Ready for some delicious peachy almondy goodness? Just a few very basic wholefoods ingredients {no gluten or grains, no dairy or eggs, no refined sugars... not even flour!}, and a few no-fuss steps and you can enjoy a slice {or two} of this rustic almond peach pie yourself :)
The other day I ventured out to finally make peach pie. I haven't made peach pie in ages. Actually, I haven't had peach pie in ages. So I decided it was a must. I started out by making my usual pie crust, but as I was pressing it into the plate I suddenly felt like a complete change. I don't know what came over me, but suddenly a regular ol' pie crust just wasn't going to be good enough. I wanted something simpler but more flavorful. So I got rid of that crust and decided to start fresh {don't worry, it got re-purposed for something else -- no wasting! ;) }.
I settled on almonds. Almonds and peaches are always a delicious combination and I felt like a nutty crust would give the peaches a lot more flavor and contrast. This almond crust turned out amazing and just what I was looking for. And bonus -- it's super easy to work with -- no rolling or transferring, worrying about the crust breaking, etc. Just press it into the plate with your hands and you're good to go!
It may seem like a thick crust at first, but the pie really needs it -- trust me -- it's the perfect combination of fruitiness and nuttiness! I also used a part of the base mixture of almonds and dates to create a crumb top, because why not?! :)
So much easier than rolling out dough, cutting into strips, and pleating a pie crust top -- I do have a love for a traditional pie crust as well, but on a hot busy day, a crumb coating just makes a lot more sense...
The contrast turned out perfect. The crust was sturdy and held together perfectly -- and sliced like a dream once the pie cooled off.
When I first cut in myself I couldn't believe the juicy, vibrant peach filling that awaited me -- sooo good I could hardly wait to tuck in :P
But of course I had to take some photos for you first... Hardest part of the job sometimes ;)
This pie is amazing on its own, but naturally peach pie is always even more amazing with something creamy and cold -- I paired mine with some vanilla non-dairy yogurt, but vanilla ice cream would have been perfect as well!
Almond Peach Pie
Prep Time: 20 minutes- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
Yield: 9" pie
Category: Pie
Method: Baked
Cuisine: Dessert
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
A juicy, vibrant peach pie with an easy gluten-free crust that requires no rolling. Dairy and grain free.
Ingredients
Crust:
- 3 cups raw almonds
- 3 cups soft dates, pitted
- 4 tbsp agave {or maple syrup, brown rice syrup, etc.}
- 3 tbsp olive oil {or coconut oil}
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp almond extract {optional, but highly recommended}
Filling:
- 4 cups rough chopped peaches
- ¼ cup agave {or maple syrup, brown rice syrup, etc.}
- ¼ cup tapioca starch
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ¼ tsp almond extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Oil a 9" pie plate {or a dish of a similar size}. Set aside.
- Place almonds and dates into a food processor and process into a fine crumb. Remove 1 cup of the mixture and set aside {this will be your pie topping}.
- Place all remaining pie crust ingredients into the processor and process the mixture until it forms a fine sticky crumb {test if the crust is ready by pinching the dough with your fingers and seeing if it sticks a little -- if it does, it's good to go}. Scoop out the mixture into the pie plate and press it down with your hands into a crust shape {Make sure to pack it down well, otherwise it will be crumbly!}.
- Toss all filling ingredients together in bowl to combine. Scoop into the prepared pie crust and flatten a little with a spatula to fit the fruit into the crust evenly. Sprinkle the filling evenly with the leftover almond date crumb mixture from step 2.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!
This looks lovely! Can I use honey instead of agave? If so - how much?
Also how many peaches would you say I need for the 4 cups? 2? 4?
This recipe is fantastic! Thanks Audrey!
★★★★★
I made this recipe for dinner party for a friend who has problems with gluten and dairy. It was delicious, but my food processor was not up to the date/nut mix. I processed the dates by themselves in two bunches, did the nuts alone and then combine the whole thing with my hands in a bowl. That worked well. However, my pie was runny and I ended up serving it in bowls. I substituted corn starch for the tapioca starch so perhaps that was the problem. Could this be made in a 9" square pan with no outside crust?
★★★★
This pie looks like the perfect use for the peaches I picked at my friend's farm yesterday! I am planning to make it for tomorrow for another friend's birthday and wondered if rather than using whole almonds I could use almond meal instead? Or a mixture of almond meal and whole almonds? (I only have about a cup of whole almonds on hand and a whole bag of meal)
Thanks!
