This keto pumpkin pie is everything you expect (and more!) from this Thanksgiving classic: a deliciously silky custard, all wrapped up in my famous flaky pie crust!
Gluten Free & Keto Pumpkin Pie
An Absolute Classic!
I don’t know about you, but imo pumpkin pie is too much of a classic to mess around with! And so, beautifully spiced and incredibly flavorful, you’ll find that this keto version varies little from the tradition in both taste and texture.
Supreme and stunning results, surely worthy of your Thanksgiving table!
Plus, you’ll be happy to hear that making this keto pumpkin pie is not particularly difficult at all. Though like any custard-type dessert, just be mindful of a few details below to ensure the perfect slice. Read on!
How Make A Delicious (& Pretty!) Keto Pumpkin Pie
Let’s face it, when it comes to Thanksgiving, you most definitely want to put your best pie forward! So let’s talk about a few details (and cheats!) of what you need to look out for when making this keto pumpkin pie so you get a real stunner.
- Make sure your pie crust is very cold, and work quickly in a relatively cool environment (i.e. not next to your preheating oven!). This will keep it more manageable, and if you feel like it begins to melt away simply pop it in the freezer for 15 minutes before carrying on. Did it break a bit? No worries, just patch it right up! Oh, and you can also crimp the edges (as you can see!), but it feels a bit more like play-dough than pie crust (you’ll know what I mean).
- To blind bake or not is perhaps the eternal pie conundrum. I’ve done it both ways here, and while you do get a slightly flakier pie crust with a blind bake, it’s also honestly debatable if it’s worth the extra hassle here. So I suggest you just bake it all at once and save yourself a couple hours (cooling down time etc).
- The right spices are clearly important. And while you can buy ready-made pumpkin pie spice, I will always advocate for freshly ground nutmeg (it’s a game changer always guys!). And I also borrow a tip from the peeps over at King Arthur, and add a dash of freshly ground black pepper. You won’t taste it, but it will add a great deal of depth to your pie.
- Don’t overcook! Cracked pumpkin pies made with sugar are the result of over-baking (as the egg proteins continue to cook as they cool). Now, when I baked this pie with erythritol, it cracked close to the edge from minute 25 of baking. Could be my 20-year old oven (reliable, but can run a bit hot)… but this didn’t happen with allulose or xylitol. Didn’t affect the final texture, just a heads up. Otherwise, just like with sugar pies, you want to take it out of the oven while still jiggly in the center. But note that, unlike their sugar counterparts, the pie doesn’t feel fully set around the edges even after minute 60 (but a toothpick inserted will come out mostly clean, not drenched).
- Get your leaves on! I whip up a double batch of the pie crust, and make some crackers and pretty cutouts with it (leaves are my favorite). Good for your cheese platter and some pie decorating; particularly handy if you do end up with some cracks. Or some good-old whipped cream will do the trick just as well.
- Did your pie become opaque? Yup, erythritol tends to do that in custards as it cools! I simply gave mine a very light (and gentle!) brush with some Lakanto syrup and everyone was non the wiser. Oh, and it doesn’t affect the taste or texture at all; so not a biggie!
The Sweetener
As you can read from the previous section, this is probably the thing you need to consider the most when whipping up this pumpkin pie is the sweetener.
But you’ve also got plenty of options: Allulose is my favorite for best texture and no aftertaste now (you do need to add 30% more though), Lakanto Golden (slightly opaque results, but no cooling aftertaste here imo), xylitol (non-corn though to avoid tummy troubles!).
1. Xylitol and allulose behave fairly similar in custards, and are probably the ‘best’ choice in terms of both taste and looks. Absolutely no aftertaste and there are no problems with crystallization. Allulose is 70% as sweet as sugar (i.e. you need to add 30% more).
Note: I’ve been testing different brands of xylitol and have noticed Health Garden and XyloSweet are two solid ones (particularly if you tend to get occasional tummy pangs with the NOW brand).
And if using xylitol, make sure to be careful if you have a pup (or kitty!) around the house, as it’s highly toxic to the little guys!
2. I also tested the pie with erythritol (Lakanto golden), and while there was no aftertaste there were a few issues with crystallization here and there (as in the pie slowly became opaque, rather than nice and shiny). The pie also did seem to crack a little bit as it baked, but cooled down just fine and I didn’t find there to be any cooling aftertaste at all.
