From our kitchen · Fall favorites

Keto Pumpkin Recipes

Slice of keto pumpkin pie topped with whipped cream on a white plate, the pie dish behind Stack of keto pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies on a white plate, a mini pumpkin behind
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Introduction

Pumpkin season usually starts with one can of puree, and the can tends to outlast the recipe. The pie below uses the whole 15 ounces, but most of the others need far less — a third of a cup for the whoopie pies, three tablespoons for the cheesecake shake — so there is nearly always some left in the fridge, waiting for its next job.

That is what this page is for. Every recipe on it is one of ours, with a full recipe card, and they are grouped by what you are in the mood for: a pie or loaf to share, a quick bake just for you, a batch of cookies or muffins, or something cold to drink or spoon up.

Pies, breads & small bakes

The pie is the one to plan around. It bakes until the center is barely set, then needs to cool completely before it slices, and it cuts more cleanly after a night in the fridge — which makes it a good make-the-day-before dessert for a holiday table. The bread asks much less of you: the batter comes together in one bowl and bakes in a loaf pan.

The other two are for when you want pumpkin now and nobody else is waiting. The mug cake is a single serving out of the microwave, and the chaffle makes one small sandwich in a mini waffle maker — enough for one, or two if you are sharing.

Cookies & muffins

The cookies differ mostly in what goes on the outside. The snickerdoodles get a full cinnamon-and-sweetener coating, the pumpkin cookies just a dusting of cinnamon, and the whoopie pies are two cookies around a cream cheese filling — which is why those need to cool all the way before they are filled.

The muffins split the same way. The chocolate chip batch is unfrosted and small, eight muffins with no butter or oil in the batter. The other makes a dozen and gets a cream cheese frosting, so once they are frosted they belong in the fridge.

Drinks & chilled treats

Three cold options, and the first question is whether you want coffee. The iced latte is the only one with any in it, from cold brew stirred together in a glass. The cheesecake shake goes in the blender and comes out thick enough to count as dessert.

The parfait is the one to make ahead. The pumpkin filling keeps in the fridge for a day, and the granola goes on when you serve it so it stays crunchy.

Before you bake

A few things to know about baking with pumpkin

A few things apply across the collection. Each recipe card has the details for that recipe; these are the differences worth knowing when you are choosing between them.

Puree, not pie filling

Every recipe here that uses pumpkin is written for 100% pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. The two tins sit side by side on the shelf, but pie filling is already sweetened and spiced, and these recipes add their own sweetener and spices. The ingredient list is the quickest way to tell them apart, and our guide to pumpkin on keto goes through the difference, carbs included.

Flours are not interchangeable

Most of these are almond-flour bakes, but not all of them. The snickerdoodles and the mug cake also use coconut flour, and the chaffle is built on mozzarella with only a spoonful of almond flour. The amounts don’t trade one for one: to leave the coconut flour out of the snickerdoodles, their recipe notes replace the ½ cup with an extra 1½ cups of almond flour. Check each recipe’s own notes before you swap a flour.

Sweeteners come in different forms

Each recipe is written for a particular form of sweetener:

  • Powdered monk fruit: the pie, the mug cake, the frosted muffins and the chaffle filling.
  • Powdered Swerve: the bread, the whoopie pies, the chocolate chip muffins and the parfait.
  • Granular monk fruit: the pumpkin cookies, the latte and the snickerdoodle coating.
  • Golden monk fruit: the snickerdoodle dough and the chaffle batter.
  • Liquid monk fruit: the cheesecake shake.

Use the form the recipe calls for.

Compare the serving you will actually eat

Every recipe card’s Nutrition Facts panel is per serving, and a serving means something different in each one: a slice of pie or bread, a single cookie or muffin, a whole mug cake, a glass of latte. Compare the serving size before comparing the numbers.

How much pumpkin each one uses

If you are choosing a recipe to finish an open can, this is the order to look at it in:

  • A whole 15-ounce can: the pie.
  • 1 cup: the frosted muffins.
  • ½ cup: the bread, the pumpkin cookies and the parfait.
  • ⅓ cup: the whoopie pies and the chocolate chip muffins.
  • ¼ cup: the snickerdoodles and the iced latte.
  • 3 tablespoons: the cheesecake shake.
  • 1½ tablespoons: the chaffle.
  • None: the mug cake, which gets its flavor from pumpkin spice alone.

A little help choosing

Your pumpkin recipe questions

Which ones don't need an oven?

Five of them. The iced latte, the cheesecake shake and the parfait need no cooking at all. The mug cake cooks in the microwave, and the chaffle in a mini waffle maker.

Which of these recipes has coffee in it?

Only the keto pumpkin iced latte, which is made with cold brew. Nothing else in the collection has coffee or espresso in it, so the cheesecake shake is the cold pumpkin drink to reach for if you would rather skip the caffeine.

Which ones can I make ahead?

The pie is the obvious one. It needs to cool completely before it slices, and a night in the fridge makes it easier to cut cleanly, so making it the day before suits a holiday meal. Keep it covered in the refrigerator.

The parfait works the same way in two stages: make the pumpkin and cream cheese filling up to a day ahead and keep it in the fridge, then layer it with the granola and whipped cream when you serve, so the granola stays crunchy.