Sky high chocolate mousse pie! And best of all, it’s keto friendly, sugar-free, and over the top delicious. It’s a luscious low carb dessert for the die-hard chocolate lover.
This insanely decadent keto chocolate mousse pie is the ideal dessert for special celebrations. You know, like holidays and birthdays. And weekends. And Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
This was actually the dessert I made for our Christmas dinner this year, and it was very much worthy of the occasion. It takes a little effort and it dirties a number of dishes, but once you taste it, you will forget all the effort and just revel in the creamy chocolatey goodness.
I have plenty of keto pie recipes, but honestly this one just might take the cake. Or the pie!
French-style keto chocolate mousse
I have a long standing love of chocolate mousse, especially the true French mousse made with eggs. When I was 15, my family spent a month in France. I do believe I ate my weight in chocolate mousse every day.
When I went on a low carb diet to control my rising blood sugars, one of the first desserts I attempted was a sugar-free chocolate mousse. It is a very old post and desperately in need of an update, but I made it in the classic French style and the recipe itself stands the test of time.
The good news is that most of the ingredients in chocolate mousse are actually quite keto-friendly – barring the sugar, of course. Eggs, butter, whipping cream… all healthy keto choices. Even the chocolate is good for you, as long as it’s unsweetened or sugar-free.
French-style mousse is typically made with completely raw eggs and I have made it that way many times. The filling in this chocolate mousse pie, however, requires the egg whites to be heated to the point where it will not longer contain any harmful bacteria.
Tips for Keto Chocolate Mousse Pie
The inspiration for this delectable keto dessert came from one I spotted on Sally’s Baking Addiction. Her desserts are always aspirational for me, and I save many of them in the hopes of coming up with a keto-friendly version.
While not difficult to make, this chocolate mousse pie definitely takes some patience and some attention to detail, so let me give you a few pointers.
The keto chocolate pie crust is quite simple, and is one I’ve used many times in other recipes. You can use any nut meal or seed meal in place of the almond flour, in almost the same amounts. If it’s too dry, add a bit more melted butter.
Be sure to use a glass or ceramic dish, as metal conducts heat too efficiently and the crust can cook too quickly and burn. It also tends to stick more readily to a metal pan.
If your pie dish is the deep-dish style (as mine is in these photos), don’t try to take the crust sides all the way to the top, as it will be too thin. 1 inch from the top is about right.
The egg whites are imperative to give the chocolate mousse the right structure and lightness. But you will be cooking them gently over a pan of simmering water to 160F, so they are perfectly safe. This also helps to dissolve the keto sweeteners.
Whisk them gently but continuously as they heat up so that they don’t overcook. Do not walk away during this process!
The right sweeteners are important as well. I recommend a mix of Swerve and BochaSweet, as I used in my recipe below.
Swerve and other erythritol based sweeteners tend to dry out the mousse if that’s the only sweetener, so it can become a bit crumbly after it’s been around longer than a day. On the other hand, BochaSweet can make things like mousse too soft if it’s the only sweetener. The combination of these two work perfectly.
Xylitol or allulose can be used in place of the BochaSweet. However, if you only have access to erythritol based sweeteners, make sure it is the confectioners style (powdered) to avoid any residual grittiness.
Please PLEASE do not ask me if you can uses monk fruit sweetener to replace the BochaSweet. Most of these, such as Lakanto, are erythritol based so they work much the same way as Swerve.
Gently fold the mixtures together. In baking terms, folding refers to carefully combine mixtures without actively mixing them. I use a rubber spatula and run it along the sides of the bowl, moving in toward the center as I go. This helps keep the egg whites from deflating as you combine.
Also be sure to scoop toward the bottom, as the heavier ingredients, like the chocolate, tend to sink down there. It can take a few minutes to fold in the chocolate and whipped cream so that few, if any, streaks remain.
Garnishing your keto chocolate mousse pie: You made a gorgeous pie, now how do you want to decorate it? I simply spread my whipped cream topping right over the centre, and then grated a little keto chocolate over top.
You could also do a chocolate drizzle or some keto white chocolate chips. Or even some sugar-free chocolate sprinkles.
