Low Carb Keto Apple Pie with Chayote Squash

The best low carb Keto Apple Pie you'll ever make! Tastes just like an authentic apple pie, except it uses chayote squash instead of apples.  This mock apple pie recipe uses a keto cream cheese pie crust and sugar free "apple" pie filling.

The Best Keto Apple Pie on Earth

As soon as you take a bite of this keto apple pie, you'll ask yourself if there are really no apples in there. This amazing low-carb apple pie tastes exactly like an authentic apple pie, but without the use of apples, sugar or gluten.

You might ask yourself how I can make an apple pie without apples, well the secret is chayote squash! Chayote squash is this magical low carb green squash that absorbs the flavors that it is cooked in.  It's soft and crunchy just like real apples, but comes with way less carbs.

I think this has become one of my top 5 favourite recipes on the blog as it's just so good! The chayote squash really does mimic the apple flavour in this keto pie recipe.  I brought this low carb apple pie to work and no one knew it wasn't a real "apple" pie.  It's that good and that "authentic".

Keto Apple Pie Crust

For this recipe, I used my keto pie crust recipe with a little bit of cinnamon added to it.  It's the perfect crust to use for this low carb apple because you can easily make a double pie crust with it.  It's made with a combination of almond flour and cream cheese and is extremely easy to work with as it's very flexible and doesn't break apart that easily.

For a dairy-free pie crust, I would suggest using the almond flour pie crust recipe used in my paleo pumpkin pie and doubling it.

What is Chayote Squash?

Chayote squash is a green, or white, pear-shaped fruit with a large pit.  It can be eaten raw or cooked and tastes kind of like a blend of jicama, apple, or pear.  The chayote skin is edible but doesn't get tender when cooked, so peeling it is usually a good idea.

Chayote squash is also known as mirliton squash, or choko depending on where you live in the world.  Chayote squash is especially common in South America where it can be found in a variety of Latin dishes.  I was originally introduced to it by my Brazilian friends who use it for desserts, salads and stir-fries. Chayote is so versatile you can even make chayote squash noodles and make yourself some healthy pasta!

The best part about the chayote squash is the chayote nutrition information.  It has around 2.8g net carbs per 100g serving compared to 11.6g of carbs for a 100g serving of apples.  It's incredibly low carb and is the perfect vegetable to use on a low carb diet with plenty of Vitamin C.

You can substitute it in any recipe that calls for apples and add a bit of apple flavoring and cinnamon for the best authentic taste.  I love how chayote can be used instead of apples in so many desserts, just like in this keto mock apple crumble recipe.

How to Prepare Chayote Squash

Chayote squash is a little tricky to prepare and no website really warns you about the next couple of details that I found annoying to deal with.

Chayote SAP

When cutting chayote squash,  you'll notice that it's quite wet and sticky.  This is called chayote sap and this will stick to your hands for days if you don't take care of it immediately. Chayote sap is kind of like a white film that sticks to your hands like glue.

I've found the best way to prevent the chayote sap from sticking to your hands is to peel and cut the chayote squash under running hot water.  Once all of the chayote has been cut, soak your hands into a bowl of warm water with soap for a couple of minutes and scrub your hands with the rough side of a sponge. This will remove any sap that may  have stuck onto your hands.

Or, you can wear gloves to cut the chayote squash.  This will prevent the chayote sap to stick to you hands and you'll have sap-free hands the rest of the day.

Chayote Skin

Chayote skin is edible, but it is incredibly hard.  It kind of feels like eating hard plastic paper. If you're going to make a dessert with chayote, you absolutely must peel the skin off to the best of your abilities.

If you don't peel the skin off, your low carb apple pie will feel like it has a thousand strands of plastic paper in it so definitely peel that skin off!!

How to Make Keto Apple Pie

It takes a little bit of time to complete this recipe as it's a two-part recipe (pie crust and apple pie filling).  Although it's a bit time-consuming, it'll definitely be worth it.

Keto Pie Crust

This keto pie crust uses my cream cheese pie crust recipe.

