Make your own sugar free pancake syrup with 4 simple ingredients! This Keto Maple Syrup is rich and thick, and tastes like pure heaven on your favorite breakfast foods. And it has 0g net carbs per serving!
I have just created something that is going to take your breakfast experience to the next level. To say that I am excited about this Keto Maple Syrup is a serious understatement. I am positively giddy!
This homemade sugar free pancake syrup is so good that I want to eat keto pancakes every day. Actually, I want to pour it all over everything. I’ve drizzled it over keto pumpkin breakfast bars as well. And my husband dipped some breakfast sausage into it and declared the combination absolutely delicious.
I can’t wait for you to try this recipe and tell me what you think!
Why you will love this recipe
Readers have asked me for years to create a keto maple syrup and I’ve dilly dallied on that. I’ve dillied here and dallied there, but I just never made it a priority. And now I am left wondering why I waited so long.
Because it turns out to be remarkably easy to make your own sugar free pancake syrup. A handful of ingredients and about 10 minutes of your time, and Bob’s your uncle. You may not actually have an uncle named Bob, but now you have a wonderful maple-flavored topper for your pancakes and waffles.
Being a good Canadian, I never thought anything would live up to real maple syrup. And let’s be honest, NOTHING compares to real maple syrup. So I just muddled along with the store-bought keto versions, thinking they were good enough. I usually top my pancakes with peanut butter or some Keto Nutella.
But this stuff is really good. Really, really good! Easily the best maple syrup alternative I have tried. And I’ve tried quite a few of them! It’s rich and thick but still pourable, the flavor is spot on.
And you can store in the fridge for up to a month. It will firm up and solidify but all you need is a little gentle heat to restore it to pourable quality.
Ingredients you need
- Brown sugar replacement: Starting with some brown sweetener gives the syrup a richer color and flavor. I used the new Swerve Brown formulation, which is mostly erythritol with a little allulose as well.
- Allulose: This keto syrup requires a sweetener like allulose that won’t recrystallize when it cools. Allulose also caramelizes and becomes syrupy as it cooks. You can try BochaSweet or xylitol as well, but they may not quite be as good.
- Butter: The addition of butter isn’t absolutely necessary, but it does give the syrup a richer mouthfeel.
- Maple extract: If you want keto maple syrup, you’ve got to use maple extract! But if you don’t have it, this will still be delicious with vanilla extract.
Step by Step Directions
- In a heavy duty saucepan over medium heat, combine the sweeteners and water. Bring to a boil, whisking to dissolve the sweeteners. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer 5 minutes. Watch carefully to make sure it doesn’t burn.
- Add the butter and whisk to melt. Return to a simmer and cook until the mixture begins to thicken and darken in color, about 2 minutes.
- Remove from heat and whisk in the maple extract and salt, if using.
- Let cool 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
- Pour into a glass jar for storing in the refrigerator.
Expert Tips
It can be hard to tell when the syrup has thickened sufficiently. The best way I can describe it is that the bubbles move less rapidly as the mixture simmers. When they begin to rise and pop more lazily, take the syrup off heat.
Sweeteners: I get a lot of questions about sweetener substitutions, so let me be very clear. You cannot make this keto maple syrup just with erythritol based sweeteners. It will recrystallize and harden after cooking and it won’t be syrupy at all.
Allulose is your best option by far, but BochaSweet and xylitol may work as well. You may find that you need to simmer things a little longer with these other sweeteners, to make the syrup thicken up properly.
Butter: If you choose not to add butter, you can use about 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum to help thicken the syrup. Once you’ve take then syrup off heat, sprinkle it over the surface while whisking vigorously.
Reheating the syrup: The syrup does firm up as it cools, and the butter tends to float to the top. This is completely normal, and you can return it to a liquid state simply by warming it gently. It takes only a few seconds in the microwave!
I recommend stirring the butter into it as it firms up, and then re-heating only the amount you need, rather than the whole batch. I simply put a few tablespoons in a ramekin and gave it about 5 seconds in the microwave. You can also use it like a spread on hot waffles or pancakes. The warmth of the food liquifies the syrup perfectly!
Frequently Asked Questions
Real maple syrup is not appropriate for those following a low carb or ketogenic diet. It contains 28g of carbs in a 2 tablespoon serving, and almost all of those carbs are sugars. But this homemade keto maple syrup has zero grams net carbs! Neither erythritol nor xylitol spike blood sugar so you can feel good about pouring it on your favorite pancakes.
