Homemade pecan turtle candy that’s sugar-free and low carb? Oh baby! These delicious keto caramel pecan clusters are a truly special treat. Be ready to fight with your loved ones for the last of them!
When I was a kid, Pecan Turtles were the epitome of high class dessert in my mind. Despite the fact that they were sold in every drugstore and convenience mart, we didn’t get to have them very often. They were special treats, usually reserved for the holidays.
But oh, oh that combination of chewy caramel, toasted pecans, and rich chocolate. It was magical stuff and I always considered Turtles to be something to aspire to. Not until later did I realize that they were fairly plebeian and the brand was not even of the highest quality.
Still they retained near mythical proportions in my my head, especially when I got a chance to try the caramel pecan turtles from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Now those were something special, my friends! Pure sweet chocolate-y happiness.
Sugar Free Pecan Turtles
Until recently, I never wanted to try my hand at a sugar free version because I knew I couldn’t get the caramel gooey enough. I knew that although they would be tasty, they wouldn’t live up to the mythical pecan turtles in my head if the caramel part recrystallized.
But once I mastered my gooey, soft sugar free caramel sauce, I knew I had a chance at making truly delicious, chewy keto Turtles. Now, the caramel here isn’t exactly the same as my caramel sauce, it’s formulated to be thicker so it doesn’t run all over the place. But the flavour profile is very much the same.
You will also notice that I only put 3 or 4 pecans per cluster. You could do five and make it in the shape of a proper turtle. But it’s easier and a bit lower in carbs if you just do 3.
Tips for Sugar Free Turtle Candy
The caramel sauce is critical here. You need the right consistency and the right thickness, so that it clings to the pecans and doesn’t run all over your pan. To achieve this you need:
- Swerve Brown or another brown sugar substitute (such as Sukrin or Lakanto)
- Another sweetener that doesn’t harden or recrystallize, such as Bocha Sweet, allulose, or xylitol (no, you can’t use Lakanto or Sukrin here. They are both erythritol based, just like Swerve, so they will recrystallize too much)
- Xanthan gum to help thicken the sauce after boiling
- No water added to the sauce, you don’t want to thin it out
- To let it cool for a while after it’s finished cooking
Only then can you spoon it over the clusters of pecans. Make sure you do this on a rimmed cookie sheet, spread with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
Then you’re going to set the whole cookie sheet in the freezer for an hour or so, to help it firm up. Trust me, this is a necessary step so that you can get your turtle clusters off the parchment or silicone.
For the chocolate topping, you want to use butter to melt the chocolate. Normally I prefer to melt chocolate with cocoa butter or coconut oil. But those both make it too thin for this purpose. Butter tends to thicken the chocolate a bit more, again so it doesn’t run everywhere as you are trying to coat your turtles.
You can use milk chocolate instead of dark, if you prefer. Lily’s milk chocolate would be delicious.
To salt or not to salt? The turtle candies of my youth did not have sea salt on them. But oh my heavens, it’s a delicious addition. I highly recommend!
Seriously. Keto Pecan Turtles, where have you been all my life???
More Keto Candy Recipes
Homemade pecan turtle candy that's sugar-free and low carb? Oh baby! These delicious keto caramel pecan clusters are a truly special treat. Be ready to fight with your loved ones for the last of them!
- 6 tbsp Swerve Brown
- 3 tbsp Bocha Sweet (or allulose or xylitol)
- 5 tbsp butter divided
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 2 cups pecan halves
- 4 ounces sugar free dark chocolate chopped
- More sea salt for sprinkling, if desired
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In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the sweeteners and 4 tablespoons of the butter. Bring to a boil and cook 3 to 5 minutes, watching carefully so it doesn't burn. Remove from heat and add the cream. The mixture will bubble vigorously.
