Keto Pumpkin Flan

This keto pumpkin flan is silky smooth and creamy and features a perfectly clear, amber-colored caramel sauce and the flavors of fall.

It’s a Cuban pumpkin flan, a flan de calabaza, and it will make your keto pumpkin season delicious!

Being able to share a creamy, low-carb pumpkin flan recipe that makes pumpkin puree the star will be the perfect ending to your holiday meals.

I could recreate both the flavor and texture of a Cuban flan de calabaza and make it keto-friendly by swapping out a few key ingredients.

With only 2.5 net carbs per serving, it’s a seasonal keto flan recipe that can fit your low-carb diet macros without issue.

Compared to traditional flans that can have over 36 total carbs, it’s a sugar-free flan that makes the perfect keto dessert.

Even your Abuela will gladly enjoy this keto pumpkin dessert. If that’s not a win, I don’t know what is?!?

I have a recipe for keto Cuban flan that mimics this classic dessert beautifully and that you should also make. Also, check out our Keto Cuban Recipes for more flavorful options!

And as a fan of all things pumpkin, you should also visit our entire collection of keto pumpkin recipes.

Keto Pumpkin Flan

Are you not familiar with flan? It’s also known as crème caramel. It’s a creamy custard similar to crème brulee but has a firmer texture.

And in this recipe, adding pumpkin puree and fall spices makes it a seasonal treat.

What sets it apart is that it features a caramel sauce (sugar-free caramel sauce) that is baked along with the custard.

Then, when the low-carb flan is thoroughly chilled, it’s turned upside down over a plate; the clear amber sauce should ooze out well over the top and sides of the pumpkin flan.

Flan is a typical dessert in the Hispanic, Filipino, and Mexican communities. 

This keto leche calabaza flan passed for its high-carb counterpart. It’s a sugar-free pumpkin spice flan that you’ll be proud to serve all pumpkin season long!

How To Make A Cuban Keto Pumpkin Flan

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Note that the full printable recipe card detailing the ingredient amounts and nutritional information is at the bottom of the post. 

To make this recipe, you’ll need to begin by making the clear amber caramel sauce first on the stovetop by browning the butter and using allulose sugar-substitute. as the sweetener. 

The caramel sauce is added to the flanera to coat the bottom and sides before adding the creme custard. You can also make this flan recipe in 6 ramekins, six mini bundt pans, one large 9×5 inch loaf pan, or even a 9-inch cake pan.

The batter for the pumpkin flan comes together easily by gently whisking the eggs, egg yolks, heavy cream, sugar substitute of choice, and vanilla until combined.

The key is to remember not to over-whisk the mixture to prevent foam from forming by whisking too vigorously. The foam will cause air pockets to form and mess with the creamy texture a true flan should have.

What Is A Flanera Pan?

After you’ve poured the pumpkin custard evenly among the container of your choice, you’ll bake the flans in a baking dish that is filled with about 1 inch of hot water, a bain-marie.

Cooking the flans in a hot water bath is key to getting the silkiest texture and avoiding the risk of overbaking. 

You also do not want to overbake it, as that will cause bubbles. This means you will want to take the flan out of the oven when it is just set.

The top of the flan will be smooth, and the outside edges and corners will be firm, but the center will still jiggle, similar to gelatin.

If you make flans often, you might want to invest in a flanera pan. It’s a flan pan made of stainless steel and has a metal top with solid metal clasps that make it easier when using a bain Marie.

Although not necessary, a flanera gives consistent results and makes it easier to store the flan once it is done. 

Chilling And Unmolding The Keto Pumpkin Flan

Once the pumpkin keto flan is allowed to cool to room temperature, you will need to chill it for a minimum of 8 hours or overnight in the refrigerator. 

After the flan has had time to cool completely, it can be unmolded.

The easiest way to remove the flan from the container you chose to bake it in is to carefully run a knife along the edges of the flan and then place the container in about an inch of hot water. 

Then, place a plate over the container and quickly flip the plate so that the flan unmolds. The hot water will make the flans release easily once flipped onto your plate.

