You're set for the holiday season with this easy sugar free pecan pie! With a gluten-free almond flour crust and a gooey pecan filling, this pie tastes just like the real thing. Only 10 minutes prep.
Whether it's for your Thanksgiving table, Christmas or simply as a seasonal treat: pecan pie is a must-make festive dessert and I crave it as soon as it the weather turns cold.
I had my first slice when I was 16 years old, spending a year as an exchange student in Walterboro, South Carolina. I've been hooked ever since!
Of course, reducing my sugar intake wasn't on the agenda back in the 80's. I wish I could have tried my low carb pecan pie back then, I think I would have preferred this one!
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🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Tastes like the real deal
- Keto friendly - only 3g net carbs per slice
- Gluten-free
- Simple recipe - just 10 minutes prep
- No need to make a homemade caramel sauce
Ingredients
- Almond flour - I used ground almonds, which is equivalent to regular almond flour in the US. If you're using super-fine almond flour, 2 cups is probably sufficient
- Butter - should be melted, then cooled
- Eggs - large and room temperature
- Sweetener - I used Lakanto Golden. It's a zero sugar and zero carb monk-fruit sugar substitute. So much better than corn syrup!
- Pecans
- Cream
- Flavourings: Sea salt, cinnamon, vanilla extract, orange zest
Top tip
For an ultra smooth pie filling, powder the sweetener in a food processor or in a coffee grinder before using. This step is optional but I recommend it, because it will prevent any grittiness.
Instructions
(This section contains step by step instructions and photos that show how to make this recipe. Find the recipe card with ingredient amounts and nutritional information at the bottom of the post.)
Step 1: In a food processor or with an electric mixer, blend the ingredients for the keto pie crust. Blend until they resemble sticky crumbles.
Step 2: Press the dough into the pie pan with your hands. Use the back of a teaspoon to smooth the base and edges. Trim the sides with a sharp knife to get a clean edge.
Place the crust in the freezer whilst you make the filling.
Step 3: For the sugar free pecan pie filling, place the eggs, melted butter, powdered golden Lakanto, vanilla, salt, cinnamon and orange zest in a mixing bowl. Mix until smooth with a hand mixer and then drizzle in the cream, whisking for one more minute until creamy and light. Add chopped pecans to the mix and stir to combine.
Step 4: Pour the mixture on top of the crust base and decorate with the remaining half cup of whole pecan halves.
Step 5: Bake until golden. Check during baking that it does not over-brown. Once it is browned enough, cover the top with aluminium foil.
Allow to cool fully to firm up before slicing.
Serving suggestions
Serve on its own, with keto whipped cream or sugar free ice cream. For a lighter topping, choose a dollop of Greek yoghurt.
Variations
Coconut flour crust: If you cannot tolerate almonds, make this coconut flour pie crust I created for my strawberry mascarpone tart.
Pecan flour crust: For a more intense pecan experience, replace half or even all of the almond flour with pecan flour.
Make it dairy-free: Use coconut cream instead of the cream and coconut oil instead of the butter.
Browning the butter: This step adds a more intense butter taste. Simply brown the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat, together with the sweetener. Take care that the butter does not burn. Let it cool before you add the cream and eggs. You don't want the eggs to cook!
Roasting the pecans: For an even deeper flavour roast the chopped pecans before adding them to the filling. Either dry-fry on the stove until golden, or roast in the oven at 200C / 400F for about 5 minutes.
Spices: Cinnamon and orange zest in the filling is optional but really makes this pecan pie unique. The orange zest is a must for me. You can also add maple extract.
FAQ
Yes, absolutely! You can make the sugar free pecan pie crust ahead and store it in the fridge for a day or two - either in a dough ball or rolled out and pressed into the pie dish. I actually recommend that you bake the pie the day before you serve it. Somehow, it just gets better once the flavours have had time to mingle.
Of course. Ideally, use a brown sugar substitute. A golden erythritol works, or Swerve Brown. The last time I made this pie, I used a mix of half Lakanto and half allulose. This made the pie even more gooey as allulose does not recrystallise. Bocha Sweet is another option as it also stays soft.
The ingredients in the filling are the same as in a keto caramel sauce. I've only omitted the step of reducing the mixture to a caramel.
