Easy Gluten & Dairy Free Pecan Pie

Cooking and baking for the holidays with food allergies or sensitivities can be so overwhelming! Years ago, gluten and dairy free products weren’t so readily available and so each holiday was risky. I remember my mom wondering what to feed me… And now, as a mom, I have kids with food sensitivities too. So, we decided to start experimenting with cooking and learning how to make a full holiday meal gluten and dairy free. And here is our ooey gooey Easy Gluten and Dairy Free Pecan Pie recipe!

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Try our other Gluten and Dairy Free holiday recipes

Make Ahead Allergy Friendly Pecan Pie

I absolutely love pecan pie for Thanksgiving and Christmas, so this allergy friendly Pecan Pie is perfect because the recipes makes two pies! So you will be able to make one for Thanksgiving and save another for Christmas!

What I do is make them both up the week of Thanksgiving, let them both cool and freeze them both until the day before I need them. There is enough cooking to do on the day before and the day of Thanksgiving and Christmas that this is so nice to be able to make the desserts ahead!

The memories

My mom loves to cook, and so did my grandma, so the three of us have tackled a lot of recipes over the last 10 years that I have been gluten free… Finding ways to make the classics without sacrificing the taste and texture of the holiday favorites.

Over the last two years, my mom and I have made a lot of memories cooking up holiday favorites to try to perfect them – for our family and YOURS!

This easy Gluten and Dairy Free Pecan Pie combines a few recipes that I stumbled upon over the years. And it is our absolute favorite. I swear it is better than the gluten and dairy versions I’ve had.

I feel like it is so cozy and special to be able to recreate holiday favorites and make new memories baking with my mom and kids and cooking the pies together! ♡

Ingredients you will need

• Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
• Xantham or Guar Gum (if your all purpose flour doesn’t include it)
• White Sugar
• Salt
• Coconut Oil
• Duck Fat
• Eggs
• Water
• Brown Sugar
• Corn Syrup
• Vanilla
• Pecans

Gluten Free All Purpose Flour – all equal?

Are all gluten free all purpose flours created equal?

No, I don’t think so…

King Arthur Measure by Measure Gluten Free flour is linked below in the recipe, but I also really love Great Value All Purpose Flour from Walmart believe it or not! Those are both superior to the popular Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Flour.

In my opinion, Bob’s Red Mill is a bit dense.

What is your favorite baking all purpose flour?

Preparing the Perfect Flakey Pie Crust

Before I get started with preparing the pie crust, I like to get some ice water ready. This will help your coconut oil harden in your pie crust, which is essential to having a flakey pie crust. Let those little cold chunks of coconut oil work their magic in the crust… And everyone enjoys a flakey pie crust!

The best part about this pie crust recipe is that there is a hint of sugar, but not too much to where it adds more sweetness to the pie. (SECRET: I love to use this recipe for pot pies also.) This recipe is versatile and can go savory or sweet. So, it’s a keeper.

The pecan Pie filling

Are you saying, “Did I read duck fat in the pie filling correctly?!” Yes, you did!

For the pie filling, I like to do half duck fat and half coconut oil for the oil. All coconut oil, is a little bit too sweet/coconut-y flavor and oily for my taste. (*However, all coconut oil can be used, if you don’t have duck fat.)

The reason I like to use half duck fat is because it seems to add a good balance of sweet to savory, and doesn’t leave an oily residue on top after baking.

Tips for the ultimate perfect pie

As I mentioned, from the start, I like to make sure I have water with ice cubes ready to go for the pie crust. Keeping your 2/3 cup coconut oil in the fridge for the crust would be good too… I usually don’t plan ahead that far, lol…

Next, measure out your pie crust flour, sugar, and salt and stir those up until nice and combined. Then, I like to add in the chunks of coconut oil. Adding in chunks of the oil is important because you want to make sure the oil is evenly distributed. Note: This is what makes the pie crust flakey!

Next, I use a fork (or you can use a pastry cutter) to mash the mixture. You want to make sure it is a sandy texture. Then, I add in the eggs and continue to mash to a sandy texture. Lastly, you will add in the 4-5 teaspoons of water.

Then, I usually add the crusts right into the glass pie pans and spread them out with my fingers… Even if I am not making the pies right away, I like to have them in the pie pans. This way, I can either refrigerate them from there or freeze them in plastic wrap until I’m ready. But you can also form a ball with the crusts and throw them in the fridge with plastic wrap until you’re ready.

And then, I just add them to the fridge for at least 20 minutes, while I prepare the pie filling!!

Pecan Pie Filling Tips:

Now on to the pie filling… The best part!

First, I like to get my oven preheating at 350° F. Second, start creaming together the sugars, salt, corn syrup, coconut oil and duck fat. (As I have mentioned, if you don’t have duck fat, you can use 2/3 cup coconut oil. I just recommend using a paper towel to dry up the coconut oil after they come out of the oven.)

Next, my kids help me add in all six eggs. This is where they argue over who gets to scramble up the eggs! And don’t forget the vanilla.

For the last ingredient, chop up 2 cups of pecans and then leave 1 full cup of full pecans for the top… I have a little Slap Chop chopper I like to use for this part – gets the job done quickly. Once all two cups of pecans are roughly chopped, I toss them into the pie filling mixture and stir.

Now for the best part, grab your pie crusts from fridge/freezer and fill both with the pie filling and toss those bad boys in the oven!

After 30 minutes, I pull them out and put the full pecans on top. I don’t like to add them before this point, because they burn and what a sad sight that is…

So, after 30 minutes, I put them on and then put them back in for the remaining 20 (ish) minutes. The top of the pie might be caramelized already, but add the pecans anyway.

This is also a good time to add tin foil to the outside of your pie pans to keep the pie crust from burning.

When to pull the pies out

You will know when to pull the pies out of the oven, when you can tap the side of the pan and the filling isn’t like liquid. It should now be a Jello-y consistency.

Then, you can let your pies cool and ENJOY!!! (or freeze for the next holiday!)

Easy homemade gluten and dairy free pie recipe

I hope you make special memories as a family with this easy Gluten and Dairy Free Pecan Pie too! If anyone isn’t a fan of pecan pie, they will be after this tasty treat… Happy Holidays!

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