This sugar free caramel sauce is ooey and gooey and it stays pourable! Best of all, it tastes just like real caramel sauce. This is the only keto caramel sauce recipe you will ever need. I am excited to bring you this updated recipe and a new instructional video.
Want to hear something crazy? I just improved my keto sugar free caramel sauce recipe! It was always truly amazing and by far one of the most popular low carb caramel recipes out there, but now it’s even better.
And I attribute this improvement to two “secret weapon” ingredients: The new Swerve brown sugar replacement and Bocha Sweet. The combination of these two keto sweeteners results in the most perfect caramel that stays soft and pourable for days. It can even be refrigerated and still stays soft, with absolutely no recrystallization.
Creating a really good, true-to-life caramel sauce with erythritol has been one of my low carb goals for a long time now. Almost from the first moment I started baking and cooking low carb, I found myself wondering if it was possible and absolutely determined to find out.
Creating Keto Sugar Free Caramel Sauce
I’d tried a few store-bought sugar-free caramel sauces and they were simply awful. They were laden with chemicals and they tasted like it too. So I had to find a way to make homemade sugar-free caramel sauce from scratch, and I set my sights high.
It had to be:
- Gooey
- Smooth and creamy
- Have true caramelized-sugar taste
- Not harden and recrystallize upon cooling
Anyone who has ever worked with erythritol-based sweeteners will know that the last issue was the biggest challenge to overcome. I’ve made some great-tasting and great-looking sauces along the way, but they all had a tendency to harden up pretty quickly.
Even my previous recipe, which I considered almost perfect, did begin to solidify and get a bit grainy as it cooled. The addition of some Yacon syrup, molasses, or even coconut sugar definitely helped offset that reaction, but it also added a little to the carb count. Some people objected to these additions but I felt that they were worth it to get really good low carb caramel sauce.
But honestly, both Swerve Brown and Bocha Sweet have totally changed the sugar free caramel sauce game. Completely and utterly. How so?
- Swerve Brown gives the sauce a perfect caramel color without the addition of Yacon or molasses
- Bocha Sweet keeps it soft and inhibits the crystallization of the erythritol
- The combination of the two gives it the ideal caramel sweetness
I first tried a bit of Bocha Sweet in my caramel sauce a few months ago and was astonished to pull it out of the fridge the next day and still have it be perfectly pourable. And when the long-awaited Swerve Brown finally came out, I tried the two together and I knew I had perfected this recipe.
But please don’t worry if you can’t get your hands on these sweeteners. I am putting notes in the new updated recipe so that you can still make it the old way, with Swerve and a little Yacon syrup. It’s still amazing and delicious!
So put away all those awful store-bought, chemical-laden sugar free caramel sauces because this keto caramel sauce recipe will blow your caramel-loving mind. Check out the video in the recipe card!
I’ve actually been using this caramel sauce recipe in many of my other dessert recipes for a while now, like my maple pecan pie. But I use it so often and found myself rewriting it so frequently, I decided that it needed to be a stand alone recipe.
Believe me, it deserves it! It’s already part of some of my favorite keto dessert recipes and it will be part of many more to come. But it truly is good enough to be have its very own recipe post. Sometimes I just make some for the heck of it, just to keep in the fridge. It’s fantastic slathered on a piece of very dark chocolate with a little sea salt sprinkled on top. Or drizzled over low carb vanilla ice cream. Or simply licked from the spoon.
I really don’t think there is a better low carb caramel sauce out there. Back when I first wrote this post, I said if there was any way to improve on this recipe, I would find it. And I truly believe I just did. I can die happy now!
How to enjoy your keto caramel sauce
- Keto Caramel Cake
- Keto Salted Caramel Brownie Bites
- Keto Salted Caramel Cheesecake Bars
- Keto Turtle Cupcakes
- Keto Salted Caramel Butter Bars
- Keto Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate
The Best Low Carb Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 3 tbsp brown sugar replacement
- 3 tbsp allulose, or BochaSweet
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/4 tsp kosher or sea salt
- 2 tbsp water
For Salted Caramel Sauce:
- 1/2 tsp additional kosher salt or sea salt
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, Swerve, and Bocha Sweet. Bring to a boil and cook 3 to 5 minutes (be careful not to burn it).
