Low carb meringues have been conquered! And not, as it turns out, by me. One of my lovely, faithful readers has taken it upon herself to perfect low carb meringues made with erythritol and wants me to share her success with you. Shannon has saved me a heap of effort and time by working on this, I can tell you. Do you remember my failed peppermint meringues? Oy. What a mess. Well, actually, they had a texture very reminiscent of marshmallow fluff and I’ve been wondering how I can work that angle to my favour. But that’s a task for another day (yeah, like I will ever get to that). I have actually tried my hand at low carb meringues a few times, with no real success. I had some that disappeared altogether and some that became dense globs of inedibility (not a word, but it will suffice for now). I knew it was possible, because I have seen low carb meringue recipes and even followed some of them. But every time I tried, it was utter failure.
Part of my problem may have been my sweetener. For the peppermint meringues, I attempted to use powdered xylitol and although they LOOKED fantastic, they never firmed up enough to be removed from the parchment even after hours of baking. You had to scrape them off with a spoon, which my kids actually did quite happily, because they tasted great. My other problem is likely the fact that I never wanted to just make plain meringues, I wanted something fancified (also not a word, but it will suffice for now). I added cocoa powder for chocolate meringues and deflated my entire batch of beaten egg whites. I added a peppermint extract that was made with oil and, again, deflated my egg whites. You get the picture. I sometimes focus so much on coming up with something NEW and DIFFERENT that I don’t just try my hand at the basics.
So. Shannon has done the work for me and I love her dearly for this. I tried them myself this afternoon, following her method almost to the letter, and they turned out fantastic. They are crisp on the outside while being a little moist and chewy on the inside. They do get a little browned on the tips, so I think I need to play around with oven temps and baking times. And unlike Shannon, I didn’t find that I needed to leave them in the oven for hours to crisp up. But these are very minor tweaks. It should be noted here that we both used Swerve for our sweetener and as Swerve contains a few things other than erythritol (oligosaccharides), I can’t guarantee the results with any other kind of sweetener. But this is a really, truly auspicious beginning. And I have a lot of ideas with which to use this recipe. I mean a LOT! So stay tuned, as you are sure to see many renditions of Shannon’s wonderful meringues on my blog.
Shannon is a photographer and has her own site, so I just wanted to direct you there so you can check her out! Shannon K Photography
Shannon’s Sugar-Free Meringues (Low Carb and Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
- 4 egg whites, room temperature
- 6 tbsp powdered erythritol sweetener (I recommend Swerve)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/8 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Arrange oven racks on second lowest and second highest positions.
- In clean glass or metal bowl, combine egg whites, erythritol, vanilla, cream of tartar and salt. Beat on medium high until medium stiff peaks form and mixture becomes somewhat glossy. Do not beat until stiff.
- Spoon or pipe mixture into 20 to 24 large meringues.
- Bake for 18 to 20 minutes at 250F. Then reduce oven temperature to 200F and continue to bake for another 18 to 20 minutes, until crisp and tips are just starting to brown.
- Turn off oven and let meringues it inside for 2 hours or longer.
- Remove and carefully peel off parchment.
Recipe Notes
Total carbs = negligible.
Wow, these meringues look perfect! Oh so light and airy! I love that they are gluten-free too… I’m always searching for delicious gluten-free desserts.
Hi, I just made these and they were so bad I nearly cried! I think I used the wrong sweetener. Can anyone tell me if Swerve is available in the UK, if not, what a close alternative would be?
what kind of sweetener did you use? Was it erythritol-based? I can really only guarantee the results of these with Swerve, and I don’t think it’s available in the UK yet. I think ZSweet or Truvia might be your best bet besides Swerve, but I can’t guarantee how they will turn out.
How did these ones turn out? too soft? Too hard?
Thanks for your reply Carolyn. I used Splenda and they tasted like polystyrene ! I will try to find swerve online, if not I will buy Truvia or similar.
If you go through the Swerve link in my posts and you use DREAM15 you can get 15% off by directly ordering it from them. I can’t say for sure that they ship to the UK, though.
I definitely can’t guarantee results with a non-erythritol based sweetener. Splenda and erythritol are very different creatures in terms of ingredients and crystalline structure. And I really do NOT like the taste of Splenda.