How much sweetener? Traditional pumpkin pies generally call for a cup of sugar (half brown, half granulated). I find this is a bit too much for keto adjusted palates, and added 2/3 cup to mine. Still felt quite sweet and dessert-like, so you could probably even go down to 1/2 cup if you wish to just lightly sweeten it.
And… The Video Story!
The Best Keto Pumpkin Pie (with our flaky pie crust!)
Ingredients
For the pie crust
- 1 batch our keto pie crust
For the pumpkin pie filling
- 2/3-1 cup golden erythritol xylitol or allulose*
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- pinch ground cloves
- dash black pepper freshly ground
- 3 eggs
- 425 g pumpkin puree (1 15-ounce can)
- 1 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- See recipe video for guidance on the pie crust!
- Lightly butter a 9 inch pie pan. Roll out pie crust into a roughly 13-inch circle, between two sheets of parchment paper. Feel free to lightly dust with coconut flour as needed. Transfer to the pan, using the parchment paper as an aid. Crimp the edges (or simply trim). Refrigerate and preheat oven to 400°F/200°C while you make the filling.
- Mix together in a small bowl the sweetener, salt and spices. Set aside.
- Lightly beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add in the pumpkin puree, heavy cream, vanilla extract and continue to beat until thoroughly incorporated. Beat in the sweetener and spices mix.
- Place the refrigerated pie pan on a baking tray and cover the edges with aluminum foil (to prevent over browning). Pour in the pumpkin filling and bake for 50-65 minutes, uncovering the edges around minute 40. A few things to note: the filling didn't begin to rise for me until about minute 35, and with sugar alcohols the pie will appear to still not be set even after 60 minutes. Having said that, a toothpick inserted 2-inches from the edges should come out barely moist, and the center should still be jiggly.
- Allow the pie to cool completely at room temperature, as it will continue to cook and set while cooling. I also always like my pumpkin pie best after a couple hours in the fridge.
Wow, this was FABULOUS! A big hit for Thanksgiving. I used plain granulated erythritol and a touch of molasses, plus a few drops of sweetener (serious sweet tooth).
The pie crust was the most amazing thing. I’ve never enjoyed traditional pie crust and even in my carby days, I usually just ate the filling from it. Your crust, I devoured!! I added some ground ginger and a sprinkle of ground cloves to the crust to match the pumpkin filling.
Thank you for your delightful recipes.
Molasses isn’t Keto
In small amounts divided between multiple servings I think you’ll find it’s not the end of the world (you’ll get more sugar by eating a strawberry) xo!
This pie is delicious! Just as good as regular if not better. It had great spice to it. I used 100% erythritol so used the higher amount of sweetener, and it’s perfect. It did turn opaque as it cooled like you said it did but that doesn’t matter once you cover it in whipped cream and take a bite! Thank you so much Paola! I might have to make another since this one is disappearing so fast 😊
Emily how wonderful to hear you enjoyed it so much!!
I don’t want to use tinned pumpkin. Would I use the same quantity of roasted pumpkin as the tinned?
Absolutely Karin, all the better! Just make sure your homemade batch is as thick as the canned stuff (you know, to keep the liquid ratio roughly the same) xo!
Grateful for your creative genius, Paola. Happy Thanksgiving! xoxo
Maddy you’re too sweet!! Happy thanksgiving to you as well!! ❤️😘!!
Can i make this the day before??? Thank you:)
Def!
I’m going to make individual crustless ‘pies’ in ramekins…. I guess they’ll be more like ‘pumpkin brulees’? There are a couple people in my family that don’t like pie crust..
Thank you so much for making our Low Carb/Keto lives more fulfilling!!!
I’ve been Keto since April 2nd. My dr pointed me to the Keto way of eating… It’s now a lifestyle and though it’s a bit ‘bumpy’ at times (potato chips are still my nemesis)… Your site has been a true blessing! This Thanksgiving I’m very thankful that I discovered you and I wish you, your family, and your team the very best of holidays!!!
xxoo
Oh Ángela how sweet of you to say! Its my absolute pleasure!! Happy thanksgiving to you and your family as well (and many many blessings!!) xo!
However…. mascarpone/pumpkin dessert ‘something’ would be good! 🙂
I’m going to think something up and will let you know if it works…
So Swerve Brown is ok? I have that in my pantry so just checking. Thanks!
