These Keto Pecan Pie Bars are so gooey and decadent, you won’t believe they’re sugar free! There’s a reason readers love them! And with less than 5g of carbs, you can afford to indulge.
Looking for a truly special dessert for the holidays that won’t give you a sugar high? Look no further than these amazing Keto Pecan Pie Bars. They are sweet gooey pecan perfection.
This really is one of my holiday favorites, and they give my Keto Pecan Pie some stiff competition. One bite and you will see why they’ve been so popular for years and years. Because no one should have to go without such deliciousness in their lives.
I’ve long said that the greatest joy for me is taking an old favorite and making it low carb and sugar-free. These Keto Pecan Pie Bars are the perfect example of such joy.
Why this recipe is so amazing
I created keto pecan pie bars early on in my blogging career, which is approximately a bajillion years ago. Or November 2013, which amounts to the same thing. Back then, however, low carb ingredients were more limited. The wide range of sweeteners we have now, as well as the brands of good quality sugar free chocolate simply didn’t exist.
But it was time to give them another update. Because once again, the keto universe is changing. And I’ve learned a lot working with different keto sweeteners and different techniques.
Some of you will notice that this recipe is a little different now. Trust me, this update makes them even better than ever. They’re easier to make and have even more rich pecan pie flavor.
I used my favorite Keto Pie Crust for the shortbread base, and a slightly modified version of my famous Keto Caramel Sauce in the filling. I also added more chopped pecans because you can never have enough pecans.
The chocolate chips are optional but I think it takes these bars over the top!
Reader Reviews
“Very delicious, love the caramelised filling. I live in England and thought it would be a struggle to achieve perfect taste due to difference in ingredients but it’s absolutely delicious. Thank you.” — Silvija
“These were absolutely delicious and so easy to make. Definitely will be making them again and again!!” — Karen L.
“So yummy! Probably own of my favorite treats to date! Thank you for making my life a little bit easier by having good treats to feed my family.” — Raechel
Ingredient Notes
- Almond flour: I used almond flour for the crust but you could also use pecan flour. It would go very well with these bars! I used it in my Keto Caramel Cheesecake Bars.
- Sweetener: You do need a mix of sweeteners for this recipe. The crust requires an erythritol sweetener, and the filling requires brown sugar substitute and allulose. Please see the Tips for Success section for more information.
- Butter: Butter is an essential ingredient in both the crust and the pecan filling.
- Heavy whipping cream: Heavy cream helps give the caramel sauce the right consistency.
- Eggs: You will need eggs to help set the filling and create a gooey pecan pie filling.
- Pecans: You can’t have pecan pie bars without pecans! I recommend chopping them up a little to make the bars easier to cut.
- Dark chocolate chips: I love the addition of chocolate chips in these bars. But if you prefer to omit them, I recommend adding another ⅓ cup of pecans to take their place.
- Pantry staples: Vanilla extract and salt.
Step-By-Step Directions
1. Prepare the crust: Whisk together almond flour, sweetener, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the melted butter until well combined.
2. Par-bake the crust: Press evenly into the bottom of a lightly greased 9-inch square pan and bake at 325ºF for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are just turning golden. Remove and let cool in the pan.
3. Prepare the caramel sauce: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, brown sugar replacement, and allulose. Bring to a boil and cook 2 to 3 minutes, keeping a close eye on it so that it doesn’t burn. Remove from heat and add the cream. The mixture will bubble vigorously. Set aside to cool to lukewarm.
4. Whisk in the eggs: Once the caramel sauce is cool, whisk in the eggs, vanilla extract, and salt.
5. Bake the bars: Scatter the pecans and chocolate chips over the crust and pour the filling overtop. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until the filling is mostly set but still jiggles slightly when the pan is shaken.
6. Let cool: Remove and let cool for about 30 minutes before cutting into bars.
Tips for Success
I highly recommend a metal baking pan for these bars to bake through properly and for the crust to firm up. Just know that if you use glass or ceramic, they may not turn out quite as well.