Truvia doesn’t work, I used that and the fluff liquefied and I still tried to bake it and the end result was very funky.
Good to know!
When you say powdered Swerve, do you mean the confectioner’s sugar variety, or the granulated? I have to order it, so I want to make sure I get the right one!
The confectioner’s Swerve. It’s good stuff!
I used the confectioner’s one. The swerve in Canada is wayyyyyy to concentrated to put 6 table spoons! I put 2 tablespoons and it is almost too much! Good luck!
You mention a marshmallow like consistency??? Can you please figure out how to make sugar free rice crispie squares??? I’m dying for some!!
Well, the problem with that is the rice crisps are not low carb! But if we’re aiming for just sugar-free, then it might be possible…
Doesn’t Atkins carry low carb cereals? I’ve made crispy squares using all sorts of cold cereals. If the marshmallow recipe works I’d definitely try making crispy treats with low carb cereals.
I used maple flavor and just 4 tbsp of swerve, came out perfect but did have to leave in oven longer nut these are wonderful. Thank you
I have had a few failed attempts at these! So excited to come across this recipe. . .definitely going to give them a try!
AHHH! This is awesome!! Sugar free??? Wowza, these must have dropped straight out of heaven!
How fun 🙂
I made some this morning because the kids wanted them again. This time I only added 1/4 tsp vanilla…I like it better because I thought the vanilla may have been a bit strong in the last ones. But it could just be my memory too. Also, I added sweet leaf stevia (chocolate) extract this time. I don’t know if I can really detect the chocolate taste, but it didn’t affect them at all…so I’m guessing you could use the peppermint variety of this!! Just an FYI.
Thanks, Carolyn!! Oh…and one more thing…I have your No bake peanut butter chocolate bars in my refrigerator right now!!! YUM!
Hi, Shannon. these look amazing. I just made a batch last night using Powdered Xylitol and they looked amazing but ended up just being a dense sponge! very similar to Carolyn’s experience. I’m desperate to succeed at these! So did you replace the swerve completely with stevia? we don’t get swerve in South Africa so if i could use stevia then ill try another batch tonight 😀
You need erythritol. Xylitol is a disaster for these. It doesn’t have to be Swerve brand, though.
Thanks Carolyn
I can get erythritol. so ill try with that first. 🙂 thank you for all the advice.
Welcome! Erythritol will work much better than xylitol.
Did you use liquid or pwdered sweet leaf
I love meringues, but they are still relatively new to me! These look perfect!
There you go on finding your meringues. Glad you could share together. They look beautiful.
Yeah Shannon. This is impressive. So glad Carolyn was able to share your treats with us.
Glad you finally found a good recipe! They look great!
oh i can’t wait to try these!
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe…another treat which doesn’t compromise flavour for healthy eating !
Those look delicious! I made some chocolate meringues with Swerve a while back. They came out great! My recipe is on my blog here:
http://craftautobiography.blogspot.com/2012/02/chocolate-meringue-cookies.html
Thanks for sharing!
I just love meringue cookies!
Thank you! These are wonderful. I read this blog post a while ago http://jenncuisine.com/2011/01/meringues-and-double-creme/ and have been wanting to make meringues and do something similar.
Last night, I did! I made these lovely cookies, whipped up some cream, and then dipped them in the whipped cream. Seriously delicious! Thank you!!!!
Carolyn, you just made my father’s day. He has always loved, loved, loved meringues, but he’s diabetic, so hasn’t had them in ages. I sent him the link to these. His response? I’ll buy the Swerve! They look fantastic!
Hey Lisa…have him buy swerve by going through the links on my recipe. He can get a 15% discount if he uses DREAM15 and goes through me. 🙂
this looks wonderful
I made these today, and I can say that Truvia works well. I think I put too much in, though. I had six egg whites left over from another recipe, so I used 7.5 tablespoons of Truvia. Maybe I’m just not used to eating sweet things anymore, but I think mine turned out too sweet. However, that’s not stopping me from wanting to eat every last one. They are delicious. Next time, I will probably use less Truvia. For 4 egg whites, I would probably try about 5 tablespoons.
