This Beautiful Keto Lemon Cream Pie is a low carb, gluten free and sugar-free sensation that even carb loving family and friends will enjoy!
Lemon Cream Pie
Lemon lovers will adore this scrumptious pie! With a fabulous, flaky crust that is also low carb and grain free, even if you're not quite into lemon you might just find yourself needing to try a piece!
I'm a lemon lover all the way so I have a few recipes besides this one that might tickle your fancy to make. If you don't want a large pie like this in the house perhaps my Lemon Mug Cake would be best as it's just a single serving. If you're into creamy custards try my Blueberry Lemon Custard Cake made in the Crock Pot, or my newest recipe without the need for a pie crust, Lemon Custard Pie! I've also got an easy creamy, lemon cheesecake mousse you might love!
If you've been following my blog for a while now, you know a little about my family. For those who are new around here, these are the facts:
- I've been sugar-free for 15 years, gluten free and low carb for the last 6 and keto for the last 3.
- Hubby was not sugar-free and low carb and we've been able to let our food differences not hinder our happy marriage of 22 years. In 2018 he finally went keto, hooray!
- I grew up in an Italian household where carbs are the main source of a meal.
- My dad is from Rome and a very old fashioned Italian who still asks me if I want a sugar filled dessert when I come over or bread. This is been ongoing for the last 12 years. I doubt he will ever stop asking, but he's my dad so I just let it go.
- My kids love everything I make, for the most part. They usually aren't AS picky as the husband.
BUT when special occasions arise, like holidays where I am hosting at my house, this is where I get to work on helping my family see that food without gluten and sugar is just as incredible as traditional favorites!
Coconut Flour Pie Crust
Although my youngest son hates the taste of coconut flour, he can't tell my keto pie crust has any in it! The gorgeous pie has been tested and approved by the picky youngest child who hates all things coconut, by the 72 year old Italian father who really loves carbs, by the picky teen who pretty much eats anything and everything these days, by the pickiest critic of all, my hubby and also a few other unsuspecting neighbors who had no idea it was sugar free and low carb! All with rave reviews!
As Easter is soon approaching this will be the star of the day in my kitchen.
Every Easter in fact I have tried a brand new recipe to share with my parents, brother, sister in law and of course my own kiddies and hubby. I think at this point everyone is getting used to my sneaky ways! It's pretty much a tradition now that it's been happening for so long. I think they secretly look forward to it, even if I can't ever get them to convert to a no sugar way of life. 🙂
Making traditional recipes that typically contains a ton of sugar and having my sugar-free versions loved by family and friends, well that's just a giant leap in the right direction don't you think?
Sugar Free Lemon Cream Pie
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Sugar-Free Lemon Cream Pie
Ingredients
Filling
- 4 eggs
- ½ cup Swerve sweetener or 1 cup sugar substitute
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¾ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon liquid stevia eliminate if not using Swerve
- Topping
- 1 tsp unflavored gelatin
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp vanilla liquid stevia
- Optional: lemon zest over the top
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
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In bowl whisk together eggs, Swerve, sour cream and salt.
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Slowly whisk in lemon juice and lemon stevia.
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Pour filling into pre-baked pie crust.
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Place pie onto a baking sheet and cover around the crust with aluminum foil.
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Bake until barely set, about 30-35 minutes. Center of pie will still jiggle slightly.
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Cool pie completely before adding topping.
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To make topping, place the water into a small saucepan and sprinkle over the gelatin.
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Heat on low stirring constantly until gelatin is dissolved. Set aside.
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Pour heavy cream into a stand mixer with vanilla stevia.
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Whip until peaks form.
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Slowly pour in the gelatin mixture.
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Spread this over the cooled lemon pie.
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Refrigerate 1 hour and up to a day, loosely covered.
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Top with lemon zest if desired when serving.
Recipe Notes
Net Carbs: 4.8g
Brenda's Notes:
- This recipe was first published in March 2016 and updated with video in March 2019.
- Swerve sugar free sweetener is less sweet than most granulated sugar free sweeteners that's why I included lemon stevia as well in the recipes. If you are using something other than Swerve you can remove the lemon stevia.
- If you don't have lemon stevia, you can make this with the vanilla stevia or clear stevia in the filling.
- The gelatin in the whipped cream topping is needed so the whipped cream will be more stable if you are making this ahead and I wouldn't eliminate it.
- I used my coconut flour crust and pre baked it. Then I covered the crust well with aluminum foil before baking the lemon filling in the pie. I have not tried the crust without baking it first.