I haven’t tried it yet, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t come out (I used Lakanto gold, and Swerve does ahem some inulin) xo
Think Its ok to sub coconut milk for heavy cream?
I used Lakanto and it cracked so I decided to use Allulose ONLY and it was fine and then as it cooled it completely pulled away from the crust all the way around…so when I sliced it the crust came off completely. Any ideas on how to prevent this? I used half granulated allulose and half maple syrup allulose.
Oh man I’m not sure! Any chance that you overbaked the pie? That’s generally the most common reason why the custard pulls away from the crust (the proteins in the egg continue to cook as it cools). Perhaps allulose sets faster than xylitol and erythritol and you need to stay close to a more traditional baking time
I just seemed too jiggly at 45 minutes so I baked it for 50 minutes and took it out when it was still slightly jiggly in the center. And the center never seemed to fully “set” as when I sliced it the tip of the slices were VERY soft and almost unset. I did 1.25 cup allulose granulated and 7T allulose maple.
What’s in your allulose maple? Is it a syrup? Some of these sweeteners have added inulin fillers etc that can change up the texture
only non-gmo allulose and maple flavor – nothing else
Is it liquid? I don’t know, sometimes sugar alcohols puzzle me 🤔
Yes, it is liquid…..
I bet that was the problem then! I’ve tried baking with Lakanto syrup erythritol and it was disastrous (I’m guessing something similar happens with allulose) xo!
Even with actual maple syrup though… the liquid ratio was altered, which explains why it didn’t set etc 😉
So should I only use the granulated allulose? I was just trying to get that maple-y flavor.
Can I mix xylitol and Erythritol (or an Erythritol/stevia blend)?
I cannot guarantee as I haven’t tried Aimee, but I don’t see why not!
If we choose to blind bake, about how long would we want to bake it for? And would we need crust cover to prevent burning when we put it in the oven with the filling?
I did a 12 minute blind bake with beans xo!
and for the allulose, how much would you recommend, and do you use the allulose maple syrup or the white granulated?
ALSO – I tried with golden lakanto and it cracked 🙁 – that’s why I asked about using the allulose…
AND can i sub coconut milk for the heavy cream? I have someone coming with dairy allergies. (using a different crust recipe as a result but for the filling?)
Hi Jennifer! The cracking with erythritol is warned in the post (just a behavior of the sugar alcohol, nut much I can do about it!). Hence why I suggest some options to cover them up 😉
I haven’t tried with coconut milk tbh so cannot guarantee. xo!
Yeah I did allulose maple AND lakanto hoping for the best…thars why I’m just testing it all right now BEFORE Thanksgiving. So then for the allulose, how much would you recommend, and do you use the allulose maple syrup or the white granulated?
Paola, your recipes never disappoint. This pie is perfect. The spices are just right, the custard texture is right. Thank you for giving us a delicious pie that is fully equal to any non-keto pumpkin pie. And, I was so pleased to see that you’d made the cut-out decorations. I have a set of cutters (pumpkin, turkey and acorn) and thought I’d never use them again after going keto. I got all excited to use them today with my extra pie dough, but my cutting failed. The dough just stuck inside the cutters. My dough was very cold (half hour in the freezer) and I sprayed the cutter with oil to try to help it release but that didn’t do the trick. What’s your method? Should I dust them with a little coconut flour? Roll the dough a bit thicker? Anyway, thank you for all your fantastic recipes.
Kathleen this is so wonderful to hear! If the dough is sticking to your cutouts, yes- try and lightly dust it with coconut (or almond) flour. And if it’s breaking apart yes, then roll it a little thicker. xo!
Dusting the cutters with almond flour between each cut did the trick and now I have little pumpkin cut-outs all baked up! I’m a total baker geek to be so excited about a little decoration like that, but I am. Thank you, Paola!
can this be made in advance and frozen?
Funny you ask as I’m just eating the last slice of one of my trial pies 😂! Yeah it freezes very well, but it does lose a bit of the flavor kick tbh (nothing quite beats a fresh pie, but it’s still delicious) xo!
How do you defrost? In the fridge overnight or leave it out?
Both work, but overnight does give best texture xo
Excellent!!!
How many days do you think it’s good in the fridge?