I just finished baking these with erythritol sugar sold on Amazon (cheaper than the other stuff and much cheaper than Truvia). I added a half tsp of peppermint extract (not oil!) to the recipe and the texture is perfect and they’re deliciously vanilla-minty. I blitzed the sugar in a food processor to powder it and it seems to have worked.
Hi,
I have tried those with Erythritol sugar (Sukrin). They look perfect but taste pretty cold. They have stayed on the Xmas table the whole time as a decoration. Any idea what I have done wrong? I have realized that if I put bigger amount of erythritol into the recipe, it gets this cold like taste to it.
Hi Zuzana, I see you posted this a while ago, but if you are still following I was wondering if you ever soerted out the ‘cold’ issue. I have also just made and get the same cold sensation using 100% erythritol 😗
Erythritol is a menthol derivative, that’s where the cooling effect comes in.
Hi lyra,
O my, I have just got your message today in my mailbox. Cant believe this was back in 2013. But yes, I have realized if I use erythritol mixed with stevia (like Swerve) it gets better.
Hope that helps
Zuzana
Thank you so much for this post!!!! I love making meringues and just recently got put on a gluten, sugar and dairy free diet. I just crumbled when I thought that I would never have a meringues again. I love the idea of peppermint meringues I have made rose mint meringues before sugar full unfortunately so now I am going to try them with this recipie thank you!!!!
Rose mint? Sounds intriguing! I used to get rose icecream from a place that has closed now and miss that flavor. What’s your recipe?
Awesome !! I used this recipe to make a pavlova & it turned out beautifully. I used “Natvia” sweetener for baking which we have in Australia (it is a mixture of Erythritol & Stevia). Both my sons & I are on a low carb diet so I topped it with fresh whipped cream & strawberries & blueberries & there were second helpings all around. Thankyou so much for this recipe – I am on a permanent low carb diet due to irritable bowel issues & this is the first time I have had meringue for over 2 years – I am saving this recipe for my collection for sure !!
Glad it worked out so well. I’ve made pavlova with it too…delicious!
These were my first attempts at meringues, and they turned out great! I used erythritol that I powdered in my coffee grinder, and added a bit of powdered stevia extract. I would love to try Swerve but I am a little wary of “natural flavors” since the FDA will let just about anything go under that title. Anyhow, these are so light and fluffy and yummy…I can’t wait to try out some variations! Chocolate, mint, rosewater, maybe even banana, or rum? Thanks!
Oh I also wanted to added I used powdered egg whites, since I always end up wasting eggs when I have to use the yolks and the whites separately.
You should ask them what their natural flavours are, because they are a very transparent company and I am sure they would be happy to elaborate!
Thanks for posting this! Quick question, is there an alternative to this recipe where I don’t need to use a fake sweetener, or substitute it with something natural while maintaining the low sugar content? I don’t use anything with ‘tol’ in the title, anything chemical based or artificially flavoured. Stuff along the lines of splenda and the ‘creamer’ stuff that gets put in coffee in the USA, just makes my skin crawl.
No, there’s no other good substitute besides sugar. But if you research erythritol, you’d find it’s also a natural product, found in fruits and fermented foods. It’s not more “processed” than sugar is, really.
Thank you for posting this. This is the fifth sugar-free meringue recipe I have tried and I was beginning to think it wasn’t possible as previous attempts turned out soft. These give me that crispy sensation I’ve been craving so I’ll definitely be making more.
Great idea for the Valentine day. I am definitely trying these for my Pavlova.
What temperature would it need to be for a gas oven (in the UK)? I tried using the internet to covert it, but it came out at not even gas mark 1 & then the reduced temperature doesn’t exist.
I wondered whether I should go by celcius & then the gas mark would start off at 9 (highest setting) & then reduce to around gas mark 6 (medium heat).
Any advice would be great, thanks
That does not sound right to me. You want the first temp medium-low and the second temp low. Does that help?
250F = 120C and 200F = 95C. So when I look online, looks like you really do want below mark 1 (looks like 1/2 mark, if that’s possible). Then you could simply turn your oven off and let them sit inside until the right crispness.
