Gooey and delicious keto salted caramel butter bars, with a tender, buttery crust and a rich layer of sugar free caramel. So rich and delicious, you won’t believe it’s low carb. This post is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill.
You’re going to hate me when I tell you that I’ve been holding onto this recipe for salted caramel butter bars since last August. I really have no excuses. I’m sorry. Please still be my friend?
I have a long list of keto recipes waiting to be published, and as I am always creating new ones, I am constantly adding to this list. Some recipes, no matter how amazing they are, get put aside in favor of other ones. I am always trying to strike a good balance of sweet and savory, and of nourishing meals vs. decadent keto treats.
One cannot live on keto desserts alone. As much as one might want to.
So in any particular week, I might pair something like my Keto Crab Cakes with the well loved Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake, and the Keto Chocolate Cereal. Just so I am not giving you desserts all day every day.
Why I put this particular keto caramel bar recipe on hold escapes me now. All I can say is Oh. Em. Gee. It is so insanely good. It is perfect gooey, crumbly, deliciousness and it makes me swoon just thinking about it.
The Inspiration for Keto Salted Caramel Bars
I adore my sugar-free caramel sauce and I know so many of you do as well. It may very well be the most popular keto caramel sauce out there. I basically want to put it in, on, and over everything.
So when I saw a recipe for Salted Caramel Butter Bars on Cookies and Cups, I knew I had to find a way to ketofy them.
Yes, that’s a real word. Ketofy: (verb) To take a high carb recipe and magically make it low carb and grain-free.
That is what I do best. Just call me the Ketofier!
Obviously, this was more than just switching out the caramel. I needed to make a crumbly buttery crust with a melt in your mouth texture. So of course I turned to my trusty keto baking side kick, Bob’s Red Mill. I simply cannot do without their fantastic keto friendly almond and coconut flours.
How To Make Salted Caramel Butter Bars
Make the sugar-free caramel: You want to do this first, because it should be cooled to room temperature before pouring over the crust. And if you really want THE BEST keto caramel, you do need a mix of the two sweeteners.
All Swerve will cause your caramel to re-crystallize. All Bocha Sweet or allulose, and it will be too soft and gooey, and will ooze right out of the bars. Plus too much allulose could cause some serious tummy upset (trust me, I know this from experience).
Make the crumb crust: For this, I highly recommend a combination of both almond and coconut flour. It helps achieve that perfect crumbly consistency. Coconut flour alone won’t work in this, it’s too dry and absorbs far too much moisture.
But adding just a few tablespoons helps offset the moisture in the almond flour. So you end up with a crust that’s both tender and crumbly at the same time.
Press in the bottom crust: You want to take about half, maybe a little more than half, of the crumb mixture and press it firmly into the bottom of an 8×8 inch pan. It should cover the entire bottom of the pan. It’s okay to use a little more if you have to, the rest is just for a scattered topping.
Then par-bake the bottom crust for 10 minutes. This helps the crust be firm enough to not soak right into the caramel sauce.
Let the bottom crust cool a bit: Patience, my hungry friends! I know it’s hard but this also makes the difference between a soggy crust and crisp one. Keto baked goods can be very soft when they first come out of the oven but they firm up as they cool.
Pour on the caramel: Now for the fun part! Pour your gorgeous keto caramel sauce over top of the crust. Try not to just pour it straight into your mouth. That would defeat the purpose of making salted caramel butter bars.
Add salt: This is salted caramel, after all. How much salt you add is up to you. I recommend at least 1/4 teaspoon but if you love salt and caramel together, go for 1/2 teaspoon.
Sprinkle on the remaining crust: It should be enough to cover most of the caramel, with some peeking through. Press lightly to adhere and bake another 20 minutes or so. The filling should be bubbly and thick and the topping should be light golden brown.
Let it cool! Trust me, I know just how hard this is. It’s going to be torture to let the bars cool enough for cutting. But if you don’t, they will be far too soft to cut properly and to lift out of the pan. And you might burn your mouth on the hot caramel sauce! So don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Cut into bars and enjoy. These bars are so gooey and good, you may find you don’t want to share. I don’t blame you one little bit.
Ready to make some oh-so-fabulous keto salted caramel bars? What are you still doing here. Go on, have at it. You can thank me later.
What else can you do with my keto caramel sauce?
Salted Caramel Cheesecake Bars
Salted Caramel Butter Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1/2 cup Swerve Sweetener
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 6 tbsp butter melted
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 recipe sugar-free caramel sauce
- 1/4 tsp sea salt (more if desired)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and grease an 8x8 inch baking pan well.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, coconut flour, and salt. Stir in the melted butter and vanilla until the dough begins to clump together.
- Press a little over half of the dough into the prepared baking pan and bake 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool 10 minutes.
- Pour the caramel sauce over the crust and spread to the edges. Sprinkle with the salt (add more if you like). Then take the remaining crust and crumble it over the filling, pressing lightly to adhere.
- Bake another 20 to 25 minutes, until the filling is bubbly and the topping is golden brown. Remove and let cool completely in the pan before cutting into bars.
Notes
Sara says
Hi these look amazing! For the caramel sauce could I use coconut cream instead of heavy cream?
Carolyn says
You can but it’s thinner and needs more xanthan gum to thicken properly.