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Return the mixture to heat and bring back to a boil. Boil 3 minutes, watching carefully. Sprinkle the surface with xanthan gum and whisk to combine. Whisk in the salt. Let the caramel cool until thickened but still pourable, about 1 hour
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Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F and line a cookie sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat. Spread the pecans out on the mat in a single later and bake 7 to 10 minutes, until toasted. Arrange the pecans in clusters of 3 or 4, making about 20 to 24 clusters.
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Drizzle a few teaspoons of caramel over each pecan cluster, making sure some caramel is touching each of the pecans. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer to set the caramel.
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In a small bowl set over a bowl of barely simmering water, combine the chocolate and the remaining tablespoon of butter. Stir until melted and smooth, then drizzle over the chilled clusters.
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Sprinkle with sea salt if desired, and let set.
Christina says
I have blue agave in my cabinet. Could I use that instead of Bocha Sweet? I bought it for a keto recipe, but never saved the recipe!
Erica B says
Hi Christina, thought I’d mention this in case you aren’t aware, but do forgive me if you know this already: agave is 15-16 grams of pure sugar per tablespoon, and has almost double the fructose content of high fructose corn syrup. Fructose is processed into glucose by the liver, and excess fructose is stored as fat. It’s not a sugar alternative: it is sugar, and really not keto-friendly. Of course, you are free to make your own decisions about sugar and sweeteners! 🙂
Here’s a good article on sweeteners:
https://ketodietapp.com/Blog/lchf/Top-10-Natural-Low-carb-Sweeteners
Janet says
I have been thinking about turtles ever since I got some allulose and started experimenting with it. I originally bought it to make a caramel sauce I had heard about. The sauce was great and have been trying all kinds of things with allulose since.
Thanks for this recipe, can’t wait to try it. You are a godsend to lazy people like me! ; )
Dawn says
Please try a sugar free kit Kat, Babe Ruth and snickers. If you can do that successfully I will be over the moon
Erica B says
Hi Dawn, wouldn’t a Baby Ruth just be this caramel recipe with peanuts and a chocolate coating?
Leann says
I like your new profile picture!
Carolyn says
Thanks!
Alyssha says
You’re AMAZING! My husband and I are celebrating our one year wedding anniversary this weekend and as we are both low carb we decided the top layer of our cake was not even remotely appealing. I will make these for him instead and I know he will be SO SO happy! Your brown butter blondies have become a mainstay in our home. Thank you, Carolyn!!!
Carolyn says
Let me know what you think!
Jen says
I’m definitely making these for Valentines Day. My kids and husband will love these (and so will I)! I’ve always had such a huge sweet tooth and was worried when I began my low carb lifestyle, that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy desserts and treats the same way. Boy was I wrong. It still feels so indulgent, yet without the guilt. Thanks for sharing.
Jenee says
Any suggestions for recovering the caramel if it starts to separate? I used Swerve brown sugar and stevia, and boiled it according to your instructions. It worked for me once, but now mysteriously separated this time. Any ideas?
Carolyn says
I’ve never used stevia in this caramel and I suspect that’s part of the issue. You could try blending it to bring it back together. It works with chocolate.
Lyn says
Hi there~ Could a person use Chocoperfection for the chocolate part? Thank you!
Carolyn says
I can’t see why not.
Lyn says
Oh, thank you! I cannot wait to try these! Turtles are my favorites!
Vicki K says
I just made these and they are great. I was lazy so I just spread the pecans out and poured the caramel evenly over. After setting, I just pours the melted topping over then after that set broke in to pieces. Not as pretty but same great taste.
Carolyn says
Glad to hear.
Stacy says
Love this idea! Makes it doable for me until I have more time in my life! Thanks!
Ashley F says
These are one of our favorite healthier treats!
Erin says
These are such a classic candy, and this sugar free version is absolutely perfect!
Anna says
These look crazy good! I better make a double batch!
Becky Hardin says
My all time favorite Candy!!! I am making these soon. Yum
Jocelyn says
Bring on the low carb candy goodness!! That gooey caramel in these these candieslooks amazing and tastes so good!
