Keto Mince Pies with No Added Sugar

These keto mince pies have a buttery, press-in almond pastry and a spiced Bramley apple, cranberry and brown butter mincemeat, with no added sugar. Each pie has 3.1g net carbs. A batch of 12 takes about 1 hour 25 minutes, including 20 minutes chilling the pastry.

If you've been searching for sugar free mince pies, these low carb mince pies with no added sugar are a good place to start. The pastry is pressed into the tin rather than rolled, so it's quick and forgiving. A little psyllium husk and xanthan gum hold the almond dough together, standing in for the gluten in wheat flour. For more on how they work, see our guide to keto pastry and our xanthan gum guide.

What we used: Groovy Keto Psyllium Husk Powder and Groovy Keto Xanthan Gum in the pastry, and our Monk Fruit Decoction & Erythritol Sweetener in both the pastry and the mincemeat.

• Prep time: 45 minutes, plus 20 minutes chilling
• Cook time: 20 minutes
• Total time: 1 hour 25 minutes, plus 10 minutes cooling
• Makes: 12 mince pies
• Net carbs: 3.1g per pie

Ingredients

For the mincemeat

• 25g unsalted butter
• 1 small Bramley apple, peeled, cored and finely diced (about 150g prepared)
• 60g fresh or frozen cranberries, roughly chopped
• 30g flaked almonds, toasted and roughly chopped
• 35g monk fruit decoction & erythritol sweetener
• Finely grated zest of 1 orange (about 5g)
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• Optional: 1 tbsp brandy

For the pastry

• 200g ground almonds (almond flour)
• 15g Groovy Keto psyllium husk powder
• 1 tsp (3g) Groovy Keto xanthan gum
• 20g monk fruit decoction & erythritol sweetener
• A pinch of fine sea salt
• 90g cold unsalted butter, diced
• 1 medium egg, beaten (keep 1 tsp back for glazing)

You will also need a food processor, a 12-hole bun (patty) tin and a small star cutter.

Method

1. Brown the butter. For the mincemeat, melt the 25g butter in a small pan over a medium heat and let it foam for 2–3 minutes until it smells nutty and turns light golden.
2. Cook the mincemeat. Add the apple, cranberries, 35g sweetener, orange zest, lemon juice and spices. Simmer gently for 8–10 minutes, stirring often, until the apple is soft and the cranberries have burst and thickened. Stir in the toasted almonds and the brandy, if using, then leave to cool.
3. Make the pastry. In a food processor, pulse the ground almonds, psyllium husk, xanthan gum, 20g sweetener and salt to combine. Add the cold butter and pulse until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs, then add the beaten egg (minus 1 tsp for glazing) and pulse until it clumps into a soft dough.
4. Chill. Press the dough into a flat disc, wrap and chill for 20 minutes. This gives the psyllium time to firm up so the pastry is easier to handle.
5. Heat the oven. Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, gas mark 4) and lightly butter a 12-hole bun (patty) tin.
6. Press in the cases. Weigh out about two-thirds of the dough and divide it into 12 balls. Press each ball into a hole of the tin with your thumb, working it up the sides to make an even case about 3mm thick. No rolling is needed.
7. Fill and top. Spoon a heaped teaspoon of mincemeat (about 20g) into each case. Pat the remaining dough out between two sheets of baking paper to about 3mm thick and cut out 12 small stars or rounds. Lay one on each pie and brush with the reserved egg.
8. Bake. Bake on the middle shelf for 18–20 minutes, until the pastry is golden. Almond pastry colours quickly, so check at 15 minutes and cover loosely with foil if needed.
9. Cool. Leave the pies in the tin for 10 minutes to firm up, then lift out carefully and cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Tips for the best keto mince pies

• Keep everything cold. Cold butter and a short chill give a crisper, shorter pastry. If the dough gets soft and sticky while you work, pop it back in the fridge for 5 minutes.
• Don't overfill. About 20g of mincemeat per pie stops the filling bubbling over and keeps the carbs at 3.1g per pie.
• Let them cool in the tin. Almond pastry is fragile when hot and firms up as it cools.
• Make the mincemeat ahead. It tastes even better after a day in the fridge, once the spices have had time to mellow.
• Love warm spice? Our keto cinnamon rolls are another cosy bake for the festive season.

Nutrition

Per mince pie (one of 12):

Net carbs are carbohydrate minus polyols. On UK labels, fibre is already listed separately from carbohydrate, so it isn't subtracted again. Figures are calculated from Groovy Keto pack labels and UK (McCance and Widdowson's CoFID) and USDA food composition data, so they are a guide and will vary with the brands you use. The optional brandy isn't included. Excessive consumption of polyols, such as erythritol, may produce laxative effects.

Allergens: this recipe contains nuts (almonds), eggs and milk (butter). The packs of our psyllium husk, xanthan gum and sweetener say they're packed in a facility where there may be traces of nuts, cereals and milk, and the psyllium husk and xanthan gum packs also mention gluten and eggs. Always check the current pack labels before baking for anyone with an allergy.

FAQ

Are mince pies keto?

Traditional mince pies are not keto. Wheat flour pastry and mincemeat made with dried fruit and sugar make them high in carbohydrate. These keto mince pies use an almond and psyllium pastry and a fresh apple and cranberry filling with no added sugar, so each one has 3.1g net carbs.

How many carbs are in a mince pie?

A traditional homemade mince pie made with wheat pastry and shop-bought mincemeat typically has around 30g of carbohydrate. Each of these keto mince pies has 3.1g net carbs, worked out as 7.7g carbohydrate minus 4.6g polyols from the sweetener.

Are these mince pies sugar free?

They have no added sugar, but they are not completely sugar free. The apple, cranberries and almonds contain natural sugars, which come to 2.2g per pie. If you have been searching for sugar free mince pies, this is a low-sugar way to enjoy them.

Can you make keto mince pies ahead and freeze them?

Yes. The mincemeat keeps in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 5 days. Baked pies keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days, or freeze them for up to 1 month. Defrost at room temperature and warm through in a 160°C (140°C fan) oven for 8–10 minutes.