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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Hi Carolyn,
You’ve gotten me back to baking again, and these muffins sound like something I’d like to make. But I have an issue: I don’t have the liquid allulose (and don’t want to get it for several reasons), so I’m wondering if there is something else I could substitute for it? Thanks!
Read the blog post! 🙂
Not every cook knows that eggs can be warmed up in container of hot tap water. Check every few minutes to feel if the chill is off of the egg(s). The egg should not be warmer than your palm.
Very helpful tip for when you’re in a hurry or just have forgotten to take the eggs out of the fridge on time but don’t want to wait 🙂
These muffins are truly amazing! They reminded us of a chocolate chip cookie! Thank you so much for sharing!
Looks so good! Can’t wait to try this one with my family!
This looks so yummy and scrumptious! My family is going to o love this recipe especially my hubby! So excited to give these a try!
These were super yummy!! They were all devoured as soon as I pulled them out of the oven, lol.
Cannot wait to make these! Is the molasses recommended for flavour (as well as color)? If so, is there a substitute you can recommend that is GF and lo/no sugar? Or it truly is optional in this recipe? Thankyou for your help.
yes, color and flavor although now you can just use Swerve Brown.
Carolyn,
I FINALLY think I have figured out why my butter and eggs won’t cream evenly even when I leave them out. My stainless steel mixing bowl is too cold!!! This happened again tonight when I was making this recipe and as I am holding the bowl I am realizing how cold it is (mind you my kitchen is the coldest room in the house). When I mixed in all the dry ingredients it all came together so we shall see how they turn out. This is the 3rd or 4th time I’ve made these, I love them so much. Perfect with coffee in the morning for breakfast.
Ah… you need to try my trick of placing your bowl, preferably with the butter in it, near a heating vent for a few minutes! 🙂 Glad you figured it out, though!
Carolyn, I sub’d half Allulose & half Bocha Sweet since I’m really sensative to the cooling effect of Erythritol (Swerve). These turned out to be deliciously surprising, and really did taste like good pecan pie! Hubby & I enjoyed them immensely. So yummy and really easy to make. I appreciate the ability to change the number of total servings in your recipe too. 6 muffins were just the right amount for us!
Made these yesterday, they are amazing.
No baking soda? I added a little because I thought you might have intended to add some. I’ve never made muffins without some kind of leavening agent…??
No, they are not meant to rise, they are meant to be like the filling from pecan pie.
Carolyn your recipes never disappoint. This really tastes like pecan pie, in my opinion. Looking forward to trying your coffee cake muffin. I never have whey protein. Any substitutions for that.
My husband and I are addicted to these delicious muffins! It has taken unbelievable determination not to eat more than one a day – usually with a decaf coffee after dinner. I find an aftertaste with Swerve so have been using zylitol (Canada) and it seems to present no taste or texture issues. Quick question, though – should they be refrigerated after baking?
If you’re going to eat them within 5 days or so, no refrigeration needed (but if you life in a humid climate, you might want to).
I made these today and they are wonderful! They are going into my “Favorites” file for regular use. Thank you!
I made these today! We love them! Very easy to make and so delicious ~
I just made these today, but I think I messed up somewhere. When I removed them from the pan, they completely fell apart, into crumbles. Not one held its shape. ???? I did leave my butter and eggs out, but I’m thinking the butter wasn’t room temp enough?? Because when I mixed it with the egg, it didn’t cream. It was lumpy and goopy. So, it’s either that or I baked them too long, that made them fall apart. Do you have any advice? I just can’t figure out what it was.
Did you happen to use a different sweetener? And it definitely should “cream” properly.
I had this happen too. I used yacon sryup instead of molasses. Would that cause the goopy mess instead of creamy
Were your eggs at room temp too? Whenever my butter clumps up, it’s because my eggs were still cold.
Carolyn I can never get my butter and eggs to “cream” nicely. Even when leaving things out and doing at room temp. It happens in the winter and summer. Is it that I’m just not mixing them long enough? I keep trying, eventually I will figure out why this is happening.
It might be not mixing enough, not sure. What sweetener are you using? For this recipe, you want to cream the butter with the sweetener for a minute or two, then add the eggs one at a time. The butter may clump a bit after the addition of the eggs but as long at they aren’t super cold, it will all smooth out again as you add the dry ingredients.