In a large food processor add the almond flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, coconut flour and xanthan gum.  Blend a few seconds and add the cream cheese and eggs.

Blend for about 20-30 seconds until the cream cheese has been completely mixed through the dough.

Remove the dough from the food processor, put it in a plastic bag or Ziploc and let chill in the fridge for minimum one hour. This step is absolutely necessary.  

This dough needs to be cold to be rolled out.  If it's not cold, it will break apart and stick everywhere so make sure to chill it properly.

Once your dough is chilled, separate the dough in half.  Make two balls and put the second ball back in the fridge while you roll the bottom crust out.

Put the bottom crust dough onto a piece of parchment paper and cover with a second piece of parchment paper.

Roll it out until it's large enough to cover a 9"/23cm pie plate.

Flip the parchment paper over onto the pie plate, push the dough onto the plate and peel the parchment paper off.

For the top crust, repeat the same step as above making sure to roll out the dough big enough to cover a 9"/23cm pie plate.

Keto Apple Pie Filling

For the keto apple pie filling, you'll need to use 2-4 chayotes depending on their size.  You'll want 1kg/2.2lbs of chayote in total.  This was 2 large chayotes for me.

Peel and slice the chayote

For this step you can either wear plastic gloves, or do this step under running water.  Peel the chayote as best as you can making sure no skin is left (the skin is really hard to eat). Slice the chayote in half, remove the pit and then slice it into 5mm/0.2" slices.

Add the chayotes to a boiling pot of hot water and boil for 10 minutes or until they're fork tender.

Drain the water out of the pot, put the chayotes back into the pot, add the nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, lemon juice, apple flavouring, vanilla, Lakanto Golden, and xanthan gum.

Mix everything together and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.  The sweetener should start to thicken and stick to the chayote.  It's now ready to fill the pie.

You'll peel the paper off the prepared pie crust and fill it with the keto apple pie filling that we just finished preparing.

Put the top crust over the pie, make sure you have a few slices on the stop of the crust for the air to steam out, pinch the borders of the low carb pie crust and brush the entire pie with some egg wash.

Your low-carb apple pie is now ready to be baked for 30 minutes in the prepared oven at 180C/350F.

Is the Xanthan gum necessary for the pie crust?

It's not technically necessary, but if you don't add it, the pie crust will be much hard to roll out and it will break really easily.  if you're planning on making pretty pie designs, you'll definitely need to add it to the crust.

Is the Xanthan gum necessary for the apple pie filling?

Yes.  The xanthan gum there is used to thicken the apple pie filling.   It acts just like corn starch.  If you don't want to use xanthan gum, you can substitute it for either guar gum, arrowroot flour or tapioca starch although the carbs will be high with the last two options.

Can I use another Sweetener?

If you don't like Lakanto, feel free to sub with another low-carb brown sugar like Sukrin Gold.  Equal amounts should work, but if it's not sweet enough, just add ¼ cup more until desired sweetness is achieved.

Do I need to use apple flavouring?

I really suggest you do.  It's not mandatory, but this low carb apple pie will taste way more authentic with it.  I suggest using an apple pie flavoring instead of a green apple one.

Final Tips & Recap

Make sure to read the following tips and possible substitutions before making this recipe!

• Make sure to chill the dough before rolling out.  The dough will NOT roll out if it's not cold.
• Make sure to work quickly as the dough will be harder to handle as it gets warmer.
• Don't forget the cream cheese, nor the egg, as they're both essential ingredients.
• Make sure to either wear gloves or cut the chayote under running water.
• Make sure to peel the chayote before or else it'll feel like you're eating hard plastic paper.
• Instead of chayote, you can use zucchini or apples obviously with a higher carb count.
• Instead of Lakanto Golden, you can use Sukrin Gold.
• Instead of Xanthan gum, you can use guar gum.  For higher carb options for the pie filling, you can use arrowroot flour or tapioca starch.
• Instead of almond flour, you can use any other type of nut flour.

Recipe Card