I just made a pie crust using this recipe (pavlova, but in a glass pie dish). Using 4 egg whites, I had some left over so I made some meringue cookies to try. They turned out great – crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. I plan to fill the pie crust with vanilla pudding, then whipped topping, then some fresh strawberries.
By the way, my cookies didn’t have to sit in the oven at all after baking. I let the pie crust sit to make sure it was firm around the edges.
Is it absolutely imperative to include cream of tartar? I don’t have any!!
Your egg whites won’t beat as stiff but you can try it.
OMG just made them with Sukrin (a sweetener that is also erythlitol based) and they were AMAZING no one could believe they have no sugar!
Make these for the first time today and they are perfect! I increased my vanilla extract to 1 tsp. My husband & I licked the mixing bowl clean, just like kids! Thank you for this yummy treat!
Made their using Canderel and it worked great.
Thanks
Have you ever attempted a French macaron? So similar to meringues, yet so amazingly different. If you haven’t, I’d love for you to put that on your list to try. Pretty please.
Hello!
These look great – just a quick question, do you know if they’d work with powdered xylitol..?
I’m gonna try it tomorrow anyways!
X
No, I don’t think they will. Xylitol attracts more moisture and they won’t firm up properly.
I have yet to place an order for Swerve but do have erythritol, xylitol and stevia powder in the house. I’ve seen so many recipes using Swerve, but would like to use what I have first. So from the notes I’ve read above, I can use erythritol one to one to replace Swerve? Or should it be a mixture of other products? Thanks for all the great recipes, I can hardly wait to make this for dessert soon!
I think you can use the erythritol one-to-one but I would suggest trying to powder it in a coffee grinder first.
Will do, thanks Carolyn!
I’m glad I found this. I actually made meringues with the confectioner’s Swerve over the weekend, trying to test a dessert recipe for Passover, but I put waaaaay too much Swerve in there, and it was a disaster. I’ll have to try this instead. Thanks for sharing!
I just finished making these sadly they turned out very dry; not chewy at all 🙁 I was really looking forward to them waiting out the 2hrs…etc. I used Pyure Organic Stevia ingredients are erythritol and stevia extract. I put it in my vitamix to make it into a confectioner type powder.
Pyure is mostly stevia so that is your problem right there. It won’t hold much moisture and won’t have the same consistency as a recipe made with Swerve.
Mines came out looking perfect but they tasted horrible. It was my first time using stevia, it wasnt using the same brand as your recipe suggested. I think I’ll stick to splenda, stevia taste like black licorice.
My recipe doesn’t use stevia at all. I use Swerve which is erythritol and oligosaccharides. I’d say that’s your problem.
I make these with swerve and add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, pecans, or unsweetened coconut they taste just like the Coconut Kisses from my Betty Crocker (pre 1958) Cookbook. They are
a real hit. Thanks for all your great recipes.
Arg. Thank you. I just made these using a regular meringue recipe and swapped out the sugar for swerve 1:1 and dear god, they’re so sweet they almost burn my mouth. Definitely retrying these with your recipe.
I use 1/2 cup of nuts in these cookies and we love them.
I did this desert with sugar and, of course, it was perfect. I used cold whites.
Then I give up on sugar and started to eat erythritol. I tried to do this desert with it and I got confused. I have to use cold whites of room temperature whites?
You should always use room temperature egg whites, they whip more easily.
Fantastic! Do you think that Stevia would work? xXx
No, I don’t think that would work at all.
I just tried this with truvia… It didn’t work 🙁
Has anyone tried with lakanto?
You need a powdered sweetener so it’s not going to work with either of those.
Thanks for the recipe! I had never had meringues before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I think I may have overcooked them a little as they were pretty crispy through and through. I left them in longer as they were not browning after the required amount of time. I did use Splenda, which may have changed the result. I actually liked them crispy, as it reminded me of a sugar wafer cookie and was really good with icecream, but I would like the try to make them the more authentic (marshmallow) consistency. Do you think the consistency was different because I used Splenda or that I overcooked it? I always have paranoia about undercooking anything with eggs in it, so maybe I went overkill. LOL
It’s definitely the splenda. It doesn’t caramelize (brown) like erythritol would.
I used xylitol – cooked them for longer than supposed to, soft and floppy after longer than 2 hours in the oven turned off (door closed).
