This Healthy Pumpkin Pie is made entirely from scratch with real pumpkin, warm fall spices, and a silky smooth filling sweetened naturally with maple syrup and dates. Baked in a delicious whole-grain crust, it’s a refined sugar-free pumpkin pie that’s perfect for a healthy Thanksgiving dessert, and surprisingly easy to make.
I love pumpkin pie so much
In my opinion, Pumpkin Pie is the best pie, because you can eat it for dessert, but I think we can all agree that there is no better breakfast than a leftover slice. I mean, maaaaaybe my pumpkin pie overnight oats?
And honestly, and this is my official opinion as an internet nutrition lady, pumpkin pie is a pretty darn good breakfast. You’ve got pumpkin, eggs, milk, and spices. My Healthy Pumpkin Pie recipe is naturally sweetened with dates and a little bit of maple syrup, so you can feel smug about eating it at pretty much any time of day.
I love making this pie with homemade pumpkin purée, but you can absolutely crack a can. No shame in that game. This is an easy, healthy pumpkin pie with perfect pumpkin spice flavor, great texture, and is absolutely perfect with a dollop of whipped cream on top.
If you’re looking for a refined sugar-free pumpkin pie recipe, this is the one you’ve been waiting for! It's perfect for Thanksgiving, or any time you feel like pie. I’m going to show you how easy it is to make this recipe, with step-by-step photos below.
Let's make a healthy pumpkin pie together!
You'll find detailed instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post. Feel free to use the "jump to recipe" button to skip right down there, or join me for a visual walkthrough first.
Step 1: purée the dates
Combine the pitted dates and maple syrup in your food processor. Pulse a few times to break up the dates, then run the food processor until the mixture is well combined.
It won’t be totally smooth at this stage. This is normal.
Step 2: add the pumpkin
Add ½ cup of pumpkin purée to the date mixture and run the food processor until combined. This will help to break up the dates and smooth it out a bit more.
You’ll need to scrape down the sides once and then run the food processor again. Add the remaining pumpkin purée, spices, and salt.
Run the food processor, scrape the sides and bottom, and run once more.
Step 3: Add the eggs
Add the eggs to the food processor, and run until they’re well combined.
Step 4: add the milk
Add the milk.
Note! Depending on the size of your food processor the bowl may be very full at this point. It’s completely fine to transfer the mixture to a bowl and mix in the milk with a whisk instead.
Step 5: fill the crust
Pour the pumpkin pie filling into your prepared crust.
Bake your pie! Depending on how deep your pie crust is, it will bake for around 35-40 minutes.
Note! Your pie is done when the sides are firm and the middle still has a bit of jiggle. It will continue to cook as the pie cools, and over-baked pumpkin pies are prone to splitting down the middle.
Step 6: cool + serve!
Now all you need to do is let your pie cool, slice, and serve. How easy was that?!
Healthy Pumpkin Pie - Refined Sugar Free!
Ingredients
- 1 pie crust homemade or store-bought
- ½ cup soft medjool dates ½ cup packed with chopped, pitted dates
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 ½ cups pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 F / 180 C.
- In the bowl of a food processor pulse the dates and ¼ cup maple syrup together. It will seem like a chunky, sticky mess at first, but have faith.½ cup soft medjool dates, ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- Add ½ cup of pumpkin puree to thin it out a bit, then run the food processor until the mixture seems smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times.1 ½ cups pumpkin puree
- Add the rest of the pumpkin, and the spices and salt, and puree until smooth.1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon salt
- With the motor running, add the eggs one at a time until each is well incorporated. Add the milk, and mix until it is thoroughly blended in.3 eggs, 1 cup whole milk
- Pour the filling into a blind-baked pie crust right up to the very top of the crust.1 pie crust
- Place the pie into the oven and bake for 40 - 45 minutes. The filling will be puffed up, and shouldn't be too jiggly when you give it a bit of a shake.