Storage
Keto pecan pie is best stored in the fridge for up to 5 days. Alternatively, freeze for up to 3 months.Â
More keto Thanksgiving recipes
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Recipe
Sugar-Free Pecan Pie
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. ***As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Equipment
- 9 inch loose bottom pie dish
Ingredients
Crust
- 2.25 cup almond flour 2 ¼ cup / 225g **
- ¼ cup butter 55g, melted
- 2 tablespoon golden Lakanto 20g
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Filling
- 2.5 cup pecan halves 250g
- â…” cup butter melted and cooled, 145g
- ⅔ cup golden Lakanto 130g, use up to ¾ cup (150g) if you like a sweeter pie
- â…” cup heavy cream / double cream 150ml
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon grated orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F /180C electric or 320F / 160C fan. Line the bottom of a 9 inch loose bottom pie pan with parchment paper. Grease the sides and parchment with melted butter.
Crust
- In a food processor, blend the ingredients for the pecan pie base. Blend until they resemble sticky crumbles.
- Press the dough into the pie dish with your hands. Use the back of a teaspoon to smooth the base and edges. Trim the top of the sides with a sharp knife to get a clean edge.
- Place in the freezer whilst you make the filling.
Filling
- Roughly chop 2 cups of pecans. Set aside.
- Powder the Lakanto in a high speed blender or with a coffee grinder. (Optional, but recommended)
- Place the eggs, melted and cooled butter (***see notes), golden Lakanto, vanilla, salt, cinnamon and orange zest in a mixing bow. Mix for 1 minute with a hand mixer and then drizzle in the cream, whisking for 1 more minute until smooth and light.
- Add the chopped pecans to the mix and stir to combine. Add filling to the base and top with remaining half cup of whole pecan halves.
- Bake for 45 - 55 minutes until golden. Allow to cool to firm up before slicing.
Notes
Nutrition
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Anu
Who says pecan pie is only for autumn/winter?? This was perfect for a cold spring bank holiday, and I followed all the optional instructions to the T, i.e., browning the butter for both the base and the filling, toasting the pecans, and adding the extra sweetener to suit our palate. This took 55 minutes to bake at 160 C in my fan forced oven but perhaps 45 minutes would also have been enough as the top looks rather more brown than yours. I made this yesterday to enjoy today, and it is brilliant! Do not skip the orange zest or cinnamon (unless you hate the flavours), they add SO much to this already delicious pie! Thank you :))))
Daniel H. Stansberry
Great pie. Love it
Charlyn
Love the recipe! As an American in England, I can say this is probably the best keto recipe for pecan pie I've seen! I wondering though, where do I find erythritol in UK? Or monk fruit? I only seem to be ably to find xylitol or stevia. Thank you!
Katrin Nürnberger
Glad you like the recipe! You can get erythritol on Amazon or with nkdliving.com - use my code SUGARFREE for 10% off. Luckyvitamin.com sells Lakanto and Allulose.
Marc G. Hanan
I have coconut sugar (brown) on hand, which also is a 1:1 sugar replacement. How would this impact the recipe?
Also, is the pit moist and gooey like a regular non-keto pie?
Katrin Nürnberger
You can use coconut sugar in place of the sweetener, however, this would obviously affect the carb count. It's a moist pie 🙂
Sarah
I made this dairy free. The recipe makes these substitution very easy. The pie was delicious.
Katrin Nürnberger
So glad you liked the recipe!
Karen
One word… WOW! This pecan pie is so delicious! You’ve done it again, Katrin. Your recipes have never failed me!
Katrin Nürnberger
Oh, that's so good to hear! Really happy you like it.
Sarah
Thank you for yet another wonderful recipe! I tried all your options - browning the butter, toasting the pecans - and the result was simply delicious. I used mixed spices instead of just cinnamon, and with the orange zest, ended up with the perfect Christmas pie! Yummers!
Katrin Nürnberger
Oh, that's so good to hear! Glad you liked the recipe!
Sue
Hi can you use regular, not golden, monk fruit?
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes of course, all sweeteners will work. Although the golden monk fruit will give a more mellow taste that suite the recipe well.
Nicole
Can you make this vegan with chia eggs and coconut cream and oil for heavy cream and butter substitutes?
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Nicole, you can definitely make it dairy free by using coconut cream and oil. I have not tried replacing the eggs with a substitute, but chia eggs sound like a good option.
Arline Rush
Katrin, I notice almost all of your recipes se monk fruit fruit sweetener. Could stevia be used in place of the other sweetener?.
Thank you,
Arline Rush
Katrin Nürnberger
The answer is yes. It's mostly a personal preference (however, in this recipe the brown monk fruit tastes great and I recommend it!). I have come across two types of stevia sweetener - granulated blends, which are mostly erythritol stevia blends, and liquid stevia drops. You can use either in most recipes. The sweetener I use are 1:1 sugar replacements, so check out that your sweetener is also a 1:1 sugar replacement. Some granular stevia blends are twice as sweet as sugar.
Hannah
Wow, this was a total winner! I made it as soon as I received your newsletter. Will definitely be making this again!