Hi Mel,
It could be made to work but the texture of the crust will be different (as the whole almonds give it a nice bite) and also the ratios of things would need to be altered. I'm not sure of the exact quantities (you'll have to play around), but I think doing a mix of almonds and almond flour could be made to work. Would love to hear what you did in the end if you give it a try.
This pie looks amazing! I'm thinking of making it for Thanksgiving, but would probably not use peaches (although you did say that frozen peaches work too). I also read your comment about apple; maybe I'll try that. Any thoughts about cranberry and something else? Cranberry and apple, perhaps?
One other thought: I'm not a big fan of dates, but LOVE dried turkish figs. Do you think one could substitute figs for dates in the crust?
I'll follow your advice on both fronts and let you know how it turns out.
Hi Kristin,
I made this with apples and raisins before and it was great. I prefer the peach version because it was a bit juicier, but the apple version was great too and I imagine if you add fresh cranberries that will help with the juiciness :)
About the crust, what if you did half turkish figs half dates for the crust? I think technically the figs should work, but they are not quite as sticky / sweet as dates so I'm just a bit worried structurally that it might end up a bit crumbly and a tad not sweet enough. Half and half should work just fine though. By the way, if you like those figs, you might like this oldie fig and chocolate flourless cake recipe.
I just made this and it was absolutely amazing! Thank you.
So happy you liked it, Alena -- thank you for sharing :)
Can you substitute arrowroot for,the tapioca?
Most definitely :)
What about using frozen peaches? Any idea what I'd have to change or tweak in the recipe to accommodate that?
Hi Krystina, you could just thaw them out beforehand and that should work fine. Just add the peaches though and not the liquid that results from thawing, as otherwise you might have too much liquid in the filling.
Delicious! Didn't have enough almonds so used pecans for about 1/3 of the total nuts. Used some maple syrup and some agave. Since we are 2 people I reduced the recipe for an 8" square pan. I thought it would be good but it is really, really good. Thanks.
★★★★★
Thanks so much for the lovely feedback, Karen -- so happy you liked it :)
thank you for this wonderful pie recipe. my family loved it. even my husband who never enjoys anything sugar-wheat free. he ate two slices in one day.
★★★★★
Oh good! :) I'm so glad to hear that and my husband is the same -- doesn't like sweets much and doesn't like peaches, but he likes this pie. Thank you so much for the feedback. I'm glad you all enjoyed it.
Hi, I need to bake a couple pies for a friend's wedding, but do not have time to do it right before the event. Do you think this pie would freeze well raw, then bake as normal on the day of the event? The recipe looks delicious and would certainly fit my bill as I am the one making the gluten free vegan pies : ) Thanks so much!
Hi Sophia,
That's an interesting question... I'll be honest, I'm really stumped as to whether or not this will work as I've never tried to freeze this unbaked and can't think of a similar recipe I'd done that with. I'd be worried about the liquids in the filling separating before the pie freezes, in which case when you go to bake I imagine it wouldn't turn out quite as it should. You can try and circumvent that by adding a bit of de-scented coconut oil to the filling to help it freeze quicker without allowing things to separate much. I have a feeling that should work well, but with something like a wedding I'd always test out new recipes first in a small batch just to be safe -- no risk taking for me for something like a wedding :)
If you do try it out, do let me know how it goes and what you'd done. I'm super curious.
Loved it! I think I will do a thinner crust next time. It was a hit! Thanks so much!
So glad you liked it -- thank you for the feedback! :)
Audrey this looks so perfect. I LOVE the rustic feel and who doesn't love peach pie. Plus the almonds. I mean come on!! I need a slice... okay maybe half the pan of this pie. For reals!
Thanks Meg :D I'm always happy to share ;)
Peaches and almonds are such a tasty combo. I love how simple and rustic this pie looks. And then to see those amazing peaches inside. Just beautiful!
Thank you, Melissa. Peaches and almonds have become my favorite this season ♥
Wowwwww Audrey! This pie is beautiful, it looks so moist and delicious! Peaches are such a great fruit and I definitely need to try this. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful treat <3
★★★★★
Thank you Harriet ♥ Peaches are the best!
