This persimmon pie is paleo and vegan and it is such a nice seasonal treat to enjoy in the fall. Persimmons are naturally high in pectin, and they gel up really nicely when pureed and used as a base in the pie. There is absolutely no need to add any eggs or gelatin as pectin in the persimmons will do all the magic for you.
This persimmon pie is a great stand-in for a traditional pumpkin pie and I personally love it. It’s also soooo easy to make! As all you need to do is peel and puree the persimmons, blend them with the other filling ingredients, and pour it into the par-baked crust and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes. It’s a much faster process than if you are making pumpkin pie from scratch.
IMPORTANT Note for Buying Persimmons: This recipe calls for FUYU persimmons which look a lot like orange tomatoes, though are not in the nightshade family. There are different varieties of persimmons and the fuyus are sweet with notes of cinnamon and they are ready to eat any ripeness, even when totally firm. But this is not the case for the hachiya persimmons which are also orange but more oblong shaped. The hachiya persimmons taste very astringent and bitter unless allowed to get to super squishy ripeness almost bordering on going bad, at that point the hachiyas will give you good flavor and sweetness. To play it safe and make sure I am going to enjoy this pie with zero bitterness I only use fuyu persimmons. And a trick for speeding up the ripening on of fuyu persimmons is to place them in the freezer whole, and when you defrost them the next day they will have “ripened” more and the skin will slide of easily. I often stock up on fuyu persimmons in the fall and keep them in the freezer whole for uses later in the year. Photo below is of fuyu persimmons.
For those on a starch-free diet. I have found persimmons to be similar to apples in the way some test starchier than others with iodine, and I think it has to do with both the variety grown and proper ripening time. I consider persimmons to be a “low starch food” but cannot guarantee they will always test “starch-free”. I consider persimmons to be less starchy than pumpkin.
Persimmon Pie
Ingredients
- Persimmon Pie Filling Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups “Fuyu” persimmon puree – from about 5 persimmons see fuyu notes above
- 1/2 cup coconut milk full fat
- 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract*
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice*
- 1 teaspoon ginger juice
- 1 paleo pie crust see list below for AIP pie crust options
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- Paleo Pie Crust Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour
- 2 Tablespoons coconut flour
- 1/4 cup coconut oil or palm shortening
- 3 Tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 pinches sea salt
- optional: line bottom of pie pan with a circle of parchment paper or grease pan with a little coconut oil.
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 325*F.
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Mix pie crust ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
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I recommend lining a pie pan with a cut out circle of parchment paper. You can also try using some coconut oil to grease the pie pan.
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Using your hands press the pie crust dough into the pie pan, and work it until its nice and even.
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Par-bake pie crust at 325*F for 10 minutes.
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Peel persimmons, if there are any seeds remove them.
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Blend persimmons into a puree using a high speed blender or food processor.
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Add in remaining pie filling ingredients and blend.
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Pour into par-baked pie crust.
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Bake pie at 325*F for 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool before slicing.
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I love to top it with my recipe for vegan coconut whip.
Recipe Notes
*AIP Notes: Omit Vanilla and Pie Spice for full AIP. Feel free to use any pie crust you’d like with this recipe. I tried to make a starch-free, nut-free, egg-free crust and did not have much luck, though check back in the future and I hope to come up with one someday!
For those of you looking for a nut-free pie crust check out these AIP pie crusts from: Living the Crunchy Life AIP Pie Crust – Beyond the Bite AIP Pie Crust – Vibrant Life Amy Wife AIP Pie Crust. And here is a nut free/starch free pie crust I haven’t yet tried made with from The Coconut Mama ♥
Estimated Nutrition Information for Persimmon Pie with Pie Crust per serving. This pie makes 10 servings.
Shared at: Paleo AIP Recipe Roundtable + Gluten Free Friday + Real Food Friday + Happy Healthy Green Natural Party Blog Hop + Recipe of the Week + Allergy Free Wednesday + Allergy-friendly Recipe Round-up + Gluten Free Fridays + Savoring Saturdays + Weekend Recipe Link Up + Simply Natural Saturdays
updated: 2/21/2016
Found you on Real Food Fridays; this looks delicious! I love persimmons, but I hardly ever see recipes for them. I’m looking forward to giving it a whirl! (Although I may just make the custard, since coconut oil doesn’t agree with me.) Love that it’s vegan, too! 🙂
Hi Lee!
