Low FODMAP Pumpkin Pie

This low FODMAP pumpkin pie is warm, creamy, and full of fall spices. The crust is made with rice flour and cornstarch, and the filling with homemade kabocha squash purée and lactose-free cream. The result is a pie that fits a low FODMAP diet and is gluten-free and lactose-free too. Serve it with coffee on a fall afternoon or as dessert on your Thanksgiving table. You can bake it a day ahead: once cooled, the filling only gets firmer.

Category: Fully low FODMAP
Also: Gluten-free, lactose-free, vegetarian
Servings: 10 slices
Prep time: 45 minutes, plus about 1½ hours in the oven and 1 hour to cool

Ingredients

For the crust

• 1 cup (150 g) white rice flour
• 6 tbsp (50 g) cornstarch
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• pinch of salt
• 7 tbsp (100 g) cold lactose-free butter, cubed
• 1 egg
• 1 to 2 tbsp cold water

For the filling

• 1 kabocha squash or red kuri squash (Hokkaido) of about 1½ lb (700 g), for 1⅔ cups (400 g) purée
• 2 eggs
• ⅔ cup (150 ml) lactose-free heavy cream
• ⅓ cup packed (75 g) light brown sugar
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• pinch of ground cloves
• pinch of salt

To serve

• ⅔ cup (150 ml) lactose-free heavy cream

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Cut the squash into wedges, remove the seeds, and roast the wedges for 30 to 35 minutes until tender. Let them cool slightly, scoop the flesh from the skin, and blend until smooth. Measure out 1⅔ cups (400 g) of purée.
2. For the crust, mix the rice flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt. Work in the cold butter with your fingertips until the mixture looks crumbly.
3. Add the egg and 1 tablespoon of water and knead briefly into a smooth dough. If it’s too dry, add the second tablespoon of water. Cover the dough and chill it for 15 minutes.
4. Lower the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch pie dish. Press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides with your fingers. Prick the bottom with a fork.
5. Blind-bake the crust for 15 minutes, then take it out of the oven. Keep the oven at 350°F.
6. For the filling, whisk the squash purée, eggs, ⅔ cup cream, brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt until smooth.
7. Pour the filling into the prebaked crust and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the filling is almost set and still jiggles slightly in the center.
8. Let the pie cool in the dish for at least 1 hour. Just before serving, whip the remaining ⅔ cup cream and add a small dollop to each slice. 🥧

Why is this recipe low FODMAP?

Instead of wheat flour, which contains fructans, you use rice flour and cornstarch for the crust. The cream is lactose-free, and the filling uses kabocha squash, which is low FODMAP in a normal serving. The spices, sugar, and maple syrup also fit within the amounts in this recipe. Do keep an eye on portion size: stick to one slice at a time, because FODMAPs from different dishes add up. How much you tolerate varies from person to person.

A note on red kuri squash (Hokkaido): Red kuri is only low FODMAP in a smaller serving than kabocha. If you use red kuri, cut the pie into 10 equal slices and have no more than one slice at a time.

Tips and variations

• 💡 Make the squash purée a day ahead and keep it covered in the fridge. That saves you half an hour on baking day.
• No pie dish? Divide the filling among the cups of a greased muffin pan, without crust, and bake the mini pumpkin custards for 25 to 30 minutes at 350°F.
• Prefer red kuri squash? It works just as well: it’s sweet and creamy, and you use the same amount. We don’t recommend butternut squash, since it’s only low FODMAP in a smaller serving.
• Store leftovers covered in the fridge and eat them within 2 days.