I’m a huge “from scratch” person, and if I see a recipe that calls for something bought pre-fab, I usually figure out if I can do it cheaper and more nutritiously at home. Graham cracker crusts for pies was one of those easy-t0-do at home (for a lot less $) things that I always made from scratch, using my Betty Crocker cookbook recipe. I recently came across a whole grain, healthy substitute for graham cracker pie crusts, and I was thrilled with how rich and delicious this walnut oat pie crust tasted. The fact that it is also a gluten-free pie crust is a huge bonus.
Between the whole grain oats, omega-3 packed walnuts, and real butter, there’s got to be a complete protein in this thing as well. Nice! Plus you get to avoid the trans fat that is almost always in graham crackers (recently replaced by the likely equally evil interesterified fat).
Healthy Walnuts in a Gluten-Free Pie Crust
Walnuts are a Super Food, for good reason: just an ounce (about a handful) if walnuts have as much omega-3 fat as 3.5 ounces of salmon. (Source: WebMD) That’s a power-packed handful of nuts! They are also a great source of antioxidants (cancer-fighters). See World’s Healthiest Foods for much more information. You can get walnuts for a great price at Costco. It’s on my real food list almost every time I go.
- 1⅓ cups old-fashioned or quick oats (not instant)
- 1 cup diced walnuts
- 6 Tbs melted unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spread oats in a shallow layer in an ungreased round cake pan.
- Spread nuts in a shallow layer in another ungreased cake pan.
- Bake the nuts until they smell toasty and are beginning to brown, about 8 minutes.
- Bake the oats until they’re starting to brown, 15-18 minutes.
- Watch both carefully; they go from brown to burned quickly.
- Remove them from the oven and transfer to a food processor.
- Add the butter, sugar and salt.
- Process until the oats and nuts are finely ground and the mixture is cohesive.
- Remove the mixture from the food processor and press it into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch regular (not deep-dish) pie pan that’s at least 1 ¼ inches deep.
- Bake the crust until it’s just barely beginning to brown, 14 minutes. Remove it from the oven and set it on a rack to cool.
Now you can fill the crust with any pie that calls for a storebought graham cracker crust. I use this gluten-free pie crust for my Healthy Pumpkin Pie recipe, but you could use it for any cheesecake, pudding style pie, etc.
Walnut Storage
Do keep walnuts in your freezer. Because of all those great fats, they tend to go rancid faster than other nuts. You can stock up when they’re on sale (Christmastime is a good time to watch for super sales!), and can even chop a whole pound in your blender/food processor and store them in the freezer, ready to be put into quick breads, cookies and muffins.
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What a yummy sounding pie crust substitute!
Sherry’s last blog post..Wilted Lettuce/Spinach Salad
Great pie crust recipe, thanks for sharing! I am also big on from scratch and avoiding most processed foods.
meatlessmama’s last blog post..Vegetarian Spaghetti Pie
Thats a great idea, I usually don’t like the graham cracker crusts that much anyway. I will have to try this.
Jenna @ Newlyweds’s last blog post..Outback Steakhouse Bushman Bread
Yay for the King Arthur cookbook! I just returned it to the library after my renewals expired, and now I should really just buy it. 🙂 So many great whole-grain recipes, and they’ve all been super for me.
Thank you for recommending it to me! It’s def. going on my birthday wish list. I didn’t love the whole grain cupcakes we tried for Lovey Girl’s birthday…they were a little dry, and hubby says they tasted “healthy”. They were good, but I want something more moist.
Thats a great idea, so much healthier than the cookie crust
Brenda’s last blog post..Brined BBQ Chicken for TMTT
Thanks for the recipe and thanks for linking up to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.
[email protected] last blog post..Tempt My Tummy Tuesday….Sloppy Joe..BBQ.. I don’t care what you call it.. Just call me to dinner ’cause this is good!
I’m so glad I found your blog! I love this recipe. I’ve been wanting some way of making a sub for the graham crust, but drew a blank. Thanks!
Mother Hen’s last blog post..Pancakes Without Sugar
The only other way I did it before was with Oreos, but I don’t suppose they are a healthy sub, right? 🙂
This is a fabulous recipe. Thanks for sharing it with us. Have a great holiday weekend.
Mary’s last blog post..Salmon with Cilantro and Lime – Foodie Friday and Pink Saturday
Wonderful, now I can make some of those no-bake pies I gave up because I stopped eating graham crackers a number of years ago because of the trans fat! I thank you, my waistline? Not so much.
