Simple Breadfruit Pie Recipe (Without Meat)
Looking for a substitute for potato pie or macaroni pie?
Why not try a simple and easy vegetarian breadfruit pie.
Breadfruit is a starchy fruit that has a similar texture and taste to potato.
Riper breadfruits have a slightly sweet but very mild taste. So, you can use the fruit to make a wonderful pie.
What is in this breadfruit pie recipe
Here’s what I used for this breadfruit pie recipe:
- breadfruit
- evaporated milk
- butter
- cheese
- Caribbean green seasoning with chadon beni, garlic, and thyme
- chives
- oregano
- salt
- pepper
Optional ingredients can include:
- onions
- mushrooms
- pimento pepper
- breadcrumbs or ground salted crackers
- meat options
Whichever flavors you enjoy in shepherd’s pie, potato pie, and macaroni pie are great additions to this breadfruit pie.
If you are interested in learning more about breadfruit and other ways to cook it, check out my long post on how to eat breadfruit – from preparation to recipes and proven benefits. One such benefit is breadfruit is a low GI (glycemic index) food, meaning it won’t spike your blood sugar after eating it.
Anyway, let’s get back to the recipe.
How to make breadfruit pie
To make breadfruit pie, you will need to prepare and boil the breadfruit. Once soft, it can be mashed much in the same way as boiled potatoes. Flavor and season the mashed breadfruit, top with cheese and bake until the cheese has melted and formed a beautiful golden brown crust.
Bleed the breadfruit
Breadfruits contain a white, latex-like, sticky substance. This can stain your hands, knife and chopping board.
To reduce the stain and stickiness, remove the breadfruit stem. Turn the fruit stem-side down and allow the liquid to drain (place a napkin or plate underneath to collect the liquid).
Leave to drain for an hour or so.
Peel and cut the breadfruit
You can peel the skin first before cutting into the fruit. The latex is mainly located in the center of the fruit so peeling first is less sticky and less messy.
But you can also simply cut into the fruit and rinse the insides immediately to prevent the latex from oxidizing and turning brown too quickly. You can see the center of the fruit now beginning to oxidize. Rinsing slows down the process but doesn’t stop it.
Next, cut into quarters, cut out the center and peel the skin. Can you see the white latex on the knife?
I often place the breadfruit in salted water while working on one piece.
With the peel and center removed, cut the breadfruit into small one- to two-inch pieces. Rinse the pieces.
Boil
Add the rinsed pieces to boiling water. Add a teaspoon of salt and leave the breadfruit pieces to soften – this can take anywhere from 15 minutes to 30 minutes.
Once completely soft, strain the breadfruit and rinse. Sometimes, the sticky latex will leach into the water and it is better to rinse it out.
Preheat the oven
At this point, you can go ahead and preheat your oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Mash and season
With the breadfruit pieces still hot, add in the milk, butter, half of the cheese, Caribbean green seasoning, oregano, salt and pepper. Mash with a potato masher or the back of a fork.
You will want to mash the breadfruit to the consistency you prefer, whether that is slightly chunky or pretty smooth.
Next, mix in the chopped chives and taste test for salt and pepper. Adjust the taste to your liking. If the mashed breadfruit is tasty and delicious, then your pie will be too.
Any optional ingredients can be added at this point.
Bake the breadfruit pie
Spoon the mashed breadfruit into a buttered baking dish. Press in and flatten the top. Apply liberal amounts of cheese and a sprinkling of oregano to the top.
I often line the base of the dish with breadcrumbs or ground salted biscuits before spooning in the mashed breadfruit. And I add a thin layer of breadcrumbs/ground biscuits on the top before adding the cheese. The crumbs/biscuit add an extra saltiness to the pie and makes the crust very tasty.
Bake the breadfruit pie for 15 to 20 minutes or until the cheese has fully melted and developed a golden brown crust. The crust is the tastiest part of the pie for sure!
Remove from the heat and serve hot.
What to serve breadfruit pie with
Breadfruit pie is the perfect substitute for potato pie or shepherd’s pie or macaroni pie. You can enjoy it on its own. Or eat it with Trini fried rice, stewed beans, salad and some delicious brown stew chicken.
Fried rice, chow mein, chunky vegetables and baked or fried chicken will also go really well with breadfruit pie.
Honestly, the options are endless considering how versatile and tasty the pie is. So, enjoy it with any savory meal.
If you are looking for another breadfruit recipe, check out this one for fried breadfruit chips.
More Recipes
Breadfruit pie recipe
Simple Breadfruit Pie Recipe (No Meat)
Ingredients
- 1 breadfruit (500 grams is typical)
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 2 cups cheese like cheddar or mozzarella
- 2 tbsp butter
- ½ cup chives (chopped)
- 2 tbsp Caribbean green seasoning with chadon beni, garlic, and thyme
- 1 tbsp oregano
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- water
Instructions
- Remove the breadfruit stem.
- Place stem side down and leave to drain for 1 hour.
- Place a large pot on medium heat.
- Half fill the pot with water and leave to boil.
- Peel the breadfruit.
- Cut in half and then quarters.
- Place the pieces in salted water.
- Remove the center of the breadfruit (the part that turns brown).
- Cut into 1-inch to 2-inch pieces.
- Rinse the breadfruit pieces.
- Add to the boiling water.
- Add 1 teaspoon of salt to the water.
- Boil the breadfruit until soft (about 15 to 30 minutes).
- Strain once soft.
- Rinse to remove any residual stickiness.
- Preheat the oven at 375℉.
- Mash the breadfruit with a potato masher.
- Mix in milk, 1 cup of cheese, butter Caribbean green seasoning, oregano, salt and pepper.
- Incorporate fully.
- Add in chopped chives.
- Mix thoroughly.
- Taste test and adjust the salt and pepper.
- Place in a buttered baking tray.
- Top with the remaining cheese and a sprinkling of oregano.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the cheese has become melted and golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and serve hot.
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This tasted great!