More Keto Pie Recipes you might like
- Easy keto pie crust
- Keto Blueberry Cheesecake Pie
- Keto Pecan Pie
- Keto Lemon Sour Cream Pie
- Keto Snickers Pie
- Keto Raspberry Custard Pie
Chocolate Mousse Pie – Keto Recipe
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 ¼ cup almond flour
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup butter melted
Chocolate Mousse
- 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate chopped
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 4 large egg whites
- ½ cup powdered Swerve Sweetener divided
- ¼ cup BochaSweet
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon espresso powder (optional, enhances chocolate flavor)
Topping
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoon powdered Swerve Sweetener
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat the oven to 325F and lightly grease a 9-inch ceramic or glass tart pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, cocoa powder, sweetener, and salt. Stir in the melted butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Press firmly and evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the pan (if your pan is deep dish, take the crust to about 1 inch from the top). Crimp the edges decoratively as desired.
- Bake 12 minutes, then remove and let cool completely.
Chocolate Mousse
- In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter together, stirring until smooth. Set aside to cool.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or another large heatproof bowl, combine the egg whites, ¼ cup of the powdered Swerve, and the BochaSweet. Set over the same pan of simmering water and whisk continuously until the whites reach 160F on an instant read thermometer.
- Transfer the bowl to a stand mixer (or use a hand mixer). Add the cream of tartar and the salt and beat on high until stiff peaks form.
- In another large bowl, beat the whipping cream with the remaining ¼ cup of powdered Swerve, the vanilla, and the espresso powder, if using.
- Fold about ⅓ of the egg whites into the chocolate to lighten it, then fold the chocolate mixture carefully back into the egg whites. Genly fold in the whipped cream until no streaks remain.
- Spread the mixture into the cooled crust, mounding toward the center. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to overnight. If overnight, press plastic wrap gently over the surface of the pie.
Topping
- In a large bowl, combine the cream and powdered Swerve. Beat until stiff peaks form. Spread over the top of the pie before serving.
Karen says
Best pie ever! Does not taste like typical Keto foods. Would recommend this dessert for any special occasion. Thank you
Michael says
I got the eggs part wrong as they wouldn’t whip into heaps, I think it’s because there was a tiny bit of yolk in it. 2nd attempt worked and this pie is the most delicious keto dessert I’ve ever had! It reminds me of the chocolate mouse cakes I loved as a teenager! It’s so decadent tasting! Thoroughly enjoyed it so thank you!
Carolyn says
Yes, darn it, whites won’t whip well if they get any yolk or fat in them at all.
Paul T says
This was amazing and so close to the sugar-filled version we grew up eating – typically at Christmas. For another flavor level, add 1-2 tsp instant coffee to the whipped cream topping before you whip it. Yes, had trouble getting crust out, but filled the sink with warm water and set pie dish in for a couple of minutes, slices came out perfect. Someone asked about freezing – yes, works great. Even made one just freeze. Make crust and filling, freeze for several hours (overnight), make whipped topping, spread over pie, freeze for hours (overnight). Put pie dish in sink w/ warm water, cut slices and wrap separately in plastic wrap and back in freezer. Remove, unwrap, plate and defrost in refrigerator until you can’t wait another moment – or eat mostly frozen 🙂
Miruna says
Carolyn, I love your recipes. I’ve tried a few and I’m always itching to try more, but honestly the measuring system really puts me off. It would be so very helpful if you could include a “metric” system button to them!
Carolyn says
Hi Miruna. I do often have a metric option, however, I have THOUSANDS of recipes on this blog and I do not always have the time to go back and change the old ones. I need to hand calculate a lot of them because the system is incorrect with regards to ingredients like almond flour.
Carolyn says
I so want to try this recipe! Sounds divine! Would it be just as amazing as a dessert in a ramekin, without the crust for example? How would one know quantity per ramekin? Do you think it could be frozen successfully?
Also, I’ve never seen Bochasweet here in Canada. Thanks!
Carolyn says
I am sure it would be great in a ramekin but I cannot tell you how to divide it, that’s up to you. I didn’t test my recipe that way.
Denise Freitas says
I’ve made this 2 times now…once for Thanksgiving with crust and once as 12 individual servings without the crust. It is so delicious and even non-Keto family love it. I actually prefer it without the crust. But, the crust could be made, broken up into crumbles and added to the bottom of the individual servings. It is a bit time consuming, but well worth it. Thank you for a delicious dessert
Carolyn says
That all sounds pretty great to me!
Carlos Sierra says
Hi Carolyn,
Thanks for this amazing recipe. I just made it and it came out great.
I have one question though: is the egg white process done for pasteurizing purposes? If so, would it be ok to just replace the egg whites with pasteurized egg whites and skip the heating process?