So nice to get your comment! Yes, it’s totally awesome as a custard too! I sometimes just serve it “raw” meaning I simply blend it all together and chill it portioned out in individual dessert cups in the fridge. But I honestly do like the baked version the best, so you can totally bake it without the crust, or use a pie crust you like better.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Andrea
I know it may not taste quite as good, but I love a quick-and-easy dessert. I may have to make the no-bake version! 🙂
This is quite a interesting recipe – never heard of using persimmons instead of pumpkin but it sure looks good and I know they are very healthy food. Usually don’t find to many recipes for persimmons which I never understood. Thanks for sharing on Real Food Fridays. Pinned & Tweeted.
Hi Marla!
I agree, I don’t see much in the way of persimmon recipes these days, but I sure do enjoy them! I am drawn to fuyu persimmons for their low starch content and sweet flavor with hints of pumpkin and spice. Thanks so much for tweeting, pinning, and sharing!!
Your support for fellow bloggers is so appreciated!
♥
i haven’t had a persimmon in so long! What a great way to use them in a pie! 🙂
I do love how persimmons just pop up in the fall like a special holiday gift from nature! I think their limited availability makes me appreciate them so much more. Thanks so much for stopping by!
This is so lovely! I’ve never cooked with persimmons before, but I LOVE the Fuyu ones. I’ll have to give this a try. So pretty! Pinned.
Thanks so Emily! I Love the Fuyu persimmons too! Fabulous both raw and baked into pie. ♥
Thanks so much for stopping by and pinning!
xx
OOOOO Persimmon… That’s a whole new world for me!!
Hi Gigi! Hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving!! I am still looking for a white pumpkin so I can try your Unicorn Pie!
Any pumpkin is good!!!
I absolutely love persimmons! Always looking for ways to use up mine. This recipe looks right up my alley so I’ll be trying it for sure!
Hi Natural Fit Foodie!
If you have a have a chance to try this pie, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! ♥
Persimmons were new to me until I lived in Asia. I’ll have to look for them around here. Your pie looks so good!
Thanks so much! Happy Holidays!
Stopping by again to thank you for sharing this with us at Savoring Saturdays linky party. Hope you’ll come back and join us again.
Thanks Emily! Hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving!
I’ve never tried persimmons before, but I made this pie for Thanksgiving. At first I was worried because I used very ripe hachiya persimmons and a taste of the less ripe fruit was a bit astringent (rather like chokecherries). But it turned out to be a delicious pie that everyone could eat. There were no bits left on plates for any of the 8 people I shared it with. Thanks!
Hi Diana!
I am so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe!! I know exactly what you mean about the unripe hachiya’s tasting like chokecherries, it’s amazing how they transform to be sweet when super ripe. Thanks so much for your comment!!
Just popping in to let you know that I’m featuring this at this weekend’s Savoring Saturday. Thanks so much for sharing with us, Anrea!
Oh how cool!! Thank you so much Raia!!
I really loved having you at our recipe party! I hope you will join us again. It is live now until Thursday night! http://allergy-friendlytastebuds.blogspot.com/2015/12/thursday-recipe-round-up-starts-now-and.html
I haven’t tried persimmons. Looks wonderful. 🙂
Thank you Barbara!!
After I blended it up and tasted it( used stevia instead of maple syrup)I decided it tasted just like eggnog! So added some rice milk to thin it out and a little rum. Yum!
Hi Deirdre!
That is such a great idea! Sounds delish! I once turned this pureed persimmon mixture into ice cream, which was also wonderful! xx
Well the ingredients were not enough for the pie shell, the pie shell was too dry and too much for a pressed shell
Hi Pauline,
Hmmm… I’m a bit puzzled by your comment. First you note that the ingredients were not enough for the pie shell, but then you add it was “too much for a pressed pie shell”.
Can’t win them all! Cheers!