Low-Carb Chocolate Pie (Dairy-Free, Keto, Vegan)
No Need for a Cheat Day
Let’s get real here. The holidays are upon us. Thanksgiving, Christmas, they’re coming and they’re bringing ALL THE SUGAR. So many parties. So much food. What are we gonna do? Have a “cheat”?? NO, we’re not!
Treats with No Regrets
I know you still wanna enjoy some delicious treats around the holidays, but you *don’t* wanna regret it afterward.
To me, the conventional desserts filled with So. Much. SUGAR are just not worth it anymore. Been there, done that. My stomach will be hurting for days if I eat a bunch of white sugar. Ughhh. I hate it.
If you’ve committed to a healthier lifestyle or a low-carb diet, you don’t have to give in just because you’re tempted. There’s a way out! And I’ve got a solution.
Instead of planning on “cheating” and living with the misery and discomfort (and disappointment in myself), or simply foregoing dessert altogether (noooo, I can’t) I’m making my OWN fully compliant (and much healthier) treats. Problem solved.
FAMILY APPROVED Desserts
Pie for me, pie for you, pie for all.
I TOTALLY get it. If it’s Thanksgiving dinner and you’re in charge of bringing a pie, you want it to be GOOD. Impressive even. Same for me.
Don’t fret. We’ve got a winner here.
I’ve tested this pie on my (sugar/gluten/dairy-eating) kids and hubs with rave reviews, so I’m betting it will be a hit with your family, too.
It tastes just as good as a sugar-laden pie, so they probably wouldn’t even know the difference.
No one has to know it’s gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free unless they need to 😉 Shhhhh it’s our little secret. Hahahha.
EASY AS PIE
Gluten-free baking is *not* for the faint of heart. Especially when it’s ALSO grain-free, egg-free and sugar-free on top of that! It’s quite a challenge, friends.
So I want to make this as EASY as possible for ya. My gluten-free crust has:
- no cutting in butter
- no chilling the dough
- no waiting
- no rolling
- no skills needed!
It’s so simple!! Just mix together the ingredients and press into a pie plate.
And the result? A strikingly similar crust to the “real deal”.. it’s buttery, crisp, a little savory, and is the perfect complement to the sweet chocolate filling.
A Dairy-Free Chocolate Dream
How do you make chocolate cream without any dairy or eggs? My favorite solution is COCONUT CREAM.
If you’ve never used it, it’s found in a can of coconut milk. Chill the can 24-48 hrs and the cream rises to the top. It doesn’t taste coconut-ty to me, but then again I do LOVE coconut.
If you’re ok with dairy, by all means, just use heavy whipping cream. They’re interchangeable here.
I amped up the richness here by adding in a good bit of creamy ALMOND BUTTER. Mmmm. It has a neutral flavor that perfectly blends into the chocolate, and really makes the chocolate nice and thick.
YOU DESERVE HEALTH
SO, don’t be that girl that gives into eating JUNK just because it’s staring you down. Stand strong. Weight-loss goals, a commitment to a better lifestyle, a commitment to your health and a promise to YOURSELF. I’m about to preach up in here. Gettin’ fired up! lol Listen, sister. Those momentary pleasures of eating the garbage are NOT WORTH IT.
Resist the temptation, but also don’t deprive yourself of enjoying some delicious treats.
Make your own pie that’s MUCH healthier than the SAD pies everyone else is eating. And join me in eating pie that doesn’t destroy your health and well being. Let’s eat pretty pies with no regrets 😀
Cheat-Free Chocolate Pie (Low-Carb, Gluten/Dairy-Free)
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour
- 2 Tbs avocado oil
- 2 Tbs ground flaxseed + 1/4 cup water
- 2 Tbs granulated monk fruit - or coconut sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
Filling
- 1 1/4 cups coconut cream - from a can of coconut milk (part coconut water is ok)
- 1 3 oz bar dark chocolate - sugar-free for keto
- 1/4 cup natural almond butter
- 2 Tbs granulated monk fruit - or coconut sugar
- 2 Tbs cacao powder
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
To make the crust:
- Preheat oven to 375. Grease a pie dish with oil. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix flax & water and set aside to thicken. Stir in oil.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together almond flour, salt, and monk fruit.
- Pour wet mixture over dry and mix well with a fork until a dough forms. Add a small splash of water if it's too crumbly.
- Press dough evenly into pie dish. Prick all over with a fork to prevent bubbling.
- Bake for about 20 minutes until lightly golden. Allow to cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before filling.
To make the filling:
- Add all ingredients except chocolate to a mixing bowl and whip with a hand mixer until silky smooth.
- Melt chocolate and gently fold into whipped cream mixture by hand (do not overmix)
- Taste and adjust with a little more cacao, salt or sweetener.
- Spread filling over crust. Cover and chill pie until set (at least 4 hours)
- Garnish with whipped coconut cream (see notes for recipe)
- Enjoy!
Notes
33 Comments
Debbie
does this taste like coconut or just chocolate??
Emily
Doesn’t taste like coconut to me, but I do love coconut. You can add a tsp of espresso powder and/or almond extract to bring out the chocolate flavor if you like.
Kim
Do you have any substitute for the coconut? Maybe avocado? I know someone with an allergy to coconut, gluten and dairy so trying to find a fun holiday dessert.
