Updated 12.20.25
This pie is full of flavor, crust and filling. There is no need to pre-bake the crust, just grinding the pitted dates and the pecans together and bake together with the filling. The dates are the glue and the pecans are the crunch. The crust will soak up some of that pumpkin flavor, but stays crunchy. The pumpkin filling is rather traditional – the two together result in ‘velvet on a crunch’.
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Key Ingredients in This Recipe
You’ll find the complete list of ingredients and exact quantities in the recipe below.
- CRUST
- Dates
- Pecans
- FILLING
- Pumpkin puree
- Brown sugar
- Cinnamon
- Ginger
- Clove
- Cardamom
- Milk
- Heavy cream
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Pecan halves
I really like the taste of a pumpkin pie. This year, I made a change in the crust; more texture and more flavor; chewy sweetness from the dates and crunch from the pecans. Pecans are a very forgiving type of nut. Not too hard, but they stay crunchy, even with the ‘wet’ pumpkin filling.
The great thing about this recipe; it’s flour-less, gluten-free, vegetarian, and delicious. The baking will take about 1 hour, but the preparation is not that much work.
How to Make Pumpkin Pie on Date-Pecan Crust
Step 1 – Pit the dates, cut them in half and transfer them together with the pecans to a food processor and pulse until fine.
Cover the bottom of the 6-inch springform with parchment paper.
Firmly press the nut-date mixture onto the bottom of the pan and about halfway up the side.
Step 2 – In a saucepan, combine pumpkin puree, sugar, salt and spices. Heat and stir until it bubbles. Allow it to simmer for a few minutes. Remove from heat.
Step 3 – In a bowl, mix together milk, cream and eggs. Add vanilla extract and mix again.
Step 4 – Combine the milk-egg mixture with the pumpkin mixture, by adding the pumpkin mixture, little by little.
Then add that back into the rest of the pumpkin puree in the saucepan.
Step 5 – Pour the warm mixture into the springform. Place the springform on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (some leakage may occur).
Place the pie into a 400°F oven for 10 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 300°F and bake for another 60-65 minutes or until internal temperature is 175°F.
Step 6 – When the pie is done (still a little jiggly in the center, decorate with pecan halves.
Transfer the pie to a wire rack and allow to cool.
As I was not born here, so Thanksgiving is a tradition that is not in my bones. Don’t get me wrong, I know what Thanksgiving is about and believe me, I am very thankful for a lot of things. Over the past decades, my husband was often on a business trip around Thanksgiving, and with a very busy E-commerce business I was running for a long time, we have created our own food tradition. I always bake a Pumpkin pie (this year a Pumpkin Pie on Date-Pecan Crust), and I always make lasagne for dinner.
A compromise if you like. A favorite recipe for dinner, my lasagna and the pumpkin pie to keep in check with the rest of the country. What is your favorite Pumpkin Pie recipe?
Pumpkin Pie on Date-Pecan Crust
Pin Recipe Facebook Share by TextIngredients
CRUST
- 5 ounces dates, 1 cup
- 4 ounces pecans, 1 cup
FILLING
- 15 ounce pumpkin puree, 1 can
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon clove
- 1/8 teaspoon cardamom
- 2/3 cup milk
- 2/3 cup cream
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pecan halves
Instructions
For the Crust
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Place pitted dates and pecans in a food processor and pulse until fine. Don’t pulse it to dust, you want to keep some larges pieces for the necessary crunch.
- Line a 6-inch springform with parchment paper and transfer mixture into it. Firmly press the date-pecan-mixture on the bottom and halfway on the side.
- Place springform in the fridge until you need it.
For the filling
- In a saucepan, combine pumpkin puree, sugar, salt and spices. Heat and stir until you see bubbles. simmer for a few minutes. Remove from heat.
- In a bowl, mix milk, cream, and eggs. Add vanilla extract and mix again.
- Slowly add half of the pumpkin mix to the milk-egg mix. Then pour that into the saucepan with the remaining pumpkin mix and combine.
- Poor warm filling onto the crust. Place the springform on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (NOTE 1)
- Bake pie for approx. 10 minutes at 400°. Reduce heat to 300°F and cook another 60-65 minutes. (NOTE 2)
- When the pie is done, the filling will still jiggle in the center. It is strong enough to be decorated with some pecan halves.
- Transfer pie to a wire rack and allow to cool.
Notes
- The pie can sometimes leak a little.
- The internal pie temperature should be 175°F.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.