The holidays are right around the corner, and most holiday feasts end with a slice of classic pumpkin pie! While pumpkin pie may not be the highest potassium dish at the table, it is considered a high potassium food. Not to worry, we’ve got you covered with this kidney-friendly mock pumpkin pie!
I feel like this recipe comes down to “where there is a will there is a way.” I’ve thought A LONG time about a low potassium “pumpkin” pie being made with spaghetti squash. A very long time. One year to be exact. I wanted to make it last year, but I had a new baby, and it was just busy and time got away from me.
This year, I was determined to get the recipe out before Thanksgiving to showcase how it is possible to really have some livable LOVABLE food for a #renaldiet. THIS pie is something you can eat and enjoy and have a second slice without worrying about exceeding your potassium limit.
What happens when you make pumpkin pie without pumpkin?
Classic pumpkin pie is generally not the most kidney-friendly option at Thanksgiving dinner. It is made with evaporated milk (boo!) and a hefty dose of eggs (okay). Not to mention the canned
The real taste though is in the spices. This pumpkin pie is knock off from Minimalist Baker’s Vegan Pumpkin Pie . I swapped the pumpkin out for finely pureed spaghetti squash and used KidneyGrub’s low sodium flaky pie crust. In addition, we used cornstarch instead of eggs and evaporated milk.
The result? 56% reduction in potassium, 69% reduction in phos, and 75% reduction in sodium (and that’s with added salt in the recipe). Check out how classic pumpkin pie compares to our recipe in the table below!
| Serv size 1/8 of 9” pie | Classic Pumpkin Pie (per NCCDB) | KidneyGrub Pumpkin-free Pumpkin Pie |
| Calories | 318 | 360 |
| Protein | 7 g | 3.7 g |
| Carbs | 40 g | 44 g |
| Potassium | 282 mg | 125 mg |
| Phosphorus | 145 mg | 45 mg |
| Sodium | 359 mg | 90 mg |
| Fiber | 2 g | 2 g |
What our taste-testers said about pumpkinless pumpkin pie
I took the pie (what we didn’t eat and photo-shoot) to my dialysis unit the next day to let the staff taste test. Consensus? Excellent. The crust (THIS crust) was flaky but firm enough to hold the pie. The pie has wonderful flavors due to the spicy, though more mild and less dense texture than traditional pumpkin pie. Even our medical director gave the pie a thumbs up (and said his old-time-baking Grandma would have been proud of THAT crust!).
I agreed with all of these observations and consider this one of my favorite low potassium kidney-friendly recipes that we’ve sported yet.
So, if pumpkin pie’s your thing (or even if it isn’t) THIS is a livable, lovable recipe! Livable, because it’s easy and you don’t have to worry about potassium, phos, sodium. Lovable, because it’s so good!
Ingredients
Filling:
- 2 3/4 cups pureed spaghetti squash the squash can be prepared up to 2 days and stored until it's ready to be used
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup unsweetened plain almond milk
- 1 Tbsp olive oil or melted coconut oil
- 2 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot powder
- 1 3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice or sub mix of ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg & cloves
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- Your favorite crust Our favorite crust is the low sodium pie crust
Instructions
To prepare spaghetti squash for filling:
- Preheat the oven to 400℉ (204℃).
- Using a large chef's knife, slice the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise through the stem and scoop the seeds out with a large spoon. Place the squash cut side down in a large baking dish or roasting pan. Add a little water to the pan (just to cover the bottom) or cover the pan with foil. Roast the squash for 30 to 45 minutes or until it is tender. When the squash is fully cooked, the flesh will pierce easily and when scraped with a fork, will separate into spaghetti-like strands. After the squash has cooled, puree in a blender or food processor until smooth. Set aside 2 3/4 cups of pureed squash to use for the filling.
To prepare the pie:
- Preheat oven to 350℉ (176℃ ) and prepare pie filling.
- Add all pie ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth, scraping down sides as needed. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Pour filling into pie crust and bake for 58-65 minutes. The crust should be light golden brown and the filling will still be just a bit jiggly and have some cracks on the top. Remove from oven and let cool completely before loosely covering and transferring to the refrigerator to fully set for 4-6 hours, preferably overnight.
- Slice and serve with your whipped topping of choice.
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I have a question. Did you cook(bake) the spaghetti squash before blending? I imagine that the raw squash is very dense and hard. Just a beginner.
HI Renee,
Yes I cooked beforehand. The easiest way to cook is cut your spaghetti squash in half, scoop out the seed and microwave. Or sometimes, if I’m lazy and have time I just put it on a cookie sheet in the oven for an hour at 350 and it cuts right open. I often will cook in bulk and then freeze.
I am wanting to clarify that you use 2 3/4 cup of pureed squash before blending again with the spices etc? Bake, puree and then put in blender with ingredients and blend? Sorry to be so obtuse, lol. Looks like a great renal recipe!
Hi Kay,
We apologize if the directions are not clear. We baked the spaghetti squash by slicing lengthwise and baking flesh side up for about 1 hour at 375℉. Then scooped out the inside and only pureed in a blender once with the rest of the ingredients.
We hope this helps, please let us know what you think if you try it!
Thank you for the clarification. I will be making this pie very soon!
I’m a heart patient have have liver problems.
I have to watch sodium due to kidneys.
I’m so thankful when I see people that want to help others eat healthy and it has taste
Thank you so very much
God Bless you for helping others
From the Smokie Mtns. of TN
Hi Sheri, we hope that you are enjoying the recipes. We love good food here at the KidneyRD and believe that low in sodium does not need to = low in flavor!
I too am an ESRD patient, on dialysis. Like you, I craved pumpkin pie for the hollidays, about 2 years back. I am a gourmet cook who has been creating recipes for many years, not professionally. I came up with a solution slightly different, but similar to yours. Instead of spaghetti squash, I used cooked, mashed carrots. My family sated that it’s better tasting than the original pie with real pumpkin. So there’s another option for you. Simply mash enough cooked carrot to replace the volume of pumpkin, or in this case spaghetti squash, and proceed with the recipe. I also have started putting renal friendly recipes on my blog. I won’t post the link here, as I don’t want to take away from the wonderful work/service you are doing here.
Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
Hi Bob, thank you for your kind words! We’d love for you to share your link here so that readers have other great renal recipe resources!
Thank you for letting us know about the carrot substitution for pumpkin pie, we can’t wait to give this a try!
Am I reading this correctly, since it states 2 3/4 cups pureed spaghetti squash, I bake the spaghetti squash, puree it and measure out the 2 3/4 cups of pureed spaghetti squash for this recipe. Is this correct?
Hi Lisa,
We apologize that the instructions are not that clear- we are working on editing old recipes, and with Thanksgiving coming up, we’ll get to work on this one ASAP!
Yes, bake your spaghetti squash, and then once pureed, measure the 2 3/4 cups.
We hope this helps. Let us know if you have any further questions!
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Can rice milk sub for the almond milk with similar results? Our kidney person can’t have nut milks.
Thanks. Looking forward to trying this.
Hi Lee, absolutely! Rice milk is a great swap for almond milk and should not affect the outcome. Please let us know how it turns out!