Low-Carb Christmas Fruit Pies (Sugar-Free Mince Pies)

Enjoy single-serve sugar-free keto Christmas fruit pies with warm winter spices served in a gluten-free almond flour pie crust.

Only 5.5g net carbs per mini-fruit pie and is one of the many keto-friendly delicious recipes that you can enjoy with friends at Christmas.

BONUS: You can download FREE printable gift tags at the end of this post.

This easy Christmas recipe is gluten-free, grain-free, low-carb, no added sugars, and the whole family will come back for seconds.

If you need more ideas for the holidays, I have 30+ healthy keto Christmas recipes for you and the best ways to use Christmas leftovers.

Jump to:

• What's inside a mince pie (fruit tart)?
• How much sugar is in a Christmas fruit pie?
• Ingredients to make fruit mince pies
• How to make almond flour tart cases
• How to add your pie filling
• How to decorate keto fruit pies
• Keto mince pies FAQ
• More sugar-free Christmas recipes
• FREE printable gift tags
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

What's inside a mince pie (fruit tart)?

Traditional Christmas fruit mince pies are a sweet baked pastry filled with sweet minced dried fruit, brown sugar, glucose syrup, Christmas spices, and often contain brandy, rum, or whiskey.

You can make your own homemade sugar-free Christmas fruit pies by swapping the wheat flour pie crust for an almond flour pie crust and swapping the dried fruit for shredded apple, sugar-free sweetener, and warm winter spices.

By making your own homemade sugar-free Christmas fruit pies, you will avoid all the dried fruit, added sugars, and unnecessary carbs, but you will still enjoy the same delicious Christmas flavors.

How much sugar is in a Christmas fruit pie?

This is the nutrition panel for Coles fruit mince pies, and if you think this is a bad example, the iced (frosted) mince pies or the deep dish mince pie has even more sugar.

Nutrition facts, Coles Fruit Mince Pies (1 fruit pie serving 68g): 36.6 g net carbs, 21.5 g sugar, 2.2 g protein, 8.2 g fat, 235 calories.

Nutrition facts, Low-Carb Christmas Fruit Pies (1 mince pie serving): 5.5 g net carbs, 3.1 g sugar, 6.9 g protein, 20.3 g fat, 231 calories.

Nutritional values from cronometer.com

But be honest, how many of these mini fruit tarts would you eat at a party? How many would you eat in one sitting, at a party, or over an evening, over a week, over the festive season (which seems to start earlier each year).

So let's make a better, homemade recipe instead - low-carb Christmas mince pies (or mini fruit tarts).

Ingredients to make fruit mince pies

Instead of sugary mincemeat full of dried fruit, brown sugar, raw sugar, or honey, the bulk of the keto mince pies is made up of the following simple ingredients. All the quantities, prep time, and instructions are in the recipe card below.

Christmas Fruit Mince Pie Filling

• Apple - 1 small grated apple (shredded apple) goes a long way for very few carbs.
• Butter - you can use salted butter or unsalted butter. Adjust the salt in your fruit mince before baking. Salt actually enhances sweet flavours.
• Granulated sweetener - use your favourite sugar replacer and add more or less to your taste and sweet tooth. You can also use powdered sweetener for a smoother texture.
• Ground mixed spice - the perfect winter warm spice.
• Ground cardamon - an exotic spice that is my secret ingredient.
• Ground cloves - the classic Christmas spice.
• Ground nutmeg - another classic festive spice.
• Almond meal - or almond flour helps to add bulk to your fruit mince pie filling.
• Brandy - adding any alcohol is purely optional. You can use brandy essence, rum essence, or whiskey extract if you want to serve alcohol-free desserts.

Variations

You may choose which extra ingredients and extra carbs you would like to add to your fruit pie filling. Unfortunately, your mince pies will no longer be sugar-free or low-carb. You need to decide how authentic you want your Christmas mince pies to taste, and how many carbs you want in your final mincemeat.

Orange zest or lemon zest - this will remind you of a Christmas fruit cake.
0.3 g net carbs (0.3 g sugar) per tablespoon of lemon zest.

