Paleo pie lovers are often crust challenged. You can roll out a grain free crust, but that’s a lot of work. Or you can mix nut flour and dates. But when that gets boring, I’ve got another option…a plantain and gelatin crust. It’s made of nothing but fruit and gut-healing gelatin and used in this recipe, it makes a delicious foundation to a paleo friendly, cashew cream pie.
Not only does this add a health factor to your dessert but the plantain crust adds natural sweetness and holds up as a great crust. This no bake pie is super easy to make, it just takes a little patience and planning ahead because the crust has to set in the fridge like jello and the cashews need to be soaked (which coincidentally makes them easier to digest…bonus!).
This pie is perfect to bring to a party where it will please the gluten-free and paleo crowds alike. And if a nut allergy is a problem, fill the crust with cooked apples, figs, coconut cream, pumpkin or your favorite no-bake pie filling.
I garnished my pie with a ring of chocolate chips and a dollop of cashew butter in the middle, but you garnish with berries or banana slices.
Don’t like plantains? Experiment with adding jello to fruit like sliced pears or apples. I love to experiment in my kitchen lab (that’s how I came up with this recipe) so have some fun and try some experiments of your own.
Ingredients
- One large plantain or two small, ripe, yellow plantains, sliced
- 1 teaspoon of grass fed gelatin
- 1 cup of cashews, soaked
- Juice of one lemon
- 1/2 cup of water divided into 1/4 cup portions
- 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
- 2 tablespoons of maple syrup or raw honey (can also use 2 to 3 soaked dates)
- 1/2 can of coconut cream (you can turn regular coconut milk into coconut cream by refrigerating overnight, scooping out the solid stuff and discarding the liquid).
- 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt
- optional: chocolate chips to decorate
- optional: 1/2 teaspoon of cashew butter for garnish
How to Make the Crust:
- To make the crust slice the ripe plantains into rounds.
- Saute them in fat of choice until they darken in color, soften and caramelize. When you taste one it should be sweet and soft.
- Pour 1/4 cup of water in a shallow bowl and sprinkle gelatin on top and let it sit for 5 minutes. This is called “blooming” the gelatin and will soften it so it dissolves easier in hot water. Boil the other 1/4 cup of water and pour over the cold water and gelatin. Mix until the gelatin dissolves.
- If it doesn’t dissolve, you can pour the gelatin mixture into the pan with the plantains and heat the pan until the gelatin dissolves.
- Transfer the plantains and water to a pie tin. This is going to be your super healthy and sweet crust.
- Put in the fridge for 3 to 4 hours for the crust to set.
How to Make the Filling:
- Submerge the cashews in water and leave it to soak while the crust is setting, or you can soak them overnight if you prefer.
- Drain the water from the cashews and throw the soaked cashews into the food processor and process until smooth.
- Add in coconut cream, lemon juice, sweetener, salt and vanilla. You can also used soaked dates instead of honey or maple syrup.
- Process until all the ingredients are well combined.
- Pour the cashew mixture into the set pie crust and return to the fridge for an hour.
- You can decorate the pie with a dollop of cashew (or other nut butter) in the center and a ring of chocolate chips around the perimeter of the pie. You can even mix some chocolate chips into the cashew cream filling, by hand, before putting it into the pie crust.
- Enjoy this unique no bake pie with a sturdy crust that can be served to just about anyone.
Angela Privin stumbled on the Paleo diet while trying to cure her symptoms from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). After a year on a strict Paleo diet she was completely healed and her food allergies were reversed. She’ll always be grateful to her health challenges for making her learn to cook years ago. These days she’s Paleo because she loves the creative challenge of cooking delicious grain-free, real food. She spends much of her spare time experimenting in herPaleo Kitchen Lab and eating the experiments. You can check out her recipes here.
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