The original Keto Pecan Pie Muffins – accept no substutites! Deliciously low carb, grain-free muffins that taste like pecan pie. They’re an easy and delicious keto breakfast or snack.
Let’s be very clear about one thing: This is the original recipe for keto pecan pie muffins.
There are a few copycats floating about now, and some of them are almost identical to my recipe. Hmmm, funny how that works.
But I originally published this recipe on October 5th, 2012 and at that time, it was the only recipe of its kind. No one else had ever thought to make low carb, sugar free pecan pie muffins.
This is the one and only, the original, and, in my humble opinion, still the best. Accept no substitutes!
If you love pecan pie as much as I do, be sure to check out my classic Keto Pecan Pie. It’s pure heaven.
Inspiration for sugar free pecan pie muffins
I frequently find recipe inspiration from blogger friends who aren’t low carb or keto. In this case, I spotted some pecan pie muffins on She Wears Many Hats and it was like a little bell went off in my brain. Ding ding ding!
Dense, gooey muffins that taste like pecan pie? Absolutely brilliant!
And so easy to make over to keto, too. They consist mostly of butter, brown sugar, eggs, and pecans, with minimal flour and no leavening agent.
All I had to do was swap the sugar for Swerve Brown and the flour for some almond flour, and then I threw in some sugar free chocolate chips, because yum!
Needless to say, these have been some of my favorite keto muffins for over 9 years.
How to make keto pecan pie muffins
This recipe is so easy, you’re going to want to make them every week. I do warn you, they are addictive and it can be hard to resist eating the whole batch.
Thankfully, they are freezer friendly so you can store them and dole them out one day at a time! Here are my best tips for getting it right.
- Softened butter. In this case, you want the butter to be very soft, but not melted, as it helps the sweetener mix in better.
- Brown sugar replacement. Swerve Brown is far and away the best choice, as it has the color and flavor of real brown sugar.
- A little allulose helps. For maximum gooeyness, a tablespoon of liquid allulose really helps. But it is optional so don’t worry if you don’t have any.
- Room temperature eggs. This is critical. Cold eggs will make your nicely creamed butter clump up and will create little holes in the muffins during baking.
- No baking powder! These muffins aren’t supposed to rise. They are meant to be dense and gooey like the middle of a pecan pie. Baking powder will make them cake-y.
- Plenty of chopped pecans. They wouldn’t be pecan pie muffins without them!
- Chocolate chips… or not? It’s up to you whether you want to add the sugar free chocolate chips. It does make them extra decadent.
- Don’t over-bake. The muffins should be just barely set, for that pecan pie consistency.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use a granular sweetener and 2 teaspoons of molasses or yacon syrup. This adds less than 1g of carbs to each muffin and will improve the color and flavor.
I haven’t tried it myself, but you should be able to do so. Fair warning that baked goods made entirely with allulose tend to darken on the exterior a lot more so it may be more difficult to tell when the muffins are done.
Please read the section on How to Make Keto Pecan Pie Muffins.
Sure, if you want to. They are delicious with and without.
I haven’t tried this myself but I imagine another solid fat like ghee or coconut oil would work. If using coconut oil, I suggest using the refined version so that the coconut flavor doesn’t overpower the muffins.
Storage information
These keto pecan pie muffins are pretty sturdy and great for meal planning and traveling. I’ve been known to stick them in a tupperware container in my suitcase and take them cross country!
They are fine on the counter in a container for up to 5 days, and in the fridge for up to 10 days. They can also be frozen for several months.
More delicious keto pecan recipes
- Pecan Lace Cookies
- Keto Pecan Turtles
- Pecan Pie Bars
- Keto Maple Pecan Scones
- Pecan Crescent Cookies
- Gooey Keto Praline Sauce
Chocolate Pecan Pie Muffins
Ingredients
- ½ cup (113.5 g) butter, well softened
- ¾ cup (136.5 g) Swerve Brown
- 1 tbsp liquid allulose
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ tsp (0.5 tsp) caramel extract, or vanilla extract
- 1 cup (105 g) almond flour
- ¼ tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
- 1 cup (99 g) pecans, coursely chopped
- ⅓ cup (60 g) sugar free chocolate chips, (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F and line 12 muffins cups with silicone or parchment paper liners.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and brown sweetener together until light and fluffy. Beat in the liquid allulose, if using.
- Add the eggs and caramel extract and beat until well combined, then beat in the almond flour and salt.
- Add the pecans and chocolate chips and fold in by hand.
- Divide batter among prepared muffin cups. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until just barely set. Let cool in the pan at least 20 minutes.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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These look so delicious; cant wait to make them tomorrow! Thank you for sharing the recipe with us!
We’ve been shelling pecans here in TX. What a great recipe and can’t wait to try it out. Thanks!
