It’s pumpkin season, and for those embracing a ketogenic lifestyle, the good news is that pumpkin can absolutely be a part of your fall meal plan. Pumpkins are only 4% carbohydrates, which makes them a great addition to your low-carb diet. Instead of just using pumpkins to carve a jack o’lantern this year, why not use the entire thing in healthy recipes instead? There are plenty to choose from with the latest pumpkin recipe roundup.
Understanding Pumpkin's Role in a Keto Diet
Pumpkin is a wonderful low-carb vegetable that is incredibly versatile and perfect for the keto diet or low-carb diet. For most of the low-carb keto recipes below, you will need cooked pumpkin puree. No matter which one you decide to use, the cooked pumpkin puree must be low in moisture. If the pumpkin has too much water, your keto pumpkin pie filling, keto pumpkin fudge, or low-carb pumpkin muffins will be wet, soggy, and not set properly.
Making Your Own Pumpkin Puree
If you can’t find canned pumpkin puree, you can make your own real pumpkin puree easily.
- Peel the fresh pumpkin and cut it into 2-inch chunks.
- Boil, steam, or roast the pumpkin until it is soft but not overcooked and mushy.
- Allow as much of the steam and water to evaporate.
- Puree using a stick blender or place into a food processor and puree until completely smooth and lump free.
- Allow cooling completely at room temperature before storing. Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Essential Tips for Keto Pumpkin Baking
Before diving into recipes, let's cover some essential tips for successful keto pumpkin baking.
Low-Moisture Pumpkin Puree
As mentioned earlier, the key to avoiding soggy keto pumpkin treats is to ensure your pumpkin puree is low in moisture.
Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers
Choosing the Right Low-Carb Flours
The most popular low-carb flours are almond flour and coconut flour. Almond flour is finer and usually does not contain almond skins. It is usually used in keto cake recipes to make sure they are soft and fluffy. Almond meal is generally coarser and may contain almond skins.
Selecting Keto-Friendly Sweeteners
The most popular and favorite keto-friendly sweeteners are erythritol, monk fruit sweetener, allulose, stevia, and xylitol. Sugar-free sweeteners do not affect my blood sugar readings and taste like the real thing. For best results, I like to use the subtle sweetness of erythritol. Granulated erythritol for cakes, cookies, and low-carb pumpkin bars, powdered erythritol for smooth frostings, fat bombs, and keto cheesecakes.
Can I substitute eggs?
If you have an egg allergy and need an egg replacer, use these egg conversion charts (egg charts) to see the 6 most common egg substitutes used in keto baking.
Can I use melted butter instead of oil?
It depends on the recipe but please remember that butter has a creamy taste and buttery flavor, and often has added salt.
Pumpkin Pie Spice
Genuine traditional pumpkin pie spice is just a mixture of a variety of warm spices that are used in many fall and winter recipes. You can use pumpkin pie spice on the keto diet as long as it has no added sugars or you make your own. This homemade spice can be used in a variety of low-carb and keto sugar-free recipes. A small teaspoon can even be added to your daily keto coffee to give it a warm winter spicy flavor. Making your own spice mix is easy and beautiful for a gift.
Read also: Keto Calorie Counting: A Detailed Guide
What can I use instead of pumpkin?
In some recipes, you can swap canned pumpkin or fresh pumpkin for butternut squash. Make sure it is low in moisture otherwise your recipes might be soggy.
How can I stop keto fudge from sticking to the baking pan?
I always line my baking pan with parchment paper to make the fudge easy to remove. I even freeze it in baking paper and then pop it into an airtight container to last longer.
Keto Pumpkin Recipe Ideas
Now, let's explore a variety of keto-friendly pumpkin recipes to satisfy your cravings this fall.
Keto Pumpkin Desserts
- Smooth and creamy no-bake pumpkin pie keto fudge (0.8g net carbs).
- Sweet, delicious, and creamy chocolate keto pumpkin pie recipe that's only 3.4 g net carbs. You can even omit the cocoa powder if you want a traditional keto pumpkin pie recipe.
- Delectable keto pumpkin pumpkin muffins with a rich gooey cream cheese center. This soft and dreamy keto cream cheese frosting is made with only 3 ingredients.
- Keto pumpkin pie cupcakes are like the best part of the pumpkin pie. All creamy pumpkin pie filling and sweet whipped cream topping! A perfect low carb dessert for your healthy holidays.
- The ultimate low-carb pumpkin pie. Gluten-free, sugar-free, rich, custardy and easy as pie!
- Sweet, dense cookies filled with a rich layer of cream cheese.
- This one is extra special. It’s a great recipe for the freezer, so you can always have a keto dessert on hand when a sweet craving hits and the perfect texture for a frozen sugar-free dessert.
- If you’ve got canned pumpkin, you must try this dessert.
Keto Pumpkin Breakfasts
- These fluffy low-carb waffles taste like your favorite pumpkin pie!
- These tender keto pumpkin bars have an oatmeal-like texture for a satisfying breakfast treat. Full of healthy fats, they are completely grain free, sugar free, and dairy free.
- This recipe is like a small pumpkin pie in a jar. A healthy make-ahead breakfast option for busy days.
- Keto pumpkin pancakes made with coconut flour. These low carb pumpkin pancakes are dairy-free and gluten-free, and can be nut-free too. A perfect healthy fall breakfast.
- Dense and slightly chewy, these Low Carb Pumpkin Bagels are filled with the flavors of Fall.
- These pumpkin muffins are some of the best I’ve ever tasted! These fluffy low-carb muffins are perfect for breakfast and healthy snacking.