Rhonda @ Shellbelle’s Tiki Hut’s last blog post..Foodie Friday — Chicken Mango Wrap
Some say fat doesn’t make you fat…although I suppose it depends what you’re filling these relatively healthy crusts with! 🙂 Welcome!
Thanks for sharing this great alternative. I’m going to definitely try this.
[email protected] last blog post..Foodie Friday: Oriental Salad
I’m so glad to find your blog. I will have to spend some time going through your previous posts because I am so impressed with this crust recipe. Thanks for sharing it. I hope you will join me beginning in August for Crock Pot Wednesdays @ Diningwithdebbie.blogspot.com.
Darnold23’s last blog post..RED SKELTON AND THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Thanks for joining me, Debbie! I’ll make a note of Crock Pot Wednesdays and link up whenever I post a crock pot recipe. Are you accepting “old” posts, too, or just recent ones?
I can’t wait to try this!!! Do you think it would work to substitute real maple syrup for the brown sugar? I am trying to limit refined sweeteners and have read that maple syrup is a “healthier” choice, if there is such a thing!
I think maple syrup is def. healtier than brown sugar. I wonder how it would impact the crust. ?? Maybe lower the butter, just a smidge, to make up for the added liquid. I may have overdone the butter because I didn’t measure perfectly, and my crust was a little slippery – it fell down into the pan as it baked – so I don’t think you want it to liquid-y. Good luck! Come back and comment if you try it and it works, if you wouldn’t mind! I love avoiding white sugar as well.
Thanks for your advice! I have been saving my money for a bottle of real maple syrup (it’s liquid gold) and this will be the first recipe I try with it!!! It may be a week or so until I have enough saved up, but I will come post my results as soon as I can!
I wish I had found this recipe yesterday! My husband asked for a cheesecake for his birthday. The recipe I have is naturally gluten free except for the crust. I just made it without, because I didn’t have time to try and figure out a substitute. Next time I’ll try your idea. We buy certified gluten free oats, so it should be safe. Thanks so much for sharing.
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I’m still waiting for that frozen peanut butter pie recipe. 🙂
Hi Katie!
I was looking for an alternative and this worked ~ Thanks!
I used sucanat instead of regular brown sugar and sunflower seeds instead of walnuts because that’s what I had lying around. It tasted great!
K,
That’s great to know about the substitutions working! 🙂 Katie
I have a child with nut allergies, so thanks for the information on substitutes! I’ll have to try it with the sunflower seeds!
Such a great idea for making a gluten free crust (provided you have gf oats). I’ve been wondering what decent subsitution we could use for graham cracker crusts (and couldn’t come up with any, so just didn’t make anything that called for a graham crust). Yay for a yummy gf subsitution. Thanks so much for taking the time to develop this!
Torey,
I wish I had “developed” it, but really it’s right from the King Arthur cookbook (cited). They know their stuff and rarely need tweaks! Glad it’s helpful for you, though. 🙂 Katie
Hi Katie,
I love this recipe but wanted to check before I proceed – I bake just the crust by itself even if I’m going to use a filling that needs baking? I want to make a pumpkin pie but wasn’t sure if I should fill the crust before baking – I would like the crust to be on the softer side when it’s done.
Rebecca,
Yes, bake it first anyway, I would think. It shouldn’t really get “crispy” or anything…
🙂 Katie
Sounds yummy – but OUCH big mistake in the title. These are NOT GLUTEN FREE unless you specify using GF oats, which can still be a problem for those extra sensitive to gluten.
Val,
This is such an old recipe, so I really didn’t know much about gluten-free…but I would hope that folks who need to be gluten-free would know to simply use the right oats. In our now-low-gluten household, my gluten-sensitive DH has no problem with regular oats (thank goodness).
🙂 Katie
Do you think subbing the walnuts for almonds would work?
Leanne,
I don’t see why not, but I haven’t tried it. 🙂 Katie
I vote cheesecake 😉
Hhmmm….french silk pie – 3/4 cup butter, 3/4 cup sugar, 3/4 cup choco chips, 3/4 cup raw eggs. In a stand mixer: Cream the first two, melt, cool and add the chips. Once combined, whisk eggs and slowly add to mixture. Beat until set and put in crust. Refrigerate. (SOOOO evil that my father in law requests it instead of a birthday present)