Mango Pie was a lifesaver for me when it came to treats, and a fun and beautiful one to serve at parties and gatherings. A few years back any time I would eat dairy products I would get super sick (as in I would throw up for about 8 hours). I thought that I had somehow become lactose intolerant and began altering every recipe so I would not get sick. I felt so frustrated in the dessert department because most of the desserts I had either required milk/cream, or they just did not taste any good. My friend Trenda introduced me to this pie and it quickly became a favorite. After living a year as a lactose intolerant I finally found out it was my gallbladder – I had it removed and I have been indulging on every little thing since. I feel for people who have to deal with allergies and intolerances, it really is not a fun thing to have to deal with.
The awesome thing about this pie is that it is completely raw – absolutely no sugar added, only the natural sugar that comes from the fruit! Now that is healthy! I have enjoyed making it for family gatherings – especially brunch and it is always a hit. I especially love it when I find out that someone there has an allergy and it was one of the few things they could eat at our party!
The crust just has a few ingredients – un-sweetened coconut, any mixture of nuts you like, and dates.
I have made a few adjustments to the recipe that Trenda gave me when it comes to the fruit. The main part of the pie is both dried and fresh mangos along with any other variety of fruit. I usually do a banana and other lite orange and yellow fruits like papaya, pineapple, peaches or nectarines. I also love using the Wawona Festival Blend fruit from Costco. It does have strawberries, but I just pick out the other fruits 🙂
I like to start off with soaking the dried mango – you want to do it for about 20-25 minutes. While that is soaking I throw my nuts and the coconut into my food processor or Blendtech. I like my food processor a bit more because I don’t have to scrape the bottom as often. Once the nuts are small, I add the dates.
One tip – I have bought the whole dates before – if you don’t buy pitted dates you will need to pull them out, I guess I really squish them out 🙂 They are as hard as a rock and your blender or food processor will not like you much if you forget to remove them – believe me I know from experience!
You will want your crust to stick together in a ball when you squish it, that it when you will know it is ready and all blended together.
When your dried mango has soaked nicely, you will want to add all your fruit to your food processor/blender to make the main part of the pie and blend it well.
Pat the crust into a 9 inch pan.
Pour the mango mixture into the pie.
Smooth it out. Cover it with saran wrap and chill for at least 2 hours. Will prepare it to this point the night before a brunch so most of the work is already done.
Then using your favorite fruits decorate your pie. I love using all kinds of berries, and kiwis. I choose to start from the outside in, but the center out is totally fine too. I had strawberries but forgot to put any on this pie before it was done.
I have made it in a 13×9 pan. I like to double it because I LOVE the coconut/nut crust, but normally I would just one and one half the recipe for a 13×9 pan.
Yum! Some actual healthy goodness that is delicious! If you would like to do some mango parfaits in cute cups, or have some small individual tarts you could do it that way too!
What is your favorite “healthy” dessert?
See the Happy!
- 1/2 cup pitted dates (about 12)
- 1 1/2 cup Nuts I usually use half almonds and cashews, but any will be fine.
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut
- 1 cup unsweetened dried mango Soak for about 25 minutes
- 2 mangos peeled and fruit sliced off the pit
- 1 ripe banana
- 1 cup Wawona Festival Blend Or any other orange/yellow fruits
- 1 kiwi
- 20 raspberries
- 10 strawberries
- 10 blackberries
- 20 blueberries
- Place the dried mangos in a bowl with cold water and set aside.
- Put the coconut and nuts in your blender or food processor and blend till they are fine. Add the dates (make sure they are pitted, otherwise pit them before adding them to the nut mixture. I do have to use a spatula to pull everything up from the bottom and sides a few times to make sure it all mixes well. Pat into a 9 inch pie pan.
- Cut the mangoes, and any other fruits you chose to use. Add them to the blender along with the drained dried mangoes. Blend well. Pour into the crust and spread evenly with a spatula. Cover with saran wrap and allow to chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
- Cut your topping fruit and decorate however you would like. Cut and enjoy!