Butternut Squash Pie Recipe

slice of butternut squash pie with nut crust on purple plate

5 from 6 votes

This pie tastes like the perfect blend of pecan pie and pumpkin pie -- only it's neither one and even better!

*For this recipe, the butternut squash can be roasted two days ahead of time -- and should be roasted at least 6 hours ahead. Here's How to Roast a Butternut Squash. (It is not included in the prep time for this recipe. You can also purchase butternut squash purée.

Prep Time3 45

Cook Time1 10

Refrigeration45

Total Time5 40

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: gluten-free Thanksgiving recipes, pies for Thanksgiving

Servings:

Calories: 358kcal

Author: Valentina K. Wein

Equipment

10-inch pie plate

Ingredients

For the crust

2 cups raw pecans
1 cup raw walnuts
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
½ cup granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt

For the filling

1 (approximately 3 pound) roasted butternut squash (Click here for How to Roast a Butternut Squash), you will need 4 cups (see notes)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
¾ teaspoon ground ginger
¾ teaspoon ground cloves
pinch salt
1 tablespoon corn starch

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the crust

Grind the nuts. Add the pecans and walnuts to a food processor fitted with the blade attachment and blend until it's just becoming -- but isn't quite -- a paste. They should be somewhere between a powder and paste.
Add remaining crust ingredients, mix and shape. Add the processed nuts to a medium-sized mixing bowl and add the melted butter, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Mix until everything is evenly blended and then press it into a 10-inch pie plate. (It will be about ½ inch thick, thicker than a typical pie crust. If it's easy, bring the crust on top of the top edge as it will shrink a bit during the baking time. If that's too tricky, just go up as high as you can.)
Refrigerate. Place the prepared crust in the refrigerator for at least 45 minutes, and during that time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake. Once the oven is preheated and the pie has refrigerated for at least 45 minutes, place the pie plate on a baking sheet and bake until it's becoming golden and is sizzling, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool. Keep the oven on.

For the filling

Combine filling ingredients. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, use a whisk to blend the 4 cups of butternut squash purée (see notes) with the sugar, eggs, egg yolk, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves and pinch of salt. Mix the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of then add it to the filling and mix.
Assemble and bake. Once the crust is about room temperature, pour in the filling. Keeping the filled pie on the baking sheet, place it in the (still) preheated 350°F oven and very loosely, cover it with a piece of foil. (The foil should not be wrapped around the pie plate, it should be sitting on top, more or less.) Bake it this way for 1 hour, then remove the foil and bake until it's set, about 10 more minutes. When you move the baking sheet, it should no longer jiggle in the center. You can also stick a wooden skewer int he center -- it should come out clean when it's done. (Cooking times may vary.)
Cool & serve. Cool to room temperature and serve.

Notes

If your squash purée isn't smooth, you can blend it in a food processor with the blade attachment for about 30 seconds.

To save time, you can buy butternut squash purée.

If you don't have, or can't get potato starch, you can use corn starch. Mix 1 tablespoon with 1 tablespoon of water, before adding it to the filling.

Nutritional information is only an estimate.

Nutrition