 Cup Coconut Sugar
3 Tbsp Maple Syrup
1 Vital Farms Free Range Large Egg

Maple Glazed Pecans:

1½ Cup Pecan Halves
1/4 Cup Maple Syrup
1/4 Tsp Sea Salt
1 Tbsp Grassfed Butter/Ghee

This week, we are not going to talk much about the ingredients. The reason being, the ingredients are so simple and can be found everywhere. With that said, let’s dive right in. To start the Sweet Potato Pecan Pie, we will start by glazing the pecans with maple syrup.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Next, melt butter in a skillet over medium heat.
Pour in pecans and let them roast slightly before pouring in maple syrup and sea salt. After a minute or two, pour in the maple syrup and sea salt.
Stir the pecans continuously to keep them from burning. Keep stirring until the maple syrup is almost simmers down completely. After all the maple syrup is gone, spread the pecans over the parchment paper and let them cool.

Before starting the crust for the Sweet Potato Pecan Pie, we need to cook the sweet potatoes. I like to roast the sweet potatoes in the oven until they are fork tender. Roasting allows the sweet potatoes to slightly caramelize and make for a sweeter pie without any extra sugar.

Let’s get started on the crust. Preheat the oven to 350°F. The crust prep is really easy.

In a food processor, mix all pie crust ingredients and let it process until everything is well incorporated.
Press the dough into a 9 inch pie dish. I like to press it in fairly thin as I am not a fan of super thick pie crusts. When I eat pie, I want more filing than crust, but of course, that is a personal preference.
Bake the crust for 6-8 Minutes. Make sure you don’t brown the crust, because you will be baking it some more later.
Set the crust aside and we will prep the filling.

Prepping the Filling is super, super simple. Once the sweet potatoes are ready to mash, peel them and throw them in a mixer with a paddle attachment along with all of the sweet potato filing ingredients. We will use the paddle attachment will mash the sweet potatoes and mix everything together. It is that easy! Once that step is complete:

Pour the sweet potato filing into the pie crust.
On top of the filing, evenly spread out the maple glazed pecans.
In a small mixing bowl, mix together the top filing ingredients of maple syrup, 1 egg and coconut sugar.
Pour the mixture evenly over the pecans. I will note, only pour in enough top filling to cover the pecans halfway. You don’t want to completely submerge them.

Now pop that beautiful Sweet Potato Pecan Pie into the oven and bake it at 350°F for 1 hour to 1½.

Your bake time may vary depending on the temperature of your filing when you start baking. You will see the pie start to dome, but don’t sweat it. It is normal and will flatten out once the pie cools off. Once the pie cools off, it is ready to serve. This is probably one of the best pies I have ever made. The filing is not overly sweet. The coconut cream helps to create a almost custardy filing which is very light. Paired with the maple pecan topping is a perfect balance of sweetness. The salt in the glazed pecan really helps bring out the sweetness as well. Overall, I am very pleased with the outcome and hope you are too.

There you have it, a Paleo Sweet Potato Pecan Pie and until next time, eat up my friends!