If you are on a keto diet you have probably thought to yourself….. is pumpkin keto friendly?
The quick answer is just about anything can be “keto friendly” depending upon how much of it you eat and how many carbs are in the amount you eat.
Whenever the leaves begin to change color, and fall rolls around, keto dieters everywhere want to enjoy the wide range of pumpkin treats that come on the market. If you’ve wonder if you can enjoy pumpkin and pumpkin spice treats while sticking to your keto diet then wonder no more. Keep on reading to find out more about tasty pumpkin and including it in a ketogenic diet.
Is Pumpkin Keto-Friendly?
Pumpkin is often found in sugary sweets. But it’s often not the pumpkin that is the cause of the high carbs. It’s the other ingredients especially the regular sugar found in many of the pumpkin desserts.
Pureed, unsweetened pumpkin contains fewer carbs than other starchy squashes.
Pumpkin is a type of winter squash. The USDA states that canned pumpkin can be made from pumpkin or squashes. The term pumpkin can apply to two varieties of winter squash – Cucurbita pepo and Cucurbita maxima.
Within these two varieties are several other varieties of squashes including Connecticut field pumpkins, Dickinson pumpkins, Kentucky field pumpkins, as well as Boston marrow squash, Hubbard squash and Golden Delicious squash. These varieties are less stringy and are often blended together to make the canned pumpkin found on store shelves. These types of winter squash are lower in carbs than other squashes.
What are the benefits of eating pumpkin?
Pumpkins are rich in nutrients. It contains Beta carotene. This is a powerful antioxidant that gives pumpkins their orange color.
Beta-carotene is turned into Vitamin A in the body. Eating foods rich in beta-carotene may reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer and offer protection against heart disease.
1 cup of pumpkin puree contains 245% of your recommended allowance of vitamin A. Being rich in vitamin A and containing fewer carbs than other types of squashes, pumpkin can make a healthy addition to a keto diet.
Pumpkin can help improve heart health. It’s high in antioxidants, vitamin C and potassium. All of which are beneficial to your heart.
Pumpkin is rich in vitamin E, folate and iron which helps the immune system.
Pumpkin also contains fiber which can help keep you feeling full for longer. A winning benefit if you are trying to lose weight.
How many carbs in pumpkin?
To calculate the number of net carbs in pumpkin, subtract the number of grams of fiber from the grams of total carbs. This will give you the net carbs in your serving of pumpkin.
For example, 1 cup of raw pumpkin has 8 grams of carbohydrates per cup, and it also has 1 gram of fiber. Subtracting 1 gram of fiber from 8 grams of total carbs yields 7 grams of net carbs.
Net grams of carbs are the ones that will affect your blood sugar levels. Fiber doesn’t affect it so often, when on the keto diet, people will focus on the net grams of carbs and count those toward their daily total.
How Many Carbs Are In Pumpkin Puree?
Pumpkin puree has about the same nutritional information as fresh pumpkin on a gram-for-gram basis. However, it takes up more space in a measuring cup so comparing 1 cup of puree to 1 cup of cubed pumpkin will give you a different carb count than what’s shown above.
A cup of pumpkin puree contains around 19 grams of carbs and 7 grams of fiber (12 grams of net carbs per cup).
Check out this post to learn more about reading nutrition labels and how to determine if the item you are looking at is keto. It only takes a few quick steps to find out how many net carbs per serving for your brand of pureed pumpkin.
Is Canned Pumpkin Keto Friendly?
Canned pumpkin makes it even easier to include pumpkin in your diet. No need to cook the pumpkin. Simply open a can and add it to your favorite recipe.
Canned pumpkin also has a long shelf life. I like to stock up on canned pumpkin when it goes on sale in the fall and use it throughout the coming year. You’ll find the best sales in October and November. Usually the grocery store is preparing for everyone to purchase ingredients to make pumpkin pie during these months.
Stock up when the prices are low (especially if you have the space) and enjoy pumpkin recipes all year long!
When choosing a canned pumpkin make sure to read the nutrition label and only purchase pumpkin that shows pumpkin as the only ingredient. Avoid pumpkin pie filling as this will contain added sugar and even some spices such as cinnamon. The added sugar will increase the amount of carbs in each serving.
I have made my own homemade pumpkin puree from fresh pumpkin. You can either cut a whole pumpkin into large chunks, remove the seeds and bake until softened.
I like to package the pumpkin puree into 1 and 2 cup sized containers. This is what I usually need for the recipes that I often make. This allows me to thaw just enough puree to make my favorite pumpkin-based recipes including creamy soups, easy keto pumpkin muffins, keto pumpkin pancakes and other low carb pumpkin recipes.
Are Pumpkin Seeds Keto?
Pumpkin seeds, like pumpkin itself, can fit into a keto diet.
Pumpkin seeds are edible and you can often find them being sold as roasted and salted.
1 ounce of pumpkin seeds, also called pepitas, has about 4 net grams of carbs in a 1 ounce serving (about 85 seeds).
What can you make with pumpkin puree?
Use pumpkin puree to make some of these delicious keto pumpkin recipes:
Keto Pumpkin Spice Muffins: made with pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice blend, almond flour and topped with a sprinkle of roasted pumpkin seeds.
Pumpkin Tiramisu: make this keto pumpkin tiramisu is so easy to make. I used low carb Smartcakes in place of the traditional high carb lady fingers used to make tiramisu. You can also just serve up the cream cheese and mascarpone filling in a dish and top it with some whipped cream and a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds.
Baked Pumpkin Egg Custard: this egg custard can be eaten as dessert, breakfast or even a high protein snack. It will make you think you’re eating a keto pumpkin pie!
Pumpkin Pie Spice Blend: there’s a good chance that you have all the needed ingredients to make your own pumpkin spice blend in your kitchen. Use this spice blend to flavor all your bakery items made with pumpkin puree to give it a delicious flavor.
Keto Pumpkin Spice Creamer: why not make your own pumpkin spice creamer to use in your coffee. Use it to make a pumpkin spice latte or your favorite pumpkin flavor coffee drinks.
Pumpkin Chili: this recipe tastes like a traditional chili. No one will no that it contains pumpkin puree. The pumpkin gives the chili broth/sauce a creamy texture. While this recipe contains beans and corn they can easily be left out to create a keto friendly recipe. I’ve made it many times before without both and the recipe is still delicious. Increase the ground beef by an additional pound so you’ll have enough for leftovers.
Get ready for pumpkin season by stocking up on canned pumpkin when it goes on sale and try making some of these recipes above.
You may also like some of these other recipes:
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