Shop
My
Custom
My keto pecan pie will make your holiday table complete! This one is so much like the real thing that no one will know the difference. I worked on this recipe for weeks, and I have to say this version is my favorite yet. It’s sweet and nutty, with a perfectly caramelized filling. A few years ago, I updated it with Besti powdered sweetener to make the texture even better — and it makes all the difference. Make this sugar free pecan pie with me and you’ll see what I mean!
Why You Need My Keto Pecan Pie Recipe
- Smooth, gooey filling with crunchy pecans – This is the biggest thing that makes my recipe stand out from other sugar free pecan pie recipes. Many of them are dry due to the sweetener they use or just lack the flavor of the traditional kind. The filling in mine has just the right texture, plus a caramel flavor you’ll love (based on a variation of my sugar-free caramel sauce) and lots of crunchy pecans.
- Buttery shortbread almond crust – I use my almond flour pie crust for most of my pies, including this one. It’s just so good… sweet, buttery, and easy. But if you prefer a different crust, I’ve got crust options here.
- Clean ingredients – And not too many of them. Aside from the crust, it’s just seven. And no corn syrup or sugar in sight!
- Keto friendly, sugar free, and gluten free – My keto pecan pie has just 4 grams of net carbs per slice, and of course it’s got no white flour.
- Make it ahead – Like most of my keto pie recipes (including my reader-fave keto pumpkin pie, low carb apple pie, and coconut cream pie), this one stores very well. You can easily make it in advance for your holiday celebrations, from Thanksgiving to Christmas!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Here I explain the best ingredients for my sugar free pecan pie recipe, what each one does, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.
Keto Pie Crust:
Choose from one of these options:
- Almond Flour Crust – This is my favorite keto pecan pie crust, so it’s what I’ve got on the recipe card below. It’s easy to make and has only 5 ingredients! I highly recommend making this with Wholesome Yum Blanched Almond Flour, because it has a finer texture than other brands.
- Coconut Flour Crust – You can consider this if you have an almond allergy, but tolerate pecans just fine. Of course you’d need the pecans for the filling.
- Pecan Crust – If you really love pecans, you can use them for the crust itself in addition to the filling! Just grind the nuts to a fine meal in a food processor, then replace half of the almonds in my almond crust (above) with the pecan meal. You could try replacing all of the almond flour with pecan meal, but I’d recommend a blend because it will stay together better, since almond flour has a finer consistency.
Sugar Free Pecan Pie Filling:
- Pecans – Obviously the main ingredient! You’ll need some chopped for inside the pie, plus halves for topping.
- Butter & Cream – These combine together to form the gooey filling. I use unsalted butter and regular heavy cream, but you can substitute butter-flavored coconut oil and coconut cream (or full-fat coconut milk) for a dairy-free option.
- Besti Powdered Monk Fruit Allulose Blend – This sweetener is key for a smooth texture in your sugar free pecan pie filling. That’s because unlike other sugar substitutes, it dissolves completely, won’t crystallize, and most importantly, caramelizes beautifully, giving your pie that lovely gooey filling. It also tastes like sugar without any aftertaste, and has 0 net carbs. Most other sweeteners, including erythritol and most brands of monk fruit or stevia, don’t dissolve well and can crystallize, leaving behind a gritty texture. No, thanks!
- Egg – This sets the filling. Make sure it’s at room temperature before using. One of my egg alternatives might work, but it will probably fall apart more easily.
- Extracts – Maple extract and vanilla extract give the filling the right flavor. Note that different brands vary in potency. If you don’t have maple extract, you can replace 1/4 cup of the powdered Besti above with Besti brown sweetener for a similar flavor.
- Sea Salt – This balances the flavors, but I actually add enough to taste a little (think salted caramel vibes!). If you don’t want to taste it at all, reduce the amount to 1/4 or 1/2 teaspoon.
Free Printable: Low Carb & Keto Food List
Get It Now
How To Make Keto Pecan Pie
I have step-by-step photos here to help you visualize the recipe. For full instructions with amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
- Make the crust. Use my almond flour pie crust recipe, or choose one of the other crust options above. Let it cool for 15-20 minutes after baking.
- Make the caramel sauce. In a large skillet or saute pan, heat the butter and Besti, until golden. Add the cream and salt, then simmer until bubbly, dark golden, and thick.
- Add the extracts. Remove from heat, then stir in vanilla and maple extracts. Let the caramel sauce cool until it’s no longer hot, but still warm.
- Add the chopped pecans to the crust. I usually do this while the caramel cools. It should be about half full.