- These low-carb breakfast hot pockets are filled with pumpkin cheesecake.
Savory Keto Pumpkin Dishes
- When it’s cold outside, a warm pumpkin dinner is the best keto comfort food. Keto curries are perfect when served with fluffy cauliflower rice, keto samosas, and keto garlic naan bread.
- Pumpkin soup is the perfect slow cooker winter recipe. And if you love garlic bread with soup, I’ve got you covered!
- Here is my 4-ingredient take on this old classic.
- There can never be enough tabbouleh recipes!
Unique Keto Pumpkin Creations
- If you love the blend of sweet and salty, try this recipe for pumpkin and bacon ICE CREAM!!! This pumpkin and bacon ice cream is a wonderful blend of sweet and salty!
- I wouldn’t wonder if these muffins are the best ever low-carb pumpkin spice muffins you’ve tasted. And definitely the simplest!
- This healthy homemade version only costs $1 to make and has less than 1g net carbs per mug. The quick blender recipe is so easy, that it can be made every day. What says fall better than a pumpkin latte?
Keto Smoothies: A Refreshing Option
If you're in the mood for something sweet and fruity, then check out these keto smoothie options! Smoothies taste and feel like a wonderful dessert! They are refreshing on a hot day and do double duty, giving you nourishment and hydration at the same time. Another thing smoothies usually have is lots of sugar and carbs! I mean, it makes sense. Sugar is what you get when you puree fruit and fruit juice. No wonder it tastes so sweet - it's all that sugar and carbs. Thankfully, even places like Smoothie King are starting to offer keto-friendly options. It used to be a huge pain to try and make up your own low-carb order. Now, it's as easy as ordering the Keto Champ! There are still items on the menu keto dieters should avoid - and there are items that will keep you in ketosis. This guide will explain all of it so you can order a refreshing smoothie guilt-free. Save this list because it explains what you can order at Smoothie King, along with how many carbs the smoothie has. The following net carb counts are based on their small 20-ounce smoothie. Now that you know what to order keto at Smoothie King, let's look at some rules to keep in mind. This way, you can even go off-menu and create your own recipes without stress or worry.
Navigating Smoothie King on Keto
- There is a whole line of smoothies that are made specifically to help people bulk up (which is weight-lifting lingo for gaining weight). One 20-ounce Hulk Strawberry has 964 calories, 32g of fat, and an astounding 145g of carbs! What gives it all those carbs?
- Another way to decrease your net carbs is to increase the amount of fiber. Thankfully, Smoothie King has a mixture of fiber you can ask them to add to your smoothie. One serving of fiber-blend has 6g of dietary fiber and 5g of carbs. Proprietary blend primarily consisting of Apple Pectin, Flax Seed Powder, Oat Fiber, and other ingredients.
- Lots of low-carb smoothies at Smoothie King are also really high in protein. Watch out for anything that is marketed as having extra protein in it. Always monitor your macros - you don't need to eat too much protein, even on the keto diet. If you eat too much protein, your body might turn the excess into glucose! Yup, which is the opposite of what you want on a keto diet. So track those macros and stay within them.
Keto-Friendly Smoothie King Options
Here are a few answers to the most frequently asked questions about ordering keto food at Smoothie King. If you don't see your question in this list, leave it in the comments. Does Smoothie King have any keto-friendly smoothies? They are made with high-fat, high-protein, and low-carb ingredients. Depending on the flavor that you order, the smoothie might have almond butter, collage MCT blend, almond milk, or cocoa in it. Each smoothie in this line has less than 10g net carbs in each 20-ounce drink. The ingredients in this drink include raspberries, blueberries, protein powder, almond milk, almond butter, and cocoa. The ingredients in the chocolate version include cocoa, stevia, almond milk, almond butter, and protein powder. It has a bit more carbs than the berry flavor. This is made a little differently - it has caffeine! It has a combination of cold brew, almond milk, almond butter, protein powder, and cocoa. It has fewer carbs than the other two. The smoothie is made with real organic pumpkin, and the other ingredients are almond milk, almond butter, protein, and spices. There are 9g net carbs in a 20-ounce drink and only 10g of protein. Do not order anything with pineapple, mango, banana, or orange in it. These are the types of fruit that have the most natural sugar and carbs in them.
Read also: Magnesium Supplements for Keto
Smoothies to Avoid at Smoothie King
What are the worst things to order from Smoothie King if you are on a low-carb diet? There are three options on the menu that you should always avoid if you are on the keto diet. These three choices have the most sugar and carbs and are always a bad choice.
- Hulk Chocolate Smoothie: This has 101g net carbs in 20 ounces.
- High-Protein Lemon Smoothie: One 20-ounce smoothie has 46g total carbs. It's mostly a juice blend without much fiber.
- Peanut Power Plus Chocolate Smoothie: With 77g carbs, it has way too many to be keto-friendly.
Homemade Keto Smoothie Recipes
If this post on eating at Smoothie King has you really wanting a fruity drink, why not try some of these keto drink recipes?
- Homemade Keto Shamrock Shake has the same bright minty taste and thick milkshake texture, but only 3g net carbs.
- Keto Raspberry Avocado Smoothie is high in healthy fats and a dairy-free keto smoothie you'll love.
- Chocolate Keto Frosty is a low-carb version of the fast food favorite.
- Starbucks Caramel Apple Spice Drink is a low-carb copycat that you can enjoy all year long.
- Strawberry Avocado Smoothie is paleo, dairy-free, and only has 4g net carbs in each glass.
Embracing a Keto Halloween
Want to try a healthy Halloween this year? Or at the very least, cut back on the amount of sugar your kids consume?