Cathy says
Can I use Just like brown sugar instead of the swerve?
Carolyn says
I am very doubtful it will caramelize properly although you are welcome to try.
Cathy says
Can I use Just like brown sugar for the Swerve?
Sam says
I attempted this recipe today and although it is absolutely delicious I feel like my caramel didn’t set properly. It is more of a caramel paste then a chewy caramel. Do you have any advice on how to get it to that chewy stage?
Carolyn says
What sweeteners did you use?
Sam says
I used Sukrin (brown “sugar”) and xylitol.
Carolyn says
Hmmm, that should work. It’s not going to be super stretchy chewy like regular caramel but it should be soft and delicious nonetheless. But I only ever use Swerve and their new brown sugar sub is phenomenal.
Sam says
It is definitely sweet and delicious just a little runnier then I anticipated. I will definitely give it another try because they were delicious either way!!
Hélène says
Thank you for the delicious recipe. When measuring out the Swerve Brown, do you “pack” the sugar like you would regular brown sugar?
Carolyn says
Excellent question. It kind of doesn’t let you do anything BUT pack it a bit, because it’s so dense.
Mimi says
I too have wonderful memories of these Turtles. They were my mom’s favorite candy and whenever I would visit I would always bring her a few packets if I couldn’t find the bag. I’ve been missing her a lot lately so I feel this is nudge from her to make these. BTW, Bocha Sweet is the Bomb when it comes to sweetners!
Thank you for your dedication to helping us low carbers maintain some semblance of normality!
Tiffany Cox says
Hi Carolyn,
I need help.. i followed your instructions to the letter and before i even got my butter sweetener mix to boil it started smoking.. i used lakanto golden and bocha sweet with unsalted butter..
Im not sure what happened..any advise?
Carolyn says
It’s perfectly normal for it to smoke. erythritol does that when caramelizing. That doesn’t mean it was burning.
Ashli says
Aloha..I used brown sugar swerve & xylitol but my caramel is quite soft – not chewy like “normal” caramel. Soft to the point of sticking to fingers even after freezing overnight. Any suggestions? Could it be because I used coconut cream instead of heavy whipping cream? Does the caramel get “hard & chewy” ?
Carolyn says
Could be the coconut cream, could be the xylitol. Could be it needed to be cooked longer! Caramel is a tough one… you really can’t get truly chewy caramel if you don’t use sugar. We have to find weird ways around it…
Diane S says
Thanks sooo much! Most keto sweets just don’t live up to the real thing and I’ve wasted so much product. These turtles are just as good if not better and I’ve used the caramel recipe in other concoctions too! I usually make these with macadamias and I’ve also added unsweetened coconut on occasion. Again, I thank you for a fabulous treat that also keeps me healthy.
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!
emma says
Ia key supposed to be really dark or is it just burnt? You
Carolyn says
I have no idea what you mean?
Millican Pecan says
More and more people are looking for a sugar free option. It makes sense to use sugar-free chocolate and turn this keto winner into reality. Well done. They look fabulous!
Karen says
Can I use Monk Fruit as the sweetener?
