Lurko and Julie in Mexico

Julie and Lurko, in Mexico, learning how to live off-grid

Slice of pie on a red plate.

I made a keto pumpkin pie in my Instant Pot

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Lurko and I have been living off-grid in Mexico for 10 months, and in that time we’ve learned how to live without some modern conveniences.1 One of those conveniences was a full-sized oven. We have a gas stove, and that works for cooking a lot of types of food, but sometimes you just wanna bake.

Baking with no oven

One appliance that I insisted on bringing from Texas was my little toaster oven2, and that does work for a lot of my baking needs. Later I found a 6-muffin tin3 online that was small enough to fit inside. I can’t tell you how many batches of zucchini muffins I’ve made. So I could make that, and a little bitty rectangular cake. What else could I bake?

A 6-muffin tin in the toaster oven, with zucchini muffins about to be baked.
This might be carrot muffins. It’s hard to tell.

We had just started the keto diet4, and I had all these great-looking sugar-free cheesecake recipes. Somehow I learned it was possible to make a cheesecake in an Instant Pot5, so of course I wanted to try that.  Is there anything an Instant Pot can’t do?6

First, though, I had to buy a cake pan that fits inside an Instant Pot. Fat Daddio’s makes one with a removeable bottom, and you can buy it online7. Check to make sure you buy the right size for your Instant Pot. I bought the 7″ pan (3″ deep) and it fit my 6-quart Duo perfectly.

Next, I merged a few recipes together, because I wanted this Instant Pot cheesecake but it had to be keto. I successfully married those two requirements and made a delicious cheesecake. No one could believe it was keto, or that I had made it in an Instant Pot!

From cheesecake to pumpkin

With Thanksgiving coming up, I wondered if I could replicate my cheesecake success with an Instant Pot pumpkin pie. The answer, dear readers, is YES! And this pie is also keto-friendly.

Here’s how I made my keto pumpkin pie:

Step 1: Make your own pumpkin puree in the Instant Pot.

I cut mine into pieces, set them on a trivet, added 1 cup of water (for my 6-quart Instant Pot) and cooked on Steam for 15 minutes.

Obviously, you can skip this step and use canned pumpkin. I did not, because 1) I live in Mexico and it’s hard to find canned pumpkin here, 2) I’m trying to be a good homesteader and at least process my own food if I can’t grow it, and 3) I had a perfectly good giant squash that needed to be used8.

A long squash that takes over the folding table.
This squash was the size of my arm. Link to that story in the footnotes.

Step 2: Make the pie crust.

I’ve used this one successfully in pumpkin pie and cheesecake. It’s easy to make, tastes great, and is 100% keto.

Pie crust ingredients:

  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 4 tablespoons melted butter
  • 1 tablespoon monkfruit
  • Pinch of sea salt

Mix the ingredients, then line the bottom of the cake pan with a circle of parchment paper9. (You might not need to do this, but it sure does make clean-up a snap. I didn’t bother with the sides and it was fine.) FORM the crust inside the cake pan.

Then you can go one of two ways to FIRM the crust:

Overhead view of a pie crust pressed into the round cake pan.
Crust pressed into the bottom of the pan.

Method #1 – Freeze: Place cake pan in freezer while you make the batter.

Method #2 – Blind-Bake (for firmer and crisper crust): Place crust in a 325°F oven for 15 minutes.

I’ve been doing Method #2, but I’m sure freezing it would also work.

Step 3: Make the filling:10

  • 15 ounces pumpkin (or squash) puree
  • 3 large eggs room temperature
  • 1/2 cup monkfruit (or other nonsugar sweetener)
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
The mixed pie filling with flecks of cinnamon, in a white bowl with a wooden spoon.
The pie filling, ready to fill.

Step 4:  Cook in Instant Pot

Pour 1 cup cold water in pressure cooker. Place cake pan on top of a steamer rack or trivet (so it’s not touching the water). Close lid and pressure cook at High Pressure for 26 minutes and Full Natural Release. Natural release will take roughly 7 minutes. Open lid gradually. Absorb any condensation on surface by lightly tapping it with a soft paper towel.

If you use the removeable-bottom cake pan, the finished pie comes out of the pan easily.
If you use the removeable-bottom cake pan, the finished pie comes out of the pan easily.

If you try this, let me know how your keto pumpkin pie in an Instant Pot comes out! I was overall quite happy with this pie, and my family enjoyed it as well. My mom said it was even better with whipped cream. I’ll try the next batch with a sugar-free whipped cream, but I’m sure she is right.

Slice of pie on a red plate.
Yay pie!

Related Articles

My giant squash adventure https://lurkoandjulie.mx/my-giant-squash

How to live without a refrigerator. https://lurkoandjulie.mx/nofridge/

How we lost 150 pounds on keto https://lurkoandjulie.mx/keto/

References/Affiliate Links

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more information see my Disclosures page.

  1. Article: How to live without a refrigerator.
  2. Toaster oven (affiliate link)
  3. Muffin pan for toaster oven (affiliate link)
  4. Article: How we lost 150 pounds on keto
  5. How to make cheesecake in an Instant Pot: I used a little from this site and a little from this site
  6. Fun fact: there is one thing an Instant Pot can’t do: pressure can low-acid food, so no canning meat. Instant Pot themselves admitted their device was not able to maintain the consistent high temps needed.
  7. Fat Daddio’s cake pan with removeable bottom (affiliate link)
  8. Article: My giant squash adventure
  9. Parchment paper (affiliate link)
  10. Pumpkin pie filling (links off-site)
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