If you have a bumper crop of summer squash or would like a taste of autumnal flavors when the weather is still warm, you may have thought of making a pumpkin pie-style dessert pie from summer squash. A dessert pie crafted from summer squash can be a new take on a traditional favorite.
No Substitutions
Since pumpkin is a hard winter squash and summer squash is a softer gourd harvested in the warmer months, these ingredients cannot be easily substituted for each other in recipes. Summer squash has a higher water content and winter squash is a sturdier variety that requires longer baking times. While summer squash will stay fresh for only several weeks after picking, winter squashes can easily remain fresh for months after harvest, according to Oklahoma 4H.
Easier Preparation
Preparing summer squash for pie is easier than prepping pumpkin. Pumpkin needs to have the stem and seeds removed. It also needs to be cut up, baked, scraped and pureed before it is ready to go into your pie. Summer squash can simply be cubed, boiled and pureed or even grated right into your pie recipe if you are short on time.
Squash Surprise
Most people don't have the time to bake their own pumpkins and puree the flesh for pumpkin pies, so they buy canned pumpkin from the grocery store. According to Texas A&M, much of the canned pumpkin in the grocery store may not be pumpkin at all, but rather the Delicious or Boston Marrow varieties of squash, which are similar to pumpkin but grow larger and boast flesh that has a heartier, more robust flavor than pumpkins. Much of the pumpkin pie you have eaten over the years may have been squash pie.
Healthy Diet
Even though a summer squash pie is packed with vegetables, it is still a high-calorie sweet treat with a significant amount of fat and sugar. Reserve indulgent desserts for special occasions. Get the bulk of your daily calories from vegetables, fruits, proteins and whole-grain products. The Mayo Clinic recommends getting no more than 35 percent of your daily calories from fat.
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