- I used about 6 lemons to get ¾ cup juice. This is Tart! If you don't like it very tart reduce this amount to ½ cup.
Can you substitute stevia in the raw foe swerve ?
Stevia in the raw will be much sweeter than Swerve so I could reduce the amount by half and maybe skip the lemon liquid stevia as well.
Could you cook the filling like cooked pudding and then put it in the pre-baked shell?
I've not tried that for the filling sorry!
As for "lemon juice" do is it possible to sub "real lemon" concentrate store bought or u have to juice lemons. In what portions?
I juiced 6 lemons to get 3/4 cup. I think fresh is best.
I can’t figure out how to send a comment- so am replying! Made this for a dinner party last night- never said anything about non-sugar, Keto, etc.
Everyone loved it- delish! Thanks for the recipe.
I used granulated Swerve in the filling & made sure it was dissolved when mixed (used a bit less as I like it less sweet). I don’t like vanilla stevia so under a Teas of powdered stevia & a bit of real vanilla. Perfect! Crust delish. You might tell people to use Meyer lemons as they are smoother, not bitter! Thanks for all you do, Brenda!
Thank you!
Can I use lemon extract instead of lemon stevia? I am allergic to stevia and have to modify keto/low carb recipes.
Yes you can use lemon extract but you will also need to replace the sweetness of stevia with another low carb sweetener, maybe Swerve about 3/4 cup.
Can You use the Great Lakes beef gelatin? I have the red one and how much should I use?
I haven't used that kind but I would think you could use use the same amount.
Can you skip the crust and make this crustless?
Hmm, guess you could, haven't tried it, not sure how the lemon filling would hold when removing it for a slice. Be sure to grease the bottom well. Rather than make it a pie, maybe try individually into ramekins and no need to remove, just enjoy with a spoon! Let me know if you try it!
I don't like leaving negative comments. But I made this yesterday for Easter dinner, and it was awful. Everyone said it was bitter and did not taste "right". Not sure where I went wrong. I have been sugar-free and low carb for many, many years. I usually forgo desserts. But, I thought I would surprise my family this year with a treat. Ugghh, had to throw the whole thing out. Wasted time and money?
Wow that is quite shocking! Maybe we can discuss what happened? Did you use my crust recipe? What brand of sweetener did you use?
Yes, I used your crust. That part was good. My daughter is a clinical dietician at a pediatric hospital, she specializes in the Ketogenic diet for children suffering brain seizures. So we are both hyper aware of carbs and sugar. She thought the crust was very good. I can't figure out which part was bad, the filling or the topping. I used Sweet Leaf plain for the filling (I couldn't find lemon flavored). I used Swerve Granular, since you didn't specify to use the powdered. In the topping I used Sweet Drops Vanilla. I feel like perhaps the lemon juice to sweetner ratio in the filling didn't work for us. I don't know, but I am afraid to try this recipe again. If my family sees me making this again, they will probably decline to taste it this time, sigh!
I will make note that I did use the confectioner's Swerve in the filling, not the granulated, not sure if that was the difference. But you mention it was bitter, not sour or too tart. If the lemon juice was too tart for you then reducing the amount I used to say 1/2 cup instead of 3/4 cup might be better for you. When someone mentions it's bitter though, it usually does not have enough sweetener in it for your tastebuds and that could have been fixed by test tasting the filling prior to pouring it into the pie to bake. I gave this to two of my neighbors when testing it out who do not eat sugar free or low carb and they loved it and never mentioned any bitterness.Sorry you had a bad experience, but hope you will try again with my recipes. Stevia is difficult to work with. Everyone's taste is different and the amount I used may just not have been sweet enough for you and that is probably why you mentioned it was bitter.
Thank you for the response Brenda. You are right, I should have taste tested as I went along. I know Stevia is tricky. Back in the day, I used to use Splenda. But of course, we all know that fake stuff is no bueno! I'm wondering if maybe my Sweet Drops were stale. Do they go bad, I have no idea. I don't make that many treats these days. Thanks again, have a lovely day.
I keep my liquid stevia in the fridge so maybe it can go stale if left out on the counter. I run through it so fast in so many recipes. Anyway, thanks for being so understanding!
I find when I use stevia I need to add a small amount of honey. Helps with the bitterness. Of course it does add a few carbs back in. I recommend testing stevia to honey ratio in hot tea to see if it helps your taste before trying it in a pie.
