There’s a part of me that says Thanksgiving isn’t really Thanksgiving unless we’re serving pumpkin pie for dessert. You may feel the same. A few years ago, I started incorporating other desserts into our menu; for both my creative pleasure and because I got the sense that not everyone is as outrageously nuts over pumpkin pie as I am. To those people: LIKE WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON’T EAT IT FOR BREAKFAST THE NEXT DAY?
Brain does not compute.

Another lesson I learned as the designated Thanksgiving dessert chef was to make sure I’m not baking anything overly sweet and/or heavy. I remember bringing this ridic s’mores pie a few years ago which turned out to be WAY too rich to eat after a turkey binge. It’s not that it wasn’t marvelous, but I may have gone a little overboard by using a more than a few chocolate bars, heavy cream and marshmallow meringue. Heh.

In fact, I remember studying my family’s faces, curious as to what their reactions would be to this chocolate dream pie. The first bite made it appear that they were delightfully pleased; yet once they got past the second bite, their faces turned to discomfort.

Turns out it was so filling they felt like their pants might burst open. Oops. They probably would have had room if they would have worn yoga pants.

The last couple of weeks I’ve been testing out pie recipes for Turkey day, and this sweet potato pie has been one of my favs. It’s surprisingly similar to pumpkin so I may even replace my favorite dessert for this uber creamy, sweet and generously spiced gem.

Better yet, this sweet potato pie is lightened up thanks to almond milk and by using less sugar. I baked it in a simple pecan pie crust made with a tiny bit of brown sugar, butter and salt. If you’d like, you could bake the pie without the crust too for an even lighter option – up to you! I have left options in the notes below the recipe that should appeal to all of your dietary needs.

Before I let you go, I’d like to show you how to make the sweet potato pie crust.

Add the pecans, salt and brown sugar in the food processor and process until the mixture begins to resemble sand. Add in melted butter and pulse again for just a few seconds.

The mixture will end up looking something like this. Use your hands to press it down and to the sides. If you want a thicker crust, you could add more pecans. Sometimes I love adding a few gingersnap cookies and some flour. You can find the recipe to my pecan gingersnap cookie crust here.

Next, you’ll bake the crust for around 10 minutes. How easy is that?

Mmmm the creamy filling will go in then you’ll pop this bad boy back in the oven.

…AND THEN YOU GET THIS. I suggest serving this pie with a little coconut whipped cream!

Tell me: What’s your favorite kind of pie?

More Thanksgiving dessert recipes you’ll love: