Healthy Keto Pumpkin Crisp - The EASIEST recipe EVER!

It will only take you about 1 bite of this AMAZING gluten-free and keto Pumpkin Crisp to officially declare this recipe as one of your favourite fall desserts! The smooth, perfectly spiced pumpkin filling and the crunchy double crisp topping is truly a match made in heaven! Use my Homemade Pumpkin Spice in this recipe and all your Fall treats! And, with under 2 grams of sugar per serving, this dessert is also healthy!

Keto Pumpkin Recipe

Truth be told, I have never been a huge fan of pumpkin pie.

It seems that somehow pumpkin pie has become synonymous with Thanksgiving. Too thick and dense and personally, a little too bland for me (I mean seriously, the pie is just composed of a basic crust and a custard-like filling!) the only way for me to enjoy it is to spruce it up a little with a smothering of whipped cream.

So, needing to find a pumpkin-like recipe for the upcoming holidays but also feeling selfish in nature and wanting to please my own personal tastebuds, I decided to create a pumpkin crisp instead of a pumpkin pie.

Plus, not sure whether I would like this or not, I knew I also wanted to make sure that the recipe was super easy. Who wants to spend hours in the kitchen creating something that they might not even like?

So, I was super hesitant to try a bite of this Pumpkin Crisp since I was unsure of whether or not I would like it.

And guess what? I didn’t just like it, I LOVED it! I actually can’t wait for Thanksgiving to share this pumpkin dessert with others since Pumpkin pie haters and lovers will all love this twist on a traditional pumpkin pie.

From now on, when I think of the ultimate fall dessert, this is the one I’ll think of. By taking the best part of all "crisp" recipes, that crunchy sweet topping along with a light and airy pumpkin pie filling, this recipe is incredibly delicious, unique, and super easy!

And if you are looking for more keto pumpkin recipes, check out Easy Keto Protein Pumpkin Seed Bars, Easy Mini Keto Pumpkin Waffles or this Easy One-Bowl Keto Pumpkin Bread.

Sugar-free Pumpkin Crisp

Like I stated in my intro, one secret that makes this recipe unique is the double crisp.

The other unique feature is that this recipe is more light and airy than a traditional pumpkin pie. Combining the crunchy topping with a light and airy pumpkin filling makes this keto pumpkin recipe not only unique but absolutely delicious!

Baking Pan

The first time I made this recipe, I used a regular glass 8 x 8 inch baking dish that I buttered well before adding my ingredients. It took about 35-40 minutes to bake. Since I wanted to take some pretty pictures, the second time I baked this recipe, I used a cast-iron skillet...and that was a slight mistake!

You see, cast-iron takes a LONG time to heat and since I couldn't place the skillet in the oven to preheat it as well as since I was not using it on the stove-top before baking, the cast-iron skillet went into the oven at room temperature.

So...what exactly is the problem?

Well, the problem is 2-fold. First, the skillet took much longer to heat up and so the crisp took an additional 10-15 minutes to bake. Because of the longer baking time that I had not anticipated, I did not think of covering the crisp and so it got a little darker than I would have liked!

On my third attempt, I used a pie pan and guess what...SUCCESS! Pretty, festive and perfectly baked, this keto pumpkin crisp turned absolutely delicious!

this recipe

Healthy Pumpkin Crisp Ingredients

This sugar-free pumpkin crisp does not require any "funny" ingredients. Here is the list of what you will need for this easy keto recipe:

