A slice of chess pie should arrive on a plate with a caramelized top, a creamy yellow middle, and a crust you can hear when you press it. That is exactly what this sugar-free buttermilk chess pie does, in a 6-inch deep pie plate that feeds eight. Every wedge comes in around 99 calories and 3g net carbs, and the active work is about 20 minutes.
The tang comes from real cultured buttermilk and a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice. The creaminess comes from eggs, Greek yogurt, and just two tablespoons of heavy cream, which is enough to keep the custard silky without weighing it down.
What it costs you is a long afternoon in the refrigerator, and that wait is not optional. Nothing else about this sugar-free buttermilk chess pie takes longer than about 20 minutes of your attention.
If you have made a baked custard pie before, you already know the rhythm: press the crust, bake it blind, whisk the filling gently, pour, and bake low and slow until the edges set but the center still trembles. The sugar-free buttermilk chess pie follows that same path, with allulose standing in for the sugar and almond flour standing in for the wheat pastry.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Real cultured tang: The filling uses cultured lowfat buttermilk, not a plain dairy blend, so it tastes like the chess pie you remember rather than a sweet egg pudding.
- Creamy with less fat: Thick 0% Greek yogurt does most of the blending work, and the heavy cream is measured in tablespoons, not cups.
- A thin, crisp crust: Super-fine almond flour with a tablespoon of coconut flour gives you golden edges that stay crisp after chilling.
- Eight proper wedges: A deep plate means a tall slice, so this reads like a bakery piece instead of a shallow tart.
- One bowl of filling: There is no cooked custard, no gelatin, and no water bath. Everything goes in the same bowl and comes out smooth.
Ingredient Notes for This Buttermilk Chess Pie
Super-fine almond flour is the one to buy here. Coarser almond flour leaves a slightly gritty crust, and this pie has no flour thickener to hide that. The tablespoon of coconut flour is there for structure and a faint coconut note in the crust, nothing more.
It is not a coconut pie, but it will not taste like one either. The rest of the crust is butter and water, which is all the structure an almond shell needs.
The cold water is not optional and it is not a splash. Almond flour drinks it up, and the 15g in this recipe is what turns the dough from a pile of crumbs into something you can press into a shell. Add it a teaspoon at a time and stop as soon as the crumbs hold when you pinch them.
Buy cultured buttermilk. The culturing is what gives you the acid and the thickness that make chess pie taste like chess pie, and it is also what lets the filling set from the oven rather than from the fridge alone. Regular buttermilk will work in a pinch, but the flat flavor carries straight through to the plate, and it is the one swap I would not make on a sugar-free buttermilk chess pie.
The granulated pure allulose in the filling dissolves completely in the warm eggs, so there is no grainy finish and nothing to settle at the bottom of the plate. Weigh it if you can. A cup of granulated allulose is not a cup of sugar, and the difference between spooning and weighing here shows up in the texture of the finished slice.
One last note on the allulose itself. Allulose is a rare sugar that the FDA allows to be excluded from the total sugars and added sugars declarations on the Nutrition Facts label, which is why the carb count on this sugar-free buttermilk chess pie reads as low.
If you want to check the nutrition of staples like almond flour, eggs and buttermilk yourself, you can look them up on USDA FoodData Central.
How to Make Sugar-Free Buttermilk Chess Pie
Everything happens in one 6-inch deep pie plate, a set of mixing bowls, a whisk, a sheet of foil, and a baking sheet. Read the whole method once before you start, because the crust bakes first and the filling is quick to whisk.
1. Press and blind-bake the crust
Preheat the oven to 325°F (163°C) and lightly grease the pie plate. Mix the almond flour, coconut flour, and melted butter, then add the cold water gradually until the mixture holds together when you pinch it. Press it thinly over the bottom and up the sides of the plate.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the crust is lightly golden, then cool it for 10 minutes. A thin crust bakes fast, so pull it while the top is still pale. It darkens again as the custard bakes.
The deep plate matters more than anything else in this recipe. A shallow 6-inch plate gives you a wide, flat pie that sets in half the time. The two-inch walls give you the tall slice that makes this sugar-free buttermilk chess pie worth the wait, so do not substitute a 9-inch dish or stretch the dough to fill one.
2. Whisk the buttermilk custard
Gently whisk the eggs and the allulose together until smooth. In a second bowl, whisk the Greek yogurt with a little of the buttermilk, then gradually work in the rest of the buttermilk and the heavy cream. Everything you are building here is the custard that turns this sugar-free buttermilk chess pie into chess pie rather than plain egg pudding.
Slowly whisk the dairy mixture into the eggs, then add the lemon juice and the vanilla flavoring. Take the first thirty seconds slowly. Rush here and you will foam the filling, and a foamy custard bakes into a hole-filled top instead of a smooth one.