Emily
For the coconut milk? Yes I think avocado should work. I’d puree it in a food processor with the other ingredients (except the chocolate) and fold in the melted chocolate. You may need to thin it out a little bit with a nut milk of some kind. Let me know how it goes 🙂
Kari
This looks amazing! Do you have a way to cut down on some calories in the crust? I follow THM, but I still have to count my calories or I gain.
Emily
Thanks!
Well, I’m not sure how to cut it down and still have the same outcome. You could replace the oil with water to cut calories, but it will not be as crisp.
However… Each slice is only 179 cal as is (according to myfitnesspal) 🙂 That’s quite low, imo.
Hope that helps!
Kari
That’s a small slice:) I’ll see what I can figure out
Does the coconut cream need to be refrigerated prior?
Emily
Yes refrigerate prior (especially if you are using a can of coconut milk and not just coconut cream, so the cream separates)
Hope you enjoy!
Erica Glenny
I made this… my first experience with monk fruit (used the brand you recommended) and I am beyond impressed! I’ll proudly make it again next week for Thanksgiving! I’m vegan, my Mother in Law is low carb and a relative is gluten free. I didn’t think it was possible to make one thing we could all eat but this is it! Even without the whip it’s very rich tasting and chocolate forward, not coconutty like a lot of vegan desserts. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Emily
Ahh I’m so glad! Doing a happy dance over here So thrilled it worked for all your family. You are welcome!
Isn’t that monk fruit so good?? I can’t get over the taste!
Thanks for taking the time to comment, Erica.
Sherry
This pie is WONDERFUL! I have made it twice; both times it was PERFECT.
The only variations from the recipe were that I use regular white sugar and I have tried it using muffin papers and a muffin pan for individual pies for Thanksgiving–these were a total hit! I found that the muffin-sized crusts still needed the full time to bake.
I know that I’ll be making this at least once during Advent. This recipe has quickly become a favorite. Thank you!
Emily
Yay So happy to hear!! Love the individual pie idea! You are so welcome.
Kirstin
I am allergic to coconut. Can you recommend a substitute for your recipes? I do eat butter. Thanks.
Emily
Whipping cream should work fine for coconut milk. 🙂 Butter is a good sub for coconut oil.
If you make it, let me know how it turns out!
michele fleitas
Can I substitute and egg for the flaxseed?
Emily
Yes, that should work. Replace the egg and 3 Tbs water with 1 egg (keeping 1 Tbs water.)
Add a little extra water as needed if it’s too dry or almond flour if it’s too wet/sticky. 🙂
Jennifer W
What size pie pan is recommended?
Emily
A standard 9” 🙂
Angie
Can you substitute Swerve for the sweetener instead of mink fruit?
Emily
Yes 🙂 That should work fine (the powdered version may dissolve better), Always taste and adjust as needed. Hope you enjoy!
Toni
Made this for an early Thanksgiving & everyone loved it that tried it! (Some won’t try what I bring because they know I only make healthy desserts – their loss!)
Thank you – Blessings
Emily
Yay! So glad it was loved! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review
Sarah
What sugar free dark chocolate do you recommend for this recipe?
Emily
I like Lakanto brand chocolate which is sweetened with monkfruit and erythritol. There’s no weird aftertaste. It’s usually available on their website Lakanto.com. Use my discount code PRETTYPIES for 20% off 🙂
Amy O'Day
Should I melt and cool the 3oz bar of chocolate before adding? Or do I chop it up? TIA!
Emily
Melt it 🙂 I chop up the bar first and add to a double boiler to melt or just do 30-sec microwave intervals.
Amy O'Day
Thank you!!!
Sophia Chapman
Hiya! Just wondering what size pie dish you used here? Mine is 22cm across & about 5cm deep (so roughly 9 by 2 inches I think? haha) – just wanted to check whether 1x this recipe will be enough to make a good size pie in it, or if I need to scale it up a little!
Emily
Hi! I think that’s the same size pie plate I used here. It’s a standard size 🙂
Lauren
I love the flavor of this pie! How did you get your pie to be so creamy though? My coconut cream was cold because I had to refrigerate it to separate it from the liquid. When I added the melted chocolate to my whipped coconut cream the chocolate seized up (because cream was cold, chocolate warm). The texture of my pie is really lumpy now. Is there a way to make it smoother next time and prevent the chocolate from seizing? Thank you!!
Emily
Sorry it turned out lumpy. Hmm. I whipped my cream smooth first and gently folded in the melted chocolate. Whipping the cream should make it nice and soft with no lumps Make sure you’re not putting any coconut water in with the chocolate- that causes seizing.
Also be sure not to over-mix.
The chocolate should be melted but not extremely hot. Stir it and let it sit for a minute. Then fold in.
Sometimes you can just melt everything together in a saucepan on a very low heat on the stovetop after mixing if it’s just too lumpy to try and salvage it.
I hope that helps! 🙂
Christine
Hi Emily! This recipe is a family favorite! I was just asked if we could take it to Thanksgiving dinner, but there’s someone there with a nut allergy. Have your or anyone else ever experimented with a different crust, or replacing the almond flour in this one?? (but I’m still feeding someone who’s paleo and allergic to eggs too!)
Emily
Oh yay I’m so glad it’s a family fave!
For nut-free, I would do pumpkin seed flour for the crust and sunbutter for the filling. I haven’t tried it in this specific recipe, but it works in my chocolate cupcakes! It does alter the flavor slightly, but I like it. I got the pumpkin seed flour on Amazon. Sunflower seed flour is another option but Ive never experimented with it.