These. Are. Everything! Fact is, Expect these gluten free and keto pumpkin brownies to become a favorite treat this fall. They’re ultra fudgy, easy-peasy and and ridiculously tasty!
Keto Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies
Because pumpkin everything!
You’ve already met our suuuper fudgy keto brownies right?! They’re intensely chocolatey, fudgy, lightly chewy and good… like really good. And yup, there’s been a cheesecake version already too (easily the most instagrammed recipe by you all!).
So with fall, and pumpkin season in full rage, this pumpkin spinoff simply had to happen. Things to expect: your kitchen will smell ah-mazing (think chocolate + spiced pumpkin goodness!) and you’ll be hooked for life.
Plus, they’re stupid easy to whip up and they freeze great too! (p.s. they’re great frozen too…🙊!).
The Chocolate
Cocoa or cacao? Both work great, just know that quality really matters here. My favorite will forever be the Dutch-processed alkaline cocoa Valrhona, known to be one of (if not the) best cocoas in the world.
But feel free to use a raw cacao powder (arguably more nutritional perks here), though keep in mind that your brownies will be lighter in color and more reddish in hue. Both are well and good, as long as they’re unsweetened.
p.s. a lightly sprinkle of flakey sea salt works wonders to cut through the chocolate in these guys! And Maldon flakes are the undisputed best, by a mile.
The Flours
This recipe uses almond flour only (!!). Yup, that’s it!
In terms of brands, for the almond either Anthony’s or WellBees work great. Both are super fine grinds.
The Sweetener
You’ve got a couple options here. Xylitol (non corn to avoid tummy troubles!) and allulose (using 30% more) have become my top choice (no aftertaste, best and chewier texture), followed by Lakanto (barely any aftertaste, but thicker texture).
If using erythritol in any form, because it needs a little extra help to dissolve than xylitol (and they vary so much from brand to brand because of different fillers and so on!), you’ll want to be sure to use a powdered form. If you only have granular on hand, don’t sweat it, and simply blend it in your (very dry!) bullet or blender until powdered. Easy-peasy!
And one more thing to keep in mind, is that a few of you who have used erythritol (Swerve in particular) report back periodically that your batter ends up thick. This seems to be improved by microwaving rather than using a water bath, and using powdered rather than regular. Though there seems to be no hard rule here.
Doesn’t seem to affect the taste in the end, so just spread the batter rather than pour it in. But if you’re finding your brownies feel too thick, simply add in an extra egg or a couple tablespoons of almond milk (just don’t over-whisk or they could become more cakey).
Fun fact: it might also be my taste buds here, but I’ve noticed that stevia-based sweeteners (such as Pyure) don’t work so great when chocolate is involved as the aftertaste is accentuated. So I cannot recommend enough that you don’t use stevia-based sweeteners here.
Oh, and if just paleo or gluten free (or not restricted by sugars), simply sub 1-to-1 with coconut or regular sugar.
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! 🐕
A Couple (Very Simple!) Rules
I’ll start with the most important one: do not over-bake the brownies! Timing might just be the most important rule when making any type of brownie (and cheesecake, for that matter!), so you don’t end up with a dry and crumbly mess. Keep an eye out for them, and take them out once the center is set but still jiggly.
I even prefer to slightly undercook them and chill them in the fridge before cutting. That’s the secret for extra fudgy brownies.
Otherwise, you need to be sure that your eggs are properly at room temperature. If they’re not, they’ll solidify the butter and the batter will become rock-hard as soon as you add the almond flour.
(Ultra Fudgy!) Keto Pumpkin Brownies
These. Are. Everything! Fact is, Expect these gluten free and keto pumpkin brownies to become a favorite treat this fall. They're ultra fudgy, easy-peasy and and ridiculously tasty!
Oh, and if baking with cups rather than grams is your thing, just click on US Cupsfor an instant conversion.
Ingredients
For pumpkin layer
- 227 g cream cheese softened
- 50-70 g allulose xylitol or powdered erythritol (I use the larger amount for allulose and the lower for xylitol and erythritol)*
- 1 egg at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 125 g pumpkin puree to taste**
For keto brownie layer
- 1 batch (suuuper fudgy!) keto brownies
Instructions
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See recipe video for guidance!
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Position a rack in the lower third of your oven and preheat to 350°F/180°C. Line with parchment paper the bottom and sides of a 8x8-inch baking pan. Set aside.
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Make the pumpkin cheesecake layer first. Add cream cheese and sweetener to a bowl and cream using an electric mixer (faster and easier) or whisk until creamy and smooth. Mix in the egg, vanilla extract and pumpkin spice until fully combined. Mix in pumpkin puree. Set aside.
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Whip up a batch of our (suuuper fudgy!) keto brownies. Please note that your batter with xylitol and allulose will be thinner than with erythritrol (where you can add an extra egg or a couple tablespoons of almond milk to losen up a bit for cleaner swirls!- see brownie post for more deets).
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Pour 2/3 of the brownie mixture into prepared pan, followed by the pumpkin layer. Add the remaining brownie batter in 4 dollops (see pictures in post for reference), and swirl the two batters together using a knife.
