From our kitchen · Thanksgiving

Keto Thanksgiving Recipes

Slice of keto pecan pie on a white plate, with a bowl of pecans behind Slice of keto pecan pie cheesecake on a white plate, the rest of the cheesecake behind

Introduction

Thanksgiving is a lot to pull off! There’s the menu to plan, the sides, the desserts, the oven space, and somehow everything needs to be ready around the same time. But when everyone finally sits down to a table full of food, goes back for seconds, and still manages to find room for dessert, all that effort feels worth it.

To make things a little easier, we’ve gathered our keto Thanksgiving recipes in one place, from pecan pie and cheesecake to appetizers and sides. We’ve also included tips on what you can make the day before and which dishes won’t need the oven at all, so you have one less thing to juggle.

Pecan pie and cheesecake

Both are pecan pie in spirit, and they part ways at the crust. The pie has one: almond and coconut flour pressed into the pan by hand rather than rolled, chilled for at least an hour first, and baked on its own for ten minutes before the filling goes in. The pecans go into the crust before the filling, which is poured over the top of them.

The cheesecake has no crust at all. It bakes on its own in a 10-inch springform, and the pecans arrive afterwards, in a topping you make on the stove. It also takes far longer from start to finish, about six and a half hours, nearly all of it cooling and chilling, so it is the one to make the day before. Both are served cold.

Pecan candy and bars

None of these three bakes. The only oven step among them is toasting the pralines’ pecans, and only if yours come raw. That matters on a day when the oven is spoken for.

The candied pecans and the pralines are close cousins. Both are golden monk fruit and butter cooked down in a saucepan, with the pecans stirred in once it comes off the heat. The pralines add cream and cinnamon to the pan and set in muffin cups in the freezer. The candied pecans stay as whole halves, chilled on parchment until the coating sets hard.

The bars are the odd one out. They are peanut butter and coconut oil melted together, with chopped pecans through them, frozen in an 8-inch square pan until firm, so they eat more like fudge than like a pecan pie bar.

Pumpkin pie

Our pumpkin pie lives with the rest of our keto pumpkin recipes, but it belongs on this table too. It is a custard pie, and a custard pie is easier to cut cold, which makes the day before the practical time to bake it. The crust dough also spends at least half an hour in the freezer before it is rolled out between two sheets of parchment and pressed into the pie plate, so leave room for that.

Sides

Two sides that stay out of the oven’s way, one completely. The Brussels sprouts salad doesn’t cook at all: the sprouts are shredded raw, the Parmesan, almonds and cranberries go on top, and the lemon dressing is tossed through before serving. The dried cranberries are the one high-carb ingredient in the bowl, and the recipe’s own notes go through using fewer of them, or none.

The cheddar biscuits do need the oven, but only for 20 to 25 minutes, and the dough takes about five minutes to mix. They are drop biscuits, so there is no rolling, folding or cutting.

Before dinner

Something for people to eat while they wait. The pumpkin cheese ball needs no oven and does its waiting in the fridge: it chills for an hour, gets wrapped in cheddar and tied into a pumpkin shape, then chills for another hour and stays there until shortly before serving.

The sausage balls are the opposite, about 35 minutes from bowl to plate, nearly all of it in the oven, and cooled for a few minutes before they go out.

Planning the day

What to start early

The recipe cards have the full times. Sorted by when each one needs to be started:

The day before

  • Pecan pie cheesecake. About six and a half hours from start to finish. It bakes for an hour, cools, chills for four hours, and then chills again once the topping is on.
  • Pumpkin pie. It cuts more cleanly cold. Wrap it, or put it in an airtight container, and keep it in the refrigerator until you serve it.

Earlier in the day

  • Pecan pie. The dough chills for at least an hour, the crust bakes for ten minutes on its own, and then the filled pie bakes for 50 minutes to an hour. It is served chilled, so give it time to cool.
  • Candied pecans. About 15 minutes at the stove, then 1 to 2 hours in the fridge for the coating to set hard.
  • Pumpkin cheese ball. Two hours of chilling, in two stages. It then waits in the fridge until shortly before serving.
  • Pralines and pecan bars. Both set in the freezer, the pralines in about 30 minutes and the bars in about 20. The bars don’t travel well at room temperature, so keep them cold until they go out.

Close to dinner

  • Brussels sprouts salad. No cooking at all. The dressing is tossed through before serving; the recipe doesn’t cover making it further ahead than that.
  • Cheddar biscuits and sausage balls. Around half an hour each, most of it in the oven, so they can go in once the oven is free.