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 1/3 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 1/3 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 1/4 cups (135 g) almond flour
- 1/4 cup (45.5 g) granular sweetener, (erythritol-based)
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
- 1/4 cup (56.75 g) butter, melted
Pecan Pie Filling
- 1/4 cup (56.75 g) butter
- 1/4 cup (45.5 g) brown sugar replacement
- 1/4 cup (45.5 tsp) allulose
- 1/4 cup (59.15 ml) heavy whipping cream
- 2 large (2) eggs
- 1 tsp (1.5 tsp) vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
- 1 1/2 cup (148.5 g) pecans, chopped
- 1/4 cup (45 g) 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.
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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Oh My Goodness! These absolutely do not taste low carb. I changed things a little based on what I had on hand, and ended up making a batch of the low carb camel sauce instead of the one listed in this recipe. I skipped the water from that recipe and also skipped the molasses from this one since the caramel already had some. These came out perfect and my husband who loves pecan pie said they taste just like the real thing. Thanks!!
Carolyn,
I had to come back to tell you that this is, hands down, one of my all-time favorite low carb dessert recipes. I plan on adding this to my Thanksgiving and Christmas menu. Maybe I’ll even make it one more time in between. 😉
Thank you for all your delicious recipes. I’m a big, big fan.
Thanks so much, Margi!
Great Recipe and great cause! I’ve been visiting and recommending your site for some time. Thanks for all the creative effort you put into sharing these wonderful healthful recipes.
Happy Thanksgiving
Dianna
Thanks, Dianna
Thank you for these amazing recipes! I can’t wait to make these pecan bars.
If I use liquid xylitol, shoud I eliminate the water?
Thanks
Love your recipes
Eating healthy without suffering, lol
I’ve never heard of liquid xylitol! But yes, I think you could reduce or eliminate the extra liquid.
Thanks yes, its from a company called Nature’s Harvest. They have it in all kinds of flavors and different kinds of syrups. I got Cotton Candy flavred for snow cones. and butterscotch and caramel syrup.
Hi just wanted to let you know that the caramel filling turns out lovely with coconut milk. I used full fat organic canned coconut milk and scooped out only the solid stuff at the top. My husband can tolerate butter but no other dairy. If you did the caramel and filling ingredients except the eggs so adding molasses, more butter and sea salt and stopped there it was a gorgeous sauce.
Good to know! Thanks for experimenting.
Hi, I didn’t want to use the veg glycerin because I’m so very sensitive to unknown ingredients. Also I’m not a huge fan of Xanthan gum in fillings, so I tried an experiment with arrowroot powder in the caramel. I dissolved 1.5 tsp of arrowroot powder in the heavy cream prior to adding it to the boiled sweeteners (I let it dissolve in the cream for about 7 minutes while the sugar boiled and made sure there were no lumps before adding it to the caramel along with the butter and whisking vigorously). I am extremely happy to report that the filling did not crystallize other than the usual top layer that you would get even with regular sugar. The rest stayed lovely and soft. I’ve never had an American style pecan pie – what I was going for was the Canadian pecan butter tart, so I can’t comment on what others would expect. However, the texture and taste were both exactly what I wanted! I didn’t do these squares – I used the pastry from the mincemeat tarts recipe to make the tarts and it was perfect.
Sounds great, Heather! I may try the arrowroot trick some time!
Hello again: So I just made these and I used 1/2 Swerve and 1/2 isomalt 1. Because I have a dog who likes to eat sugar 2. Isomalt is supposed to work very well for making candy. These bars are super sweet and if you have a sweet tooth you will love these. Now my husband says they get him in the back of the throat because they are so sweet! I personally love them. If you are not used to eating sugar much these will be a great sweet treat! And I had to try some of the caramel sauce while it was cooling down and that sauce is crazy good – I have a cranberry Christmas pudding it is perfect for just add a tiny bit of rum (It’s Christmas after all). Also I looked at it after the prescribed time and it was way to liquidy so I increased the temp back to 350 for 10 more minutes and it set perfectly! They are just wonderful. Next time to make it a bit less sweet maybe I’ll sweeten the crust less? It is fantastic regardless! Thank you! Merry Christmas!
Interesting I wonder if the isomalt made it taste that sweet. I have never used it before. Thanks!
Very new at this type of baking, but very dedicated to learning. Is there anything you can tell be about the cocao. I bought navitas raw chocolate nibs organic but by itself does not taste good. Is this the right thing for the recipe? Can’t wait to try it.
The cacao nibs will be okay, but not great, in this recipe. I recommend a high % cacao chocolate, like Lindt 90%.
Carolyn, I made these tonight and they are so good they almost brought tears to my eyes. I think they are the best thing I’ve tasted yet in the realm of re-inventing sweet without sugar. Thank you so much for your dedication and sharing your gifts with the world. Happy holidays!
So glad you liked them!
I used Wilton glycerine which you can buy in 2 oz bottles where ever Wilton cake decorating products are sold. It is used to keep icing soft. However I’m wondering if it is the same as the vegetal glycerine called for in your recipe. I used 2 tablespoons. The recipe was delicious but I and my guest got heartburn and stomach ache very quickly after only one small piece. I had to throw away the whole pan. I want to make it again but need to know if I used the correct product and amount.
Thanks
I’ve never used the wilton kind so I honestly can’t be sure. Sorry!
These are wonderful! With your help I made it through Thanksgiving without a sugar spike or weight gain – didn’t feel deprived either. Plan to do the same thru Christmas. Made your peppermint biscotti and cheddar crackers today – both also wonderful! Thank you
Wonderful! So glad you survived Thanksgiving. Bring on Christmas!
Ok, I just made these. They are delicious. You are a goddess in the kitchen! Better than many a restaurant-ordered ‘real’ pecan pie. I think mine may be a bit soft, so next time I’ll pop them in for a bit longer but I don’t care, they are divine!
First these we’re amazing! Made them today and took them to thanksgiving day party. Needless to say the non low carbers kept them!, I did a little different because I didn’t want the grit from the swerve: Caramel: 1/4 cup swerve, 1/4 cup xylitol honey, 1/4 cup xylitol granule, 1/4 cup tagatose. Boiled like you did and the rest!, The filling stayed custard like…. Much like traditional pecan pie!,, So darn yummy!, Next time I’ll try without the tagatose.
I made these exactly like the recipe and they were a huge hit at Thanksgiving. People didn’t even know they were low carb!
The Chocolate Pecan Bars are great! Not too sweet like a pecan pie. I had mine with a little whipped cream. Delicious!