You can also use an 8×8-inch baking pan, but keep in mind that your bars will be thicker and thus will take longer to cook through. You may need to bake the crust a bit longer as well.
If you would prefer to skip the chocolate chips, I recommend adding another ⅓ cup of chopped pecans to help give the filling the right volume.
Sweetener Options
This recipe uses a combination of erythritol and allulose based sweeteners. Erythritol is required important the crust if you want it to firm up properly. The filling takes a combination of a keto brown sugar (made with erythritol) and allulose, to keep it gooier.
If you can’t get allulose, you can use xylitol instead. You can also use mostly allulose in the filling, but it may have a different consistency and not set for a long time. I also find that there is a slightly sour taste when I make my caramel sauce with just allulose, and I don’t enjoy it.
Read more about how keto sweeteners work.
Frequently Asked Questions
I like these keto pecan pie bars gooey and room temperature so I store them in a covered container on the counter. They are good for up to 4 days. They can also be kept in the fridge for a week.
Many readers have had good luck freezing these bars. I recommend storing them between layers of waxed paper so they don’t stick together. They will be good for 2 or 3 months.
This keto chocolate ricotta cake recipe has 4.9g of carbs and 2.2g of fiber per serving. That comes to 2.7g net carbs per bar.
More delicious keto pecan recipes
Keto Pecan Pie Bars Recipe
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 ¼ cups almond flour
- ¼ cup granular sweetener (erythritol-based)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup butter melted
Pecan Pie Filling
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup brown sugar replacement
- ¼ cup allulose
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cup pecans chopped
- ¼ cup sugar free chocolate chips
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and lightly grease a 9-inch square metal baking pan.
- Whisk together almond flour, sweetener, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the melted butter until well combined.
- Press evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan and bake at 325ºF for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are just turning golden. Remove and let cool in the pan.
Pecan Pie Filling
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, brown sugar replacement, and allulose. Bring to a boil and cook 2 to 3 minutes, keeping a close eye on it so that it doesn't burn.
- Remove from heat and add the cream. The mixture will bubble vigorously. Set aside to cool to lukewarm.
- Once the caramel sauce is cool, whisk in the eggs, vanilla extract, and salt.
- Scatter the pecans and chocolate chips over the crust and pour the filling overtop. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until the filling is mostly set but still jiggles slightly when the pan is shaken.
- Remove and let cool for about 30 minutes before cutting into bars.
Raechel says
So yummy! Probably own of my favorite treats to date! Thank you for making my life a little bit easier by having good treats to feed my family.
HM says
This recipe is awesome!!! I was getting a dough as well with the amount of ingredients listed so I added 2 cups more of almond flour and it came out perfectly. The was a little thicker but everyone prefers it that way so that’s how I make it now. If you don’t want a thicker crust then eliminating some butter will help. I tried it this time with some Lilly’s chocolate salted caramel chips and it really good too!! Thank you for sharing your recipe ????
Beth says
It says serving is 1 bar. How big are the bars? What measurements for the bar?
Carolyn says
9 inches, divided by 4 (since you cut four in each direction) is 2.25 inches across both ways. But I am not sure why you are getting so specific… the recipe states 16 bars so simply cut them as evenly as possible.
Amy Cronin says
I just bought a bag of Allulose brown. In your opinion, would that be a good one to one substitution for the powdered Swerve and Yacon syrup?
Carolyn says
I would not use only that… it must be mixed with some Swerve or it will be too soft.
Danell Benedict says
I am replacing Yukon , swerve & vanilla with 1 tsp liquid stevia & 2-3 tablespoons Choc zero maple vanilla syrup
And I replaced swerve in piecrust with Monk fruit.
Looks great haven’t tried yet
Ali says
Loved these! Only problem was they was very crumbly and didn’t stay together. Any suggestions?
Carolyn says
Hmmmm, what sweetener did you use?
JT says
I tried making this, but when I pulsed the ingredients for the crust with the chilled butter pieces, the whole thing came together like dough- it didn’t resemble “course crumbs”.