- Add the egg. Whisk it in a bowl first, then stir into the caramel.
- Finish the filling. Pour the caramel filling mixture over the pecans. Top with pecan halves. Cover the edges of the pie crust with foil, leaving the center open.
- Bake until golden and bubbly. It’s done when it no longer jiggles, but will still look a little wet.
- Cool completely at room temperature to set. For cleaner slices, I recommend chilling your keto pecan pie for at least an hour before slicing. Feel free to gently warm up the slices if you prefer it warm. It’s delicious all by itself, or top with a scoop of my keto ice cream or sugar-free whipped cream for a decadent finish!
My Recipe Tips
- Don’t let your crust get too dark. I do recommend pre-baking it because it prevents it from getting soggy from the filling, but if the edges are already golden before filling, they can burn after baking the pie, even with the edges covered. It’s actually a little too dark in my picture above — I usually aim for less golden than that! You might need to adjust the time depending on your oven.
- The time to make the caramel sauce can vary widely. It will depend largely on the size of your pan, so grab the biggest one you’ve got! A skillet or saute pan will be much faster than a saucepan, but still takes a while. Trust me, it’s worth it for the amazing texture you’ll get in your keto pecan pie filling!
- Be careful not to overheat the sauce. If it gets too hot, it may curdle or split. Sometimes you can bring it back together in a blender, but not always. It’s best to avoid the issue altogether by keeping heat very low.
- Get the caramel dark enough. It should be golden brown and thick, and coat the back of a spoon in a thick layer. See my pictures above, or my video below!
- Let the caramel cool before adding the egg. If you add the egg while it’s very hot, it will scramble the egg. Don’t let the sauce cool completely either, because it will start to solidify. Alternatively, you can very slowly pour the sauce into a bowl with the egg while whisking constantly (this is called tempering). I prefer to just do it in the pan, though, so there isn’t another bowl to wash!
- Tips to cut your sugar free pecan pie: First of all, make sure it’s completely firm and cooled, preferably chilled in the fridge. (You can either cut it cold or let it soften a bit at room temperature.) Second, use a large chef’s knife (avoid serrated ones) and use a straight-down motion. Don’t see-saw your knife, or the filling can crumble!
- Want a quicker and easier version? Try my pecan pie bars recipe instead.
Make Ahead Options
Yes, you can make this in advance! In fact, I almost always make my keto pecan pie ahead. There are several ways you can do it:
- Make the pie crust ahead. You can keep it on the counter for a day, or store it in the fridge for a few days before filling and baking. After baking is fine, too.
- Make the caramel sauce ahead. You can store it in the fridge in a glass container. It will solidify, so just reheat it on the stove over very low heat to make it pourable again. Be very careful not to overheat, because the filling can separate and clump if it gets to hot. If this happens, sometimes you can bring it back together in a blender.
- Make my entire keto pecan pie recipe ahead. This is my favorite option! Plus, doing the whole thing at once avoids any risk with the filling separating during reheating. You can store the prepared pie in the fridge for up to a week.
- Freeze. Wrap the pie in plastic wrap or foil, and keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge at least overnight.
More Keto Thanksgiving Recipes
My keto pecan pie recipe is perfect to end your holiday meal! Before you serve it, start with:
- Turkey – Make my foolproof Thanksgiving turkey and all your guests will be amazed at how juicy it turns out! For a smaller gathering, try my Crock Pot turkey breast or roasted turkey wings. Don’t forget the sugar free cranberry sauce and keto gravy!
- Sides – I’ve got you covered with low carb versions of the classics: keto green bean casserole, cauliflower stuffing, and keto sweet potato casserole.
- Biscuits – My simple 5-ingredient keto biscuits are the most popular around here, but you can also try my keto Cheddar Bay biscuits for more flavor.
My Tools For This Recipe
- Pie Pan – I love how easy it is to clean! Also, my filling amount and baking time is based on this one, and may vary if you use a different pan.
- Large Nonstick Skillet – This one is hard anodized, which means the surface has lasted me for 6 years and counting. And it’s large enough to make the caramel sauce relatively quickly.
- Pie Crust Shield – Avoids burning the crust without having to fuss with foil. You can also try a silicone shield like this.
Keto Pecan Pie (Best Sugar Free Recipe)
By
You'll love my keto pecan pie recipe! The sugar free pecan pie filling is sweet, gooey, and caramelized, and each slice is just 4g net carbs.
Instructions
[ See step photos See my tips ]Tap on the times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer.
-
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C).
-
Make the almond flour pie crust here, using a glass pie pan like this.
