A mini sugar-free pecan pie that serves just two. It’s the ultimate keto dessert recipe for the holidays and so easy to make. 6 ingredients and 35 minutes start to finish!
Pecan pie has always ranked up there as one of my all time favorite desserts, and the holidays wouldn’t be complete without it. And while I have an absolutely fabulous full-size Keto Pecan Pie, I thought it would be fun to do an easy small batch version.
Because let’s face it, pecan pie is a big dessert that takes a fair bit of time and serves 10 to 12 people. If it’s just a small gathering, or if most of your family doesn’t enjoy a rich gooey pie filled with pecans, then it’s not always worth all the work.
Plus I adore that gooey, pecan-studded custard filling so much, I wanted an easier way to be able to whip it up any time the cravings strike. And somehow in the fall, they seem to strike fairly often.
Love this sugar-free pecan pie recipe? I’ve got more where that came from! Check out my Keto Pecan Pie Protein Bars for an easy energy snack. My Pecan Pie Cheesecake is also a fan favorite. And the low carb Pecan Pie Bundt Cake makes a stunning holiday dessert recipe.
How can pecan pie be keto friendly?
Excellent question, my dear reader. Excellent question indeed. Thankfully, pecans themselves are very low in carbohydrates, and in conventional pie, it’s the crust and the sugary filling that makes it so unhealthy.
This easy pecan pie recipe does away with the crust altogether, so the carb savings are huge there. Of course, my easy keto pie crust is pretty low carb as it is, but this mini dessert for two doesn’t need any crust at all.
Swapping out the sugar for low carb sweeteners is a trickier matter, since no keto sweetener behaves just like sugar. But I find that a combination of both Swerve Brown and some Bocha Sweet helps me achieve the perfect gooey center with minimal carb impact.
Tips for Easy Pecan Pie for Two
If you watch my video, you will see how simple this mini pecan pie is to make. But there are some tricks to getting that perfect gooey center so I want to give you all the best tips I can.
The mix of sweeteners is critical: Swerve Brown gives you that deeper caramel color and flavor, and the Bocha Sweet helps keep the filling from re-crystallizing as it cools. I know many people will ask about substitutes so I will try my best to answer that here and now.
What to do if you don’t have Swerve Brown: You can use any erythritol based sweetener plus ½ teaspoon molasses. Don’t freak out, that tiny bit of molasses has only 2.5 grams of carbs so it only adds 1.25g per serving.
What to do if you don’t have Bocha Sweet: There are several other sweeteners that will keep your filling soft and gooey. Both allulose and xylitol are good replacements here.
Keep the filling on low heat: All you really need to do here is melt the butter and whisk in the sweeteners until smooth. Then immediately remove from the heat. Because you are going to whisk in an egg and you don’t want it to curdle and cook with the heat.
Use chopped pecans: Because this pie for two is so small, chopped pecans create a more cohesive filling. But I always save a few pecan halves for decorating the top.
Don’t overbake! The outside edges of this little easy pecan pie bake and set quickly, and they puff up a lot. But you want the center to not be quite set when you take it out of the oven. It should even look a little liquid. Because this is in a ceramic dish, it continues to bake for a little while when it’s out of the oven.
Want to take this easy pecan pie over the top? Try adding a few sugar-free chocolate chips when it’s still warm, and some keto whipped cream. It’s pure heaven!
More delicious Keto Thanksgiving desserts:
- Keto Pecan Pie Bars
- Pumpkin Cream Pie
- Keto Pumpkin Roll
- Pumpkin Cake with Streusel Topping
- Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes
Easy Keto Pecan Pie
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup pecan halves, divided
- 3 tablespoon butter
- 1 ½ tablespoon Swerve Brown
- 1 ½ tbsp Bocha Sweet
- ¼ teaspoon caramel extract or vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325F.
- Set aside 6 to 8 pecan halves to top the pie, then use a sharp knife to chop the rest. Set aside while preparing the filling.
- In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine the butter and two sweeteners. Whisk until the butter is melted and the sweeteners are dissolved, about 3 minutes.
- Remove from heat and whisk in the egg, then stir in the chopped pecans. Pour the mixture into one 8-ounce ramekin or two 4-ounce ramekins. Place the reserved pecan halves decoratively on top.
- Place the ramekins on a cookie sheet and transfer to the oven. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until the sides are set but the center is still wobbly. Remove and let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.
- Top with lightly sweetened whipped cream or some keto ice cream. Share with your favorite person!
Cathy says
Great flavor! This is a great recipe that I will make over & over
Debra says
When do you add vanilla?😊
Carolyn says
Along with the egg, sorry.
