The idea for this delicious gluten, dairy and junk sugar, free nutrient dense lemon pie originally came from our friend Lisa Kelso’s blog, PreHeatTo350.com. I saw an opportunity to turn some of my favorite functional foods into a delicious dessert that provided real nutrition without sacrificing flavor or texture.
Over the years I’ve played with many variations, but ultimately arrived at a combination of coconut milk, eggs and gelatin, which make for a smooth and creamy pie filling with the bright flavor of fresh lemons. It’s low in carbohydrates and can be sweetened according to your needs and preferences.
Originally I used arrowroot or corn starch to thicken the filling, but then I discovered I could get a similar texture using gelatin. Replacing pure starch (an insulin raising food) with a protein like gelatin, which has many health benefits, was a no brainer. My favorite sources of gelatin are pasture-raised cows or wild fish scales. Neither one has any flavor so it will simply help your filling to set in the fridge.
The yellow color of this pie comes from using local eggs from happy pasture-raised hens. The yolks from these eggs are much higher in the carotenoids that impart this color. Store bought eggs don’t usually impart much color.
People know lemons have vitamin C, but did you know they can assist the liver and gallbladder with detoxification and digestion? Lemon essential oils (found mostly in the peel) are rich with antioxidants, antimicrobial properties and support digestion. Lemons help the liver produce both bile (crucial for digestion) and glutathione (super important antioxidant that helps lower inflammation and open detox pathways). In short, lemons are magic!
Choose from one of our oat flour and no-bake pie crusts, considering factors like glycemic index (oat flour highest), food sensitivity/ digestibility (some people digest oats better while others find coconut or nuts easier), ideology (are you Paleo or into Ayurveda?) and of course flavor (they’re all yummy but different) and texture (oat flour is flakiest)! The no-bake is the quickest and easiest. Most importantly, listen to your body! You decide!
Don’t let all this healthy talk and logic distract you from the fact that this pie is heavenly – hedonism on a fork, in fact. So, fully tune in, taste, and slowly savor the sensual experience that this lemon cream pie has to offer!
Lemon Pie
Ingredients
- 1 pie crust of choice: no bake, oat flour or almond flour
- 1 can (14 fluid ounces) coconut milk, whole fat (not coconut milk beverage)
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice
- 4 eggs
- ¼ cup coconut oil, ghee, or pasture butter, melted
- Sweetener options: ½ cup Just Like Sugar Baking (chicory inulin-lowest glycemic impact) or 3 Tablespoons coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Stevia options: 15-20 drops pure liquid stevia or 1½ teaspoons stevia glycerite, or to taste Note: Each stevia brand is different, so start small and add. (We do not recommend "stevia" products that are in maltodextrin, sugar, or sugar alcohol bases. Read labels!)
- A little less than 1 tablespoon fish or beef gelatin
- 3 drops lemon essential oil
- ¼ teaspoon of high mineral sea salt
Instructions
- Press the no bake pie crust into a 9 inch pie pan and set this on a flat shelf in the refrigerator until you are ready to add the filling.
For the filling:
- Juice enough lemons until you have ½ cup juice. Combine all of the ingredients in a blender, except for the gelatin. Turn the blender on a low speed and add the gelatin while it is blending, otherwise it will clump permanently. Pour blended filling into a medium pot and cook on the stove over medium-high heat until boiling, stirring constantly. This could take about 5-10 minutes.
- Let cool a few minutes and then taste for sweetness and tartness. You can add more sweetener, lemon juice or lemon essential oil if you want the flavor to be sweeter or more tart. Start with less stevia, working your way up to the desired level of sweetness. Too much stevia will ruin it, and every brand is different. Adding another type of sweetener helps round out the stevia flavor. Each sweetener makes a completely unique flavor so play with different combinations. Dates, honey, monk fruit extract and maple syrup are other options.
- Important last step: Pour the cooked filling back into the blender and blend until smooth.
- Finally, pour the filling into the crust lined pie pan. Place the pie in the refrigerator for about an hour to let the filling set. You can also put it in the freezer if you need it to set faster.
- Optional: Cover the top with our coconut whipped cream.
Wow, I love this, will try it tomorrow!thx!
You do not mention Xyletol as a sweetener option… is there a negative to my go-to sugar replacement?!