Festive and colorful without any artificial coloring. And creamy and sweet without any dairy or sugar! This Low-Carb, Paleo & Vegan Christmas Tree Pie is sure to make spirits bright.
It's no secret I'm obsessed with this Christmas Tree Pie, you guys!
Chewy BROWNIE crust, SILKY vanilla cream filling, and it's dressed up like a CHRISTMAS TREE? Love LOVE.
If you've been around my blog for a while, you probably remember I made one of these last year. But NOW, it's new and improved... NO SUGAR. I took away the maple syrup, the dates, and the powdered coconut sugar to bring you a LOW-CARB tree pie that's JUST as delicious as before! Heck YES. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL.
Holiday Survival
I'm on a mission to help people on special or restricted diets NOT feel left out or deprived.
So you can eat gluten, dairy, eggs, sugar, soy, corn, dyes, or additives (etc, etc)? (me neither) Surviving the holidays when sweets are EVERYWHERE is tough! The potlucks, holiday parties, the giant trays of cookies at the office (ughhh), and especially Christmas dinner! It's not Christmas without dessert, right?!
But never fear, Pretty Pies is here! I'm here to help you through the holidays, friend. I've got your back. Don't worry. YOU GOT THIS. And it's gonna be dang delicious.
Pass on the conventional stuff you can't eat and make your own. Bring it with you! That's what I do, and I'm always so glad to have a dessert I CAN actually have when everyone else is gobbling up their gluten/dairy/Sugar loaded plates soaked in red dye #40 lol.
GOODBYE CARBS
How in the world did I reduce the carbs in this pie from roughly 24 to 4 g per slice? It was actually pretty easy.
- Monkfruit! I swapped pure maple syrup for Lakanto monkfruit-sweetened maple syrup (which is sugar-free and tastes delicious!)
- But the previous chewy no-bake brownie crust was made with medjool dates. Ahh dates, they're so good, but definitely NOT low carb (with ONE HUNDRED TEN carbs per cup. Oh em geee!!) So I subbed almond butter and more monkfruit for that sticky gooey sweet quality that dates have.
- To reduce the carbs even further, I swapped half the cashews with almonds. (ps, cashews are totally fine for a low carb diet. In moderation.) The result is still SUPER creamy and delicious. This pie is actually lighter and fluffier than last year's tree pie. I love it!
I was nervous about how it would all taste, but it's SO GOOD. My whole family was saying Mmmmm with every bite and asking for seconds. Saying it tasted like it really had sugar in it!
Don't fear the green!
I love colorful food, but I don't use artificial food coloring in my recipes because they're full of junk (and actually linked to all kinds of potential health issues. Yikes!) So I'm always on the lookout for natural ways to create vibrant color. Using FOOD to color food 🙂
So here's how you get this gorgeous green: SPINACH. Don't get turned off, guys. I PROMISE you can not taste it. AT ALL. It actually makes the pie lighter.
All you taste is the sweet creaminess flavored with vanilla and a hint of coconut, paired with the chewy chocolatey crust. Pure deliciousness. And the little bursts of sweet crunch from the pomegranate, YUM!
Does all that spinach count as a serving of veggies?? lol Might as well! My favorite way to get my greens in.
Tip: Blend your mixture for several minutes until no more green specks show.. just a uniform color. Don't forget to scrape down the sides as needed.
Pom Pretty
OK, can we just stop a sec and gaze at those ruby red pomegranate arils? Don't they look like gorgeous gems? Ahhh so pretty. And the contrast with the green. HEART EYES.
If you're intimidated at the thought of pomegranate, don't be. It's easy. See how to easily remove the seeds here.
And don't worry about the sugar content of the pomegranate ornaments. You're only putting on 1 Tbs on each slice, which barely adds anything. I calculated about 0.3 net carbs for the poms.
They're just too pretty to leave off (even if you don't like pomegranate, haha)!
I hope you don't feel deprived of treats this Christmas. My wish is that you'll make something delicious that you can fully enjoy. Something fun and festive, colorful and delightful, and healthy to boot! 😉
Click the image below to save this recipe on Pinterest:
Low-Carb Christmas Tree Pie
Ingredients
Chocolate Brownie Ccrust
- 1 ½ cups walnuts
- 5 Tbs almond butter
- 3 Tbs cacao powder
- 2 Tbs Lakanto maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of pink salt
Vanilla Cream Filling
- ½ cup blanched almond slivers - soaked
- ½ cup raw cashews - soaked
- ⅓ cup + 1 Tbs Lakanto maple syrup
- ½ cup + 2 Tbs coconut oil - melted
- 4 big handfuls baby spinach
- 1 Tbs vanilla extract - (+ a few drops of almond extract, optional)
- Pinch of pink salt
Garnish
- Whipped coconut cream
- Pomegranate Arils
Instructions
To make the crust:
- Pulse walnuts in a food processor a few times to break them up. Add remaining ingredients and pulse until finely ground and the mixture sticks together.
- Press firmly into a pie plate. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling.
To make the filling:
- (Use nuts that have been soaked in hot water for 2 hours.) Drain, rinse and shake dry. Blend nuts thoroughly in a food processor for several minutes.
- Scrape down the sides, add spinach and blend again until color is uniform.
- Add remaining ingredients and blend smooth. Taste and adjust for sweetness.
- Pour filling over crust and tap pie plate on the counter a few times to release air bubbles. Cover and refrigerate or freeze until firm.
- Garnish with whipped cream (recipe below) and pomegranate. Enjoy! & serve.
Penny
Looks so pretty!
Sadly, I'm allergic to chocolate so I'm wondering if I could just leave it out?
Emily
Yes you can leave it out 🙂 I would add another 1-2 Tbs of walnuts though.
Penny
Thanks!
Patricia
My husband hates spinach. Does it taste at all like spinach?
Emily
It doesn't! You can't taste it at all. Promise. Especially if you add a little almond.
Bethany
Do you think i could use more cashews in place of almonds? My child is allergic to almonds and I am on strict autoimmune diet so I am trying to find something nice that we can all enjoy for dessert on Christmas.
Emily
Absolutely! My original recipe from last year was all cashews. The almonds are just to lower the carbs some 🙂
Hope you enjoy! Merry Christmas
Tamara
Sounds and looks delicious! May I ask why you soak the nuts? I’ve never done this before...
Emily
Thank you! We love it
Soaking the cashews helps soften them and make them easier to blend. They absorb some of the the water, too, which makes for a lighter texture.
LM
Looks amazing! Can I substitute the syrup for regular maple? The artificial sugars upset my digestion.
Emily
Thank you!
Yes indeed on the maple! This low carb version was adapted from my other recipe that uses maple syrup (linked above) Enjoy!