I was wondering if I would find a peach recipe on your blog, when you commented on the peaches in my breakfast! This sounds like an amazing pie and the peaches look so juicy and good in there, I really want to take a bite out of my screen :D Crumb topping is so good <3
Thank you, Kat! :) And yes, you landed in the right place for a peach recipe. I'm getting ready to share a peach cheesecake tomorrow as well. It's funny that peaches are one of my absolute favorite fruits but I hardly have any recipes using them because I always end up eating them raw :)
Audrey, this recipe is amazing! I bought some fresh peaches from my farmers market and the crust and filling ingredients just made the peaches shine even more. My guests were very impressed. The recipe is fairly easy but I did have some problems. First, putting all of the dates into the processor with the almonds did not work for me. My dates were so fresh that I just had a big sticky mass that caused my cuisinart to smart smoking and then clog up. I didn't know that could happen! I never got a nice crumby topping. It was all a mass. Second, I guess my peaches had too much juice in them because I had a lot of juice on top of the pie. I did make my pie a couple of hours before I baked it and then put it in the fridge. All in all this was the best pie I have had in a long, long time. Simply delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Sue,
Thank you so much for the lovely feedback and for sharing how it went for you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Can't go wrong with almonds, dates, and peaches, even if a little deconstructed ;)
Hm, strange about the processor. I hope you don't mind me asking, but would you say your processor is fairly decent? That's happened to me before for two reasons -- once because my dates were hard and I had no idea you had to pre-soak them first if they're that hard {rookie mistake!} and so I burnt that processor out entirely. The other time I've experienced this was using a friend's processor that just seemed a little weak... It was one of those inexpensive colorful ones you can get but it just had a very weak engine for grinding down nuts and dates...
So when you say mess, you mean it processed itself into a buttery consistency? Because that sounds like maybe it got overprocessed... What you can try next time is just put in the nuts first and pulse them into a large-ish crumble, then add the dates and pulse to mix them in, rather than have it mixing continuously. You definitely don't want it to turn into a butter for this {as delicious as that may be ;) }.
About the peaches -- I wonder if they were very juicy perhaps? Mine weren't and I had no liquid anywhere, but if it's because they were juicy I'd add a bit more tapioca to offset that. I'll add that to the recipe notes in case anyone else runs into this...
Technical issues aside, I'm super happy to hear you enjoyed the pie! Thank you for sharing -- I think this type of feedback is really helpful ♥
Audrey, thanks for your reply. I do have a Cuisinart food processor. Don't know the hp. I now realize, after eating one of the leftover date/almond balls I made with the unused crust that there was a pit I missed so that's probably what caused my processor problems (I hope!). It processed into more of a sticky paste that I pushed around my pie plate with my fingers. It definitely wasn't over processed because I had to take the whole mass of mostly whole almonds and dates out of the processor and then do it all in batches. Quite sticky but not buttery. But I agree, I will do the nuts first then gradually add the dates. My peaches were super fresh and super juicy! I really did enjoy this recipe! One more note, you might want to add to peel the peaches to the recipe. This may seem like common sense but I wasn't really sure and think it would have work either way. I also think it would be fabulous to just bake the crust first and then put fresh peaches with the cinnamon and nutmeg on top with some coconut whipped cream! Thanks again!
Ah, the elusive pit -- always a troublemaker! :) Happens to me too sometimes. And thank you for the suggestion on the fresh peaches with spices option -- I love it. Will try that next time myself :)
This is the most beautiful pie ever! I love that it has an almond crust. I bet it's totally addictive. Pinned!
★★★★★
Your photos are so so beautiful. I love the sound of this pie, especially now the weathers getting colder here in England and I'm starting to crave this kind of food! And I love any almond/peach combination so this is perfect. Thanks for sharing :) , Gabriella
This Peach Pie looks simply gorgeous! I love everything about it! It's so cool that it doesn't even need flour. I love peaches but have been eating them mostly raw this summer. But I think I still have some peaches frozen. Turns out peaches alone doesn't make a creamy ice cream like bananas :D
Hm, good to know, Bianca -- I have some frozen peaches I was about to make nice cream with -- now I know to mix them with something! <3
And like you, peaches usually don't make it into desserts around here -- I love them raw best. This treat was an exception... a delicious exception :P
I love that date and almond crust, so much more cooler than the old fashioned flour ones.