The longest I’ve kept it has been three days (still totally awesome!). Also freezes surprisingly well (I had quite a few pies from trials 😂)
Hi Paola, I just want to tell you that I love this piecrust but it’s definitely very difficult to work with. I love the picture you posted of the pumpkin pie with the little cut out leaves and fall decorations out of the dough. I haven’t been able to create them at all because the dough is so flimsy that it’s just falls apart when I try to do a live cut out.
There’s probably something I’m doing wrong but I haven’t figured it out, I’ve put the dough back into the refrigerator several times. It was still too mushy. I was able to make the piecrust because I just posted against the pie plate and it was delicious. Any tips on this?
I have been craving pumpkin pie so I was ecstatic to see this recipe in my email. It turned out so good!!!
Im terrible at baking. Just to give you an idea i made your brownie recipe into biscotti, twice. Lol. But I was able to follow through with this one and made it to actually look like your pie in the pictures. The pie crust is flaky with a nice crunch. The pie filling is dense but still a little jiggly. The only thing I modified in the recipe is the amount of Lankanto Golden. I only added 1/4 cup at most just because I have been on low carb for a while and I prefer things not too sweet.
Im suprised the heavy cream did not bother me being lactose intolerant. But I’m still curious to know if there is any alternative without changing the flavor too much.
And thank you so much Paola!!
😂!! Sarah so awesome to hear! I’m not sure about subbing with coconut cream (my instinct says it will work fine… but with sugar alcohols I never guarantee unless I try it, and I haven’t gotten around to it yet).
Oh and don’t beat yourself up about the brownies! Chocolate anything can be so unforgiving if you over-bake, even if they recipes are deceivingly easy (took me about 10 batches of brownies to get the texture right when I first began baking!). xo!
What’s the consistency supposed to be like for the pumpkin filling (prior to baking). Mine seems thin…
It’s definitely pourable and rather thin (not milk thin though). If you used all the right ingredients I would just give it a go Sri xo!
The only thing I can think of that could make it the incorrect consistency is using very thin pumpkin puree
Just curious how you are getting the low carb count? I entered everything in Fitness Pal and am getting 14g of carbs just for the pie filling. I’m hoping I’m wrong and your right! 🙂 I’m doing 1/2 cup of Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener and one can of Pumpkin per your recipe and those have 35g (Pumpkin) and 96g (Sweetener) which divided out is much higher than your count. Am I missing something? I hope so b/c I so want to make this!
Hi Christal! Remember it’s common practice to substract sugar alcohols from total carbs (they’re not regular carbs ) xo
I am new with KETO and I understood not to eat pumpkin, I now feel I was mistaken. Looking forward to try this out.
Hi Paola. This recipe looks so amazing! I’m gonna be making quite a few for my entire family this Thanksgiving! A lot of their tummies may be sensitive to allulose and xylitol, since they aren’t used to consuming them in larger quantities, so I’m gonna use Golden Erythritol. Can you give me your honest opinion on whether you think Lakanto Golden or Swerve Brown would be best in your recipe? And by best… I mean taste wise! Thank you again for your amazing recipes, and for your beautiful and kind spirit!😊
Hi Maya! Yeah its always best to stick to erythritol just in case peeps haven’t tried the other two! And also tbh I have yet to try Swerve Brown so I cannot say for sure… having said that I do LOVE the Lakanto golden (I’ve stopped recommending Swerve as much as I used to, as I’ve found that the inulin they add changes up a lot more of the chemistry in baking than say Lakanto or xylitol…). So I think the decision is up to you, but I can tell you that the pie with Lakanto golden that I made no one could tell was keto (no cooling sensation etc). Just keep in mind that with erythritol it does crack a bit about an inch from the edge (also saw it on a reader’s picture on instagram… oh and she also said she used Lakanto golden! Also said no aftertaste etc).
Ok! I hope this makes sense! I’m traveling and answering through my phone 😂🙈😘
It absolutely makes sense. Thanks so much lovely! Lakanto Golden it is!🙌🏽 Blessings to you!🙏🏽😊
OMG, I hope mines come out as beautiful as your. Can’t wait to make it.
ARE YOU AWARE THAT ANYTHING PRINTED IN RED ON YOUR RECIPES DOES NOT
SHOW UP WHEN PRINTING THE RECIPE?????
Is there a need to shout?! 🙈 I’ll look into it Patrícia thank you! (I just checked in my laptop and it works, but I’ll talk to the developer thnx) xo!
