An easy pumpkin fudge recipe that’s sugar free and paleo diet friendly. There’s no need to feel guilty indulging in this yummy low carb treat!
Can you believe the month of September is more than halfway over? It still feels a little like summer here as the leaves haven’t turned color yet. But, before you know it, the holidays will be here!
Since we are in the middle of the official pumpkin season, I thought it would be a great time to work on an easy pumpkin fudge recipe. My only requirement was that it be paleo diet friendly. This means it had to be dairy-free as well as not use any sugar alcohols.
One of the things I’ve done to move to a more paleo diet is cut back on heavy cream. And, I’m working on cutting back on the amount of cheese I eat.
It’s not easy as both of those have been regulars in my low carb diet. Although dairy has nutritional benefits, those nutrients can easily be replaced with other foods.
Last week, I wrote an article on All Natural Ideas about whether dairy is good or bad for you. An interesting fact that I uncovered is that about 75% of the world’s population is lactose intolerant.
It appears that the ability to digest lactose beyond the breastfeeding stage is abnormal. This is because humans typically stop producing lactase after weaning. And, many people are actually lactose intolerant but don’t have noticeable symptoms.
So, if dairy is something we were never meant to consume past childhood, maybe it can cause adverse health effects.
Although it’s clear that some milk products are better than others, I wasn’t able to prove that dairy is completely bad. However, based on what I did find, I’ve decided to look for alternatives to dairy.
For this easy pumpkin fudge recipe, I used dairy free coconut butter and oil. To keep it paleo, concentrated stevia liquid was used rather than a bulk low carb sweetener. I also added a little bit of coconut flour to thicken up the mix.
Coconut seems to be one of the best replacements for dairy products. I even found this recipe for making dairy free mozzarella cheese from coconut products. It seems pretty low carb, too.
I’m not missing the dairy at all in this yummy paleo pumpkin fudge! And, although there is a lot of coconut in it, I don’t find that overpowering. The pumpkin and spices are the predominant flavors in the fudge.
Cheese is main reason why I haven’t gone completely dairy free. One of my original thoughts for a low carb pumpkin fudge was to use cream cheese. If you are following a low carb paleo diet, I’d love to hear whether you’ve incorporated any cheese alternatives into your diet.
As I move away from cheese, I’ll be posting more dairy-free recipes in the future. It will be tough to give up cheese completely, though. Maybe one day, I’ll become an expert on dairy-free cheese making.
What are your thoughts on dairy? Do you think it’s best cut back or eliminate it completely?
Easy Pumpkin Fudge Recipe – Sugar Free and Paleo
Easy Pumpkin Fudge Recipe - Paleo
Ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2/3 cup coconut butter
- 1/2 tsp SweetLeaf Stevia Drops
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- dash sea salt
Instructions
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Stir all ingredients in small pot over medium low heat until well combined.
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Line small container (I used an 8x5) with parchment paper
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Spread mixture into lined container.
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Chill in refrigerator until set.
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Cut into squares. Keep stored in refrigerator.
Recipe Notes
1 teaspoon unsulphured blackstrap molasses can be added if desired. It adds negligible carbs per serving since 1 teaspoon has only 5 grams sugar.
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Jeri Mihm says
Lisa, I’ve gone dairy free due to inflammation. I can’t believe I did it because I ate tons of cheese and sour cream, but I have been successful! This recipe is great, I’m sharing it to our Low-Carb group today. 🙂
Lisa says
I though giving up dairy would be a lot harder too, but there are a lot of dairy-free options to make things easy.
Nicole says
Thanks for Pumpkin Fudge Sugar free and Paleo recipe. Looks delicious, i am working with some chefs to include in our freelance chef website.
Diana says
I want to make this, but I have a question. I own liquid vanilla creme stevia, not regular liquid stevia. Do you think using 1 tsp of the vanilla creme stevia and omitting the stevia and vanilla extract would work? Or should I use more than that?
Lisa says
You’d use the same amount of vanilla stevia as the unflavored stevia.
BellaDevine says
Why is the print button not working on this one?
Lisa says
It’s working for me. There are some bugs with Microsoft Edge if that’s the browser you’re using. I recommend using Google Chrome.
Tiffany says
I did a few small batches, tried with stevia, honey and maple syrup. My husband didn’t take well to the stevia, I didn’t mind it. I think it would be good for diabetics. The honey was okay, but we both loved it with maple syrup the best and I added the molasses in that one. I know its more carbs but we’re not too concerned with that, just looking for vegan recipes and trying to cut back on processed sugar as much as possible. So this worked great and I’m bringing this one to my grandfather’s birthday/Thanksgiving gathering this Sunday.
Tiffany says
Oh, I plan to get some almonds too to put one on top of each piece. I think it might be nice decoration and hopefully will go well with it.
Lisa says
That does sound like a good idea.
Lisa says
Good to know that maple and molasses had the best taste for those not watching carbs.
