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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Karyn Flynn
I made this recipe so I had some form of Christmas pudding and not feel left our whilst the others ate my mother's traditonal home made delicious Christmas Pudding. And I am so glad i did as it was a great replacement, didn't feel deprived at all. And am certainly not waiting until Christmas to make it again. Thank you SO much for this recipe.
Katrin
THat's so good to hear!!
Geraldine
Am looking forward to trying the Christmas pudding. Is the nutritional value for the whole pudding or per portion!
Katrin
Hi Geraldine, nutrition is always calculated per portion.
CatalÃn
Bravo, bravo and bravo!
As a Catalan I don't know how a Christmas pudding should taste, but I doubled the batch, used prunes, and cooked it in the oven for 50-60 min. I brought it to a lunch and my Yorkshire friends went amazed it was sugar and gluten free! They loved it so much that I'm planning to do it again when I go back their home and I'll keep your recipe as a staple.
I added 2 tsp of molasses for flavor (I know there's sugar in there but it was a small amount), turn out great.
I guess if I cooke it in the microwave the texture it's more like pudding, coked in the oven, though, it's like Christmas cake (without the marzipan and the glaze): Incredibly delicious!
Thank you so much!
Katrin
Wonderful! Thank you so much for all the details of your tweaks.
Allison
Merry Christmas Katrin! This is our first keto Christmas for my wife and I and we have pretty much stuck to it. I did cave in and have some roasted parsnips with Christmas dinner yesterday though! We made your pudding last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. We used to love Christmas pudding but we both said this is better as it doesn't give you that stodgy feeling afterwards. Perfect - thank you!
Katrin
That makes me so happy! I'm glad you enjoyed the pudding. 🙂
Kathy
I’ve never tasted Christmas pudding, but this is really delicious! I used cranberries in mine instead of cherries, because that’s what I had on hand. It’s moist and full of flavor and perfect for breakfast or dessert! Thanks for the recipe!
Katrin
Wonderful! I like the idea of using cranberries in the recipe. And I love cake for breakfast too 🙂
gjeanieg
Hi, Katrin! I would love to try this recipe. What size pyrex bowl did you use? Thank you!
Katrin
Hi! It had a diameter of 14 cm.
Trish Myers
Can you tell me how many people this serves please.
Katrin
Hi Trish, I think it makes 4 portions
Lawrence Scafuti
One question--any thoughts on how to make a low carb keto hard sauce for it?
Katrin
I'd make a brandy butter sauce for it - that's how we eat it over here in the UK. A bit of heavy cream, a bit of melted butter, powdered erythritol and a glug of Brandy
El
How far in advance could I make this?
Katrin
Hi Elspeth, I wouldn't recommend making this cake far in advance as you would do with traditional christmas cakes. You may find that it tastes better on day 2 or 3 though 🙂
Kathie
This is amazing big hit xmas day. Everyonw loved it. I baked mine in oven 25 - 30 minutes served with custard made with honey. Delicious!!!
Katrin
Kathie! Thanks so much for your comment. Good to know we now have proof the recipe works when using an oven! I'm really happy you all enjoyed it. Enjoy the rest of your holiday 🙂
Danyelle
Did you know they used to use softened onion instead of Apple during the wars?
Katrin
No idea! Don't they say that without sight or smell you cannot tell the difference between onion and apple?!!