Remember those carefree summer days as a kid, hanging with your friends, riding bikes, running through sprinklers, and making s’mores by the campfire? Well, I can’t take away your adult responsibilities, but these Keto S’Mores Bars will make you feel like a kid again!
I’ve had this delightful recipe on my website since 2016, and it’s always been a fan favorite. I created it after coming across a recipe in Cooking Light Magazine and I thought it was ripe for a keto makeover.
While I do have recipes for keto graham crackers and sugar-free marshmallows, I don’t use those in these bars. That would require several extra steps and a lot of extra waiting. Who has the time or energy for that?
Instead, these delectable Keto Smores Bars rely on a shortbread style crust with a touch of cinnamon, a rich chocolate ganache filling, and a lightly browned meringue topping. They have all the flavor of that classic summer treat with none of the sugar!
★★★★★
Andrea says: I just made these tonight and even the picky non-Keto hubby loved them!! Thank you so much! I followed your recipe exactly!
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Almond flour: The base will work best with almond flour, but you can use any nut or seed flour as long as it is finely ground. Try sunflower seed flour for nut-free!
- Sweetener: I recommend an erythritol-based sweetener for the base. The topping requires a powdered sweetener. Please see the sweetener options for more details.
- Whipping cream: For a non-dairy option, you can use full fat coconut milk.
- Sugar-free chocolate: I recommend using ChocZero or Lily’s.
- Egg whites: Fresh egg whites will work best, as they beat better and hold their shape better than those from a carton.
- Cream of tartar: This baking aid helps whipped egg whites hold stiff peaks. You can skip it but I recommend it for any kind of meringue!
- Kitchen staples: Butter, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and salt.
How to Make Keto S’Mores Bars
- Prepare the crust: Combine the dry ingredients, then stir in the melted butter until well combined.
- Bake the crust: Press into the bottom of a parchment lined baking pan and bake until the edges begin to brown. Remove and let cool.
- Make the filling: Bring the cream to just a simmer. Remove from heat then add the chocolate chips and whisk until smooth. Spread over the cooled crust and refrigerate until firm.
- Prepare the topping: Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar and salt until frothy. Slowly add the sweeteners and vanilla extract and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
- Assemble and bake: Spread over the cooled filling then bake until topping is golden and just barely firm to the touch.
- Chill: Refrigerate until firm then gently lift out by parchment paper edges and cut into squares.
Carolyn’s Tips for Success
When making a chocolate ganache filling, be sure to bring your cream to a full simmer. You want to see bubbles around the edges and a few breaking the surface in the center. Then quickly remove it from heat and add the chocolate.
Do not attempt to broil this topping, unless you want to set off your smoke alarm! Simply bake for 20 minutes and you should get some beautiful browned peaks and swirls, just like toasted marshmallows.
Sweetener Options
The crust works best with erythritol so that it firms up properly. Allulose and xylitol will make it overly soft and fragile. If you wish to cut back on erythritol, you can try using a highly concentrated sweetener like stevia or monk fruit extract.
The topping works best with mostly erythritol, for structure, with a tablespoon or allulose or xylitol to give it a slightly gooier consistency. Some readers have tried using allulose by itself and it’s a big mess. I definitely do not recommend that!
More Keto Recipes for Summer
Keto S’mores Bars
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour
- 1/4 cup granular sweetener, erythritol recommended
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
Filling:
- 3/4 cup whipping cream
- 4 ounces dark chocolate chips, sugar-free, ChocZero or Lily's recommended
Topping:
- 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- Pinch salt
- 1/3 cup powdered sweetener, erythritol recommended
- 1 tbsp allulose, or xylitol
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and line a 9×9 square baking pan with parchment, leaving an overhang for easy removal.
- In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, sweetener, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and salt. Stir in the melted butter until well combined.
- Press into the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until just beginning to brown on the edges. Remove and let cool while preparing topping.
Filling
- In a small saucepan, bring the cream to just a simmer. Remove from heat.
- Add the chocolate chips and let sit 5 minutes to melt, then whisk in until smooth. Spread over the cooled crust and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
Topping
- Preheat oven to 300ºF.
- In a large bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar and salt until frothy. With the beaters going, slowly add the sweeteners and vanilla extract and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
- Spread over the cooled filling, swirling with a spoon to make peaks. Bake 20 minutes or until topping is golden and just barely firm to the touch.
- Refrigerate at least another hour to firm up, then gently lift out by parchment paper edges and cut into squares.
Video
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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I dont have swerve and cant seem to find it in the stores nearby. Can I substitute stevia and how much? Also, do I need the powdered sweetner or is there a substitute for that too?
Thanks!
Nooooo! Stevia will not work here. Only erythritol based sweeteners will. Sorry, not yelling at you, just don’t want you to make that mistake.
Okay Thank you!
Idk what I could have done wrong but for the topping I got maybe a half a cup of runny liquid instead of fluffy peaks. It ruined the whole thing. Not going to try this recipe again.
Well, something when wrong in the meringue part but without being in your kitchen, I couldn’t tell you what. But you can see from the many other responses that these usually work out well so as I said…something went terribly wrong.