Molly says
I made these bars last night and they came out delicious! This is a fabulous recipe. It was easy, they look pretty, and I made enough caramel sauce so I can drizzle a bit more on top! I can’t wait to have one with my morning coffee or afternoon tea. Having easy, low carb go-tos like this recipe are what helps keep me on (keto) track. Thanks for a great recipe, Carolyn!
Cynthia says
These are, you’ve got to be kidding me, delicious! You have my vote to keep dreamin’ about food ALL day long! Looking forward to try some more of your recipes!
Lori Avery says
Hi Carolyn – just put these in the oven and the caramel is wonderful – I have no doubt they’ll taste great. Didn’t see these on the freezable list – will the caramel sauce freeze?
Thanks so much for your great recipes and enthusiasm!
Carolyn says
They may become a little more re-crystallized in the freezer.
Bix says
You could do turn these into pecan caramel bars. I can only get erythritol locally but will look out for other options. Great recipe. Bx
Lynn says
I love reading recipes but i have to tell you, all the popbups on your blog have only served to irritate me. And instead of reading your cute story about a yummy treat that I’d love to try, I’m so irritated over the pop ups that I scrolled straight to the bottom just to inform you that I won’t even read your blog!
Carolyn says
Hi Lynn,
I really don’t have pop ups except for the video. It should move off to the side as you scroll. If it’s misfiring, it’s probably your browser as some outdated browsers cause issues. Can you tell me what device and browser you are on? I can have the ad network take a look.
Paulette says
Delicious! I made the crust and decided that adding pecans would be interesting. I also increased the caramel sauce (1.5;instead of a full recipe) to account for the pecans. It was a huge hit.
Chelsea Santos says
You’re killing me, Carolyn! Your recipes are so dang good, I cannot stop myself from making another one as SOON as the current one is almost gone. I made these caramel bars last night and ate half the pan before it was cold. I topped the bars with Carb Smart vanilla ice cream, it was amazing. Once again, you rock.
Carolyn says
So glad you like them!
Kathy Jo Horan says
Hi Carolyn, first I’d like to say I’m an avid fan of yours and I own almost all of your cookbooks! Pretty much every meal includes at least one item from a DIDAF. I just made this recipe, without any changes😂 and this time My caramel sauce did not harden at all, definitely operator error, So it just soaked into the butter cake which became absolutely delicious caramel cake. I doubled the caramel sauce recipe and even in the refrigerator it is really still pourable. Any suggestions as to what I could’ve done wrong? I’m thinking maybe I didn’t cook it long enough? I did it for about 3 1/2 minutes. Anyway thanks for all of your work and your recipes and thanks if you can offer any suggestions!
Carolyn says
Hmmm, not really sure without being in your kitchen with you! Did you use the xanthan gum?
David Squire says
Hi Carolyn!
I’m really wanting to try this out!
Is there a replacement for Bochasweet? It’s a bit pricey on Amazon
Carolyn says
Hi David, if you read the section “How to make…” you will see I give an alternative.
Jahmila D says
Carolyn!! I made these in the wee hours of the morning before working a weekend shift. It was the PERFECT remedy for a seriously crazy morning. I had about 1/3 of your caramel recipe leftover from the holidays when I made cheesecakes. Even the little bit of caramel was enough to WOW me. I forgot to add the salted before baking so I just grid a little straight out the oven -Pure Perfection. You have the BEST caramel recipe out there!!
Carolyn says
Thank you!
Kim Blower says
I’m not a big fan of caramel but I think these would be awesome with some sugar-free fruit preserves or chocolate in the center!
Carolyn says
Sure! I have some blueberry breakfast bars that are kind of similar.
Sarah Brake says
Hi, I’ve already made the Caramel sauce (so good–glad I doubled the recipe!), but I was wondering how I can store these bars after I make them. Will they freeze well? Just trying to decide when to actually cook them for the holidays… Since I have family coming to visit…
Carolyn says
Honestly, I have not tried freezing them but suspect it would change the consistency a lot.
Gail says
I can’t say enough about this recipe, my son and I love it. I’m wondering if the crust would work with more choices like maybe a pumpkin custard or some type of preserves. I may experiment with it. Thank you for an amazing recipe.
Lori says
Made the Salted Caramel Butter Bar tonight. My husband and I enjoyed them very much. The homemade caramel sauce is amazing, tastes exactly like the real thing. Every recipe I have tried from this site have been top notch. I appreciate the variety of the recipes.
Carolyn says
Thanks so much, Lori!
Lisa Rad says
I’ve been strict keto for a year now and have tried many recipes – these are by far my favorite dessert!! I added a can of pumpkin this time around and it’s really yummy!!!
Jen says
Your caramel sauce is my absolute favorite. Do you think I could make these bars without the crumb topping and have the caramel still be set? I’m trying to replicate a family favorite.
Lori says
Excellent recipe. I followed it exactly as written and it turned out beautifully!
Lori K. says
I finally got around to making these and I must confess that my husband and I almost ate half the plan the day I made them! At least they are low carb right? I had actually only had one meal that day so it fit, lol.
These are amazing and so easy to make! These and the peanut butter fudge brownies are making my husband a very happy man and me a very tired woman because he wants them all the time now! They are so worth it though.
I look forward to you newest book coming out this fall, I can not wait to see what you have in store for us this time. I know that it will be amazing.