Same I followed. The crust and pie to a t and it was super bitter. I had to toss it out as well. 🙁
Did you taste your lemon mixture prior to placing it into your crust? This is the key with keto baking, your taste buds and mine are different. I think this pie is sweet enough, tasting your batter before baking it would have helped you decide if you needed more sweetener.
I made it for Easter. I loved the tartness, but not the stevia in the topping. I scraped the whole thing off and made more topping with swerve and vanilla extract. Loved the crust too!
Thanks for sharing Alice. Some people just don't like stevia in the whipped cream. I don't notice any aftertaste and don't like using Swerve in whipped cream because for me, it seems grainy. Thanks for coming back to tell me your results.
I have been following your website for a little under a year now, and I constantly recommend it to friends and family. I've made a variety of recipes (cauliflower antipasto salad, cauliflower bacon cheeseburger casserole, etc.), and they've all been great. I made this lemon cream pie for Easter and it was delicious! It had a nice tart punch, and even non-low carbers enjoyed it. .
Yeah!! Thank you so much for coming back to share how you liked it!
I was wondering if You have ever tried making meringue to top this with, and if it works good. That would also be low carb if you used swerve in place of sugar. (whipped egg whites with swerve, and vanilla extract.)
I didn't try that, but next time I make it I will. Sounds good too, i'm just partial to whipped cream LOL.
This looks delicious! Need to try!
On the last step it says to add the gelatin to the whipped cream one peaks form. Do I add it while still whipping the heavy cream? Should it be stiff peaks when done?
Yes while it's on drizzle the gelatin into the stand mixer a little at a time while it's running.
Hi Brenda, I did not buy the Swerve confectioners, just the regular - hope that is ok?? Also, don't have the lemon drop, but have the lemon-lime sweetleaf drops. Think that will be ok?
The confectioners is more fine so not sure if you will notice any grainy texture. Lemon lime stevia should be fine.
Where do you buy the flavored stevia?
iherb.com for the most part, I find it cheaper there. My discount code is YAJ035
The filling recipe calls for Swerve but you don't specify granulated or confectioners. In the comments, I read that you used confectioners. Is the recipe going to be changed to read confectioners or did you change it to granulated? Thanks so much!
I usually use confectioners in a creamy filling, it's better since it's finer, although you could use granulated and simply blend in up in a blender to get it finer.
can i substitute the sour cream for cream cheese?
I've not tried that and it's a thicker consistency so if you try it you probably need a bit less than the sour cream amount.
This is the best lemon pie that I have ever eaten! I made it for my husband for Valentine's Day and it was a big hit!!! Lemon pie is his favorite. The coconut flour crust is just awesome. My daughter loves key lime pie, so I am going to make her one using limes. I am so glad that I found your site, through Pinterest! I will be checking out your other recipes!
Karen
Thank you!
My husband made me this for Easter dinner, and it was very good. I am the only low-carber in my family, and the sugar-eaters tried it too and mostly liked it. For those blog readers who, like me, like to read all the comments to learn from others' experiments and experiences, I offer the following: We thought the crust needed a flavor boost- a bit more sweetener and some lemon zest and vanilla perhaps. We didn't pre-bake it, and I think it would have been better if we had. The edges still got too dark, and the crust above the filling line had a better texture--almost cookie-like. We cut back to 3/4 t liquid stevia (Now Better Stevia) along with 1/2 c granular Swerve in the filling, and it was quite tart, just about right for our family's lemon lovers. The granular Swerve crystallized on top of the lemon filling overnight, but adding the whipped cream topping smoothed it back out. I only put 6 drops of liquid stevia in the cream, and it was sweet enough for us ( I think plain stevia tends to be stronger than the flavored ones.) We decided, however, that we would prefer the pie with less whipped cream - perhaps 1 cup, perhaps 3/4 cup. The lemon filling was definitely the star, quite similar to lemon curd in taste and texture, but with less stirring! I think next time we will try it in individual ramekins without crust or whipped cream, since I'm much more likely to make a 1-step dessert than a 3-step dessert for a non-holiday meal. We will definitely have this again. I especially like the use of the less expensive low-carb ingredients (liquid stevia, coconut flour, whole eggs), minimizing the more costly ones (Swerve, almond flour, egg yolks). Thank you, Brenda!
Thank you for sharing!
I would love to make this but is there anything i can subsitute for the sour cream ? My husband is lactose intolerant :/
Green valley organics makes Lactose Free Sour Cream
There are a few vegan sour creams out there, foragerproject makes a cashew some and kite hill makes an almond based one. I can't do dairy because my calcium is always high but these are good.