3. Fill, bake, and chill
Pour the filling into the cooled crust and tap the plate gently on the counter to release air bubbles. If the crust edge browns quickly, shield it with a strip of foil. Do not broil.
Bake for another 35 to 43 minutes, until the surface is golden, the edges are set, and the center still wobbles slightly. Cool the pie at room temperature for 45 minutes, then refrigerate it for at least 2 hours 15 minutes before slicing into 8 wedges.
The wobble at the end of the bake is the whole test. If the center of this sugar-free buttermilk chess pie stops moving before the edges set, you have gone too far, and the filling will be closer to rubber than custard.
Success Tips
- Use real cultured buttermilk. It is the single biggest flavor decision in this sugar-free buttermilk chess pie, and no shortcut replaces it.
- Let the Greek yogurt do the work. Thick 0% yogurt keeps the filling creamy with less fat than a cream-heavy custard.
- Expect the browning to vary. Ovens run hot, and the top of this pie is the part most likely to differ between kitchens.
- Stop at the wobble. Overbaking is the fastest way to turn a silky custard into something that bounces off the fork.
- Use a deep 6-inch plate. The walls are what give you a thicker pie and the tall slice the recipe promises.
- Chill it fully. The filling finishes setting in the refrigerator, and slicing it warm gives you a runny wedge.
Two more habits help. Whisk the eggs gently instead of beating them, and always press the crust thin, because a thick shell turns this sugar-free buttermilk chess pie into a crust pie, which is a fine dessert but a different one.
Storage
This sugar-free buttermilk chess pie belongs in the refrigerator. Keep it covered and eat the slices in order, because the cut face starts to dry out once air reaches it. A wedge warmed for a few seconds in the microwave loses the chill that holds the custard together, so serve it cold and let the room do the rest.
FAQ
Do I have to use a deep pie plate for a sugar-free buttermilk chess pie?
Yes, for this recipe as written. The 6-inch deep plate is what makes the pie tall and what gives the filling the long, gentle bake it needs. A shallow plate would set much faster and leave you with a wide slice.
Why is my chess pie topping rubbery?
It was in the oven too long. Pull the pie when the edges are set and the center still wobbles, then let it cool for 45 minutes at room temperature before it goes in the fridge. Overbaking is the one mistake this sugar-free buttermilk chess pie cannot recover from.
Can I use almond flour without coconut flour?
You can, but the crust will be a little more fragile and less crisp at the edge. The 10g of coconut flour in this sugar-free buttermilk chess pie is there for structure, and it works.
How long does the pie need to chill before slicing?
At least 2 hours 15 minutes in the refrigerator, after the 45 minutes of room-temperature cooling. Altogether that is the 3 hours of chill and rest time listed at the top of this sugar-free buttermilk chess pie.
Why did my crust brown so fast?
A light-colored thin crust next to a custard filling darkens quickly once the filling goes in. Shield the edges with foil if they start coloring before the center is set, and never broil, since the custard tops are the part you are watching.
Still deciding between custards? Our sugar-free crème brûlée custard pie uses the same thin almond crust under a vanilla custard and finishes it with a brûléed top, and the sugar-free cinnamon-vanilla creamy custard pie adds a warm spice note to a similar filling.
If you would rather skip the oven entirely, our sugar-free French silk pie sets in the refrigerator with unflavored gelatin and a folded-in whipped cream filling instead. Either way, give the custard time in the fridge before you cut it. That is the part people rush, and it is the part that decides whether a sugar-free buttermilk chess pie slices like custard or like pudding.
Sugar-Free Buttermilk Chess Pie
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Lightly grease the pie plate.
- Mix almond flour, coconut flour and melted butter. Add cold water gradually until mixture holds together.
- Press thinly over the bottom and up the sides of the plate.
- Bake 10–12 minutes until lightly golden. Cool 10 minutes.
- Gently whisk eggs and allulose until smooth.
- In another bowl, whisk yogurt with a little buttermilk. Gradually add remaining buttermilk and cream.
- Slowly whisk dairy mixture into eggs. Add lemon juice and vanilla.
- Pour into crust. Tap gently to release air bubbles.
- Bake another 35–43 minutes until surface is golden, edges are set and center still wobbles slightly.
- Shield crust edges with foil if browning quickly. Do not broil.
- Cool at room temperature for 45 minutes.
- Refrigerate at least 2 hrs 15 min. Slice into 8 wedges.
Notes
- Use real cultured buttermilk for classic tangy flavor.
- Greek yogurt helps keep the filling creamy with less fat.
- Golden browning varies by oven.
- Avoid overbaking to prevent rubbery custard.
- Use a deep 6-inch plate for a thicker pie.