If you love pumpkin, you’ll love this healthy and delicious keto pumpkin custard recipe. It’s like a crustless pumpkin pie, but so much easier! Keto pumpkin pie custard is simple to make, but fancy enough for special occasions, like Thanksgiving!
Keto Pumpkin Pie Custard
With fall just around the corner, I’ve noticed that more and more people are looking for keto pumpkin recipes. And I’m happy to oblige! So today, I’m bringing you a brand new recipe for keto pumpkin pie custard cups. They taste creamy and smooth, with the sweet taste of pumpkin and a hint of spice. With this recipe, you can enjoy the best parts of pumpkin pie, without all the carbs. It’s gluten-free and sugar-free, like all of my keto pumpkin recipes.
If you want more keto pumpkin recipes, be sure to check out this quick and easy Keto Pumpkin Mug Cake, this super popular Keto Pumpkin Bread, or these creamy and delicious Keto Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins.
Ingredients in Keto Pumpkin Pie Custard
One of the great things about this recipe is that it requires only 5 common keto ingredients, plus the pumpkin pie spice mix. Along with heavy cream and two eggs, you’ll also need the following ingredients:
Pumpkin Puree
What would a pumpkin custard cup be without real pumpkin puree? The recipe uses one standard can of pumpkin puree, which is 15oz.
You can use either canned pumpkin puree or homemade pumpkin puree in this recipe. Just make sure you’re not using pumpkin pie filling, which can be easy to grab by accident at the grocery store.
If you want to learn more about pumpkin on the keto diet, including how many carbs in pumpkin, check out this guide: Is Pumpkin Keto Diet Friendly?
The Spice Mixture
You can use a pre-made pumpkin pie spice mixture, but it’s just as easy to make your own spice blend at home. You’ll likely have all the spices you need in your cupboard already. To make homemade pumpkin pie spice, combine:
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (freshly grated is even better!)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
You can keep this mixture in a small airtight container, and store it in your pantry. It’s also great to make a big batch and keep it on hand for any of the other keto pumpkin recipes I have posted on this site.
Sweetener
In addition to pureed pumpkin and spices, you’ll need a low-carb sweetener like erythritol, monk fruit extract or stevia extract. My preference is to use Swerve granulated sweetener in this recipe. Although, I bet that the brown sugar version of Swerve would be nice as well!
How to Make Low-Carb Pumpkin Custard
The method for making these little keto pumpkin custards couldn’t be easier. All you need to do is whisk up all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl, divide them among several individually sized ramekins, and bake them in a water bath. Simple as pie!
The Right Size Ramekins for Custard
I like to use small 8oz ceramic ramekins to bake my custards. You can use smaller or larger cups if you like, but the cooking time may be a bit different than described in this recipe. For reference, I used 5 ramekins for this recipe, and each ramekin held about a cup of custard at a depth of about 1 1/4 inches.
These are similar to the ramekins I have at home, and they come in all sorts of colors.
How to Tell When Custard is Done
Sometimes it’s hard to tell when the custard is done. Underdone custard can be runny, but overcooked custard can crack or curdle. To help you out, here are a few ways to test.
The knife test: You can test for doneness with a thin-bladed knife. Insert knife midway between center and edge of cups. If the knife is mostly clean when you pull it out, the custard is done.
The jiggle test: Baked custards like this pumpkin custard should jiggle (but not slosh around) when gently tapped. You can tell these custards are done when they are barely jiggly in the center.
Of either test, I find the jiggle test is more accurate for this particular recipe (and most pumpkin pie recipes, in general).
How to Use a Water Bath
In general, I recommend using a water bath to help these custards bake evenly. A water bath insulates custards from the direct heat of the oven, reducing the chances of overbaking or cracking.
To bake these custards using a water bath, you’ll need a baking pan that can fit all of your ramekins. For me, I could fit all of my ramekins in a regular 9×13 metal pan that has 2″ tall sides.
First, use a tea kettle to preheat your water. Then, place all the custards in a dry 9×13 pan, and put the whole thing in your preheated oven, but leave the oven door open. Then, use the kettle to pour the water carefully into the 9×13 pan around your ramekins, taking care not to splash.
Tip: the water just needs to come halfway—not all the way—up the sides of the ramekins.
When the pumpkin custard is done, you’ll want to remove the ramekins from the water bath and cool on a wire rack before chilling them in the refrigerator. Although you can eat these keto pumpkin custards warm, I prefer them served chilled with whipped cream.
Tip: The smaller dish you use for the custards, the faster your custard will cook.
How to Store Keto Pumpkin Custards
One of the great things about this recipe is that you can make it ahead of time. You can safely store these pumpkin custards for about 3 days in the refrigerator. Make sure to cover them tightly with plastic wrap.
I do not recommend freezing pumpkin custard.
Other Healthy Low-Carb Pumpkin Recipes
If you love pumpkin, then you should check out these other healthy pumpkin recipes on the blog:
Keto Pumpkin Mug Cake – Quick and Easy!
Keto Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Keto Pumpkin Custard Recipe
Creamy pumpkin custards that are low-carb and keto-friendly. Like pumpkin pie, without the crust.
Ingredients
- 15 oz pumpkin puree
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2/3 cup granulated erythritol sweetener
- 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (see notes)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare ramekins in a larger pan for a water bath. Fill a kettle with water, and set to boil
Combine pumpkin puree, eggs, cream, sweetener, spices, salt, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Whisk together until smooth.
Divide the mixture into individual ramekins. Place the whole pan of ramekins into the oven, and carefully fill the outside pan with hot water until the water reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
Bake at 350°F for 40 minutes or until set. Remove the ramekins from the water bath, and allow to cool on a wire rack. Store in the refrigerator.
Notes
Instead of 1 1/2 teaspoons of pre-made pumpkin pie spice, you can use the following homemade spice mix.
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp allspice
- 1/8 tsp cloves
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 5 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 235Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 128mgSodium: 296mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 2gSugar: 4gProtein: 4g
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. Carb count will vary with different ingredients and brands. It should not be considered as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This is fabulous! Thank you so much!
I just put mine in the oven. I only had a mixture of 1 cup and 2 cup ramekins. I set the timer for 40 minutes. Any advice on how much longer the 2 cup custards will take to bake? I hope they turn out ok.
I just made this recipe. It is delicious. However, I did have to cook them much longer. I did the water bath for forty minutes and they looked set but when I went to eat one it was just like the batter. So I put them back in the oven without the water bath for another twenty minutes. Much better.