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    Home » Low Carb » Pecan Turtle Candy – Sugar Free!

    Published: Feb 3, 2019 · Modified: Mar 26, 2021 by Carolyn

    Pecan Turtle Candy – Sugar Free!

    This post may contain Amazon or other affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    54.5K shares
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    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!

    Keto Turtles Candy in a stack

    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.

    Caramel Pecan Clusters on a baking tray

    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.

    Delicious pecan turtles with sea salt

    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

    Tips for making sugar free pecan turtles

    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???

    Sugar Free Pecan Turtle Candies on a white cake stand

    More Keto Candy Recipes

    Keto Peanut Butter Cups

    Sugar Free Marshmallows

    Chocolate Coconut Cups

    Sugar Free Twix Bars

    Keto Butterscotch Candy

    Cream Cheese Mints

    Keto Turtles Candy in a stack

    Sugar Free Pecan Turtle Candies

    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!
    4.85 from 26 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: Homemade Turtles, Turtle Candy
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes
    Chill time: 1 hour
    Total Time: 35 minutes
    Servings: 24 candies
    Calories: 242kcal

    Ingredients

    • 6 tablespoon Swerve Brown
    • 3 tablespoon Bocha Sweet (or allulose or xylitol)
    • 5 tablespoon butter divided
    • ½ cup heavy whipping cream
    • ¼ tsp xanthan gum
    • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
    • 2 cups pecan halves
    • 4 ounces sugar free dark chocolate chopped
    • More sea salt for sprinkling, if desired
    US Customary - Metric

    Instructions

    • 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. 
    • 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
    • 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. 
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Sprinkle with sea salt if desired, and let set. 
    Nutrition Facts
    Sugar Free Pecan Turtle Candies
    Amount Per Serving (2 turtles)
    Calories 242 Calories from Fat 215
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 23.9g37%
    Carbohydrates 6.6g2%
    Fiber 3.6g14%
    Protein 2.4g5%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    54.5K shares

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    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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      Recipe Rating




    1. Cynthia Claessens says

      December 08, 2020 at 1:15 pm

      Carolyn,

      Thank you for this delicious recipe. My husband is diabetic and has a real sweet tooth. If I don’t provide him with healthier alternatives to stave off the beast, he’ll binge on sugar-loaded candy and pastries, so these types of recipes are literally a life-saver. Just wanted to leave a note for folks who are, like me, rather impatient. I makes these in my mini muffin silicone molds. I put the pecan halves in the bottom and pour the caramel right from the pan into the molds so I don’t have to wait an hour. By the time I melt the chocolate the caramel is usually cool enough to pour the chocolate over it. Also, this way I can melt the chocolate with cocoa butter and not have to worry about the chocolate running all over the pan. These are absolutely delicious.

      Reply
    2. Alicia Dove says

      November 23, 2020 at 7:17 pm

      Hiiii, not sure if you are still replying to these messages but I thought I would still ask. Is is possible to use roasted pecans for this deliciousness? Will the carmel and chocolate stick to them? I’ve only been doing Keto for almost 2 yrs (intermittently) but your site makes me a believer and that I CAN do this long term and have all the foods and sweets I thought I would miss. Thank you

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        November 23, 2020 at 11:01 pm

        You can use pre-roasted pecans but obviously you need to not roast them again so skip a few steps in the recipe.

        Reply
    3. Lauren Bomhof says

      July 10, 2020 at 10:40 am

      Hi Carolyn, I am using xylitol and Swerve brown. They definitely have to be kept in the freezer. Do yours? Thanks for everything you do! Keto is super tough without you!!

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        July 10, 2020 at 11:34 am

        So I think the xylitol is the issue here. I used BochaSweet and although xylitol is similar, it’s producing a caramel that’s TOO soft. You need to use less of it.

        Reply
    4. Lauren Bomhof says

      July 07, 2020 at 7:58 pm

      4 stars
      I love these and have made them three times now! The only reason it didn’t make 5 stars for me, is I just can’t get the caramel to harden at all. I just keep them in the freezer. They are still fantastic! I’d just like something I could serve to keto guests. These are too soft for that, unfortunately. Any hints or other “candy” type recipes I can try, I’ll take it!! Thanks for all you do! Lauren

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        July 07, 2020 at 8:49 pm

        Hey Lauren, what sweetener(s) are you using? It’s also not supposed to be hard, but it does sound like yours is too soft…

        Reply
    5. Kim says

      June 10, 2020 at 1:31 pm

      5 stars
      I love these but noticed that the 5th Tbsp of butter is not in the directions in the recipe ????