Very disappointed 🙁
Yes, and that would be the xylitol. That’s why this recipe specifically calls for Swerve. I tried xylitol once and it didn’t work at all.
Made with 1/2 tsp powdered stevia. Delicious. This is a keeper.
Unbelieveavle! I did something unusual: I followed you recipe, even went out to buy Swerve! I LOVE them! I have probably one of the sweetest tooths (or is it “teeth”?!) on the planet. I can eat four pounds of chocolate a day, easily. BUT I am highly carb sensitive, and I know from years of practice and failure that keto works for me, but I miss crunch and sweet. You have just helped me tremendously. I’d never tried Swerve. I will use less than the suggested amount next time, and maybe increase the vanilla a tiny bit. But they were really good. Of course I ate them all in one go. That’s what I do, and that’s how I usually fail after several months of success. So now I will experiment a bit, I have read all the comments and might try some raw cacao nibs dropped on them which will help the sweetness issue as the cacao nibs are a little bitter. We’ll get there! Thanks so much for your blog. I can do this. I know I can!
Oh, PS, I ate some with lemon Chobani (yoghurt) and it was so delicious. I kind of popped a little on the top like icing/frosting (depending on where you live!)
So glad you liked them!
Hello I’m from Mexico 🙂 I’m having trouble making the meringues, I’m using Superlife as sweetener, I don’t know if they sell it in US, the problem that I’m having is that the “sugar” caramelized in the bottom of the merengue and it sticks to the parchment paper even with coconut oil and I can’t unstick them without broke them.
I honestly don’t know what that is. What’s it made with?
Is stevia
I’m sorry, I don’t use that brand and have never heard of it so I can’t really help.
Is stevia powder, but thank you!! 🙂
Hi Carolyn – just about to attempt these and have a question. Do you use a fan oven, or a regular oven. My oven has both options. Your advice would be gratefully received.
I love your recipes, use them constantly and people are amazed they are both gluten and sugar free! Go low carb! I’m always directing folk to your site. Thanks for all you do.
I use a regular oven, although mine has a convection feature.
Hi, We encountered some 1 calorie commercially made meringues in COSTCO in Mexico and not finding them locally we Used Google to find your website. Now we are making them all the time. Our first batch were not totally dry, so we modified the recipe slightly by reducing the sugar to 1/4 cup and making the meringues very small. Now they are indistinguishable from sugar made meringues. By the way so you have any tips on where to buy SWERVE? I bought my first batch through Amazon but it is very expensive.
Swerve has a good store locator and local shops often have it marked down a bit. My local New Seasons carries it.
Carolyn,
I’m so excited to have found this recipe. I finally got my order of confectioner’s Swerve via Amazon, and I think this will be the first recipe I try. Meringue cookies are my absolute favorite – growing up, my mom would make them for special occasions and I could never get enough of them!
Question for you on your second step “Arrange oven racks on second lowest and second highest positions.” Why is this? Are we supposed to be putting one of the baking trays on the higher rack and one on the lower rack? Do we have to switch them halfway through? Would appreciate your response before I try these out.
Switch them if you need to, but doing this really just allows space for both.
Thanks Carolyn! I tried it and they turned out exactly as promised! However they were too sweet for me, so I will try reducing the amt of swerve I use the next time.
One more question for you – I like my meringues more on the crisp side – would baking at 250 for the entire 40 mins help me achieve this? Or will that just burn them?
Just wanted to say I did it by the book on the first round, my results were great except that I didn’t like the taste of Swerve and they were way too sweet. I had never used swerve before so decided to try it with this recipe.
Round 2, I used 3 tbsp of Ideal (xylitol). I followed the baking instructions and ended up with perfect pie merengues, I may have over whipped them, So I baked them again for 20 minutes at 200 and they are amazing!
