Healthy Pumpkin Custard with Maple Roasted Pecans

If you like pumpkin pie, you will love this healthy pumpkin custard with maple-roasted pecans. It's smooth, creamy, and perfectly spiced. The pecan topping adds a wonderful crunch. Plus, this custard is much better for you than traditional pumpkin pie, and it's gluten-free.

If you're craving a pumpkin dessert but you don't want a ton of fat and sugar, this is the dessert for you. It's essentially the best part of a pumpkin pie: the smooth and creamy filling that's full of all those wonderful spices but with much less fat and sugar. Now let's talk about that topping!

The maple roasted pecans give this custard a sweet and nutty crunch- you definitely won't miss the crust! And for all of you on a gluten-free diet, no crust equals gluten-free!

Plus, this dessert is a cinch to make as long as you understand how to bake using a water bath, which I explain below. Also, the ingredients are super easy to find. Let's talk about what you'll need.

Jump to:

• Healthy Pumpkin Custard Ingredients:
• Instructions
• Want more healthy dessert recipes?
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

Healthy Pumpkin Custard Ingredients:

For healthy pumpkin custard with maple roasted pecans, you will need the following ingredients:

For the Pumpkin Custard

• Pumpkin Puree- This recipe calls for 15 oz of canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling), but you can use homemade puree if you prefer.
• Evaporated Milk- I used the 2 percent low-fat evaporated milk in the can, although feel free to use full fat if you prefer.
• Eggs- You'll need two large, room-temperature eggs. I use organic, pasture-raised eggs.
• Coconut Sugar- I always like to give options for sweeteners, so if you don't have coconut sugar feel free to substitute brown sugar or regular granulated sugar. Or for a sugar-free version, granulated erythritol and monkfruit sweetener are great options. 
• Cornstarch- The cornstarch helps to thicken the custard. You can substitute arrowroot if that's what you have on hand.
• Vanilla Extract- Pure vanilla extract is best, although imitation will work as well.
• Spices- For the spices, I use cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Of course, the cloves and nutmeg are optional, so feel free to omit one if you prefer.
• Salt- Don't forget the salt. It helps to bring out the other flavors.

For the Maple Roasted Pecans

• Pecans- You'll need about ½ cup of pecans, roughly chopped.
• Olive Oil- I love using olive oil for its health benefits, but feel free to substitute any other vegetable oil.
• Maple Syrup- Pure maple syrup gives the pecans such a wonderful flavor.
• Coconut Sugar- As I said, I like to give options for sweeteners. So, you can substitute any other granulated sugar for the pecans as well as the custard.
• Salt- Just a touch of salt for the best flavor.

Instructions

This pumpkin custard recipe is super easy, and don't be intimidated if you've never baked using a water bath. It's simple, and I'll explain it here:

What is a water bath?

A water bath is simply a pan of hot water that you place in the oven. It's used to bake more delicate desserts such as custards and cheesecakes. It adds moisture to the oven and helps desserts to bake more evenly and prevent cracking.

You don't need any fancy equipment, just a roasting pan with high sides. You'll be placing your ramekins directly in the pan and filling the pan with about 1 inch of hot water.

As I said, you don't need anything special. But if you are interested, I love baking my custard recipes using this creme brulee making set that I purchased from Amazon. It's great for baking custard, creme brulee, and mini cheesecakes.

Preparing your healthy custard

The full printable recipe is available below, but here is a quick overview of the steps that you'll follow.

1. Gather all your ingredients and baking equipment. Make sure you have a large roasting pan (with high sides) and six ramekins ready. Also, either a kettle or pot to heat water.
2. Begin heating your water, and then prepare the pumpkin custard. You only need one large bowl where you basically mix all the custard ingredients together. Once mixed, place the ramekins in the roasting pan, and divide the custard between each ramekin. Next, carefully fill the pan with hot water up to an inch, and place the pan in the oven to bake.
3. While the custard is baking, you can mix the ingredients for the maple-roasted pecans (all in the same bowl) and spread the mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Once the custard is finished, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and roast the pecans.
4. You can enjoy the pumpkin custard warm or cold. Be sure to add the pecan topping right before serving.

Want more healthy dessert recipes?

Check these out:

Healthy Sugar Cookies with Cashew Butter Frosting

Healthy Strawberry Cake (Made with Oats)

Skinny Lemon Cheesecake Mousse

Healthy Carrot Cake

Healthy Blueberry Pie

Healthy Key Lime Pie

Please let me know how you like the healthy pumpkin custard with maple-roasted pecans in the comments! I love to hear from you, and your star ratings encourage others to give the recipe a try.

Enjoy!

Crystal

📖 Recipe