A low carb and sugar free take on the traditional English Christmas pudding. This easy gluten-free, diabetic Christmas pudding is ready in just over 10 minutes!
Friends, after much trial and error I've finally done it. Here it is - an actually delicious keto Christmas pudding!
Alongside my keto mince pies, this recipe is a holiday must-make.
This low carb Christmas pudding recipe weighs in at 8 net carbs per person and comes together in just over 10 minutes.
10 minutes? Yes! I made it in the microwave. We're talking instant Christmas gratification.
The single main ingredient of a Christmas or plum pudding is, as we all know, mincemeat. Dried fruit and candied peel is a tricky ingredient for people on a sugar free and low carb diet, as it's, well, high in sugar and carbs and basically off the menu.
This easy Christmas pudding uses some clever substitutions. Are you ready?
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients I used:
Almond flour. First of all, I replaced the flour with almond flour. This was the obvious one - I've made LOADS of desserts low carb by making this simple swap.
Sweetener - Instead of sugar, I used my go-to sweetener erythritol. Monk fruit, allulose, Bocha Sweet or Swerve all work as well.
Egg
Butter and heavy cream
Blueberries and cherries. Frozen. I'm using these in place of the mincemeat or raisins. Both have plenty of natural sweetness and we're keeping close to the traditional Xmas pud colour scheme.
Carrot. To bulk up the recipe. Needs to be shredded. Carrot is lower in carbs and sugar than apple, which is often used in traditional recipes.
Cocoa powder. I threw in a spoon of cacao powder to make the pud nice and dark. Coffee would work nicely here, too. In one of my earlier attempts I had added double the amount of cacao, but found the result too chocolate-cakey.
Spices and flavor. This cake is brimming with Christmas flavours! I added orange zest, cinnamon and pumpkin spice mix (includes nutmeg, allspice, ginger).
Baking powder - Check that it is fresh.
Walnuts - Crushed. Pecans would also work well.
Brandy. A glug of brandy takes the recipe to the next level. A tiny word of wisdom here: I made this particular specimen late morning and had a slice for breakfast. This might NOT be a good idea depending what you have planned on doing after eating your pudding.
I am a lightweight when it comes to alcohol and felt wonderfully warm and fizzy for a while. I cannot rule out that I imagined this, but perhaps 6 minutes in the microwave is not enough to burn off the booze.
Instructions
It's just a few simple steps to make this recipe. You don't even need to use an electric mixer - a fork is enough:
Step 1: Grate the carrots. Add the chopped fruit, orange zest and optional brandy. Set aside.
Step 2: In a second bowl, whisk the egg, then add the melted butter and cream.
Step 3: Mix the dry ingredients - almond flour, sweetener, spices, baking powder. Then, add to the egg mixture.
Step 4: Last, stir in the carrot and fruit mix.
Step 5: Grease a separate bowl with butter and fill in the Christmas pudding batter. Microwave at 700W for 6 minutes.
FAQ
Low carb Christmas pudding does not taste exactly like a traditional Christmas pudding. But it does come pretty close.
Of course. The best option are my sugar free dried cranberries. Or go for prunes. They are lower in carbs than dates, sultanas or currants. I think if you would add 1 prune per person you could probably taste a difference without sending your blood sugar sky-high.
Yes. I would try 180C / 350F and around 30 minutes. Some readers have doubled the batch and baked a larger version which took 50-60 minutes.
I have not tried steaming it myself. But a reader used her metal pudding basin and steamed it in the pressure cooker, which worked well.
Microwave timings
I cooked the pudding at a low power level (700 watts) because I wanted to give the carrots time to soften.
If you cook it at 800 Watts, reduce to 5 minutes. I tested this with another mug cake recipe, this keto carrot cake.
Don't cook it at full power (1000 or 1200 Watts). The carrots may still be crunchy.
Serve with
I ate my low carb Christmas pudding with extra-thick double cream.
On Christmas day I swirl extra Brandy into the cream and make a sugar free hard sauce or "brandy butter".
You could also add sugar free whipped cream or serve it with sugar free ice cream.
Storage
Fridge: If you add the brandy, keto Christmas pudding will keep for 1 week. Store it in the refrigerator.