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Bake for 27-35 minutes (I did 30), or until the center is just set and still jiggly. This really does vary (a lot!!) from oven to oven (think convection etc), so give them a check from minute 20 the first time around. Do note that these guys take longer than the brownies themlseves, because of the added pumpkin swirls.
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Allow to cool completely on a rack. Lift brownies using the edges of the parchment paper and cut into desired size (I do 16!). To get extra clean edges, place in the freezer for 10 minutes prior to cutting.
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Store in the fridge for 3 days and freeze for up to 3 months (they freeze great!). And, ahem, these are even terrific eaten frozen lol.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
*The lower quantities are for more keto-adapted palates, while the larger ones will get you more 'traditional' sweetness. Please see section on sweeteners for deets and possible substitutions. Just keep in mind that stevia doesn't work (at all!) for these!
**You can technically go all the way up to 1 cup of pumpkin puree. Just keep in mind you'll need to increase baking time a tad (and a bit more carbs).
***If measuring the cocoa with tablespoons rather than grams, be mindful of how you scoop as you can end up with a lot more cocoa powder than needed. Drop the cocoa powder into the tablespoon and level it, rather than scooping it out of the bag with the tablespoon (which can lead to overpacked tablespoons!).
Please note that we always subtract sugar alcohols from total carbs to calculate net carbs (as is customary).
These are amazing! I made them tonight and the whole family loved them!! Perfect to go with my weekly cheat meal!
Absolutely wonderful! Thanks so much for the creative recipe. This will definitely be made several times over the fall & holiday season.
Hi Paola! I made these brownies months ago, they were DELICIOUS! The sweetener (I don’t recall which one I used…) crystalized a little, but I noticed if I nuked the brownie a little to warm it (yum!), the crystals of sweetener were less noticeable.
I’m going to try them again, and try blitzing my erythritol in my food processor, but I also want to pump them up with some protein powder. I’m REALLY struggling to eat enough protein, so I got some Isopure unflavored whey isolate powder. My amateur baker brain is thinking of subbing half the almond flour for protein powder. I reckon it will probably change the texture considerably, and I’m ok with that. I love to experiment! What do you think? Any tips?
Don’t!! Protein is incredibly drying so you’re likely to end up with not so good brownies 😉
Have you tried with monkfruit sweetener? Curious to know your experience since that’s what I’ve got on hand and xylitol is so pricy!
These were WONDERFUL!!! I doubled the recipe, used more pumpkin, and for sweeteners used a combination of xylitol and MonkSweet, which is a blend of monk fruit, stevia, and erythrotol. I think it tends to be very sweet, so I always cut way back. They were a huge hit! Thank you!
These brownies are my absolute favorite. I actually tried a different brownie recipe (to change things up), ended up getting rid of those and making these today. I’m trying recipes for Thanksgiving, and these are the WINNER!
😂! That’s awesome to hear Sally!
Hi! These look amazing, would i be able to make them in cupcake form?
Hi Paola, what a winner recipe!
I’ve did it last saturday for a big celebration, I’ve doubled it whit some changes:
– mascarpone cheese instead of cream chesse (just a matter of my taste)
– 80 g of cocoa plus 80 g of 85% chocolate
– the extra egg, it results a similar consistency batter, easier to swirl
– I had to cover with foil due to the longer cooking time.
Terriffic results! Thank you so much, I’ll do it again for sure!
These were amazing. Fudgy and delicious. This is my favorite treat I’ve made since being on keto.
YAY! Awesome to hear Tonya!! xo!
I used Lacanto golden sweetener (the smallest amounts recommended), and the brownie mixture was much thicker than the pumpkin mixture, even with the extra egg. Definitely not pourable, and it was very difficult to swirl. I’m hoping it still bakes up okay!
It will bake up fine Coco! It’s written in the section on sweeteners… different brands of erythritol behave differently (you can also see in my pictures that the cheesecake and brownie batters where different thicknesses 😉 xo!)
Thanks for responding so fast, Paola! They do look to have baked up just fine. Now the long, impatient wait for them to cool! 😬
May the force be with you while they cool 😂and yeah, my swirls were not as pretty in these as in the regular cheesecake ones as I used Lakanto too (and the pumpkin thins out the cheesecake)- so the consistencies of the two batters are too different to get super clean swirls. BUT the result didn’t change one bit!
Hi Paola, thanks for your chocolate/pumpkin brownies. I like this recipe and want to try it later. One question though, I don’t like sugar or sugar alcohol. Yep, I like salty treats. So would you think this recipe turn out good without all the sweetners? For me the sweetness from pumpkin purée is enough. My gratitude! 🙂 Lee
Hi Lee! Tbh I’m not sure it will work here for the chocolate part… BUT, it’ll probably work for the pumpkin cheesecake part xo!
Thanks Paola. Then I will be trying the cheesecake alone. 🙂 Lee
your cheesecake brownies are our favorite keto dessert ever! cant wait to make these gnomgnomgnom!!
OMG you’re too amazing!!! Making these right now lol
Yay!!! Hope you love them 😉