Dried cranberries - if you really want an authentic taste, you may wish to add dried cranberries.
7.7 g net carbs (7.3 g sugar) per tablespoon of dried cranberries.

How to make almond flour tart cases

You can make the little flourless almond flour pastry cases first. This can be done a day ahead and kept in an airtight container stored in a cool place. if you want a nut-free pie crust you can make a coconut flour pastry instead.

Step 1: Make your almond flour pastry.

Place all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl (or food processor) and mix together until it resembles damp bread crumbs. If your almond flour pastry is too damp, add additional almond flour, 1 extra tablespoon at a time. If your pastry has become too dry, add a drop of water at a time.

Ensure the pastry is not too damp because it might collapse. Your pastry should be moist enough to stay in place when baking.

Step 2: Make your pastry cases

Using a rolling pin, wine bottle, or coffee mug, roll your pastry in between 2 sheets of baking parchment paper and cut each circle of pastry slightly larger than the mini muffin case you will be baking them in.

Use a drinking glass, cup, or tumbler to cut a circle slightly larger than your cupcake's case. Press all the leftover pastry back together and keep rolling out to make as many pastry cases as you can.

Line a metal or silicone muffin tray with paper cupcake cases or silicone muffin cases. The reason for baking mini pie crusts in paper cases is that it is easier to peel the paper away from the almond flour tart case than to try and lift them out of a muffin tray. They are likely to snap.

I prefer to use my silicon cases as I can easily fold the cases backward over the cooled cooked pie case and the pastry won't break.

Press each pastry circle into paper cupcake cases or paper muffin cases. Place each paper case into a metal or silicone muffin tray.

Step 3: Bake the empty pastry cases

Preheat oven to 180C/350F and bake your pastry in the paper or silicone cases for 10 minutes. Gently remove the baked pastry from each paper or silicone case and bake for an additional 2 minutes on the baking tray until they turn golden brown.

How to add your pie filling

Once your pastry cases have completely cooled on a wire rack, carefully add 2 tablespoons of filling to your Christmas mince pies. Serve with whipped cream on the top and sprinkle ground nutmeg over the top.

You can add brandy, rum, or whiskey to your whipped heavy cream, or f you want to serve alcohol-free fruit pies, use brandy essence, rum extract, or whisky extract.

How to decorate keto fruit pies

There are 2 easy options to decorate your festive fruit pies (fruit tarts).

1: Whipped cream - Spoon or pipe whipped heavy cream that has been sweetened with a sugar-free sweetener. Sprinkle with a little ground nutmeg or ground cinnamon on top. You can even place a pecan or other favorite nut on top to garnish.

2: Marzipan (almond paste) - make my 3 ingredient sugar-free marzipan in less than 5 minutes then cut circles of marzipan and place on the top of your fruit tart. It looks so festive and really has a lovely festive strong almond flavor too.

BONUS: make little snowmen out of marzipan (almond paste) and place one on the top of each fruit mince pie.

Keto mince pies FAQ

More sugar-free Christmas recipes

For more low-carb recipes to serve this Christmas, there are plenty of family favorites that are absolutely delicious. These will all help you stay on track with your keto diet over the festive period.

• Keto snowball cookies
• Low-carb keto "fruit cake"
• Top 20 low-carb Christmas recipes
• Sugar-free spiced almonds (candied almonds)
• How to cook an easy roast turkey (PLUS printable cooking schedule)
• Frozen white Christmas (frozen Christmas pudding)
• Walnut & brandy truffles
• Buttery bacon Brussels sprouts
• Keto glazed ham
• Sugar-free lemon meringue pies
• Sugar-free Bakewell tarts

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FREE printable gift tags

Download your FREE printable gift tags and make some healthy sugar-free recipes and keto-friendly baking treats as presents. Some sugar-free baking delicious recipes you can give as gifts.

• Sugar-free gluten-free gingerbread cookies
• Keto snowball cookies
• Sugar-free candied almonds

Get ready for Christmas and start planning your healthy low-carb meals. Wonderful sugar-free and low-carb sweet treats are included in this book. So start celebrating now and treat yourself to make the holiday season a little easier.

📖 Recipe

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a healthy happy new year.