These keto butter tarts are the real deal! Tender grain-free pastry with a rich, gooey caramel custard center. The famous Canadian dessert made low carb and sugar free.
This one goes out to my fellow Canucks, because only they can truly understand how momentous this recipe for Keto Butter Tarts really is.
But even if you’re not Canadian, even if you don’t have a single drop of Canadian blood, I suggest you stick around. Chances are that many of you have never heard of butter tarts, but they are worth getting to know!
Along with my Keto Nanaimo Bars, these sweet custard tarts have a very special place in my heart. They remind me of my childhood. They remind me of my father. And to re-create them in a healthier way brings me great joy.
Why you must try this recipe
If ever there was a national food of Canada, butter tarts are it. There are other uniquely Canadian dishes but these treats are loved and appreciated nationwide. In my home province of Ontario, there are even butter tart festivals and bake-offs, with everyone and their mother claiming they have the best recipe.
At their best, butter tarts are made of tender, flaky pastry with an incredibly gooey, sweet custard filling that usually contains raisins or dried currants. The filling is similar to pecan pie but even more gooey. So gooey that it should ooze out all over your face as you take a bite.
Traditional butter tarts are the stuff of a low carb dieter’s nightmares. They are made with copious amounts of brown sugar and corn syrup, and a large one can come in at a whopping 84g of carbs. Yikes!
Never one to resist a challenge, I simply had to create a keto recipe. I used the pastry from the Mini Keto Quiche, which holds together well. The filling uses a slightly sweeter version of my Keto Caramel Sauce but with some allulose to make it extra gooey. I also deliberately under-baked them, taking them out of the oven when the very center still looked a little wet. It was perfect!
Reader Reviews
“I made your keto butter tarts yesterday!! They are absolutely amazing!! I learned to love them as a kid, vacationing in Muskoka!! Thank you so much for creating this wonderful keto version of these beloved butter tarts!! – Susan W.
“This is one of those recipes that I can’t make too often!! If I do then I’m in serious trouble!! Talk about addicting!!! This is one of my absolute favorite recipes hands down!!!” — Lois M.
“I was skeptical but O.M.G. THESE ARE AMAZING!! I didn’t have heavy whipping cream, so I used coconut milk in its place and they still turned out fantastic. Taste even better the next day, cold from the fridge. 😀 Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’ve been craving butter tarts and these are spot on!” — Jane A.
Ingredients you need
- Almond flour: Almond flour is the best option for the crusts. If you really need to be nut-free, you can try sunflower seed flour. Keep in mind that it will affect the appearance and flavor of the tarts.
- Sweeteners: For the best consistency, you need several different sweeteners. The crust takes a powdered erythritol sweetener such as Swerve. The keto caramel filling needs brown sugar replacement as well as some allulose or BochaSweet to have a gooey consistency.
- Xanthan gum: This ingredient helps gluten-free baked goods have a bit more structure. I don’t use it often, but it helps with things like this tart crust.
- Eggs: You will need eggs for both the crust and the filling.
- Butter: You can’t have butter tarts without butter! Use unsalted so that your tarts don’t turn out too salty.
- Heavy cream: This helps create a rich, silky caramel sauce for the filling.
- Caramel extract: I like to use caramel flavor in the filling to really boost it. But you can also use vanilla extract.
- Raisins or chopped nuts: Raisins are quite high in carbs, so I only use 2 tablespoons and chopped them up. But you can also use chopped walnuts or pecans.
Basic steps
1. Make the pastry: In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, xanthan gum, and salt. Stir in the egg and butter until a cohesive dough forms. Split the dough into two portions.
2. Cut out the crusts: Dust a work surface lightly with more almond flour and transfer one portion of dough to the work surface. Cover with waxed paper or parchment paper and roll out to an even ⅛” thickness. Use a 3 1/2 inch cookie cutter to cut out as many circles as possible. Repeat with remaining dough.
3. Bake the crusts: Use an offset spatula to carefully lift each crust off the work surface. Press the crusts carefully down into lightly greased muffin cups. Bake the crusts 12 minutes at 325ºF, then remove and let cool completely to firm up.
4. Make the caramel sauce: Combine the butter and sweeteners in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook 3 to 5 minutes, watching carefully to make sure it doesn’t burn. Remove from heat and add the heavy cream and caramel extract. (The mixture will bubble vigorously, this is normal). Sprinkle the surface with the xanthan gum and whisk vigorously to combine. Whisk in the salt.
5. Fill the shells: Let the mixture cool to lukewarm, about 10 minutes. Once cooled, whisk in the egg. Divide the chopped raisins or pecans among the tart shells and spoon the filling over top. Fill each crust almost all the way to the top.