At this point, you’ll pour the caramel syrup over the top of the flan and allow it to go over the sides for a more classic taste.

Ingredients Needed For Keto Pumpkin Flan

The following are the ingredients you’ll need to make a low-carb flan de calabaza. Note that the full printable recipe card is at the bottom of the page.

Pumpkin Flan

• Room temperature eggs
• Egg yolks, room temperature
• Granulated sugar substitute 
• Cream cheese
• Heavy whipping cream 
• Pumpkin puree
• Vanilla extract
• Pumpkin spice
• Salt

Caramel Sauce (Keto Creme Caramel)

• Unsalted room-temperature butter
• Allulose sweetener
• Salt

Best Low-Carb Sweetener For A Sugar-Free Pumpkin Flan

I knew that getting the pumpkin custard wouldn’t be too challenging. I simply swapped the traditional condensed and evaporated milk for heavy cream and used a granulated low-carb sugar- substitute.

For the pumpkin custard, I used Lakanto monk fruit as the sweetener because it’s my favorite, but you can use Swerve granulated sugar substitute, which is an erythritol blend.

Similar to Lakanto, it uses sugar alcohols and has a 0 % impact on blood sugar. This is a major plus when doing a keto diet.

I wouldn’t say I like using stevia because I am sensitive to the aftertaste. But if that’s not the case for you, you could certainly use the stevia and erythritol-based brand Pyure for this recipe.

However, if you go this route, you will want to use half the amount called for in this recipe since it’s much sweeter.

Lastly, if you can’t easily find a more natural sugar substitute, you can also use Splenda, with great success.

Sugar Substitute For The Caramel Sauce

When it came to the clear caramel sauce, it proved to be a little more challenging and took a couple of tries.

Unlike regular sugar, which makes it easy to make caramel sauce, the use of keto sweeteners can be tricky.

What I found is that most sugar substitutes will crystalize once the flan has chilled, and that is NOT what I wanted.

I was looking to recreate the clear almìba sauce that stayed runny. 

After testing several sweeteners, I landed on an allulose sweetener as the best choice. It made the perfect low-carb caramel sauce with zero crystallization issues. 

The sweetness of allulose is about 70% sugar or erythritol, and that’s why I use a little more in the recipe. 

If you are wondering if you could use erythritol for the caramel sauce, you could, but it will seize as it cools, and the texture will be off.  

It really is worth using the allulose sweetener to ensure you get that classic, clear caramel sauce that is distinct in an authentic flan.

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I really hope you will give this sugar-free pumpkin flan a try and give your holiday meals a Spanish twist.

It would be a nice option to serve your guests a delicious pumpkin flan that tastes like regular flan. It really is an elegant dessert!

If you give it a try, make sure you remember to tag us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.  It’s what keeps us encouraged to keep sharing and perfecting our recipes.

Be sure to also visit our Keto Hispanic Food for more Latin recipes!

Also, check out our Amazon Store for our recommendations. You might be surprised by how many great keto options are at your disposal.

Grab Our Books!

In case you don’t know, I have authored two books for you, Essential Keto Bread and Essential Keto Desserts, both inspired by your requests over the years.

I pray these keto cookbooks will help make keto a delicious breeze for you.

Join Our Jesus And Keto Movement 

Randy and I came to the keto diet looking at it from a Christian perspective. As believers, we live our lives supported by God’s grace.

So when the Holy Spirit led us to combine our Christian faith and the keto diet, we did so in hopes of finding lasting transformation.

To say we needed God’s intervention is putting it mildly. When we followed the Holy Spirit’s prompting, we got on the path to real transformation. 

Knowing firsthand the benefits of this decision, we have created a closed Christian group that is using the keto diet to transform their lives. 

We invite you to join our Private Facebook Group and see if it’s not the key you’ve been missing.

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Enjoy early access to recipes before they go live on the website, plus bonus recipes that are exclusive to the app. Make your own personal cookbooks that you can use to organize your favorite recipes.

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The app is loaded with hundreds of yummy recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and even desserts!

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