Paola,
I love your recipes. I’m new to Keto but have been doing low carb for awhile now. I have no problem printing your recipes. And I agree, there is no need to shout. 🙂
Lol Thank you Krystal!
I change the print option from color to monochrome or grayscale! Then the red info prints.
Thank you for all your recipes. You are one of our favorite sites and have made sooooo many tried and true recipes!!! Just a quick question – If you use a pumpkin pie spice mix instead of separate ingredients how much do you use?
SO awesome to hear Stacey! I’m traveling today and struggling with the wifi at the airport, to sub with pumpkin pie just add the amount of spices (cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger) and use the mix instead (flavor might vary a bit from mix to mix, but they tend to be similar ratios). xo!
Could you swap out the heavy cream for coconut cream?
TBH I haven’t tried Daniel, so I haven’t suggested it… you could try doing a small batch with one egg in a small dish (or muffin pan) as a trial xo!
I am sure it works out with Coconut cream! I saw other recipes which use coconut cream. Will try the recipe with it this days 🙂
I think a lot of us would LOVE to hear if it works out perfectly! 😉
Omg YES!!! Ive been waiting for you to come out with a pumpkin pie recipe for ages! Thank you! 😀
Wondering if you have tried the sweetener Bochasweet yet? I have had great success with it and love the taste.
I will try it!! :-))
Can I use cooked mashed fresh pumpkin? We don’t have the canned variety in Oz. We don’t eat sweetened pumpkin things. We roast, it, steam it, make soup with it, make scones with it . . . . . would the ratio be the same? My American son in law made sweetened mashed pumpkin for us once. . . . only once. LOL
PS . . . does anyone else find Erythritol not sweet at all? My daughter and I are going to give up on it 🙁
Yeah definitely Pea! Just make sure you cook down your fresh pumpkin puree until it’s nice and thick 😉 xo!
Can we bake this crustless? and if so would cooking time be different and should I butter pie plate?
Thanks!
yeah definitely! but tbh I’m not sure on the exact baking time… but it will take less. I wouldn’t butter the pie plate, but I’m fairly certain it will stick (which is why custards such as creme brûlée are generally baked in single portions, as you’re unlikely to get super clean slices without the crusts help) xo!
Ty! I’m a weirdo and never eat the pie crust I don’t like it even on non keto pies. I was trying to figure out how to avoid the stick 🙄 how about parchment paper?!🤔🤔🤔🤔
Oh man you’re like my mom!! OK, so I was thinking about it this afternoon and why not bake it like a cheesecake?! OK without the water bath but in a springform pan. You can like the bottom and sides of the pan with parchment, then you can just open the pan and slice away! 😉 Fairly certain that will do the trick! xo!
So excited to make this!!!! Read the details on the sweetener, but which one do you recommend for best results? I have all on hand, but wondering which is your top choice. Just powdered erythritol? Swerve? Thanks so much for all your hard work and great recipes!
Hi Andrea! I loved it with both xylitol and Lakanto golden (you just get the opaque custard because of the crystallization with erythritol…). Honestly either works awesome here, just pick what you prefer 😉
“FOR THE MASCARPONE PUMPKIN SPICE FILLING”? I did not see any mascarpone cheese in the recipe. Did I miss it?
Clearly I have mascarpone in my head today (just a typo!) thanks Joan xo
No worries! This looks so good. I just wanted it to turn out correctly. I tried to make a “diabetic friendly” pumpkin pie last year with sweetener adjustments and it was a disaster. I am hoping to have a better Thanksgiving pie this year. Thanks for doing the testing for us!
Yeah I did too! Don’t think I cooked it long enough at all, sugar alcohols seem to need about 20 minutes more to set than sugar (hence all the liquid keto pumpkin pies you see around) xo!
I have a stoneware pie plate and in the past, it has always needed to cook longer for that plate too. I will try a “test run” with your instructions for proper setting. America’s Test Kitchen uses the temperature of the inside of the pie as a means to know when to take it out, but that might not apply to a pie made with an alternate sweetner.
Yeah I get you (and miss that so much!), but because the sugar alcohols all have different boiling points it doesn’t really hold here (similar to the marshmallows etc).
I was praying for a gnom gnom pumpkin pie lol! bless you Paola!!
Def the most requested recipe this fall 😂 Hope you love it Stephanie!