6. Bake the tarts: Bake 15 to 22 minutes, until the tart edges are golden and the filling is mostly set with a little jiggle in the center (it should still look a little wet in the very center of each tart). Remove from oven and let cool completely, then use a knife to loosen each tart.
Expert tips
Tips for keto pastry crust
- Use a non-stick metal muffin pan and grease it lightly, to avoid sticking.
- Dust your work surface with a little more almond flour. This helps the pastry rounds release more easily. Wiggling a small offset spatula under the rounds also helps.
- Cut the circles about 3 1/2 inches in diameter. A cookie or biscuit cutter works well, but if you don’t have one the right size, try a round drinking glass or plastic container.
- Bake the crusts empty first, to allow them to brown and crisp a little bit before adding the custard filling.
Tips for butter tart filling
- This uses a sweeter, thicker version of my Keto Caramel Sauce. But this time I used some allulose to really get a gooey center. BochaSweet and xylitol would be the best substitutes. If you use all erythritol based sweeteners like Swerve or Lakanto, your filling will recrystallize some as it cools.
- Let the sauce cool to lukewarm before adding the egg. Otherwise it will cook the egg and your filling will curdle.
- For truly gooey butter tarts, remove them from the oven when the very center of the tarts still look a little wet. They will continue to firm up a bit as they cool.
Recipe FAQs
Classic butter tarts are made with brown sugar, corn syrup, eggs, and butter. But these keto butter tarts are made with my popular sugar-free caramel sauce, which replaces both the brown sugar and the corn syrup.
This keto butter tart recipe has 5.2g of carbs and 1.8g of fiber per serving. That comes to 3.4g net carbs per tart.
These tarts are best served within a few days, as they lose their gooeyness as they sit. I recommend storing them in an airtight container on your counter.
More delicious keto tarts to love
Keto Butter Tarts
Equipment
Ingredients
Pastry
- 1 3/4 cups (196 g) almond flour
- 3 tbsp (18.26 g) Swerve Confectioners
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 large egg
- 3 tbsp (42.61 g) butter, melted
Filling
- 1/4 cup (56.75 g) butter, unsalted
- 1/3 cup (60.67 g) Swerve Brown
- 1/3 cup (66.67 g) allulose, (or BochaSweet)
- 1/2 cup (118.29 ml) heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 tsp caramel extract, (or vanilla extract)
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 tbsp raisins, chopped, (or chopped pecans or walnuts)
Instructions
Pastry
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and lightly grease a non-stick muffin pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, powdered sweetener, salt, and xanthan gum. Stir in the egg and melted butter until the dough comes together. Split the dough into two portions.
- Dust a work surface lightly with more almond flour and transfer one portion of the dough to the work surface. Cover the dough with waxed paper or parchment paper and roll out to an even 1/8" thickness.
- Cut out into 3½ inch circles (cookie or biscuit cutters work, as does a drinking glass). Use an offset spatula to carefully lift each crust off the work surface.
- Press the crusts carefully down into the prepared muffin cups. If they crack at all, use a little extra dough to patch the crack.
- Repeat with the other half of the dough, then gather the scraps and re-roll get more circles. You should be able to get at least 12 crusts.
- Bake the crusts 12 minutes, then remove and let cool completely to firm up.
Filling
- Combine the butter and sweeteners in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook 3 to 5 minutes, watching carefully to make sure it doesn't burn.
- Remove from heat and add the heavy cream and caramel extract. (The mixture will bubble vigorously, this is normal). Sprinkle the surface with the xanthan gum and whisk vigorously to combine. Whisk in the salt.
- Let cool to lukewarm, about 10 minutes. Once cooled, whisk in the egg.
- Divide the chopped raisins or pecans among the tart shells and spoon the filling over top. Fill each crust almost all the way to the top.
- Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until the tart edges are golden and the filling is mostly set with a little jiggle in the center (it should still look a little wet in the very center of each tart).
- Remove from oven and let cool completely, then use a knife to loosen each tart.
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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Would you believe that before Tim Horton’s came to the U.S., we would go to Windsor to get butter tarts – I live in Michigan – or whenever we would take the train to Toronto, butter tarts were our souvenirs! There was a great bakery, or was it a Fannie Mae’s, that sold them at the train station? Good times – when living was easy and my blood glucose was high! Canadian Coffee Crisp candy bars also helped with that, too! 😉 Thank you for sharing your allulose/erythritol combining method with the world to keep these, and your pecan pie nice and gooey! Genius!
I’m so happy to find this recipe!! There was a sign for butter tarts today at the gas station, and there’s a bakery I pass on my way home that sells chocolate dipped butter tarts. And they’re my favourite dessert. I’ve been missing them. I plan on making these as soon as school is back in person, and I have some time alone!
