Dariy-free Pumpkin Pie Recipe (gluten-free) (2024)

This dairy-free pumpkin pie recipe is my post-Halloween, pre-Thanksgiving favourite! But unlike most recipes, mine is dairy free and low FODMAP too.

You would have thought I’d seen enough pumpkins over the Halloween season, but you’d be surprisingly wrong! The sight of a pumpkin just reminds me that it’s the perfect time to bake a dairy-free pumpkin pie recipe. Who wants a slice?!

THIS IS AN OLD POST! I’ve left it up for those who love it, but the new and improved version is available over here (see the FAQ section for the two simple swaps to make it dairy-free too!)

Now, you’ve got two options here. You can either puree your own pumpkin at home, which is simply a matter of baking it and blending it, or you can just pick up a can of pumpkin puree from the supermarket. I personally prefer to pick up a can, but then tell everyone I pureed it myself. Don’t tell anyone though.

Now that my secret is safe with you, I guess I can tell you a little more about my gluten free pumpkin pie recipe! Of course, it uses my gluten free shortcrust pastry recipe, which I’ve been perfecting for a few months now.

My shortcrust pastry recipe adds a little extra dairy free marg than most recipes, which gives the dough some much needed pliability. Without gluten, shortcrust pastry can become incredibly crumbly and difficult to roll out in one piece – then there’s trauma of transferring it into the baking tin. My gluten free shortcrust pastry recipe isn’t nearly as stressful!

But of course, the most important aspect of my gluten free shortcrust pastry recipe is all in the temperature. So what’s my secret?!

Well, a lot of gluten containing shortcrust pastry recipes call for your dough to be chilled first and then rolled out cold – straight from the fridge. However, no matter how many times I tried this with gluten free dough, the dough would be far too crumbly/dry to roll out. As usual, adapting a recipe to be gluten free isn’t always as simple as substituting regular flour for gluten free flour.

But even if you did manage to roll it out, getting it into the baking tin in one piece was an absolute nightmare. It waspossible, but I often had to patch up a lot of holes, resulting in pastry that looked a little sad once baked.

After a while, I found that chilling your dough in the fridge, but then allowing it to return to room temperature instead, resulted in a dough that was much more pliable, stronger and easy to work with. Sorted.

Even still, nobody is perfect and I almost always manage to damage my pastry slightly when upturning the gluten free dough into my baking tin. But as long as your pastry is 90% in tact, a little patching up with spare dough goes a long way. It’s definitely something where practice makes perfect, so don’t give up!

Once you’ve got your gluten free shortcrust pastry into your loose bottom baking tin, you’re already on the road to success! Then, all that’s left is your gluten free pumpkin pie filling. Most pumpkin pie recipes call for dairy, which is of course, not Mark friendly or low FODMAP. So after a little head scratching, I actually asked you guys what a good replacement would be and the resounding answer was…

Coconut milk! So instead, I opted for coconut milk (canned) which worked an absolute treat. Before you start worrying that it’ll make the whole thing taste of coconut – relax, it doesn’t! Coconut milk just has the rich, creamy quality that you’re looking for and a mild taste which goes completely under the radar. I actually think it make’s it taste even better!

If you’ve never tried a pumpkin pie before then don’t worry, you’re definitely not alone! I personally had never tried one until recently and neither had Mark. I guess that sort of makes sense, seeing as it is an American classic after all! Us Brits are too busy here in the UK with crumbles and spotted dick to have time for pumpkin pie, but that changes now. Especially when there’s no gluten or dairy in sight.

So if you’ve never tried a slice of pumpkin pie before, I’ll do my best to describe the taste and texture. If it sounds disgusting, it’s only because I’m terrible at describing!! Ok, let’s give this a go…

Being a type of squash, pumpkin tastes very similar to butternut squash and it has a comparable texture when pureed too. I know that might sound a little weird in a dessert, but trust me, it just works! Pumpkin has a natural sweetness and a light texture which bakes so well with the rich, smooth coconut milk and caramelised brown sugar. For me it’s almost like an alternative custard tart and I LOVE a custard tart!

I think I did ok with the describing there, don’t you think?!

My gluten free pumpkin pie certainly isn’t as scary as most Halloween pumpkins. So make sure you give it a try and let me know what you think. Grab a 9″ loose-bottom baking tin and get stuck in!

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I add a little dairy free whipped cream on the top of my gluten free pumpkin pie slices in the photos. I usually find it in small health-food and vegan shops so make sure you check yours. It’s the perfect finishing touch so here’s a link to the brand I used. Happy baking!

Thanks so much for checking out my gluten free pumpkin pie recipe! Making gluten free shortcrust pastry definitely takes a little practise at first, but it’s so worth it once you smell this thing baking in the oven. I hope it’s converted you to be a gluten free pumpkin pie convert!

Did you try this recipe? When’s the first time and place you had a slice of pumpkin pie? Any questions? Please do let me know by leaving a comment below or on Facebook / Twitter / Instagram!

Thanks for reading,

Becky xxx

Oh and don’t forget to pin this for later!