- Remove your pie from the oven and cool for about an hour, then place it in the fridge to cool for a few more hours, up to over night (I always think pumpkin pie tastes better the next day). Enjoy!
Notes
- Nutrition values are an estimate only and will vary depending on the type of crust used.
- The pumpkin pie pictured in the photos is a deep dish pie and used 1.5x the recipe.
- Pumpkin pie is a great make-ahead dessert as it tastes better after it has chilled overnight. It'll last 3-5 days in your fridge.
- Leftover pumpkin pie can also be stored in the freezer, wrapped tightly. It'll last about 3 months in the freezer.
Nutrition
Terre says
This pie is delicious! However, I used standard pumpkin pie baking (425 degrees for 15 min then decrease to 350 degrees for 35-40 min) because the 1st time I made this & followed the baking directions neither the pie or crust were completely cooked.
Terre says
I think the oven temp was miss typed as 350 degrees instead of the typical 450 degrees Fahrenheit, because at 350 degrees it's undercooked/gooey.
Katie Trant says
Hey Terre, I've always cooked this pie at 350°, as well as the "normal" pumpkin pie recipe I do (a Martha Stewart recipe). Every oven is different and I do find that mine tends to be on the fast side, but the pie should cook at 350, with just a little jiggle in the middle when it's done.
Brooke says
This was delicious! I followed the recipe to a tee and even baked for an extra ten minutes and it turned out kind of more gooey and soft than a typical pumpkin pie… is it supposed to be like that?
Katie Trant says
Hey Brooke - glad you liked it! It shouldn't come out gooey though. All ovens are not created equal (and mine is convection, so cooks things pretty fast) and depending on the type of pumpkin you used and the amount of liquid, it could take a bit longer to cook. Always a good idea to cook until they're just a bit of jiggle left in the pie rather than going by the time.
Isabel says
This turned out great! I used one cup medjool dates and 3/4 cup warm water instead of the maple syrup. Slight tweek since I’m on a sugar free diet. Texture was light and airy, taste was delicious! Thanks 🙂
Katie Trant says
Yay! So glad you enjoyed this as much as we do, Isabel 🙂
Marguerite says
I love this recipe! For once, I didn't have to tweak a recipe because it's too sweet, or there's regular sugar or whatever!
I made 2 deep dish pies for a friend's birthday (we kept one at home). That means I used NINE eggs! (And 1 ½ cups packed medjools, 4 ½ cups pumpkin, etc. . .) I can't remember the last time I used 9 eggs in a recipe! LOL!
Today I have a hankering for 'something' and decided to do it again (only one, without a crust) just for me. It's in the oven now. Thanks for a great pie!
Tammy says
I made this pumpkin pie in advance and froze it. We defrosted it in the refrigerator and it was perfect. We opted for no crust, so it was more like a custard kind of a thing. It was very good I think I would put some pumpkin pie spice next year because I like a heavier pumpkin spice flavor! I recommend it and we used coconut whip to go with it!
Katie Trant says
Yay! So glad you enjoyed this recipe as much as we do.
Brandi says
This recipe is perfection! The flavor is perfect! The texture is spot on! I've tried other alternatively sweetened pumpkin pies, but nothing comes close to this! I made mine with homemade puree from a sugar pumpkin and wow! This was our Christmas dinner highlight.
Heather Morrison says
I made this pie yesterday. It is even more delicious than the usual pumpkin pie recipe I've made in the past and not at all difficult. The texture is smooth and creamy. Not a hint of date bits. I used a half spelt flour crust which has a bit of a nutty flavour. I did blind bake it for a tiny bit too long so the edges were a bit overbrowned, but not burnt. Pumpkin pie makes a perfect pre swim brunch, right! I expect to be super energetic in the pool.
CIndy says
Very good. My entire family loved it. I think it could be put in custard dishes with no crust and be quite tasty.
Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Katie Trant says
Yes! I often do that with the any extra pie filling that doesn't fit into the big pie crust. Glad you enjoyed this recipe as much as I do!
Lara Viv says
This pie recipe low key slaps hard af. Absolutely love it — I make it with half as much maple syrup and cashew milk in place of milk and don’t even do the fancy blending technique — just throw everything in a blender and pray 😂 absolutely love it. Also works well in muffin cups without crust for single serving sizes. Well done, thank you for sharing!! It’s now my favorite.
Katie Trant says
Hey Lara, this comment made my day!! So glad you like this pie as much as we do 🙂
Mary Aronson says
Made this pie yesterday. It is delicious. I had trouble getting any crust on the sides - I tried to melt some butter so the cookie crumbs would stick but just ended up with a crust on the bottom which actually was fine. I only used 1/2 of the cookie crumbs. Yikes - I just re-read the recipe - forgot to bake the crust for 10 minutes - still came out yummy. I must have run the food processor long enough as I had no chunks at all - very smooth - and my dates were not-so-soft to start. Thank you for the recipe.
themuffinmyth says
So glad you made it! It can be tough to get cookie crumbs up the side of a pie plate or springform pan. I think crumbs on just the bottom is enough, and like I said, I really enjoyed the crustless mini pies I baked in ramekins.
Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen says
Fantastic looking pie, I always like when I see favorites redone with more natural sweetners like dates and maple syrup.
Heidi @ Food Doodles says
Oh my, this looks amazing! The ingredients look awesome, and I'm so impressed with the pie(I don't like a shallow pumpkin pie!) I need to try this 🙂
themuffinmyth says
I know, deep dish pumpkin pie is the best! I find that I always need to at least multiply the recipe by 1.5 to get the depth I'm after. I hope you try this version out and let me know what you think!
Lauren says
This looks delicious!...and so healthy! I really like how you sweetened it with the dates. I find that my dates don't always blend the best (there are little bits left in what I put them in) unless I soak them. Do you soak yours or what type do you use?
themuffinmyth says
Hi Lauren! I know what you mean about dates leaving bits behind - I often find that's the case when I blend them into my smoothies. I think because I started with really soft dates (if they weren't so soft I would have soaked them in hot water first) and blended them first with maple syrup and then with the pumpkin, they came out quite smooth. I was planning to pour the pie filling through a mesh strainer before I baked it in case of date bits, but in the end it was smooth enough I decided it wasn't necessary. If you're worried about the pie not being smooth I would go for it, though.
Sydney Kramer (@CrepesofWrath) says
I love that you used dates in this to sweeten it up! I love dates all on their own and I bet that they add a rich, full flavor element to the pumpkin. I'm going to have to make this one next year! Happy Thanksgiving!
themuffinmyth says
Hi Sydney! Between the dates and the maple syrup there are definitely caramelly undertones, but it suits the pumpkin pie spices well. I hope you give this a try!
heather says
Yummy. If baking it without the crust would it need to be in a water bath like custard?
themuffinmyth says
I didn't use one with the ramekins and they turned out just fine. Haven't tried it with a whole pie, though.
frugalfeeding says
That looks really and truly utterly delicious! Gimme a slice 😀
Jess says
My mother-in-law just sent canned pumpkin, so I've been contemplating how to use it - it's got to be for something good. We're not hosting Thanksgiving, but this is something I could make after the holiday and feel pretty good about eating it next week. Dates are sort of a wonder for baking, aren't they? So excited to try this!
themuffinmyth says
Wow, that's some precious cargo! If you give it a go definitely let me know how it turns out. And yes, you could feel good about eating this next week, the week after, whenever. It'll definitely become a repeat item in my kitchen.
Kathryn says
I'm not sure I've ever actually tried pumpkin pie but this version looks so much more appealing than most of the versions I've seen.
themuffinmyth says
It's definitely a North American thing. And even then people either love or hate the stuff. I love love love it!