Fellow Canadian and I miss my butter tarts. However that being said I made a keto pecan pie the other day and it was the bomb. The secret Allulose. It truly melted and did not taste gritty like swerve or any other keto sugar supplement. It makes a great caramel and the color is amazing. I’m going to use your crust recipe but use the pecan pie filling I made.
I know this is an old post but can you use allulose instead since it doesnt cyrstalize?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure. I’d probably go half allulose and half Swerve.
They turned out fine, and they taste ok, but not really sweet like the regular butter tarts. I think perhaps swerve is less sweet tasting. Not to crazy about the tart shells either, I think since this recipe says like 0 calories, I might add a bit of brown sugar to the syrup mixture to improve the taste, and since GF is not my issue I might use regular tart shells. That’s my thoughts on this adventure. But thank you for the recipe. The first one I found that tackles these delicious treats.
None of the stores in my area carry Swerve Brown Sugar, or any brown sugar replacements.. Is there a substitute I can try?
Trivia has brown sugar keto. Use allulose instead
I am making these as we speak using sugar free caramel liquid sweetener along with the organic coconut sugar. I made the almond flour crust, but opted to put them in mini pie Tarts as opposed to muffin tins. In licking the bowl and the spatula, The Taste was amazing! There is no bitter aftertaste that you would normally get from an artificial sweetener like Splenda. I just put them in the oven a few minutes ago and I’m thinking they probably will need more than 15 minutes each because they’re larger than the traditional mini muffin. I’m watching them very closely now. I will post once I get them out of the oven and get a chance to try them thank you for this recipe!
Carolyn, your recipes are great! Thanks for all the time you spend developing them. I trust anything I find on your site (or any pin that leads back to your site). When I made these today, I had a hard time with the crust; it kept cracking or breaking as I put it into the muffin tins. I added a bit more water, refrigerated again, but the same result. The dough looked a bit grainy, too. I patched it up as best I could as they went into the tins – some I just pressed in more like a pie crust – we’ll see how they turn out. The only ingredient I didn’t have was the arrowroot starch (I used lupin flour). Any suggestions?
Well, yes. The starch is what keeps it from doing it, which is why it was in the ingredient list. Lupin flour is unlikely to help.
I made these and it tasted amazing!! However my crust was very stretchy and soft. What could i have done wrong? Sucha waste because everything else was so great! Thank you Caroline
I really really don’t know what would make it stretchy and soft, because almond flour crusts don’t really get stretchy unless they are the fathead dough kind. I wish I could help on that one. These crusts are actually a bit on the crumbly side and not stretchy at all so I am stumped.
I just made these. I used collagen powder instead of vegetable glycerin because it’s what I had in the cupboard and I also used Sukrin Gold brown sugar replacement in the caramel sauce.
I swear if someone handed me one without saying anything, I likely wouldn’t be able to tell the difference from the real thing!! I’m totally amazed!
The crust is a lot softer (though they haven’t totally cooled, I couldn’t wait, lol) but the taste is spot on!
Wonderful!
Actually, I’ve discovered a quirk with them. I put them in the fridge because I thought they’d keep longer, and the gooey middle turned into more of a solid icing. I’m hoping once returned to a warmer temperature they’ll “melt” again, but I guess I’ll have to wait and see. They still taste like butter tarts, but the texture is all wrong now. 🙁
That’s what erythritol does. I don’t refrigerate mine if I think we will eat them within a few days.
Thank you!!! My boyfriend switched to low-carb and he really likes butter tarts! I will make them for him for Easter.
Question for you: when making low-carb pastry, have you tried the classic technique of rolling, folding and refrigerating it (then repeating a few times) to see if you get more flaky layers? I’m going to try and see what happens. Kinda hoping I’ll stumble upon a low-carb croissant, but I know chances are slim :).
Good afternoon! Can I substitute honey for the sweetener in the filling and crust? TIA
No. The crust would be awful. And honey is just sugar.
I’m wondering how these would freeze? I made a test batch a few weeks ago and they were delicious, but I would like to bang off a few batches today and freeze them for Christmas.
I really don’t know, I didn’t try freezing them.
Hi Carolyn,
I finally got around to making these. They turned out awesome! My diabetic husband missed butter tarts more than anything and was so happy to enjoy them.
I really have to stress to other cooks the importance of using a medium saucepan, as you suggest, to melt the butter and sweetener. I made the mistake of using a small pot. I added the cream and the volume just exploded! No kidding about the liquid boiling vigorously. I had poured the cream from a small bowl, which put my hand too close to the hot liquid. Fortunately, no damage done aside from a messy stovetop.
Oh dear yes!
I’m in Vancouver, BC and having trouble finding vegetable glycerin! Any suggestions? So excited to try these for Xmas!
Skip it, they should still be okay.
I eat Keto…is there any suggestions to use in place of the arrowroot flour? Thanks I’m advance ?
Coconut flour.