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This AIP breakfast recipe is really easy to make, can be made ahead of time, portable, and very filling. You can also customize it with a bunch of different flavors and toppings so that you don't get bored! I also give instructions on how to make this coconut-free below.
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AIP Breakfast Options Are Limited
One of the hardest things about doing the Autoimmune Paleo (AIP) diet is breakfast. No eggs, grain-based or nut-based porridges, heck even chia seed pudding is out.
This doesn't leave a ton of options that aren't time-consuming and involved, and typically the ones that aren't are either soups or leftovers from dinner.
See also: The ULTIMATE Guide to the AIP Diet – everything you need to know to be successful
Don't get me wrong, I eat a TON of soups and leftovers while on AIP, but sometimes you just want something that resembles what you know – a comforting and almost fun option.
Bonus for it being simple to make, easy to make ahead of time, and portable!
After playing around with making coconut milk-based yogurt I came up with this idea for coconut parfaits, and I humbly say that it's one of my best yet 🙂 If you want more breakfast ideas, check out 10 AIP Breakfast recipes or make this delicious Spiced Carrot AIP Breakfast Porridge!
Video Cooking Demonstration
If you're a visual person (like I am) watch the full length video on how to make an AIP Pumpkin Pie Coconut Parfait on YouTube and then come back to get the recipe below!
Ingredients I used:
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In the video, I mention a few important things.
- The coconut milk I use is Native Forest Simple Coconut Milk as it doesn't have guar gum (which is not AIP-compliant). There are a few other brands that have guar gum-free coconut milk but this one is easily attained. (See how to make coconut milk). You can also use tigernut milk or banana milk as well.
- I also use canned pumpkin to make this super simple. You can use a pumpkin that you roasted and then pureed as well. If you use canned pumpkin make sure the ingredients are only something like “pumpkin puree” and don't include any non-compliant ingredients.
- I use Perfect Supplements grass-fed beef gelatin as my gelatin of choice. If you choose to use the Great Lakes Brand, you'll use the RED container for this one (the one that has to be heated)
MAKE THIS VEGAN: use powdered Agar instead of gelatin
Tips For Success
I mention in both the video and the recipe that it's up to you on how much gelatin you want to use.
If you use only a teaspoon per can of coconut milk you'll get a runnier mixture that is closer to what you expect of yogurt. However, if you use a tablespoon of gelatin you'll get a very solid mixture.
There is no “right or wrong” when it comes to which one you make – it's totally up to you.
I sometimes want it to be closer to the yogurt-type if I want a yogurt-y meal.
But sometimes I really just want that “chew” of eating something more solid, in which case I use a tablespoon of gelatin.
Once you heat the mixture it's best to pour it into either a quart-sized glass Ball jar or into a medium-sized Pyrex container to set.
You'll also want to make sure you let this sit in the fridge for at least 4 hours after heating it up to get to the right consistency.
Portable AIP Breakfast
If you need a portable breakfast and are taking it to go, I recommend either dishing out the set mixture into half-pint sized glass Ball jars or small Pyrex containers.
If eating it at home you can just use a bowl or whatever you have on hand.
Parfait Toppings
In the video, I topped my parfait with sauteed diced apples, raisins, and a drizzle of honey.
I simply diced half of an apple, heated a frying pan over medium heat, added about a teaspoon of coconut oil, let it melt, and then added the apples.
Then I added 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch of sea salt and tossed to combine.
I let the mixture cook for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
(This topped 2 parfaits – so if you want to top 4, use the entire apple).
Then I put the apples, raisins, and honey on the parfaits.
I also made a version (seen below) that used diced pears, raisins, a dash of cinnamon, and a drizzle of honey.
On this version I did not sautee the pears – they were just diced and placed directly onto the parfait.
I recommend that if you're going to do this and serve it any time other than immediately that you toss the pears with a mixture of some lemon juice and water to prevent browning.
You could also use my “Chocolate” Tigernut AIP Granola as a delicious topping.
Other Paleo and AIP breakfast recipes you might like:
Spiced Carrot AIP Breakfast Porridge
AIP Breakfast Pumpkin Pie Coconut Parfait Recipe
I hope you enjoy these parfaits! If you make them I'd love to hear how it turned out! Either comment below or share a pic on Instagram and tag me @thrivingautoimmune!
AIP Breakfast – Pumpkin Pie Coconut Parfait
Ingredients
- 13.5 oz can of Coconut Milk (you can use 2 cups homemade coconut milk– or Tigernut Milk or Banana Milk as coconut-free alternatives)
- 1 cup Pumpkin Puree
- 1 tsp Maple Syrup or Honey
- 1 tsp Gelatin (or up to 1 tbs, depending on how thick you want it. Use powdered agar for a Vegan version)
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground Ginger
- 1/2 tsp Mace
Instructions
- Whisk all of the ingredients together in a saucepan.
- Heat until hot to the touch.
- Pour into a glass container and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Serve with desired toppings.
Thank you, the most delicious breakfast option around! I’d also like to know if they freeze okay?
Yes! I’ve frozen them many times and they’ve come out well later. Just do NOT reheat – thaw in the fridge. If you reheat they’ll melt.
Are you using coconut milk like in the stores next to plant based milk or do you mean thai full fat coconut milk?
I’m not even a huge pumpkin fan but this was delicious! So glad to find your recipes!!!
These are great – thank you! Been making these once a week for a month now. Last night I substituted pumpkin for butternut squash, and cinnamon & ginger for a peel and juice of a whole lemon and it was truly divine.
Will these freeze well?
Morning Michele
I’m your new AIP follower and want to thank you for your great chanel.
Your granola recipe is excellent!
However I’m struggling with making pancakes.. The dough is solid rock if I follower your recipe.
How should I modify it to achieve that runny consistency as per your video?
Many thanks
It’s hard to tell without knowing exactly what you did – but some people do tend to forget to put that extra 1/8 cup of milk in. Like there is 1 AND 1/8 cups of milk. But if it’s still soaking up the milk you can always try to add more. It’s still not too runny of a batter though – you should be able to spoon them into small silver-dollar size pancakes.
Every single recipe I have tried of yours has been ahhhh-mazing and this is no different! So glad to have some AIP breakfast options, thanks to you!!! The warm apples and raisins on top are like dessert!!
How important is mace to this recipe? I do not have mace and, truthfully, I have never used it in cooking/baking before? Thanks for posting so many AIP recipes – very helpful!
You can definitely omit it if you don’t have it. It’s just to replace the nutmeg taste. I have to buy it online because I’ve never seen it in stores. If you DO think you would miss the taste over however long you’ll be doing AIP and plan on making quite a bit of pumpkin-spicey things or whatever it could be worth it, otherwise it’s totally fine to omit.
I found organic ground mace at my Walmart!
Love this. I eat it for breakfast and lunch.
So wonderful to have a new go-to for my mornings as it is so hard for me to do much in the morning!! Thank you so much! These are delicious – I’ll have you know I substituted crushed pineapple recently instead of the pumpkin and it was soooo good!! I still also did ginger – I’m calling them my Pineapple Parfaits 🙂 Thanks again!!
That sounds absolutely delicious! What a great idea – thanks for sharing!
ooh. we could do this with just about any pureed fruit, couldn’t we? i’ve got frozen mango in the freezer…!
You sure could! In fact, I just posted this recipe a few weeks ago with frozen mango – great minds, eh? 😉 https://thrivingautoimmune.com/mango-kiwi-breakfast-parfaits-paleo-aip/