I make these lava cakes in the Instant Pot when I want a restaurant-style dessert without heating the oven or giving up an hour of my evening. The outside sets into a moist chocolate cake while the center stays molten and spills out the moment you cut in, and each one cooks in its own ramekin, so everybody gets their own. Start to finish they take about 30 minutes, and they are low-carb, made with monk fruit sweetener and ground sunflower seed meal in place of sugar and flour.
The batter takes about ten minutes to put together, and the rest of the half hour is the Instant Pot doing the work. I get five cakes out of it that taste like I spent the afternoon on them.
Serve these straight from the Instant Pot and add toppings like berries, ice cream, whipped cream frosting, or keto caramel. They work just as well on a weeknight as they do for a birthday or a dinner party.
Each cake has 4.8 grams of net carbs, and it is rich enough that one is plenty.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Why you’ll love this keto lava cake recipe
- Individual portions
- Will satisfy your sweet tooth with only 4.8g net carbs per serving
- Made from scratch
- Made with sunflower seed meal instead of almond flour, so they are nut-free
- Cooked in the Instant Pot in only 30 minutes
- Rich, warm, and gooey
How to make Instant Pot chocolate lava cakes
- Prepare Batter: Melt chocolate in a bowl following the double boiler method. Remove the melted chocolate pot from the stovetop and allow it to cool slightly.
- Mix together the eggs, butter, monk fruit sweetener, and vanilla extract until pale and fluffy, then add the ground sunflower seed meal and salt and mix again. Pour the melted chocolate into the mixing bowl and mix until well combined.
- Coat ramekins or non-stick pudding pots with cooking spray then fill each about ¾ of the way full with the prepared batter.
- Cook Cakes: Place a steamer rack on the bottom of your Instant Pot pot and then pour in 2 cups of water. Place 4 ramekins directly atop the steamer rack and then place the remaining 1 ramekin atop the 4 ramekins in the center to build a pyramid. Secure the lid and set to manual setting (high pressure) to cook for 6 minutes. After cooking has finished, quick-release pressure and carefully remove the ramekins from the Instant Pot pot.
- Final Steps: As quickly as possible and while still warm, atop a plate, flip ramekins over to remove cakes from ramekins. Serve cakes warm on their own or garnished with any of the optional garnishes included in the Ingredients list.
Net carbs per serving for Instant Pot lava cakes
Each of these lava cakes has 4.8 grams of net carbs, and the recipe as written makes 5 cakes. I get to that number by taking the total carbs and subtracting both the fiber and the sugar alcohols.
I put the full nutrition label, with calories, total carbs, protein, and fat per serving, right below the recipe instructions.
Ingredient substitutions for keto chocolate lava cakes
- Dark Chocolate Bar: Sugar-free dark chocolate chips can be substituted at a 1:1 ratio.
- Butter: Coconut oil can be substituted for butter at a 1:1 ratio. This substitution will make the recipe dairy-free.
- Golden Monk Fruit Sweetener: Classic Monk Fruit Sweetener, Swerve, or erythritol can be used here at a 1:1 substitution ratio. You can also use Powdered Monk Fruit Sweetener; I would suggest using ~37g if you use Lakanto’s powdered sweetener.
- Ground Sunflower Seed Meal: You can make homemade ground sunflower seed meal by pulsing raw sunflower seeds in a blender or food processor until they turn into flour (be careful to not over-blend, as doing this will lead to making sunflower seed butter, which has a consistency similar to that of peanut butter or almond butter). If you can eat nuts, you should be able to substitute almond flour at a 1:1 ratio substitution.
Keep in mind any changes you make to this recipe will modify the total net carbs.
Instant Pot lava cake FAQs
Can I make keto lava cakes if I don’t have an Instant Pot?
If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you should be able to place the cake-filled ramekins on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Note that I have not personally tested this, so I can’t say for sure, but I do think this will work! If you do decide to bake them, I would suggest checking them right at 12 minutes and, if the center jiggles while being gently shaken, remove them from the oven.
Can I make this recipe dairy-free?
Use coconut oil in place of butter to make this a dairy-free recipe.
What size ramekins do I use for this recipe?
For these lava cakes, I used 6-ounce ramekins. I suggest using 4-6 ounce ramekins. Depending on the size of your ramekin, the cooking times will vary slightly.
Are ramekins supposed to be greased before using?
Yes! Coat the ramekins with nonstick cooking spray before filling them with batter.
What size Instant Pot is used for this recipe?
I can’t say for sure if this recipe will work in a 3 qt mini. I personally use a 6 qt Instant Pot, but you can also make this in an 8 qt. Regardless of whether you use a 6 qt or 8 qt, do not change the cooking time. That will remain the same.
Can I store chocolate lava cakes?
Yes, the lava cakes may be kept in an airtight container or resealable storage bags for up to 5 days in the refrigerator and up to 2 months in the freezer. After freezing, thaw in the refrigerator then reheat in the microwave for about 1 minute.
More of my favorite low-carb desserts
Email Recipe
Enter your email below and we’ll send you this recipe!
Instant Pot Lava Cakes
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup 90% dark chocolate bar (about 120g), broken up into squares
- 4 eggs
- ½ cup unsalted butter (4 oz), melted then slightly cooled
- ¼ cup + 1 tbsp golden monk fruit sweetener (60g)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp ground sunflower seed meal (14g)
- Pinch of salt
Optional Garnishes (Not Included In Nutrition Info):
- Full-fat Greek Yogurt
- Keto-friendly ice cream
- Fresh raspberries
- Sprinkle of powdered monk fruit sweetener
- Fresh mint leaf
Materials:
- 5 ramekins, 4 to 6 ounces each
Instructions
- To a small glass or stainless steel bowl, add dark chocolate bar squares. In a large pot over medium heat, using double boiler method (see note below), melt chocolate in bowl, stirring occasionally. Remove pot from stovetop and allow melted chocolate to cool slightly while moving on to next step.
- In a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer with whisk attachment, mix together eggs, butter, monk fruit sweetener, and vanilla extract until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add ground sunflower seed meal and salt and mix again until smooth. Pour melted chocolate into mixing bowl of egg mixture and, using an electric mixer with clean whisk attachment, mix until combined.
- Coat ramekins or non-stick pudding pots with cooking spray. Fill each ramekin about ¾ of the way full with prepared batter.
- Place steamer rack on bottom of Instant Pot pot and then pour in 2 cups of water. Place 4 ramekins directly atop steamer rack and then place remaining 1 ramekin atop the 4 ramekins in the center to build a pyramid.
- Secure Instant Pot lid and set to Manual setting (high pressure) to cook for 6 minutes.
- After cooking has finished, quick-release pressure and, using a towel or tongs, quickly and carefully remove ramekins from Instant Pot pot.
- As quickly as possible and while still warm, atop a plate, flip ramekins over to remove cakes from ramekins. Serve cakes warm on their own or garnished with any of the optional garnishes included in the Ingredients list.
Leave a Reply