If you’re looking for a gluten-free Christmas pudding recipe without suet, this is the one for you! It’s a moist, delicious blend of carrot, potato, apple, raisins, and dates steamed with gluten-free flours. Drizzle a decadent coconut sugar sauce over each serving, and this updated British classic is sure to please!
Your guests won't know it's gluten-free until you tell them!
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Christmas Pudding Traditions
This recipe is my gluten-free adaptation of the Christmas pudding that my mother used to make each year. Even though we had “stuffed” ourselves with turkey and all the trimmings, I always liked to save room for some Christmas pudding.
Hers contained carrots, potatoes, and apples in addition to some raisins and dates. This seems to be typical of what was made by the British who settled in Canada. I suppose carrots, potatoes, and apples would have been more readily available than dried fruit.
British Canadian Christmas Pudding
Traditionally, Christmas pudding was made largely of dried fruit, similar to my Christmas fruitcake. In the past, it has sometimes been called plum pudding, even though it didn't actually contain any plums. Apparently, plum referred to raisins or dried fruit in the pre-Victorian era.
You may also have heard of figgy pudding in the old Christmas song, "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." It seems that it actually did contain figs.
Stovetop, Slow Cooker, or Instant Pot
In years gone by, my mother made Christmas pudding on the stovetop. Then, inspired by a steamer pot accessory for one of my slow cookers, I made mine in it for a few years. Finally came the Instant Pot, so I now use the slow cooker setting on the pressure cooker to steam my gluten-free Christmas pudding.
Whichever way you cook yours, it leaves your oven free for other things.
I will give you all three cooking methods here.
Christmas Pudding Ingredients
I've kept the amounts of carrots, potato and apple the same as in the old recipe, but found a gluten-free flour combination that works well. There are still no eggs in this recipe.
I also reduced the sugar from my mother's recipe. In developing this new version, I hesitated to use coconut palm sugar but tried it anyway. I made a few test batches with it and others with organic raw cane sugar. We like it either way. Coconut sugar makes a darker pudding and a very nice sauce, too! I used coconut sugar in the recipe for the photos here.
For gluten-free bread crumbs, use any plain gluten-free bread like my Gluten Free Sorghum Bread. Pulse a couple of slices in a food processor or blender to form crumbs. If you don't have either of these appliances, you can cut bread up finely with a knife.
For the exact amounts and detailed recipe instructions, scroll down to the end of this post, or click the Jump to Recipe button at the top.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Start by grating raw carrot, potato, and apple. A food processor is a real time saver here, if you have one. Stir sugar and melted butter into this mixture.
2. In another bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients - the flours, baking soda, salt, and spices. Then, stir in bread crumbs.
3. Add raisins and chopped dates to the dry mixture and stir this all together with the moist ingredients.
4. Transfer this batter into a greased, ovenproof bowl. A buttered 1.5-quart pyrex bowl works nicely.
5. Wrap it generously in aluminum foil. Use enough foil to not only cover the top of the bowl but to also wrap completely down over the sides and overlap on the bottom. This is to keep the foil secure as you set the bowl of pudding into a steaming appliance and lift it out again later.
How to Cook Christmas Pudding in the Instant Pot
Now that I have an Instant Pot, this is my preferred way to cook gluten-free Christmas pudding. Put a cup of water and the trivet that comes with the pressure cooker into the bottom before placing the foil-wrapped bowl of batter inside. Close the vent and set it to pressure cook for 0 minutes. Yes, that’s a thing! Once it has reached pressure, press Cancel, open the vent, and select Slow Cook for 3 hours. You may leave the pudding in the Instant Pot for a few hours after it has finished cooking to keep it warm until you are ready to serve it.
How to Steam Christmas Pudding in a Slow Cooker
Cooking times will vary because slow cookers' temperatures vary. Put one cup of water and the foil-wrapped bowl into a slow cooker. Start out by setting the appliance to High. If the water begins to boil so that it is evaporating, turn the temperature down.
After 3 hours, check for doneness. Carefully remove the bowl from over the steaming water. You'll need to wear oven mitts for this job. Peel back some of the foil and poke the pudding in the middle with a fork or toothpick. It should come out clean or with some dry crumbs on it.
How to Steam Christmas Pudding on the Stovetop
Select a saucepan that's big enough to hold the foil-wrapped bowl on a trivet and allow you to put the lid on. Place a trivet into the bottom of the pan. Add enough water so it comes about one-third up the sides of the bowl when it goes in. This takes a bit of guesswork. Then, set the bowl onto the trivet in water.