Your pictures are beautiful as always again :)
★★★★★
Thanks Evi! <3 I think I like all manner of crusts -- even the old fashioned ones. But this one was so simple to throw together and I loved the contrast of almonds with peaches -- so delicious!
Oh I LOVE almonds Audrey! I eat them soo often and have a borderline addiction, which explains my excessive use of them in recipes, lol! This is such a beautiful rustic pie! I love the crust and the beautiful filling. Would you believe I'm a weirdo and don't like peaches?? I'm not a big fruit person though, however, I absolutely love apples and bet this would be just as yummy with apples.. Such a beautiful recipe!!
Ha, I know you're not big on fruit. Yes, apple pie making is just around the corner -- I'm not done enjoying the peaches and plums that are in season atm :) But this crust would be amazing filled with apples :P and it's my husband's favorite dessert, so you bet there'll be apple pie coming ;)
Hi Audrey - I am so glad I stumbled upon your blog today because I follow a similar diet and I can't wait to explore your recipes!! It is so great to virtually meet you :). This looks DELICIOUS. I'm a sucker for a date crust ;)
Aw, thanks for stopping by and saying hi, Dani -- I hope you like the recipes! Can't wait to see your blog now :)
Your pictures never cease to amaze me. Simply beautiful! The pie sounds absolutely delicious!
Thank you for the sweet comment, Chrysta! <3
This sturdy, crumbly crust looks so wonderful I can almost smell the toasted almonds in the air! I'll keep an eye open for beautiful peaches like those at the market tomorrow. :)
You're right, Nori -- you know this pie is getting close to ready when you can smell delicious toasted almonds :)
Glad I inspired you to grab some peaches :) They're so good now that they're in season.
Yummy! This sounds so delicious, Audrey!! :-) And as always, the pictures you took look amazing!
Thanks Sina! <3
Oh Audrey this is so lovely I can hardly house the rays it's sunning me with! What beautiful photography to deliver such a delicious recipe - I was truly hoping you were going to publish a peach delight (peaches are my favorite fruit). I really admire the combination of almond and peach and I can only imagine that they get along famously (I will be doing some investigating courtesy your amazing pie). This is wonderful sweet lady: the perfect nod to seasonal transitions. :)
You're right, Danielle -- it is a great nod to seasonal transitions :)
Thank you so much for your sweet comment! <3
Your photos are absolutely stunning!!! I want to grab a spoon and dig in :)
They just capture what this pie is truly like -- you can't help but dig in :D . Thank you, Ceara!
Audrey!!! This pie is beautiful!!! I've never had peach pie before, but I LOVE peaches and I LOVE pie <3 I bet this would be heavenly served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I have to agree with Trinity's comment above...your photos are always so dreamy. Looks and sounds like a wonderful recipe!
Thanks so much, Mandy! <3 This pie is definitely amazing with vanilla ice cream {or nana ice cream if in a pinch ;) }.
I didn't even know which picture to pin! All so beautiful! Capturing the peach decadence at it's sweet best!
Thanks Rebecca -- pin them all then ;) haha. Thanks so much for sharing! <3
Crumbly tops are the best, lattice tops are really overrated in my opinion! Crumbly tops are kinda like streusel on a muffin, a.k.a perfection <3 I haven't had peach pie in ages either...okay well ever actually! The inside is like a surprise burst of color, so pretty! But I have to ask, when you say the oat crust was "repurposed" does that mean you fed it to the doggies? Just kidding! It does sound a little fishy though ;)
I don't know -- that blueberry pie oaty lattice of yours looks pretty good to me :D
And yes, the inside was an insane surprise burst of color -- I thought for some reason that the fruit would get more mellow in tone, but it somehow got brighter!
And no, I didn't share that one with the pups haha -- I remade it into these funny almondy bars -- I'll show you on IG later. It really wasn't bad or anything -- just realized it's not where I wanted to go with this pie...
I love the quality of your photos... they are a beautiful and unique expression of the awesome 'unconventional baker' that you are. They feel almost dreamy - such a wonderful way to share your creations.
This pie sounds absolutely delicious! I've not gotten into peaches too much, so this is a great reminder to use them more.
x
★★★★★
Thank you, Trinity!
Our region is particularly popular for its peaches, so when it's peach season it's hard not to come by great peaches everywhere -- hard not to pick up a punnet when you walk by... I love peaches raw too much, so they normally don't make it all the way into desserts -- this pie was a rare exception ;)