Donna says
I made this last night topped with a little whipped cream to share with my husband. I eat keto and he does not. Pecan pie is one of his favorite desserts. He loved this version and said it was an “acceptable” substitution. I thought it was delightful. You nailed the consistency of the pie. Thanks so much!
Valerie Martini says
This was excellent, a little cream on top delicious can’t wait to make it again. Thank you
Sue says
I have never tried a recipe of yours that I did not like. They are all WINNERS.
Carolyn says
Thank you!
Rose says
should i do that waterbath trick in the oven?
Carolyn says
I am not sure what you’re talking about? This recipe does not require a water bath.
Inka says
Hi, Carolyn
Thank you for all the nice recipes. I am keto and I usually share recipes with my friend who is as well keto.
But:
He doesn`t like to translate all the measurements into metric, so I can´t send him the ones where that “metric” button is missing :o((
I already give him the Temps in metric, but I don´t need the measurements in metric for my baking, so it´s a drag to
“translate” the cups and ounces and and and…. I know that is has been done by you already :o)).
Inka
Erin says
How far ahead can this be made? I usually do most of my prep so that I’m done by early afternoon the day before Thanksgiving, but I would have some time late morning/early afternoon after the turkey goes in (fryer, not oven), if I need to. Just hoping I don’t need to wait until later in the day on Thanksgiving!
Erin says
Oh, and thank you thank you thank you for a smaller serving size keto dessert! I am going to have one keto-requiring guest for Thanksgiving and am planning to make him individual portions to replace some of the basics (mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberries, dessert), and dessert is by far the hardest one to scale down! And then I will have to do the whole thing over again for Christmas!
Carolyn says
Should be fine a day in advance but re-warm it very gently.
Jana Gallagher says
I made this last night. Hubby says he doesn’t like pie so I called it pecan treat. He said it was really good! I loved it! Thanks Carolyn for all you do!
Haley says
Is there another sweetener you can replace the Bocha Sweetner with?
Carolyn says
Allulose is your best option.
Patti says
Help me understand why your net carbs is so different than Carb Manager. This is what they calculate.
Net Carbs
11.2g over 24.1g
Fiber
3.2g
Total Carbs
27.6g
Protein
78.5g left 9.7g
Fat
10.8g left 62.6g
Calories
428 left 603
I can’t really rate this recipe as I have not made it.
Carolyn says
Because Carb Manager is counting the erythritol and it shouldn’t. You really need to make sure you are looking more closely at what it’s doing.
Patti says
Thanks, I adjusted it and can’t wait to try it.
Carolyn says
Enjoy!
Mechelle says
Can you use monkfruit in place of Boca sweet?
Carolyn says
No, it won’t. Please read this article to understand how different sweeteners work: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/best-keto-sweeteners/
Lisa says
Is the Swerve Brown a packed 1.5 Tbsp? It looked like it in the video but wanted to be sure. Thank you for the recipe!
Gina says
I didnt go with my instincts and followed directions by adding egg into carmel mixture without tempering nor waiting for the Carmel to cool. Needless to say I ended up with carmelized scrambled eggs. Will try again .
Carolyn says
Your caramel shouldn’t have to cool, if you simply melted it over low heat, and whisked it together. So sounds like your heat was much too high. If it’s hot… yeah, it’s too hot.
Julie says
Delicious, I used swerve and add some nutmeg and allspice. Served it with hwavy cream. Thank you!
Sharon says
This was quite tasty! I used maple flavoring instead of vanilla, and I didn’t have any caramel. Thank you for sharing. I can now have pecan pie for dessert on Thanksgiving!
Chelsea Santos says
This was really frigging good! Since I am currently living alone for the time being, I love that it’s a serving for 2! It was super easy to make, and wow, what delicious flavors it offers. I topped it with CarbSmart Vanilla ice cream, so yummy. Will definitely be making this again soon!
Carolyn says
Glad you liked it!
Rachael Beckstead says
I just made this and my mind is blown! It’s so delicious that nobody would ever know that it’s keto! Pecan pie is the one thing that I really need on Thanksgiving. Now I have my recipe! Am I able to double or even triple the recipe for a regular pie size? Thank you for helping me stick to this way of eating even on special occasions!
Saritha says
It’s a great recipe, simple and quick but not very helpful for first timers I’m afraid. It says, ‘remove from heat and add egg’.. even on medium heat, the sugar mixture is going to be too hot for even room temp eggs. People who have worked with custard recipes or eggs in hot mixtures, wouldn’t know that they cannot add eggs as soon it’s off the heat.
Carolyn says
You do remove from heat and add the egg right away… It’s not that hot because you combine the butter and sweeteners over LOW heat, not medium. If you did medium, then that’s a problem.