When the weather turns cool, baking pies fills our homes with warmth and tempting aromas. Sweet or savory, Thanksgiving pies bring together diverse and delicious ingredients to make one satisfying dish.
The only problem is that traditional pie recipes tend to be high in fat, sugar and calories. But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy pie while you’re losing weight!
We’ve compiled this list of our favorite healthy Thanksgiving pies, so you can join the fun during the holiday season and beyond.
You can make the classic dessert for a holiday feast with all the tastes you love but far fewer calories than usual. This Healthy Apple Pie recipe features naturally sweet apples, along with fragrant cinnamon and a spark of tart lemon, so it hits all the right notes. The crust is made with whole wheat flour, which has plenty of fiber to fill you up. The dough includes light butter to give it a flaky texture. Your family and guests will rave about it and only you will know each slice has just five grams of fat and 147 calories.
With these little pies, everyone can have their own dessert, making them easy to serve at potluck parties, buffets and other casual get-togethers. The crust is simple to prepare using rolled oats, super-sweet dates and almond milk. The filling blends creamy Neufchatel cheese and pumpkin puree and is flavored with vanilla, maple syrup and pumpkin pie spices. This Mini Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pie recipe is ready after baking for just 20 minutes, so it’s a great choice when you don’t have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen and want to show up with an impressive dish.
Pie can be the main course of your meal, not just dessert, when you make it with savory ingredients like this one. This variation on classic shepherd’s pie includes super-nutritious and filling sweet potatoes, along with ground turkey, hearty mushrooms, green peas and onions. You make it in the Instant Pot, a handy appliance that prepares food quickly. The whole Instant Pot Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie recipe has six servings or enough to serve a whole family from one dish.
The finishing touch on your Thanksgiving feast can be this sophisticated Air Fryer Cranberry Pecan Pie recipe that is easy to make and low in calories. The light, flavorful crust starts with oat and almond flours, cinnamon and brown sugar. It turns golden brown and firm in the air fryer. The pie’s filling showcases two beloved holiday tastes, cranberries and pecans, as well as orange zest and vanilla. The mixture is poured into the crust and then it all cooks to perfection in the air fryer. Serve it with a topping of light whipped cream and watch as smiles erupt around the table.
You can enjoy a decadent dessert without derailing your weight loss plan. This Raspberry Chocolate Mousse Pie recipe, for instance, includes real chocolate chips, cocoa powder and fresh raspberries. It gets its creamy texture from silken tofu, which absorbs the tastes of other ingredients, plus low-calorie almond milk. That means the pie is dairy-free yet full of flavor, with natural sweeteners helping to keep the calories low for you. This pie is almost guaranteed to find a place on the list of your family’s favorites.
If you agree that the best part of the traditional holiday dessert is the rich and creamy filling, you’ll love this Crustless Pumpkin Pie recipe. Its smooth texture comes from pumpkin puree blended with eggs, whipped cream and milk. The flavor-boosting combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and ground cloves, plus natural sweetener, give it the authentic taste you and your guests expect. Because there’s no crust (and no gluten), the pie is made in just a few simple steps.
What’s the straightest line from craving homemade pie to eating one? Answer: this Instant Pot Mixed Berry Crumble recipe. You make it in an Instant Pot, so there’s no baking involved. The filling is made with a bag of frozen strawberries, raspberries and blueberries, so there’s no prep work for you to do. The crumbly, sweet, cinnamon-flavored “crust” goes on top of the filling. The Instant Pot crisps up the top and turns the filling warm and gooey. For an extra boost of creaminess, finish each serving with a dollop of vanilla Greek yogurt.
Pie can be a hearty lunch or dinner when it’s filled with a savory blend of vegetables and cheese. Our version of this Mediterranean classic starts with spinach, a nutritional powerhouse, that’s mixed with feta, asiago and cream cheeses. Pine nuts add a little crunch, along with healthy fats that keep you feeling full when you’re done eating. There’s no crust, so you just mix up the ingredients and bake until firm. The Crustless Spinach Feta Pie recipe makes eight servings, and you can save the leftovers in the fridge for a few days for quick and easy Flex lunches.
Store-bought dough makes baking these tempting pies a snap. Pecans, maple syrup, cinnamon and vanilla give them that seasonal flavor, and a layer of chocolate chips adds sweetness and pleasure. A package of dough makes four Maple Chocolate Pecan Pies that you can cut into five servings each—just right for a festive holiday party. Because each serving is so low in calories, you can enjoy the dessert, too, and stay on track to your weight loss goal.
Chicken Pot Pie is comfort food that warms you from the inside out. This version is brimming with juicy chicken breast, carrots, onions, celery and tender green peas, all in a rich sauce. The biscuit topping, made with whole wheat pastry flour, turns golden brown as the filling heats up and the fragrance of garlic, thyme and other seasonings waft through your home. It is sure to bring the whole family to the table with a hearty appetite.
The skin on sweet potatoes serves as the crust for this healthy take on a popular holiday treat. To make this Sweet Potato Pecan “Pie”, you simply cut open a sweet potato, scoop out the flesh and blend it with cinnamon, maple syrup and brown sugar, then spoon it back into the skin. A few pecans on top add crunch. After 15 minutes of baking, the “pie” comes out tender and flavorful. Even better, it has plenty of protein, fiber and other key nutrients to power your day.
Favorite fall foods, apples and cranberries, are featured in this easy-to-make dessert. Green Granny Smith apples give it a sweet and tangy flavor and a hint of crunch. Cranberries provide a tart contrast and brilliant color. They’re mixed with maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla extract and other ingredients, and they all blend as they cook. The crumb topping is made with rolled oats and whole wheat flour, and it turns brown and a little crunchy as it cooks. Because it’s made in the slow cooker, you can stay busy with other priorities while this Slow Cooker Apple Cranberry Crumble is getting ready for you to eat.
Chocolate cream pie sounds like the kind of dessert you must turn down when you’re on a weight loss plan. At Nutrisystem, we want you to enjoy your holiday feasts and avoid excess calories, so we reimagined this pie to make it healthier yet still creamy and delicious. Chocolate chips and cocoa powder are mixed with silken tofu and cashew butter to make the filling sweet but low in fat. No need to worry about your baking skills with this 4-Step Skinny Chocolate Cream Pie. All you do is chill it in your refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours.
Fresh cranberries play a starring role in this blockbuster dessert. High-fiber whole wheat flour, protein-rich Greek yogurt, and sweet applesauce are the best supporting actors, making this Crustless Cranberry Pie filling and satisfying, yet light and low in calories. While there’s no crust, each bite brings you the flavors of the fruit and the dough. Serve it warm and your Thanksgiving dinner will be complete.
Whether you’re looking for a simple weeknight dinner or a tasty dish to share at Thanksgiving celebrations, this Easy Turkey Pot Pie recipe will satisfy all your comfort food cravings. It’s easy to make and packed with healthy ingredients and delicious flavor.