Cover the saucepan with its lid and bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 3 hours. Test for doneness as with the slow cooker method.
Christmas Pudding Sauce
Caramel sauce for Christmas Pudding is easy to make in a small saucepan on the stovetop. Bring butter to a boil. Whisk in sugar, cream, and vanilla. Serve it warm over your Christmas pudding.
Serving Tips
I like to offer Christmas Pudding as the main dessert after our traditional dinner of Roast Turkey and Cranberry Sauce.
Can Christmas Pudding be made ahead?
You can make the Christmas Pudding a day or two ahead and warm it up to serve it.
Another option is to mix the shredded carrot, potato, and apple with melted butter and sugar. Cover this and store it in the refrigerator overnight, separately from the dry ingredients, which can also be mixed ahead. Then, in the morning, you can just mix the two together and get the cooking started.
Storage Tips
If you've made your Christmas pudding a day or two ahead, just store it in the refrigerator as is in the foil wrapping.
Store leftovers sealed in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I store leftover sauce in the same container with the pudding. The extra liquid is nice when you reheat the dessert to enjoy it later.
Freezer Instructions
Christmas pudding will freeze well in an airtight container for two or three months.
I do not recommend freezing the sauce. It's best to make it shortly before serving.
Recipe FAQ's
Christmas pudding needs a fat to replace suet. I like butter for both taste and consistency, so that's what I use in this recipe. If you would rather avoid this dairy product, you may use coconut oil.
According to Wikipedia, plum pudding is Christmas pudding. Apparently, what we know as raisins today were called plums prior to the 18th century. Recipes originating in Medieval England were already including these raisins (plums), other dried fruit, breadcrumbs, flour, etc., when the term "Christmas pudding" came along in 1845.
Serve it with...
Recipe
Gluten Free Christmas Pudding
Ingredients
- 1 cup grated raw carrot
- 1 cup grated raw potato
- ¾ cup grated raw apple
- ½ cup butter or ghee melted
- ½ cup coconut palm sugar or raw cane sugar
- ⅔ cup almond flour
- ⅓ cup coconut flour
- ⅓ cup arrowroot flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup soft gluten free bread crumbs
- 1 cup raisins
- ½ cup dates pitted and chopped
Coconut Sugar Sauce
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup coconut palm sugar or raw cane sugar
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Grease a 1.5-quart ovenproof bowl with butter.
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the carrots, potato, apple, melted butter, and sugar.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flours, baking soda, salt, and spices together. Stir in the bread crumbs.
- Add the raisins and dates to the dry mixture in the large bowl. Stir in the carrot mixture.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared ovenproof bowl. Cover with aluminum foil wrapped down the sides and around the bottom to secure it.
- INSTANT POT INSTRUCTIONS: Add 1 cup of water to a 6-quart Instant Pot. Set the trivet inside. Set your foil-wrapped bowl of pudding batter carefully inside the pot on top of the trivet. With VENT CLOSED, select PRESSURE for 0 MINUTES. When it comes to full pressure, press CANCEL, OPEN THE VENT, and SLOW COOK for 3 HOURS.
- SLOW COOKER INSTRUCTIONS: You may set your foil-wrapped bowl into 1 cup of water in your slow cooker. Start it out on HIGH. If your water is boiling and evaporating, turn the slow cooker temperature down. Test the centre of the pudding for doneness after 3 hours of cooking. Cooking time may vary due to different temperatures of slow cookers. The pudding is done when you can poke a fork into the centre and it comes out clean or with dry crumbs on it.
- STOVE TOP INSTRUCTIONS: Stand the bowl of pudding on a trivet in a saucepan large enough to allow you to put the lid on over it. Fill the saucepan with enough water to come about ⅓ up the sides of the pudding bowl. Cover the saucepan with a lid. Bring the water to a boil. Reduce and simmer for 3 hours. Test for doneness.
Serve Carrot Pudding warm with Coconut Sugar Sauce drizzled over each serving.
Sugar Sauce
- In a small saucepan, bring butter to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Reduce heat to low. Add sugar, whisking constantly, so as not to burn. Stir in cream and vanilla. Just as the sauce comes back to a boil, remove from heat. Drizzle over warm Christmas Pudding.
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