Carolyn says
Do you mean Lakanto? Which is mostly erythritol, by the way…
Leanne says
I loved the idea of this recipe because I haven’t been able to achieve my experiment yet however after using your directions above for the caramel I may be very close!! I’m trying to make caramel filled chocolates sugar free of course! I tried making caramel with erythritol but I ended up with this creamy concoction that tasted a bit like caramel but I tried even putting it in a mason jar and in the microwave for 30 secs at a time and I felt like a mad scientist I never achieved a darker caramel but I did get something that I could add any color and flavour to and put into molds and freeze and then insert into chocolates and I ended up with chocolates with lovely cream filled center in so many flavours! But I still wanted caramel, so I tried your recipe above and I used Surkin gold and allulose (was finally able to find it in Canada!!) I added the butter and I let it bubble and to my sheer joy I had the dark amber color I was sooo excited! Until I discovered I didn’t have any heavy cream in the house yikes!! But I did have heavy cream powder so I added it and ended up adding 5 tablespoons and whipped it in to the hot caramel and it turned it the perfect shade and as the pot was cooling it was naturally thickening…I debated whether to add the xanthan gum but decided I would because I really want a nice soft chewy centre for the chocolates. I filled my small cylinder molds and I put a couple peanuts per mold in my square mold because they are larger and I thought when I pop those out I can just cover in chocolate. Versus the cylinders I push into various chocolate style molds while the chocolate is still warm and then I cover the bottom with a little extra chocolate. I did notice that when I was trying to pour it into the molds that my hands shake and I was getting a lot of caramel on the top of the mold instead of in the holes so I tried to do what I do when using chocolate and sort of push the caramel into the holes I noticed as the caramel cooled it was cooling faster then I could even work with it and I’m talking maybe ten mins after adding the xanthan gum could that be the reason it began to sort of solidify on me so fast? I only used an eighth of a teaspoon I was very careful with my measurement. Maybe it’s not require if I don’t add the liquid of heavy cream -maybe just adding the heavy cream powder will ensure a thick chewy straight out of the mold? I’m definitely going to try this again to get it perfected but in the meantime thank you soooo much! Your recipes truly inspire me to go above and beyond for the special man in my life who deserves as much sweetness as I can give him in return for all his love and devotion over the years. He was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes but I believe with diet and intermittent fasting he can reverse his insulin resistance as Dr. Jason Fung states. If you are diabetic and haven’t heard of this amazing doctor I highly recommend checking him out. He provides a lot of hope and makes a lot of sense to someone like me who honestly knows very little about how the body actually processes food…but I’m learning ! Thanks again, I love your recipes!! If I could post a photo here I would.
Aidin Perez says
My caramel looked great then within about ten minutes of cooling separated 😩 I always share with others how all your recipes always work- I have no idea what I did wrong- used swerve brown And allulose- any suggestions for my second attemp? Could it be the type of butter?
Carolyn says
I honestly can’t say why it separated. It shouldn’t but you can always whisk in a bit more xanthan gum to help bring it back together. I also don’t use allulose because it upsets my stomach, so it may be better with Bocha Sweet.
Karen says
I didn’t have a Lily’s baking bar, so I melted 4 oz of Lily’s chocolate chips. Just so you all know, this doesn’t work – it seizes almost instantly when heated on a double boiler. So I tried some Bake Believe dark chocolate chips, and those melted nicely and made a smooth topping. Next time, I’ll make sure I actually have the ingredients before starting the recipe….
Erica B says
Hi Karen, I melt Lily’s chocolate chips all the time without issue. They’re pretty much the only Lily’s product I use for melted applications, because they’re less expensive than the bars. It’s important to note that unless you add cocoa butter or another fat, the chips melt into a very thick paste when heated (probably because of the stabilizers added to help them withstand baking). This can resemble seized chocolate, but it’s not actually seized. Perhaps this is what you experienced? Melting gently over a double boiler shouldn’t cause the chips to seize, unless they came into contact with water in the process. Just some thoughts that might be helpful…
Connie says
If I have roasted and salted pecans do I still put them in the oven bought them with out looking
Carolyn says
No, you would over-roast them. Just use them as is.
Ryan says
Would these be 3g net carb a piece? Apologies if this has been asked/answered 😉
Carolyn says
Yes, that would be correct.
Annette. says
Oh these recipes are wonderful. Thank you for posting for us. Having to change the way I cook, hubby has just been diagnost with Diabetes and so many of these recipes I can use. After 59 years of cooking for him he is game with anything I come up with. Thanks again and back to checking things out.
Carolyn says
So happy about that!