-
Meanwhile, make the filling. In a large skillet or saute pan (not a saucepan!) over medium-low heat, heat the butter and Besti for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until dark golden brown.
-
Add the cream and sea salt. Bring to a gentle simmer. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until bubbly, dark golden and thick. The caramel sauce should coat the back of a spoon in a thick layer.
-
Remove the sauce from heat. Stir in the vanilla and maple extracts.
-
Let pie crust and caramel sauce cool separately for 15 to 20 minutes, until warm but not hot. While they are cooling, you can either leave the oven on (you will need it again) or preheat it to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) again when the cooling time is almost up.
-
Once caramel sauce has cooled enough not to cook an egg being added to it (warm is fine), whisk in the egg.
-
Place chopped pecans evenly into the crust. Pour the caramel/egg mixture over the pecans. Top with pecan halves.
-
Cover the edges of the pie crust with foil or a pie shield, leaving the center open.
-
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is dark brown and the filling is bubbly, thick, and almost set (it should no longer jiggle but will still look a little wet).
-
Cool completely to set. For best results, chill for at least 1 hour before slicing.
Did you make it? Leave a review or tag me @wholesomeyum on Instagram!
Maya’s Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1 slice, or 1/12 of entire pie
- Tips: See my recipe tips above to help you get the right gooey, caramelized texture in your keto pecan pie filling! If done incorrectly, it can separate or burn. I’ve also got tips for slicing the pie cleanly.
- Make ahead: There are several ways to prep this recipe in advance, including just certain components or baking the whole pie. You can store it in the fridge or freeze it. See my meal prep details above!
- Note on serving size: 1/12 of the pie might not seem very big for a serving, but this sugar free pecan pie is very filling! After a whole meal, it’s plenty.
📖 Want more recipes like this? Find this one and many more in my Low Carb Holiday Cookbook, Keto Ebook Bundle, and Fall Ebook Bundle!
I provide nutrition facts as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see my nutrition policy.
Add Your Notes Your Notes
Try More Of My Recipes
© Copyright Maya Krampf for Wholesome Yum. Please DO NOT SCREENSHOT OR COPY/PASTE recipes to social media or websites. We’d LOVE for you to share a link with photo instead.
Keto Pecan Pie
407 Comments
Lynn
0Hi
I don’t usually leave comments but I would like to say that I have made your keto chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream, the coconut chicken curry and cheesy loaded cauliflower and they were all delicious. Even my granddaughter approved of the cupcakes. Looking forward to trying you pecan pie next. When I make pecan pie I usually add bourbon, can this be done with your recipe?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Lynn, I wouldn’t add too much, just to taste. The caramel is a little milder than it is in traditional pecan pie, so you will probably find that you don’t need much. Enjoy!
kathy Leibrandt
0Hi, I made this pie today for my diabetic boyfriend’s birthday. I will say I nailed it and it is awesome. The only problem I found is that we would like it a little gooier. I was thinking a way to solve that problem would be to put only one cup of chopped pecans in the pie shell instead of two. Thoughts? Thank you.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Kathy, I think that would work fine. Your pie will be less full, so you could increase the amount of ingredients for the caramel filling.
Lois
0I made this for Thanksgiving and everyone loved it. I found it super easy to make. I thought my crust was a little hard but I probably cooked it too long. I used the almond flour pie crust recipe. The flavor was fabulous! It felt so good to know I was not eatting somethingwith a lot of sugar in it. BTW if you only have granulated sugar you can always give it a whirl in your blender to make it into powder. I’m not sure if you said this.
Caroline Z
0I made this for Christmas and it was delicious! I want to make the savory crust and wonder if you have recipes for fillings for that?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Caroline, I have a savory pie recipe for Greek spinach pie and keto chicken pot pie.
Catherine Keeling
0Love this recipe, have made it several times. Only thing worth noting is that it took much longer to make the caramel sauce than specified, at least twice as long. Threw off my baking schedule a bit but worth the wait for this yummy pie!
Lindsay
0I love the pie but both times I’ve made it the sauce doesn’t darken at all till it’s done in the oven. What am I doing wrong?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Lindsay, That means you needed to cook it for longer (in the saucepan, not the oven).
Tera
0Not sure what happened but after making your recipe I poured it into a 9-inch glass pan with the nuts I only had half a pie so I had to double the gooey part but so far so good looks amazing
Christina Best
0Excellent everyone who tried it loved it. I only made a couple of changes. I didn’t have the powdered monk fruit sweetener blend. so instead I ran swerve brown sugar through a coffee grinder made it into powder form. Also, I added the extracts before the butter and sugar boiled but was still liquid form. will definitely make it again.