I used this recipe to make just the whipped topping for another cake and it came out really bitter for me, I used the vanilla sweet drops and unfortunately it didn't come out right. Im actually comsidering in making another batch and adding powdered swerve to see how it comes out or maybe a few drops of Stevia glycerite .
Is there a link to the crust? I'm not seeing it anywhere.
https://www.sugarfreemom.com/recipes/low-carb-coconut-flour-pie-crust/
Hey Brenda, I was wondering if you have ever put this pie in the freezer? I want to premake it, and freeze it for a later date.
If I substituted limes, would it make it a key lime. I’m not a great baker so I don’t know how to substitute. A lot of my family loves key lime pies or I thought maybe. Lemon looks delicious too though.
Sure that would work and just use the same amount as the lemons used.
Is it possible to use Greek plain yoghurt instead os sour cream? Has anyone tried yet? Thanks in advance.
instead of*
I made this in a cupcake pan with foil liners. I used 1/2 cup fresh lemon/lime juice. I also used a blend of erythritol and stevia, that I pulverized. I also added in some lemon zest. I opted for an almond flour/crushed pecan crust. I baked them about 25 min. They are to die for!
Thanks Vane!
This is one fantastic recipe. Making it again right now. Have you ever ever tried freezing it?
I'm experimenting with dessert recipes and tried this yesterday. It came out pretty good. I actually think I like the filling without the crust. ? I used Swerve and I didn't experience any bitterness. Thanks for the recipe!
I thinks that's why Truvia, a stevia based swetener, adds erythritol. It seems to take it until it tastes just like sugar.
How do u make the crust for the lemon pie
https://www.sugarfreemom.com/recipes/low-carb-coconut-flour-pie-crust/
Hello!
I can't wait to bake this recipe. Do you happen to know if leftovers should be kept chilled at all times or is it OK at room temp for a few days?
Thanks in advance!
I would keep it refrigerated.
Hi do I have to use sour cream, do not like it?
You'll need to replace it with something else, maybe Greek yogurt.
This pie came together so quickly and easily and is delicious! Thank you!
Cant have coconut , what flour can be substituted?
For the pie crust? A different recipe. You can't swap coconut with other keto flours without having to change other ingredients.
I made this last night and loved it! My husband found it to be too tart, but he's not a lemon person. I am and thought it was wonderful. My only change was Pyure instead of Swerve (and a lesser amount).
Made tonight-very tart and I'm a lemon lover. Possibly not so much lemon next time or using Meyer lemons with 3/4 cup instead
I used everything just as you indicated. However, I could never get the topping with the heavy whipping cream to get thick. I beat it by hand, then beat it with a hand mixer with the same results. Everything else turned out fine and it was pretty tasty except for the whipping cream.
Thank you SO much for this amazing recipe!! It is my husband’s birthday and he LOVES everything lemon, also is newly diagnosed diabetic, but not yet insulin-dependent, so we are being super careful with diet etc. I had one question and I don’t assume you will answer me immediately but maybe someone else will have the same question for another time. For the topping, when you say in step 8:
To make topping, place the water into a small saucepan and sprinkle over the gelatin.
Do you mean, “sprinkle the gelatin over the top of the water” or do you mean to place the gelatin in first as would be implied by saying sprinkle over the gelatin? I am sorry. I am easily confused. So far I have made the entire recipe from the crust to this point and it looks and smells amazing, but this point has me a bit befuddled. Thank you so much!
Sprinkle the gelatin over the water in the small sauce pan. Hope he loves it!
Hi, I want to make this Pie so bad, but no one in my family cares for lemon pie. Can I freeze it?
Thank you in advance.
Lotte Sloth
Made this pie tonight and my picky husband LOVED it. I ran out of sweetner so didnt put as much lemon juice in to balance it out. It is the first time I have attempted to bake anything keto and we usually just stick to mousse, mug cake, or jello if we want a dessert. This is a winner and I will definitely make it again!! Thanks for this amazing recipe!! My next adventure will be your chocolate chip cookies...once I restock on my sweetner 😊
This recipe was excellent! It turned out better than I expected! My husband says I now have to make it once a month😋
I just made the lemon cream pie. It is soooo delicious. I will be making this again! Thank you so much Brenda. You are a Godsend in my life. I am truly thankful for you! Kyra
Thank you!
Can you please clarify some of your recipe. I will not be using the liquid stevia (vanilla or lemon). In the pie filling should it be granulated or powdered sweetener? Again, in the whipped topping should it be granulated or powdered sweetener? How should the ratios change if not using liquid? For instance, if using Swerve? Thank you.