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
Carolyn: the trick to using add-ins when attempting to modify a meringue recipes is to add gelatin – either flavored or unflavored – depending on your preference. The gelatin helps the meringue keep it’s shape and not fall flat. I don’t use or buy any commercially available gelatins any more because they are all sweetened with aspartame (UGH!); I did, however, discover a gelatin I can buy directly from a company that is sweetened with splenda / sucralose and this works for me as I will and do use and eat sucralose. The name of the company is Gage Foods, and they offer a line of sugar-free gelatins called “Golden Choice”:
http://www.gagefoods.com/Products.aspx?hierarchyKey=61
Now the Gage Foods Golden Choice Sugar Free gelatin does contain food coloring which remains a controversial ingredient so it will be up to you to decide if this is something you want to try or not. I like to use flavored gelatins because it makes changing the flavor of the meringues so darn easy!!
I just made these and they are delicious! I had a few failures with other recipes before, but these came out perfectly! I didn’t leave them in the oven when it was off for more than 15 minutes, and once they cooled, they were perfectly crispy. I used powdered eyrithritol. This is a keeper for sure. Thank you!! I hope to post on my blog and will certainly link back – I’ve made your lemon meringue pie and posted it with link back to your blog. I love your recipes!!
I love your website. Thank you so much for all your hard work! Today I made your eggnog recipe (yum) and have egg whites left over.
I’ve made merinque cookies before and found a great way to fancy them up. After putting the meringue on
the baking sheet, I spread it a bit and make a depression in the center of each big cookie (1/4c or so) with the back of a spoon. Once baked I serve them with a spoonful of fresh sliced strawberries, or blueberries cooked down to a thick ‘jam’ in the center.. Next time chocolate ganache, maybe?
It’s very elegant looking.
Delicious!
Please help me. I tried the recipe and honestly it looks like dried prunes… i dont know what i am doing wrong. Had the oven at 180 digrees celcius and then 120. its not chrispy AT ALL… looks terrible…. please help.
What sweetener did you use?
I’ve whipped these for quite some time and they just froth and stay a liquid. We made meringues in class and didn’t get a Starbucks drink!
Egg whites don’t whip sometimes for certain reasons. If you got any egg yolk in there, they won’t whip. If you got any liquid in there, they won’t whip. If they were too cold, they won’t whip. So it may have been for one of those reasons.
These were easy to bake up following your instrustions! They do have the “cold” feeling but nice texture!
Found your recipe yesterday, tried it today, and we are in business! Can’t wait to re-introduce pavlovas back into the household after a years long carb-ban. Thank you for testing and sharing.
I just made these and they turned out amazing!! My first batch I used stevia and they turned out horrible. So my second batch I used swerve granulated and I think this is the beginning of an addiction. I cannot wait to try with different extracts! I did vanilla/coffee extract in my second batch and they taste so good and crunchy. I used 2 eggs and only 2tbsp of swerve and they taste very sweet so many next batch I’ll use a little less. Cooked for 30 mins and I let them sit for a few hours and now they are crunchy and perfect! Great recipe!!
Yes, you need a sweetener with bulk for meringues. So glad they worked out!
Finally tried these this evening because I have wanted to make meringues to fill with your wonderful lemon curd for ages. They turned out PERFECTLY. And I have never succeeded at making a meringue in my life – including with real sugar. I think the tad of fructooligosaccharide in the Swerve helps them to set up, btw. In any case, they taste divine and look beautiful, and the combo with the lemon curd is super-fabulous. And they were easy! Will be serving to company soon… Another winner…
Yay!
Can I use liquid stevia and if not possibly powdered stevia? I used a vegi glycerine/stevia mixture so I would love to use it with this recipe as I cannot use the sweeter you recommnend. thank you!
It will not work with this.
What can you use in Australia instead of swerve?
I hear Natvia is good.
Has anyone tried with pecans and coco nibs?
I made these yesterday and turned out amazing! Finally a treat with no carbs and satisfies my sweet tooth without the guilt. Confectioner Swerve worked perfectly. Thank you for an amazing recipe.
I made these as instructed and turned out amazing!! I do have an issue with Swerve along with most alternative sweeteners, give me intense headaches. Is there a natural sweetener that will not give such terrible side effects and still work with this recipe? Thanks!!
I made these as directed using powdered Erythritol and they came out like marshmallows. Needless to say my son enjoyed the marshmallows. I’m struggling to Swerve here in Johannesburg but I will make them again until I perfect them.
Did they not taste cold with the erythritol. Mine tasted ice cold.
Can these be frozen?
I have never tried to freeze meringue. Sorry.