• Pumpkin puree - Be sure that you’re getting the pumpkin puree and not the pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin puree is cooked pumpkin that is blended or mashed into a smooth texture. There should be no seasoning, spice, flavoring, or sugar added. Pumpkin Pie filling has spices and flavoring already added and is sweeter. Since we are adding our own seasoning and sweetness into this crisp, you only need the pure pumpkin flavor of the puree.
• Eggs - The eggs help the pumpkin filling set so it doesn’t stay runny. Also, compared to regular pumpkin pie that only uses 1 or 2 eggs, this recipe uses 3 to help lighten the final result.
• Sweetener - Since the crisp is supposed to be crunchy, any sweetener will work for the topping. I used Lakanto Golden (which is an erythritol-based brown sugar substitute). Be aware that if you use a sweetner that contains allulose, you keto pumpkin crisp will definitely be significantly darker in colour so you may want to not use any allulose in this recipe.
• Heavy-Cream - The heavy cream is whipped in at the end to help give the filling its ultra-creamy texture as well as a deliciously rich flavour.
• Pumpkin pie spice, Salt & Vanilla - These 3 ingredients really help to round out the pumpkin flavour. If you don’t have homemade pumpkin pie spice, no worries! You can certainly use a combination of 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, and ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg.
• Almond Flour - This is the main ingredient for the crisp topping. You can not substitute with coconut flour as the coconut flour is very dry and high in fiber that it will burn before the crisp has finished cooking.
• Pecans - The chopped pecans help give the crisp a topping texture that you crave on any crisp! You can replace the pecans with walnuts or you can eliminate the nuts altogether.
• Butter - Butter is used in the topping and helps make the topping crispy as well as adds a perfect buttery flavour. I like to use good quality butter like Challenge Butter. It’s churned daily from two natural ingredients: the freshest 100% real pasteurized sweet cream and salt. That’s it! The taste is pure, and the flavor is consistent, which is extremely important in baking. I used unsalted butter but if you only have salted butter, you can use it instead and simply omit the additional salt ingredient. Melt the butter or make sure that the butter is at room temperature to help bind the crisp topping.

Instructions for Sugar-free Pumpkin Crisp

Quick and easy, this sugar-free pumpkin recipe is sure to become a traditional holiday recipe!

Step 1 - Prepare the crisp batter

• Mix all the crisp ingredients together.
• Next, butter your baking dish (or spray it with non-stick cooking spray).
• Spread about 1.5 cups of your crisp mixture on the bottom of the pan, pressing it flat.

Step 1 - Prepare the pumpkin mixture

• Whisk together the eggs, pumpkin puree, sweetener, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in a large bowl.
• Add the heavy cream and whisk the ingredients together. Set the mixture to the side.

Step 3 - Assemble the keto pumpkin crisp

• Spread the pumpkin mixture over the bottom crust and top with the remaining crisp.

Step 4 - Bake

• One thing that makes this recipe unique is that the crisp mixture is used on the top AND the bottom. The amazing thing about this layer is that it changes depending on how long you bake the crisp.
• If you bake at 375°F for 35 minutes, the bottom crisp mixture will be slightly caramelized and gooey while the top will be perfectly crispy
• If you bake at 375°F for 45 minutes, the bottom oat mixture will be crispy throughout. The top will be darker, but if you prefer a less dark crispy top you can add a foil tent to the crisp after 35 minutes.
• Hint : You can also double the crisp ingredients for even more crunchy deliciousness!

How to Serve Pumpkin Crisp

Warm or cold? The jury is still out on this one!

Some liked it better warm, but others preferred it cold.

I liked it both ways, and honestly, I based my decision on what I was going to top it with!

Although it is wonderful plain, it is also delicious with a dollop of ice cream or whipped cream on top. And if the crisp is still warm, I absolutely love the way the ice cream begins to melt and that creaminess puts the biggest smile on my face!

You could always step out of your comfort zone and drizzle some room temperature caramel sauce on top! Pumpkin and chocolate go great together so you could also heat the crisp with some chocolate chips on top until they melt! If you have never tried combining chocolate and pumpkin, I have Chocolate Pumpkin Bars you might want to try.

So long story short, do whichever sounds best to you and whatever works best for your dessert occasion!

However you chose to eat it, it is going to be absolutely delightful!

How do I store this healthy pumpkin crisp?

If you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, you will want to cover the remaining crisp (once it’s cooled) with a lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate. I do recommend enjoying the crisp within a day or two as the topping will get less and less crunchy as time goes by.

When you’re ready to dive back into the refrigerated crisp, you can certainly eat it right from the container by the spoonful!  However, if you have company and need to actually share this crisp, put a scoop in a bowl and heat it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds to warm it up!

More Keto Pumpkin Recipes

Looking for other keto pumpkin recipes like this? Try these:

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