Just because the label says it’s sugar free does not mean it’s diabetes friendly or keto friendly! Most sugar-free syrups contain nasty ingredients like aspartame and acesulfame potassium. And even ones labeled “keto” can contain things like tapioca fiber, which might spike your blood sugar.
This recipe for sugar free pancake syrup contains only erythritol, allulose, water, butter, and maple extract. So it really is diabetes friendly!
You can store this keto maple syrup in the fridge for up to a month. I recommend storing in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. It will firm up as it cools so make sure you re-warm it very gently, stirring frequently until smooth.
More delicious maple recipes
Keto Maple Syrup Recipe
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup (133.33 g) allulose sweetener
- 1/3 cup (66.67 g) brown sugar replacement
- 1/2 cup (118.29 ml) water
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 1/2 tsp maple extract
- Pinch salt, (optional)
Instructions
- In a heavy duty saucepan over medium heat, combine the sweeteners and water. Bring to a boil, whisking to dissolve the sweeteners. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer 5 minutes. Watch carefully to make sure it doesn't burn.
- Add the butter and whisk to melt. Return to a simmer and cook until the mixture begins to thicken and darken in color.
- Remove from heat and whisk in the maple extract and salt, if using.
- Let cool to room temperature and transfer to a glass jar for storing.
Notes
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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I love the consistency. Putting the syrup on the amazing waffles is amazing!
Great to hear!
i don’t have a Brown sugar sweetener, can I use a teeny amount of black strap molasses for the flavour? if so, how much would be suitable for this recipe?
Absolutely! Try about 1/2 teaspoon at first. I don’t want the flavor to overpower the maple.
Which maple extract do you recommend?
It’s linked right in the recipe!
One of several recipes I have tried and this one is the best tasting by far! Thank you
I made it today! I put it in a shorter ball jar and there was some remaining in the pan. So I did what I believe all cooks do….. got a spoon and ate the remaining portion. It was delicious!!!
should this be kept in the fridge once it’s in the glass jar?
Please read the blog post! 🙂
Would it be feasible to use avocado oil instead of butter, so there is no issue of the butter firming up and rising to the top? Do you think the AO would thicken it like the butter would? I plan to try making this today! Thanks for all your wonderful recipes!
I think you will need to experiment there… but I don’t think it will be as tasty!
This is one of the best keto maple syrup I have ever made, thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I look forward to using it over and over again.
So far, I’ve tried this recipe with Pancake muffins and making my very own bourbon maple glaze brussel sprouts with bacon.
Curious if you have any recipes that use your maple syrup other than the normal keto pancake. For example can u sub some of the sweetener in your maple fudge recipe with some of this syrup? Just wondering if there is anything else I can use it for.
I grew up in a golden syrup household. Is it weird that I don’t care for maple syrup?
I’m thinking about making this with other flavors – orange, lemon, leaving it plain.
I’m the same way. I’m thinking I will just use vanilla extract, in place of the maple, for a traditional pancake/waffle syrup flavor.
Incredible!!
I’ve not liked any of the keto-friendly syrups from the grocery store, so I searched for a homemade recipe. This is the first I’ve tried and it’ll be the last. It’s perfect!! After reading the comments from people whining that it crystalized or was watery, I made sure I followed the recipe. Using allulose is the key, people! (For the brown sugar, I used the Swerve brand.) I cooked up an excellent batch of delicious, thick, maple-ly, butter-y syrup. YUM!!
Thanks so much!
I should have come here first. I googled maple syrup and all the recipes I found were the same—a mixture of water, sugar substitute, maple flavour and xantham gum.
I tried one of them and ended up with a watery-tasting, maple-flavoured gel-like syrup. With lumps in it. The last was my fault for not reading the comments.
I have high hopes for yours. For one, the cooking will concentrate the flavour, I am sure. The butter is a nice addition, and the syrup won’t be weirdly gel-like.
Now that I FINALLY got my hands on Allulose in Canada, I’m ready to try this. As soon as I finish the gellified atrocity.
when you list carbs at the end in nutrition values on your recipes you also list fibre. Are we supposed to deduct the grams of fibre to get nett carbs? or are these the type of fibre we do digest and therefore can’t be deducted?
Yes, if you want net carbs, please subtract.
This crytallized on the plate after pouring on pancakes.
Sounds like you didn’t use the right sweeteners, then. :). What did you use?
Thank you! Just fabulous!
Great recipe. I made the mistake of adding 1/8th tsp xanthan gum, thinking it would help emulsify the butter and make the syrup a bit thicker. It became toffee like thick as it cooled. Tasted great on French toast. Thanks!