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 1/2 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
- 1/3 cup pecan halves, divided
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 1/2 tbsp Swerve Brown
- 1 1/2 tbsp Bocha Sweet
- 1/4 tsp 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!
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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Can you use monkfruit in place of Boca sweet?
No, it won’t. Please read this article to understand how different sweeteners work: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/best-keto-sweeteners/
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!
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 .
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.
Delicious, I used swerve and add some nutmeg and allspice. Served it with hwavy cream. Thank you!
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!
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!
Glad you liked it!
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!
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.
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.
Thank you for the recipe I’m making it right now, however I didn’t see in the written instructions went to add the caramel extract. I went to your video and it was indicated there.
I was craving something sweet and I’m just starting this low-carb life and found your site. Thank you again.
Can I use LaKanto Monkfruit in place of the Bocha Sweet?
No, because it’s mostly erythritol, like Swerve, and your filling will re-crystallize. See the blog post for appropriate BochaSweet subs.
By chance will Allulose liquid work in place of Bocha Sweet. I have Xylitol, but I also have Allulose liquid that I’ve never used and just wondered if it would work here. Thank you in advance. Your recipes are wonderful!
I haven’t ever used it so I can’t say for sure. Sorry!
Very easy, quick and super yummy gooeyness made with xylitol, erythritol and molasses. It was delicious warm on its own. Perfect portion control too…
Might want to add a step to the procedures for adding in the extract. I love the magic bars. I’m sure I’ll love this.
Made this tonight in 2 small ramakin’s. I didn’t have caramel extract so I used 1/8 tsp maple and 1/8 tsp vanilla. Over cooked it, was lazy and just poured HWC over it…didn’t change the fact that it was Absolutely DELICIOUS! Love your blog and video’s. Thanks!
How long do you cook when you use 2 small ramakins?
Not sure, I would keep a close eye on them.
I want to make this for the two of us, but I’d really like to include a crust. Can you give me any advice? 1/3 your crust recipe? Size of dish?
I’m sorry, I haven’t tried anything like that so you will need to experiment.
OK. I’ll let you know how it goes. Thanks anyway.
Made it as you described with no crust to celebrate pi day. So delicious! Turned out perfectly. We didn’t miss the crust. A happy pi day for us 😉 Thanks so much for all the care you take perfecting these recipes.
Adding the caramel extract after adding the egg should be in the written instructions.