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My keto flan recipe is a simple, elegant take on the classical caramel custard treat. It’s made with 4 ingredients and only 2 grams of net carbs per serving.
Craving more creamy keto desserts? Try my keto trifle, keto pudding, or keto lemon meringue pie next.
Growing up, my mom made the BEST flan. To this day, I’ll always request it when my family and I come over for dinner.
Sadly, traditional flan is not keto-friendly. So, when I’m rocking that low-carb lifestyle, I’ll make my sugar-free version. With the same warming caramel flavors hidden beneath creamy custard, you’d never guess it’s keto!
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Simple ingredients. There are only four very simple pantry staples needed, so you can make this dessert on a whim.
- Easy to make in advance. I typically make it at least 2-3 days before I need it.
- Gorgeous texture and flavor. The mixture of eggs and milk creates a silky smooth custard, while the sweetener gives it that essential caramel flavor.
- Simple yet sophisticated. Flan isn’t your run-of-the-mill dessert, despite it being really easy. Everyone will think you went out of your way to make it.
Ingredients needed
- Allulose. I’ve tried allulose, erythritol, and monk fruit, but the latter two failed to caramelize. That’s why I strongly prefer allulose as our low carb sweetener. Some will sweeten the custard and the rest will create a syrup in the bottom of each ramekin.
- Hot water. For the water bath. This will help make sure the flan cooks evenly.
- Large eggs. Room temperature eggs are best as they mix the smoothest.
- Milk of choice. I used unsweetened almond milk, but any dairy or dairy-free milk works.
- Vanilla extract. A must for any good flan recipe!
- Salt. Just a pinch of salt to bring out the sweetness.
How to make keto flan
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Prep work. Preheat the oven and grease six ramekins.
Step 2- Make the caramel sauce. Simmer allulose and water in a saucepan over low heat until dissolved. Increase to medium heat and thicken until it turns amber-brown. Pour it into the ramekins.
Step 3- Make the custard. Simmer milk and sweetener, then whisk in the eggs, vanilla, and salt until smooth. Strain the mixture into the ramekins and place the ramekins in the baking dish.
Step 4- Bake. Place the ramekins in the casserole dish and cover them with an inch of water. Bake until the flan mostly sets. Let them cool, then refrigerate overnight.
Step 5- Serve. Use a warm knife to cut the rims of the ramekins and invert them onto a plate to serve.
Arman’s recipe tips
- For a creamier dessert, use heavy cream or heavy whipping cream instead.
- Don’t overbake the flan. It’ll continue to set as it cools and again once it’s been refrigerated.
- Using cold eggs? Temper the eggs so they’re less likely to scramble. To do this, whisk the eggs in a bowl and add several spoonfuls of the warm milk. Continue whisking until you’ve added about ¼ cup of the milk, then pour the egg mixture into the pot.
Storage instructions
To store: Cover the ramekins and place them in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
To freeze: Cover the ramekins to ensure there are no air pockets, then store them in the freezer for up to 2 months. Let them thaw overnight in the fridge.
Frequently asked questions
I don’t recommend baking this as one single dessert, as the beauty of flan is to have individual pots to be tipped upside down.
More keto sweets you’ll enjoy
Easy Keto Flan Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup Allulose divided * See notes
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 cups milk of choice I used unsweetened coconut milk
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Grease six 3/4 cup ramekins and set aside.
- In a small saucepan, combine 1/2 cup of the allulose with the water. On low heat, bring the mixture to a simmer. Once it beings to simmer, increase to medium heat. While stirring regularly, allow it to thicken and become an amber brown color. Remove from the heat and distribute amongst each of the ramekins, brushing around the sides to coat them in the warm sugar liquid.
- In a separate saucepan, combine the milk with the remaining sweetener. On low heat, bring to a gentle simmer. Remove from the heat and whisk in the eggs, vanilla extract, and salt, until smooth and combined. Strain the mixture into the ramekins.
- Place the six ramekins in a large baking dish. Pour boiling water into the dish until halfway up the ramekins. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until it is mostly set in the middle. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Once cool, refrigerate the individual flans for at least 6 hours, or overnight.
- Once the flans are set, use a slightly moist knife and cut around the ramekins and flip onto a plate.
Tastes amazing. Don’t use monkfruit in place of allulose. It burns as soon as it browns.
I made the recipe and it was good but I added a lot of monk fruit juice concentrate because the recipe as it was, not nearly sweet enough to taste like a real flan.
We love it! Great recipe and yes Allulose is the only one works. Thanks
Thanks so much for this recipe! I’ve made it twice now. The custard is delicious, much better strained (a step I skipped the first time…). I must say though, I’ve ended up with a burnt flavor in the caramel both times. Next time, I will not wait until it is amber in color – in my heavy bottom saucepan, I believe it just keeps cooking. I will be taking it off the heat when golden next time. Thanks again!
Can you use cream for the “milk of choice?”
Haven’t tried, feel free to experiment and see
Wow, I really wasn’t sure what I’d think of this and I LOVED IT. I used a combination of milks I had in the fridge – coconut, almond, and fat-free cow’s milk. Also cooked it in a large round pyrex rather than individual ramekins, so it needed 60-70min. Followed directions otherwise and it was amazing! Will be making it again.
Do you used canned coconut milk or from a carton?
Canned coconut milk
I’m not on keto but was looking for a healthier version of flan. I only had monkfruit sugar on hand and since it doesn’t caramelize, I used 1/2 sugar to caramelize, then used 1/4 cup of monkfruit sugar (instead of 1 full cup of sugars) in the milk mixture. I used a blender (next time will use immersion for easier clean up) to make it smooth and added a teeny dash of almond extract because I like the almond flavor. I used a mixture of coconut milk & almond milk to make it a little lighter. This was delicious!!
Can I use unsweetened almond milk ?
Thanks 😊
Haven’t tried, feel free to experiment and see.
I’m baking now, I guess the clue for the milk and the eggs is incorporated little by little and mixing fast I didn’t have any scramble eggs lol the recep came fabulous! Thank you so much my family love the flan!
This turned out pretty good! I used a can of coconut milk + some heavy cream to get it to 2 cups, and the sweetness and consistency was just right! Straining it was important too ^^ Protip: if you’re a sucker for caramel like me, sub vanilla flavoring (which I was out of haha) for caramel extract instead, yum! Tbh could’ve done without the caramel topping as it unfortunately came out too bitter (used allulose but maybe I overcooked it?) and most of it stayed hardened at the bottom of the pans, but nonetheless I really enjoyed eating this sweet treat!
Forgot to add rating 5 stars.
I used monk fruit/erythitol and whole milk with some cream, maybe 80/20, since those were what I had. The sugar did carmelize a bit i added some vanilla for color and boiled it off. Crystalized in ramikens but worked after cooking. Tempering eggs with hot milk and straining into ramekins were keys to a smooth custard, imo. Great result, great recipe! Thanks for sharing and with the experimenting!