Strawberry Coconut Cream Pie {Vegan, Gluten Free, Paleo}

I am loving this warmer weather in Chicago. The fruits of summer are all coming back in season, one of which is my favorite – strawberries! They had them for only $0.99 a package at Jewel-Osco last week, and then my dad bought a huge amount at Costco as well for a great deal. So, lucky me, I got to make some treats with all the strawberries! I started with strawberry lemonade. (If anyone is interested in the recipe, I can share!) Then I decided to make a strawberry pie that was healthy and I could bring to my friend’s house! One of my best friends recently had a birthday and usually we celebrate hers, my sister’s, and mine at the same time because they’re all around the same time and we live a little more than an hour away from each other. So my sister and I made the drive out there yesterday and had such a great time catching up with our friend over lunch and this healthy summery dessert!The crust has a great texture. I accidentally put too much salt because we only had this different pink Himalayan sea salt powder, so I didn’t know how much to use. That can be easily fixed though (I just omitted, I think almond meal already has a bit of saltiness) plus everyone still loved it. Also I think I can be very critical of my own recipes. 😉 The crust also had great flavor – it’s made with almond meal, shredded coconut, coconut oil, and maple syrup. So easy! And the coconut whipped cream as the filling is extremely creamy and lightly sweet and airy. If you haven’t tried coconut whipped cream, it’s delicious and you should. Next comes the fresh strawberries! Arrange as you like. Keep in mind, you can sub ANY fresh fruit in place of strawberries. You can even do a fruit pizza! Next I just glaze the strawberries with maple syrup and voila! A healthy, fresh, beautiful dessert.

Print Recipe

Strawberry Coconut Cream Pie {Vegan, Gluten Free, Paleo}

A summery, fresh dessert that's so irresistible you won't believe it's good for you!

Prep Time40 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Total Time50 minutes mins

Servings: 6

Ingredients

CRUST:

• 1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 1/2 cups almond meal
• 1 tbsp. coconut oil melted
• 2 tbsp. maple syrup

CREAM FILLING:

• 1 can full fat coconut milk refrigerated overnight*
• 1-2 tbsp. powdered coconut palm sugar maple syrup, or powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

TOPPING:

• 1 pound strawberries rinsed and sliced
• 1 tbsp. maple syrup optional

Instructions

• For crust, preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9 inch pie pan with coconut oil. In a food processor, pulse together shredded coconut and almond meal until finely ground. Mix together coconut oil and maple syrup and add to almond and coconut mixture. Pulse until coarse crumbs form (dough should come together when squeezed with fingers).
• Transfer mixture to prepared pan. Evenly press dough in bottom and up sides of pan.
• Bake in center of oven until golden on the sides, about 10-12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• In the meantime, make the whipped coconut cream. Gently take the can out of the fridge after it’s been there at least overnight. The objective is to keep it from getting shaken up and mixing the cream back into the milk. Open the can of coconut milk and spoon the thick cream into a mixing bowl. Leave the liquid in the can.
• Add your sweetener of choice. Turn the hand mixer on low and gradually increase the speed to medium-high. Lift the mixer up and down to aerate the whipped cream, if you can. Think fluffy! When the cream starts to look consistent, add a teaspoon of vanilla extract and continue mixing. After several minutes, the mixture should look fluffy and creamy.
• Transfer cream filling to fully cooled crust and spread evenly. Top with sliced strawberries. If desires, brush some maple syrup on the strawberries for shine and sweetness. Enjoy!

Notes

*Your coconut milk MUST be refrigerated overnight, preferably even for a couple days prior to making this recipe. Store it in a secure place – not the fridge door. It needs to be left completely alone and then gently removed to keep from cream and milk from mixing.