Shahla Khan
0Tasty except use butter instead of ghee for the crust. The ghee gave the crust a weird flavor I didn’t like
Murleen
0I am just waiting for the pie to come out of the oven but what I tasted going into the oven was wonderful. I made two adjustments to the recipe that seem to have worked out well: 1) I toast the pecans for more flavor and 2) instead of the maple extract I used 1/4 real maple syrup to the sugar/butter mixture. The overall cook time was 10 minutes longer for the caramel to reduce and thicken but it tasted great. I love ooey gooey but I also love a pie chockful of nuts so this recipe came out exactly as I hoped. Hope I can wait for the pie to cool… this is my new Thanksgiving Pecan Pie. Thanks for a great recipe!
Natalie Nunez
0I have it in the oven as I text. Only thing is I think I may have done something wrong the monkfruit and butter mixture was very very oily it never made a true sauce.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Natalie, It sounds like your caramel split/separated if it was oily. Unfortunately this won’t work for the pecan pie. Keep the heat lower next time to avoid this, and if it does separate, you could try to bring it back together in a blender. Hope this helps.
Bobbie Montgomery
0When do I add the low carb caramel sauce to the pecan pie filling? Perhaps I missed it. And to be sure this a “no” sugar pecan pie (friend is diabetic) is it ok to use Monkfruit? Just needed to be sure. Thank you
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Bobbie, Add the caramel sauce over the chopped pecans – make sure to read all the steps on my recipe card above. Monkfruit is diabetic friendly, yes.
Dani
0Is there anything I can use as a substitute for the butter? Can this be made with less butter? I am making this for a newly diagnosed diabetic so the sugar free part is great, but I need it to be a little lower in calories, too.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Dani, You can use coconut oil, but it’s not any lower in calories. Sorry, I don’t have a low calorie substitute to offer.
Kathy
0Do you think you could add sugar free melted chocolate chips to this recipe to make a chocolate pecan pie? Would any adjustments be necessary?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Kathy, I think that would work fine without any other changes to the recipe. Let me know how it goes!
Carla
0Hi. I have an egg allergy can i substitude it for something else.
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Carla, I haven’t tried this recipe without an egg. Most pecan pie recipes include at least one egg, so I’m not sure how it would turn out without the egg.
Lori Ballard
0I made this yesterday and it’s awesome! I had stopped eating pecan pie years ago due what sugars do to my body, and I’ve missed it! No sugar crash, and coming from the south where it’s a staple during the holidays, I can tell no difference! Several things I noted and will change for my preference is to cut the pecans back to 2 cups total as I prefer more of the gooey goodness! I will not over caramel (I was terrified I would over do it so cooked it too long). My finished product looked beautiful (though dark either from over-cooking or the caramel – or both). The crust came out wonderful and was very easy to me., A huge plus! Your video was very helpful as this was my first time ever for a pecan pie and I kept referring to it often while over cooking the caramel. LOL!! End result is my pie is a little too done for having a slice of pie, BUT, I’ve re-purposed this one into individual baggies inside a freezer bag to equal parts of roughly two carbs each for those times when something sweet is a must! Thank you for sharing your tried and true recipe! It’s awesome!
Sandra Subotic
0I love this recipe. One of the best keto cake I made.
I’m wondering if it could be made in advance and frozen?
Does anyone have experience with that?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Sandra, You can freeze this pie! Be sure to wrap it tightly to protect the flavors!
Kristina Acosta
0Hi there, I would like to make this however all I have is granular swerve. Can I use that to substitute the monk fruit? I don’t quite understand the substitution chart. So if I can can you give me the correct measurement? Also I don’t have maple extract. Is there something else I could us?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Kristina, The texture of this pie will be very gritty if you make it with granulated sweetener, even more so with any type of erythritol-based sweetener. I don’t recommend it. You can get Besti Powdered here. You can also get maple extract here, but you can omit it if you like.
Tammy
0I cannot wait to make this pie again!
Magnolia
0I haven’t made this pie yet, but your comments are helpful. I have the ingredients laid out on the counter, just getting my cottage up! I was afraid of not getting the caramel dark enough, or done enough to set properly…
Your comment gives me courage.
I also plan to freeze into small, individual portions.
Valentina
0Hi, my name is Valentina. What can I do if I want the crust to be softer?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Valentina, You can try adding 1/4 or 1/2 tsp xanthan gum to the crust if you want it softer.
Susie
0Can the pecan pie leftovers be frozen ?
Wholesome Yum A
0Yes, Susie! See my tips in the post.