When egg whites won’t whip up it usually means some oil or fat was present (on beater or bowl). Make sure both are sparkling clean & dry, your hands too, before cracking the eggs.
Hello is there a substitute available for cream of tartar? Allergies?
It simply helps the egg whites whip so you can just leave it out and hope for the best.
How many carbs are in this?
Sorry, the person updating my recipe cards forgot to enter that. 5.54g per serving.
I followed your directions to a tee. And after the “marshmallow” topping was done I stuck it in the fridge to eat the next day. Well to my surprise I just took the lid off of my pan and the marshmallow has deflated, there’s a huge while in the center of my snores and it’s wet. Any idea how/why this happened?
Sorry, just getting to this now. I was stumped and then I re-read your comment. You said “took the lid off” and I think that’s your problem right there. By covering it, you allowed condensation to gather and it deflated the topping. Meringue shouldn’t be covered.
I never covered my s’mores but I got the wet topping as well. It was toasted nicely, crushed on the edges, foamy in the center and wet on the bottom.
The chocolate and crust was lovely but the topping was a miss for me. Next time I’ll make it the same except to use real marshmallows for the top. In my book it was still a win.
Thanks for your hard work and free content. I never look a gift horse in the mouth.
Can you tell me what sweetener you used? That might be it.
I’m not a fan of artificial sweeteners if I wanted to use real ingredients would the measurements be the same?
Well that’s good because I am not a fan of artificial sweeteners either. Nothing I use is artificial, it’s all real ingredients here. Erythritol (Swerve) is naturally occurring and no more processed than “real” sugar.
Made these for my daughter’s birthday yesterday. The whole family loves them! My oldest son said its pretty much the top rated recipes out of all the THM desserts I’ve made ?
Awesome!
I just made these and put them in the freezer to harden quicker because I couldn’t wait to taste them and they taste really, really good! My mereingue didn’t form a stiff peak and it’s probably because when I was separating the eggs whites, a tiny bit of yolk got in the bowl. I’ll try again when I make another batch. Keep up the amazing recipes Carolyn!
I’m about to head out to the health food store to look for Bob Red Mill’s Super Fine Almond Flour but if they don’t have it, would regular almond flour be okay? I’m up in Canada so some things that are available in the U.S. aren’t available here. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. These look really good and plan on making them today everything works out. Thanks again Carolyn!
For this recipe, it should be okay since it’s just a bottom crust.
I made these tonight! I didn’t have swerve, so I used Pyure brand stevia, and they were delish. However, I found the topping crusty on top and unsubstantial underneath. Not very firm, like marshmallow texture. It was delicious, but I was wondering if I made a mistake that made my meringue turn out that way, or if that’s the way it’s meant to be. It’s my first time with a meringue.
It might be the Pyure. Swerve has bulk and as such, helps give the topping some structure. Pyure is more powdery and light and may change the consistency.
I am interested in how these actually taste when completed. I have a EXTREMELY picky eater. She is 7 and she love sweets. I have not had much success with any of the low carb cakes and cookies.
I don’t post things that don’t taste good. 😉 I can’t say that they taste EXACTLY like s’mores but they are really good.
I’m laughing because you are 100% right….EVERYTHING you put out there is beyond wonderful!! Never a second thought, when I see your name/site, it’s a given A+. Thanks so much for your recipes and humor ????❣️
Aw thanks so much!
I made these last night using the exact ingredients, and they are SO good. This is my first time using Swerve, and I’m very pleased with it. It’s much sweeter than I had anticipated and tasted great! I ate another square this morning, and I think they’re even better after sitting in the refrigerator overnight! Thanks for this amazing recipe that I don’t have to feel guilty about eating!!
So glad you like them!
This is like heaven! Just made it and tried while they were still warm… omg… perfection! Now they are in the fridge and curious to taste them chilled ????
These look great. If I use 100% chocolate bar for the filling, how much swerve should I use to sweeten it?
Thanks!!
I think you’d want at least 1/4 cup. Make sure it’s the confectioner’s style!
Thanks!!
I just made this and hit a problem. It looked like oil was coming out of the chocolate. I realized i used the granular formulation. Do you think that is what caused it? It is in the fridge now, think it will still harden and work? I only put the chocolate part on because the oil was just floating around it.
Well, I don’t know if the granular sweetener was the issue but it sounds like your chocolate seized a bit. Oil tends to separate out when that happens. It will taste good, it just might not look as good as it’s supposed too. And the granular sweetener may make the filling quite gritty.
My Granddaughter needs GF and Dairy-free. Do you think I could use an unsweetened almond, rice or soy milk (and just use less of it)?
Do you mean in the filling? Full fat coconut milk works best here.
Swerve..i know you use it alot but it has an off taste to me which is strange because its erythritol …i use erythritol with everything… Can i just substitute plain eryth or is swerve a must
You can, just make sure to grind it finely for the topping because it will be gritty if you don’t.
I AM SO MAKING THESE TOMORROW.
I don’t remember my first s’more but I know that I signed up for girl scouts thinking I’d get s’mores and then being really disappointed when we painting plastic cups at the first meeting. Needless to say, I never went back after that.