FILED UNDER: Desserts Greek Naturally Sweetened

Greek Sweet Pumpkin Pie (Kolokithopita)

This is the best pumpkin pie recipe I've ever tasted - it's vegan, sweetened with date sugar & honey, and spiced only with cinnamon as in Greek tradition!
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A food blog about Greek Sweet Pumpkin Pie made with cinnamon, pumpkin, vanilla, and caramel extracts, a little salt, date sugar, and honey.

Prep

60 min

Cook

60 min

Servings

6

This pumpkin pie is perfect to serve for Thanksgiving or as a treat to enjoy at anytime of the day. It’s so cripsy and warm with a sweet, delicious pumpkin filling made with cinnamon, pumpkin, vanilla and caramel extracts, a little salt, date sugar, and honey.

I have not had a better pumpkin pie in my life, it’s perfect on so many levels – the flavor, the crunch, the intact structure while eating – I’m so glad I can share it with you!

Sweet pumpkin is not something that is native to Europe, in fact, it was introduced by the Native Americans that populated the Americas to the English settlers. Then it eventually made its way to Europe to grow and appear in cookbooks and tables across the region for pies, soups, and roasts.

In Greece, pumpkin quickly became a very popular type of pie filling, but made into a pie with traditional Greek phyllo dough, olive oil or butter, spices like cinnamon, and decorated with sesame seeds. 

In this variation, I baked the pie soaked with only olive oil and mineral water to support vegan and dairy-free diets. And even though it doesn’t have butter, milk, or eggs it still tastes incredibly delicious, if not even better. The reason why I use mineral water, is because the bubbles in the carbonated water make the pie extra fluffy, provide a nice shiny golden color, and ensure that the pie will not be stiff and fall apart. 

While in this recipe I use fresh pumpkin and roast it in the oven, which is a great, easy way to ready your pumpkin filling, you can also opt to buy pumpkin puree already canned to save you an entire hour of time in the baking process – highly recommend if you’re short on time! 

For the spices, I stuck with only traditional Greek cinnamon and did not include any nutmeg, ginger, or clove, but it would be a great addition if it’s something you have off your shelf. I’d recommend 1/4 teaspoon of each if you’d like to include in this recipe.

Serve with vanilla bean ice cream or a whipped cream.

Let me know in the comments below if you tried the recipe and if you have any variations you’d like to share! 🙂 

Greek Sweet Pumpkin Pie (Kolokithopita) | How to Make the Best Pumpkin Pie - Vegan, Greek Style, & Naturally Sweetened

RECIPE

Greek Sweet Pumpkin Pie (Kolokithopita)

Ingredients

For the Pie:
  • 10 lb of sweet pumpkin
  • 1 tablespoon of cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup of date sugar
  • 1/2 cup of honey
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon of caramel extract
  • 2 teaspoons of salt
  • 50 mL of olive oil
  • 400 mL of mineral water
  • 30 sheets of phyllo dough pastry

Directions

For the Pie:
  1. Using a serated knife, cut off the top of the pumpkin with the stump and then cut the pumpkin in half
  2. Remove the pulp and seeds from the pumpkin’s two halves
  3. Place the cleaned pumpkin halves skin down onto a baking tray and sprinkle with salt
  4. Roast the pumpkin halves in the oven at 350 degrees farenheight for 40 minutes
  5. Remove from the oven and let the pumpkin cool for 10 minutes
  6. Scoop out the pumpkin and add it to a mixing bowl
  7. Add cinnamon, date sugar, honey, vanilla extract, caramel extract, and salt
  8. Mix the contents of the bowl and set aside
  9. In a small bowl, add mineral water and olive oil
  10. Mix completely and set aside
  11. On a flat surface, carefully place just one layer of phyllo dough
  12. With a soft brush, dip into the mineral water & oil mix and paint across the phyllo dough layer until completely covered
  13. Add a fresh new layer of phyllo dough over the first layer and repeat the process with the brush to cover the later with mineral water & oil
  14. Repeat this five times
  15. Place 4 large scoops of pumpkin filling at the end of the phyllo dough
  16. Roll the dough from the end that has the pumpkin filling into a cylinder shape and set aside
  17. Repeat the previous process with five layers of phyllo dough until you have six rolled dough sections of the pie
  18. On a baking pan with parchment paper, mold the six sections into a circular pie starting from the middle
  19. Brush any dry sections of the pie with the mineral water & olive oil mix
  20. Bake in the oven for an hour at 350 degrees farenheight
  21. Remove when the crust has turned a golden, crispy brown and serve
NUTRITION FACTS (PER SERVING)

Calories: 640 | Total Fat: 14 g | Cholest: 0 mg | Total Carb: 124 g | Protein: 14 g

Click here for full nutrition label

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.

 
 

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Hi, I'm Ophelia! Step into my kitchen where I take you on a delightful journey through the flavors of Eastern Europe. Experience my recipes with simplicity from step-by-step instructions and videos.

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