BTW, in case anyone reading this doesn’t have cream of tartar available, I substituted it with one spoon of lemon juice, and it worked fine.
Thanks
Carolyn says
In my experience, pasteurized cartoned egg whites make for a heavier, denser mousse. So yes you can but… not ideal.
Laurel says
But why heat the egg whites? Would love to know why. Thanks!
Carolyn says
Food safety.
Lynn Volpato says
I have Stevia and use that as my keto sweetener. Since it uses so much less I was wondering if I can use that in place of both the sweeteners. It is powdered.
Carolyn says
Not sure, to be honest. I don’t know the brand or the texture, and I find that stevia and chocolate together are very bitter.
Wendy Randazzo says
Great recipe! In step #4, do you beat the whipping cream concoction until you get stiff peaks or ?
I did not make any modifications either as I am at 6000 feet above sea level. It came out great.
Also, my ‘mousse’ was lighter in color than yours in the picture. Any thoughts?
Carolyn says
Yes, to stiff peaks. Lighter colour may be from the type of chocolate you used?
Jana Barker says
Is the texture/taste of this pie similar to your French Silk Pie bars in Easy Keto Desserts? I’ve made those bars and wanted something different (but I love chocolate). How different are they?
Carolyn says
Similar, probably… but I’d say this is more chocolatey
Tracey says
I made this today. It’s the most adventurous dessert I’ve ever attempted. Came out amazing. Absolutely love it. Well worth the adventure!
Carolyn says
Glad to hear it!
Jo says
This looks delicious and really want to try it. Silly question I’m sure. Can it be frozen then thawed? I’m
Single and was thinking of baking smaller individual serving sizes. Appreciate your thought. Jo
Carolyn says
I think it would probably do okay!
Geri says
This pie is absolutely amazing and pretty easy to make. I have made it twice now, and my husband asked me to make another one this week. How can I say no? Thank you!
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!
Joy says
I think I’m missing something between step 3 & 4. Which bowl gets the melted chocolate – The bowl with the egg whites or the one with heavy cream?
Carolyn says
It’s in Step 5. Read that part, where you fold some of the egg whites into the chocolate to lighten, then you fold that BACK into the egg whites.
Cindy Baugh says
Made this today. Absolutely lucious! The weather was wet and rainy so my whites didn’t get super stiff but I prevailed and it turned just fine texture-wise. I need to get your baking book! I’ve had most of my baking success with your recipes since going low carb.
Carolyn says
Glad it worked out!
Wenda says
I’ve made your chocolate cheesecake many times, it is so delicious, I can’t wait to try this pie!
Thank you for great recipes,!
Marv D. says
Ok, it’s cooling in the fridge now… There was some filling (ok, a lot, oops) of it left on my spatula which fell into my mouth. O-M-G Carolyn, this is going to be FANTASTIC!
Susan K says
Omg too funny!
Jo says
Can powdered unsweetened cocoa be substituted in lieu of the chocolate bar
Carolyn says
No, you really need good unsweetened chocolate for the right texture.
Tory says
Hi Carolyn, In some past recipes you’ve said ‘BochaSweet or allulose’. Would that apply here or is BochaSweet a specific? (I’m very comfortable with the erythritol products, but just becoming familiar with some of the newer ones.
By the way, we’re LOVING The Ultimate Guide to Keto Baking! Had such a lot of fun with it over the holidays 🙂
Thanks!
Tory
Carolyn says
Read the tips on making in the blog post, you will see I addressed that issue!
Tory says
Arrgghhh, I apologize! I actually had read thru the post, but missed it :-/ (one of the pitfalls of multitasking) Thank you!
Carolyn says
No worries, I just try to do that so I don’t have to answer every question separately!
Terry S says
She answered that in the narrative above the recipe when she talked about the sweeteners. There are always tips before the recipe.
Deborah says
Gorgeous pie…but HOWEVER did you get it out of the baking dish in one piece??? I am asking this because you may have already tried this and have the answer….but might you do in a sprinform pan wrapped well with several layers of aluminum foil (crumped layers) for extra insulaiton so it doesn’t cook too fast and burn the crust? I have little confidence I could do as well as you did getting the pie out of a deep dish pie plate.
Hats off for a scrumptious looking pie!
Carolyn says
The first piece of pie comes out a little wonky but it does come out – all pies, including high carb ones, often have this issue! After that, they come out very nicely. You could do the springform pan, though. I don’t know that you’d need the foil, as long as you keep your eye on it.