Its Pie Season

Sweet and savory pies for your table!

While there is truly a pie for every season, nothing quite says Fall like the scent of a freshly baked pie in your very own kitchen.  From apple and pumpkin to cranberry, or sweet potato, the flavor combinations are endless.  You can even go savory too! 

Nutritionally, pies are notorious for having a lot of calories as a result of ingredients like butter, refined sugars and flours.  Your typical 1/8 serving of a 9-inch apple pie comes in at just over 400 calories, 19g fat, and 58g carbohydrates!  

That said, there are a few ways to amp up nutrition while still enjoying all that pie season has to offer.  One way to do this is by reducing refined sugar called for in the recipe or replacing it with something naturally sweet like fruit.  Another way is to replace white flour with a whole grain option, or perhaps using something like sweet potato for the crust instead! 

From sweet to savory, simple or complex, we have all the pies covered! 

1.     Enchanted Forest Sweet Potato Cardamom Pie – This seasonal favorite swaps traditional crust for oats and adds natural sweetness to the filling with bananas replacing most of the sugar! 

2.     Crispy Treat Chocolate-Banana Ice Cream Pie – This banana cream pie uses crispy rice cereal and adds a surprise pop when you bite into it! 

3.     Banana-Pecan Streusel Pie with Sweet Potato Crust – This showstopper uses sweet potato slices to lay the perfect foundation for banana pecan filling!

4.     Vegan Banana Cream Pie Bites – These bite size treats are bursting with added nutrition from flax, walnuts, bananas and oats – so tasty and can fit perfectly into a lunch box!

5.     Peanut Butter-Banana Icebox Pie – Natural sweetness from dates and a bit of coconut sugar plus a crust made from rolled oats provided added nutrition in this one.

6.     Crustless Pumpkin-Banana Pie – This classic revision majorly reduces calories and carbs by eliminating the crust.  Dole’s Registered Dietitian, Melanie Marcus, suggests this recipe if you want to have a healthy alternative for guests who may be living with diabetes or heart disease. 

7.     Mushroom Lovers Shepherd’s Pie – Savory pie loaded with umami rich veggies

8.     Individual Turkey Sweet Potato Shepherds Pie – This meal in a bowl is an excellent source of vitamins C, B6, A, E, and calcium, iron, potassium, phosphorus and manganese.  Not to mention flavor and texture!

Published October 1, 2022