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        June 10, 2020 at 5:57 pm

        Actually, it is. In step 5…

        Reply
    6. Kelly Love says

      May 02, 2020 at 12:16 pm

      Is there something I can use instead of Bocha Sweet? I’m having a hard time finding it

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        May 02, 2020 at 2:24 pm

        Please read the tips section, as I address that.

        Reply
    7. Marlene Coley says

      March 21, 2020 at 6:37 pm

      5 stars
      This is the bomb! Followed the recipe exactly and it turned out perfect. I melted chocolate chips in the microwave at about 10 second intervals. It’s a fine line between melting and seizing. I used pecans and didn’t have enough so made the rest with sliced almonds which also tasted equally good! Thanks for your recipes, never a failure and always tastes great!

      Reply
    8. Kamila says

      March 17, 2020 at 10:26 am

      So excited for this ! Could you use lakanto monfruit sweetener instead of bocha?

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        March 17, 2020 at 1:26 pm

        Not if you want it to be gooey. Lakanto is mostly erythritol so it’s basically the same as Swerve.

        Reply
    9. Amy says

      February 14, 2020 at 6:41 pm

      5 stars
      Sweet mary, mother of god! These are off the hook! Please tell me when you perfect a recipe like this, you do a happy dance, punch the sky, and holler “f*** yes!!!” Or at least something similar…..because that’s what I just did! THANK YOU.

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        February 15, 2020 at 10:28 am

        Hahaha, yes, I do sometimes do that!

        Reply
    10. Darcy says

      February 11, 2020 at 4:12 pm

      Are they stored in refrigerator? How to store?

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        February 11, 2020 at 5:29 pm

        If you don’t live in a hot place, the counter is fine for a day or two. Fridge for longer.

        Reply
    11. Annette. says

      January 06, 2020 at 9:06 pm

      5 stars
      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.

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        January 06, 2020 at 10:47 pm

        So happy about that!

        Reply
    12. Connie says

      January 06, 2020 at 3:10 pm

      If I have roasted and salted pecans do I still put them in the oven bought them with out looking

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        January 06, 2020 at 3:31 pm

        No, you would over-roast them. Just use them as is.

        Reply
        • Ryan says

          January 10, 2020 at 10:16 pm

          Would these be 3g net carb a piece? Apologies if this has been asked/answered 😉

          Reply
          • Carolyn says

            January 11, 2020 at 12:34 pm

            Yes, that would be correct.

            Reply
            • Geraldine Scheller says

              October 30, 2020 at 4:32 pm

              4 stars
              I put my pecans in at 350 for 10 minutes the first time and they were all burnt. I used 5 minutes the 2nd time and they were fine. The Carmel turned out good. I just have to keep them frozen or the carmel is too soft to get off the parchment paper. I would definitely make them again. The extra sea salt on top really adds to the flavor.

    13. Karen says

      December 23, 2019 at 11:21 pm

      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….

      Reply
      • Erica B says

        December 29, 2019 at 4:38 am

        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…

        Reply
        • Jessica says

          December 15, 2020 at 12:23 am

          I also used Lily’s chips and had no problem.

          Reply
    14. Aidin Perez says

      December 22, 2019 at 10:56 pm

      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?

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        December 22, 2019 at 11:37 pm

        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.

        Reply
    15. Leanne says

      November 15, 2019 at 10:12 am

      5 stars
      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.

      Reply
    16. Karen says

      October 01, 2019 at 11:23 am

      Can I use Monk Fruit as the sweetener?

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        October 01, 2019 at 11:49 am

        Do you mean Lakanto? Which is mostly erythritol, by the way…

        Reply
    17. Millican Pecan says

      June 19, 2019 at 4:16 pm

      5 stars
      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!

      Reply
    18. emma says

      June 07, 2019 at 1:33 pm

      Ia key supposed to be really dark or is it just burnt? You

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        June 07, 2019 at 4:55 pm

        I have no idea what you mean?

        Reply
    19. Diane S says

      May 19, 2019 at 4:43 pm

      5 stars
      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.

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        May 19, 2019 at 5:26 pm

        So glad to hear it!

        Reply
    20. Ashli says

      April 13, 2019 at 6:21 pm

      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” ?

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        April 14, 2019 at 12:21 pm

        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…

        Reply
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