Sierra says
Ohh!! I can’t wait to make these!!
Lisa says
Hope you like them. It’s like a pumpkin pie fat bomb!
Lisa says
These turned out great! Thanks.
Lisa says
Glad they worked out for you! I find them an easy way to get a pumpkin pie flavored treat.
Amy says
Thanks for your post! I am one of the unfortunate souls that Does have intolerence issues. I wouldn’t mind not having milk and I have come to accept that cheese is NOT my friend (and I almost never eat it anymore).. but Sour cream and I go way back, haha.. Seriously though, I love tacos and they are so plain without sour cream..sniff sniff.. I miss ice cream, too.. but Lactaid has some Great tasting lactose free ice cream (so at least there is that!), I LOVE the salted carmel!
Lisa says
I’d love to find dairy-free low carb ice cream!
Darrell says
https://www.halotop.com/flavors-dairy-free/
Kim | Low Carb Maven says
This fudge looks really good Lisa. Two years ago, we avoided dairy dairy for my daughter who is on the Spectrum. It wasn’t easy. I don’t know if it made a difference or not but I felt better doing it for her. Good luck.
Lisa says
Thanks Kim! Its super tough for me to completely eliminate dairy. I heard raw dairy products aren’t as bad.
Katie says
Most people who show up sensitive to pasteurized dairy do just fine with raw dairy products. One theory is the heating process of pasteurization alters the proteins in the milk causes issues. I work in an office where we focus on nutrition and most people notice a positive difference with switching to raw milk cheeses. Living in Illinois, we can only buy raw milk directly from farmers, but raw milk cheese can be found in some grocery stores.
If you can’t go completely dairy free, raw dairy is definitely the way to go. (Oh and I can’t live without butter! Amish or Kerry Gold are great because they also minimize any heating processes)
Lisa says
We are able to get raw milk here in Connecticut, but I haven’t seen any other raw dairy products. I do believe that most people do not have issues if the dairy is not pasteurized. And, raw milk is more nutritious too.
Chrissi says
I honestly think hard cheeses are ok and cream cheese never effect me
But yes alternate to coconut creams to replace milk and cream absolutely
This is a compromise and I really think it’s the creams in dairy that do the damage with intolerances
Cheese is natural
And so versitile with so many recipes especially low carbs
Goats feta is another great option it seems lighter and has many good cultures and benefits
Ps love this recipe!
Lisa says
I know a lot of people who aren’t affected by cheese, but have trouble with milk and cream.
Maren says
Sadly there is nowhere to buy canned pumpkin in Norway (that I know of), so what kind of pumpkin do I need for the puree? Or can I substitute some kind of squash for it? I know it wouldn’t be the real thing, but with all of my American friends (and everyone else) raving about all things pumpkin spice, I got curious and would love to try something with it 🙂 Hope you (or someone else) can help me!
Also, thank you for all the wonderful recipes! Saved a lot to try in the future (if/when I can get a hold of the special ingredients)
Lisa says
Typically, it’s the smaller sugar pumpkins used for puree.
Carol says
Hello Maren! You can order canned pumpkin at either amazon.com or at jet.com You can search the Internet for other places to order from. Happy Fall Blessings to you!
Samantha says
Just an idea, I know it’s a late respose but.. you can try butternut squash instead of a pumpkin. I’ve made butternut squash puree and used it in a pumpkin bread recipe (low carb) and it came out great! I’ve used both butternut and acorn squash in place of pumpkin. I think here in my neck of the woods we call the cooking pumpkins, “pie” pumpkins.
Lisa says
Good idea for those who have trouble getting pumpkin!
Susan says
Hubby doesn’t care for Stevia. Is there a sub for that?
We don’t need it really sweet though.
Perhaps coconut sugar or raw honey?
Lisa says
You’ll need about 1/4 cup of sweetener like honey. It will up the carbs, though.
Carol says
Have you tried going to
wheylow.com ? They have great substitute sugars there that are absolutely wonderful! They’re sugars were created for diabetics & although they are made from sugar, it won’t spike blood sugars in the body! The man who created these sugars, did so for his diabetic wife. You use their sugars exactly like regular sugar in any recipe! I’d be lost without my whey low , especially around holiday times! It is a bit pricy but so very much worth the great payoffs you get from the Whey Low! Since i started using whey low sevral years ago, it has greatly helped me to loose 100 lbs! & whey low isnt dangerous to your health like aspertame & splenda are! Check out their site & you’ll be glad you did! Have a Blessed Happy & Yummy Fall!
Lisa says
There are 4g per teaspoon of sugar carbs so be careful using Whey Low!
bitter fruit says
If all coconut butter costs about the same as the link, I’m out of luck.
What can I sub, if anything, for it?
Lisa says
You could try coconut oil or make your own coconut butter from unsweetened dried coconut.
Barb says
There are recipes online to make your own. I just did that today, and it turned out great. Very economical.