Freezer: You can also store it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Related recipes
Don't miss these keto Christmas recipes:
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Recipe
Keto Christmas Pudding
from Sugar Free LondonerNote: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary.
Ingredients
- 100 g / 1 cup almond flour
- 1 egg rom temperature
- 100 g / ½ cup shredded carrot
- 50 g / ¼ cup blueberries, frozen
- 50 g / ¼ cup cherries frozen
- 10 g small handful crushed walnuts
- 2 tablespoon butter melted
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream double cream
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cacao powder unsweetened
- 2 tablespoon powdered sweetener or more to taste
- 2 teaspoon mixed spice pumpkin spice ***see notes
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- orange zest from ½ orange grated
- optional: glug of brandy
Instructions
- Grate the carrots. Add the chopped fruit (I used frozen blueberries and cherries), orange zest and brandy, if using. Your carrots and fruit combined should fill 1 US measuring cup.
- In a second mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, then add the melted butter and cream.
- Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl, then add to the egg mixture. Last, stir in the carrot and fruit mix. Adjust sweetener, if needed.
- Grease a pyrex glass bowl with butter and fill in the Christmas pudding batter. Microwave at 700W for 6 minutes.
- Turn out upside down onto a plate and serve with thick cream.
Notes
Nutrition
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Bee
I now live in the US and no one knows what Christmas pudding is here. I tried this recipe and it's amazing. Made it twice now. It's outstanding. I use a bit of booze in mine ....so good with cream. It's so easy I cannot believe it. And takes minutes to throw together. Thank you so much for this one
Katrin
It's definitely best with booze! You are so welcome!!
Victoria
HARD SAUCE
1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup powdered Erythritol sweetener
1 tbsp dark rum or brandy
Katrin
That sounds like a no-nonsense brandy butter!
Sandra
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe. I didn't have a fresh orange to hand so I added a teaspoon of orange extract and it tasted amazing. Also I didn't use any sweetener at all and found it was fine without it.
Katrin Nürnberger
That’s so good to hear! I must try it without the sweetener- probably not until next Christmas though 🙂
Emma Hansen
Hi, I was hoping to make this for Christmas but we don't own a microwave. Do you think I could use oven or stovetop here and any ideas on times and how to? Thank you so much - it looks delicious.
Emma
Katrin
Hi, I'd try using the oven (mainly because I've got no experience in cooking puddings on the stove). I'd try 175 Celsius/350 Fahrenheit and 20-25 minutes. This is a guesstimate though - If you decide to make individual muffin-sized puddings, you might need less time - 15-18 minutes. Test with a knife if it's done and maybe do a test run so you're all set for Christmas 🙂
Emma
Thanks so much Katrin. Will give it a go and let you know how I go : )
Linda l songer
Thank you for the oven temperatures and time. I don't know much about microwaves.
Katrin
You're welcome! Let me know how you like the pudding once you've made it 🙂
Sues
Yay for healthier holiday desserts!!
Christine Fitzgerald
And thank you again ( I forgot to rate )
Christine Fitzgerald
Thank you so much I do miss Christmas pud!
I’ll be in Gran Canaria for Christmas and I doubt I can find cherries there (blueberries, possibly). So I’ll have to see if I can find any still low-carb substitute, or maybe take some prunes with me and just use those.
But I wonder, if I add the brandy, would that keep the pudding good for a few days? Then I could make it before flying.
Katrin
Hi Christine, the brandy might help preserve it longer, maybe add a second swig, haha! I'd say its best to keep it cool, but it should survive a plane journey to Spain if you make it the day before. I made a version with added prunes, which tastes good - that way you get closer to the original dried fruit taste. So if you don't mind adding a few more carbs for Christmas lunch and have a microwave where you'll celebrate, you could also take the prunes. Maybe even make one for your next Sunday lunch to see how you'll make it? 🙂
Joni
Oooh my gosh so very good
Katrin
The carrots give extra sweetness. I ground them in my food processor so they were the size of say couscous or cauliflower rice.
Katrin
Good stuff! Would love to find out what you think!
Keren
Loving it! Must try this asap - I'm not waiting until Christmas 🙂
Katrin
Great! Keep me posted and let me know how you liked it