Yummy! I’m making these today. Thanks for your great recipes! Karen
Thanks for these marvelous little muffins, Carolyn! I decided to make them as muffin tops and-baked just a little longer -they’re fabulous as “cookies!” Your website and your passion for food is a real blessing. My husband has diabetes and I needed to be much healthier in my eating (former carb queen), and you’re really helping with that. I’m down 20 pounds since late June. My husband goes in for his A1C in November, and we’re very hopeful it’s moved down in a major way. My husband’s fav recipe of yours? Your Almond Crusted Cake! A staple in our home!
So glad you like them, Tamera!
For the first time (in my unimaginative mind) I know what love tastes like!). I made these the other night and they are now in my short list of favorite desserts. Well, ok, there are many I like but few follow my preferred criteria (doesn’t require a lot of ingredients, time, or talent). It’s rare, but if I have unlimited time and resources, I have a much broader field to choose from. As it is, these will be in my every few weeks rotation. Thank you!
Now, my only question is: I baked the muffins in my counter top convection oven at 325F for 26 minutes and the finished product (though wonderful) stuck to the cupcake liners terribly). I’m thinking that I need to pull them after 22 minutes, maybe sooner. Would you have any advice?
Hi Julie, so glad you liked them. So I have a tabletop convection oven too and here’s the deal…it cooks faster and hotter than a regular oven a lot of the time. So you should be dropping that temp to 300F. Also, the real trick is to use silicone or parchment paper liners with ALL low carb muffins, that way they really don’t stick. These are my fave parchment paper liners: http://amzn.to/2eaas7A
But I also just bought these silicon ones and am liking them a lot. http://amzn.to/2dXZy20
Thanks, Carolyn! I’m baking these again tonight and will lower the heat, as you suggested. I have often considered the parchment AND the silicon liners, but get tripped up in the reviews (they were a good product, but now they’ve changed them … some like them, others were so disappointed, etc.). I’d hoped to buy them locally so I could return them if I didn’t like them, but I will need to order them on line. By the way, … Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!
These muffins are delicious but before I eat too many of them, I was wondering if you had the total nutritional breakdown for them other than what you originally provided.
These are INCREDIBLE. So easy, so good! I think these are the best baked good I’ve made with almond flour so far and I just used the flour I had- Trader Joe’s almond meal. They were great!! Thanks so much for this recipe!
I have to agree. I made these last night and they are in fact the best baked good I’ve ever made wtih almond flour too! This one is a keeper!
Hi Carolyn, I made these yesterday, and they are fabulous!! As much as I LOVE chocolate, I prefer pecan pie without chocolate. How would you recommend altering the recipe if I omitted the chocolate? Thanks for all your wonderful recipes – it makes staying on low-carb so much easier!!
You really wouldn’t need to change a thing, just leave out the chips.
Thanks, I will try it!! BTW, didn’t mean to post the same question twice…
Hi Carolyn, I made these yesterday, and they are fabulous!! As much as I LOVE chocolate, I prefer pecan pie without chocolate. How would you recommend altering the recipe if I omitted the chocolate? Thanks for all your wonderful recipes – it makes staying on low-carb so much easier!! 🙂
I made these this weekend and must say that although they are delicious, they are nothing like a muffin. I would call them a cookie in a muffin cup. Tasty, but not what I expected.
I brought some of these with me when I traveled over Thanksgiving – they had been frozen from a batch I made a few weeks ago, but tasted perfect! They helped me avoid pie and other treats without feeling like I was being left out. So I managed to make it through Thanksgiving enjoying good food, and still managed to lose a pound! Yippee!
Wonderful!
Made these for the first time this morning and they are so so delicious! I’ve been missing pecan pie do these totally what I needed! Mine didn’t come out as tall as your picture but I love them! Will be making lots more to keep in freezer and pull out as I want!!
Wow. The first low carb muffins I’ve tried in a long time and am very happy with the results! I made mine a tad sweeter but otherwise went pretty much by the recipe. Thank you!
Glad you liked them!
These are 100% awesome. Made them today and biting into them was just biting into pecan pie–without the carbs. I wondered about the lack of baking powder, but didn’t miss it at all in the finished product. I will be making these again–soon. Like Thursday to take to my Swing dance class.
Thank you Carolyn! This was the best low carb dessert I have tried to date. I followed the directions except 1 tbsp sugar free pancake syrup instead of the molasses (I figured it was lower in carbs and I might be able to use that for some low carb pancakes).
Anyway – I’m taking these on a business trip tomorrow but I had to sample one straight from the oven. I put a dab of softened butter on top. SO excellent! I also find myself completely satisfied with just 1 so that will help me keep the carbs in check.
I have virtually no creativity in the kitchen but will happily follow directions.Thanks for creating such great recipes! It means so much to stay on track with your weight loss goals and love the things you are eating. You help make that possible.
So glad you like them!
I haven’t been able to find 90% cacao chocolate – any suggestions for where I could find it, or suggestions for alternatives? Would 100% cacao work? Thanks!
Susan, Lindt makes 90% chocolate bars. You can get them at World Market, for one. Maybe on line as well. That’s what I used today. So good.