A low carb and sugar free take on the traditional English Christmas pudding. My easy gluten-free, diabetic Christmas pudding is ready in just over 10 minutes!
This keto Christmas pudding recipe has been on my website since 2017 and I make it every year without fail.
One serving is 8 net carbs per person and the recipe comes together in just over 10 minutes.
10 minutes? Yes! I made it in the microwave. We're talking instant Christmas gratification.
Alongside my keto mince pies, this low carb Christmas pudding recipe is a holiday fave of many readers. Here are a couple of reviews:
"This is the best Christmas pudding I have ever eaten! I baked mine in ramekins in the oven for 35 minutes and they turned out perfectly." (Kristy)
"Tried this recipe today, added some dried cranberries as well as the other fruit and baked in the oven at 150c but it did take around 50 minutes, but was well worth the wait, it was absolutely delicious & so very moist." (Vanessa)
Ingredients
The single main ingredient of a Christmas or plum pudding is, as we all know, mincemeat. Dried fruit and candied peel are 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 moist Christmas pudding uses some clever substitutions. Are you ready?
Here are the ingredients I used:
- Almond flour. First of all, I replaced the flour with blanched ground almonds. 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 a sugar free Christmas Pudding. 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.
Katrin's Tips
Option to soak the walnuts in Brandy overnight - this softens the nuts.
In recent years, I have also added sugar free dried cranberries to the recipe. These are also wonderful soaked, because it makes them lovely and plump.
Recipe FAQs
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. Bake the pudding at 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 then.
Serve With
I ate my low carb Christmas pudding with extra-thick double cream.
On Christmas day I swirl a teaspoon of 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:
★ Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!★
STAY IN TOUCH on FACEBOOK, PINTEREST and INSTAGRAM for more great food and join my NEWSLETTER for the latest updates and a FREE EBOOK.
Recipe
Keto Christmas Pudding
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.
Karina
Yum! I loved this. Thanks for the recipe. It occurred to me to cut the zest off the orange with a knife and put it in the processor with the carrots so it would get chopped up. It worked well. I also made a tad of hard sauce using 1 tablespoon vodka, Swerve, and the the other normal ingredients (basically butter 🙂 ). The whole combo tasted a lot like grandma's Christmas pudding and made me very happy.
Carol Barrett
Hi I wonder if you could steam it like a traditional pudding?
Katrin Nürnberger
I have never tried it, but I will this year because I'd love to know too. Watch that space!
Clare
Can the almond flour be replaced with ground almonds?
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, that is exactly what I used - ground almonds.
Justin
I'm looking forward to making this. I'm planning to use ramekin(s) in the oven at 170 Celcius for 12-15 mins. (I've had difficulty finding pudding basins.) Are the nutrition measurements for the whole pudding or per serve? Thanks
Katrin Nürnberger
They are per serving 🙂
Sharon
I've just had a trial run making this for my Father who's Diabetic.
It's absolutely delicious! He will certainly be a happy bunny on Christmas day.
Thank you for sharing!
Lyn Isaac
Have you had any success with freezing this?
Katrin Nürnberger
I have never tried it but I freeze the majority of my cakes and this is no different to any of the others. So, it should freeze well.
Sandta
Can you make this with suet? Or do you have any recipes with suet?
Katrin Nürnberger
I have not tried this yet myself, but you should be able to replace the butter with either suet or good quality lard.
Rachel Hatton
Can we do this in a pudding basin in the oven? If so, what temperature and for how long?
Thanks
Katrin Nürnberger
I would use a lower temperature - 150 Celsius, and about 25-30 minutes.
Chari
Even though I am in the states, I love, love, love a traditional boiled Christmas pudding, any chance I can swing that with this or is it just not to be?
Katrin Nürnberger
I haven't tried it, but maybe it would work. Sorry I can't help! 🙂
Andy
I am in the process of making a pudding and have dried fruit marinating in brandy, whisky rum Nd 50/50 xylitol and erythritol with a view to getting the flour and suet on Friday. Could I use chickpea flour instead of almond flour or would i need to use 50/50? Would it still work in the microwave or oven instead of 8 hours steaming?
Katrin Nürnberger
You can replace regular flour with chickpea flour 1 to 3/4 cup, so it should be the same with almond flour to chickpea flour - you'll need about 1/4 less. I would still try microwave or oven.
Helen
This recipe looks great! I'd like to try it, but my microwave blew up during lockdown, and I've decided I prefer my tiny kitchen with the extra space...Could the pud be steamed on the hob, or baked in the oven?
Katrin Nürnberger
These type of mug cakes work in the oven. I have not yet tried this one, but I would go for 170 Celsius / 340 Fahrenheit and 12-15 minutes. Then check where you are and see if that's long enough.
Helen
Many thanks, Katrin.