I prebaked the crust then baked with filling as instructed, but the crust was very “mushy” and greasy even after letting the bars cool for an hour. I have no idea what went wrong. The filling was very good though.
Carolyn says
Sounds like too much butter, not enough flour. You may have mismeasured the flour a bit? I use this crust in many applications so it definitely works. Next time, don’t proceed until you’re sure it’s like coarse crumbs.
Dee says
I had the same problem with the crust. I don’t own a food processor (super limited in kitchen space) so I used a pastry cutter. Ended up with a mushy mess with a great topping. .
Cindy says
I hate to ask but do you know if there is a substitute for yacon syrup?
Carolyn says
Molasses.
Kim says
Wonder if you could use sugar free pancake syrup?
Carolyn says
I can’t advise on that, as it may bake up very differently depending on which brand you use.
Nikki says
These were delicious! Even my keto-wary daughter liked them 🙂 She loves pecan pie, so I was glad she enjoyed it.
Shar says
The bars were very good..next time I make them just a bit less butter maybe 1/3 cup.
Marilyn O says
This is great recipe. Husband loved it. I could not find yacon syrup so used Molasses instead.
Kars says
Love em! My go to for pecan pie on holidays
Lois says
I made these yesterday to take to church today–we were having communion and the love feast dessert was cookies–so I took these for myself and my keto friend. They were GREAT and she loved them too. So did our other friend who isn’t doing keto. Thanks Carolyn for another great recipe. I think I’m going to make them for our Thanksgiving gathering too!
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!
Brian says
Carolyn, If I use your Keto Caramel Sauce recipe for this, do I make the default 8 servings? I just noticed there is 1/4 cup of butter in that recipe vs. 1/2 cup in this recipe for the filling.
Carolyn says
I would follow this recipe, although you can use Swerve Brown and allulose or BochaSweet to get a gooey consistency.
Carrie says
My bars are delicious, but not pecan pie bars. I did not have or could find Yukon syrup so they turned out very yellow. Was I suppose to whisk the butter and swerve until it turns a caramel color? Does that even happen? If I added some coconut they would be perfect magic bars. I froze them because they fell apart when cutting them. Any suggestions?
Carolyn says
That’s what the Yacon/molasses is for… it provides the darker color and richer flavor.
Barbara Mayfield says
I have made these bars several times and we love them! But I need help with one thing. The Yacon syrup seems to add a green tint to the sauce. I am using EcoChacras Organic Syrup which I found on-line. Is this unusual? Or do all Yacon syrups do the same thing?
Carolyn says
Um no, definitely not! I’ve never had them contribute any greenish tinge. I think that sounds a little off.
Jessica Burgess says
These were a life-saver!! We needed a sweet treat and these hit the spot, thank you!
Kathy Swigart says
I didn’t have a 9″ square pan so I used a 9″ Springfield pan. I didn’t have yakon so I used maple syrup. It looks great but can’t upload a pic. I hope hubby likes.
Sara says
Is it possible to substitute evaporated skim milk for the cream? I do that in other recipes and it works well but I’m very new to baking and not sure if that’s okay or not. Thanks – love your website!
Carolyn says
I haven’t tried so I really can’t say. But it’s also higher carb than cream, with 2g per tablespoon, so a total of 16g of carbs. Heavy cream has 3g of carb for half a cup.
Jana Gallagher says
All I have is glass dishes. Any suggestions for using them?
Carolyn says
You can use them, you just need to adjust your oven to make up for it. I know there are tutorials on how to adjust for glass and ceramic. I want to say that you lower the temp by 25F and bake longer. Maybe google that?
Shy says
Same, mushy crust. The next time I try a recipe I will read everyone’s notes first. This recipe should either call for more almond flour or less butter.
Thanks for the recipe. I’m sure it will still be yummy.
Carolyn says
If the crust was mushy, then it wasn’t firm enough before you added the topping. Did you bake and let it cool properly? The recipe works as is, I and many other readers have made it many times without issue.