- Remove from heat and add cream. Mixture will bubble vigorously.
- Sprinkle with xanthan gum and whisk vigorously to combine. Add salt.
- Return mixture to heat and boil 1 more minute. Let cool to lukewarm and stir in water until well combined.
- For salted caramel, simply stir in additional salt at the end.
- The sauce can be stored in the fridge for a week or so (I've actually stored mine for several weeks). Just gently reheat in the microwave or in a saucepan to make it pourable again.
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 have a question about the bocha sweet. Why is this necessary? I mean, if I’m already using swerve, why do we need to use the two different sweeteners? I hope I don’t sound rude, I really just don’t understand why I couldn’t just use Swerve on its own.
Not rude at all and I cover this issue at length in other posts… Swerve is mostly erythritol which tends to re-crystallize upon cooling in liquid applications like sauces and ice creams. Bocha Sweet does not, and in fact inhibits the recrystallization. The Swerve Brown gives it a lovely caramel color and flavor and the Bocha Sweet keeps it soft.
I have put off making caramel sauce because I thought for some reason it was hard to do or tricky to set up. The only thing hard in this recipe was waiting for it to cool off enough to sample it. I made mine salted caramel for the salted caramel magic bars. I cannot wait till they come out of the oven and cool off. I plan to make more and try it in my morning coffee instead of the syrups I usually buy.
Enjoy!
I love your recipes! I have everything for this recipe except Bochasweet. Is there anything that I could buy at my usual grocery store that would be a good substitute? I’m sorry if this question has already been asked and answered. Thanks so much for your reply!
Xylitol is your best bet.
This caramel syrup is DELICIOUS. Thank you so much for working to create a recipe where it doesn’t harden once in the fridge. You’re amazing!
So glad you like it!
I have the caramel cake cooling as I type. Looks good. I made the caramel sauce and had to use black strap molasses. I find it has more of a black licorice taste than a caramel taste. Good thing I like black licorice. I’d rather in this instance that it did taste more like caramel, but, hey, I’m gonna eat it anyway. I am diabetic and I’ve tried many of Carolyn’s recipes. I will say they are awesome. After being off low carb since my hospital stay I’ve decided I need some low carb treats in my house for my bedtime snack so my sugar doesn’t rise. Hopefully this will be a good jumpstart for me.
Although I only found this recipe today, it looks delicious and I would like to make it for a get-together this weekend. However, when I researched the Bocha Sweet, I found so many people reporting intestinal issues after eating it. Are you still using it regularly? I typically use Erythritol, but would love to find a sweetener that does not have the “cooling” effect. I did read someone say “you just need to get used to the Bocha Sweet in order to overcome the gi problems.” But I am on a low carb diet and typically do not eat anything sweet. But would love an occasional treat like your caramel cake. But only eating it occasionally would not allow me to “get used to it.” I really appreciate people like you who create recipes like this. It gives me hope that I can look forward to having my sweet tooth satisfied once in a while – instead of giving up what I crave FOREVER. Thank you so much.
I, nor anyone in my family, has had any issues with the treats I make that include Bocha Sweet. However I simply cannot say wither or not it will affect you.
Oh. My. Goodness. I made your salted caramel sauce & hot fudge sauce today. I am flat out just blown away. They are both absolutely fantastic! I love your blog and have NEVER had a bad result from any of your recipes. They are all so so good. Thanks for all that you do! Please, keep doing it! ❤️
I’m so glad to hear it!
Is it just me or is bochasweet not 3g carbs per 4g serving? how is that low carb?
Because it doesn’t affect blood glucose. Same as Swerve or any erythritol sweetener. Bocha Sweet and Swerve are the only two I trust for this because I have tested them on myself.
Looking forward to trying this…. what size jar does the recipe make 4oz, 8oz?? Thank you
It makes 1 cup. Which is 8 ounces.
I made the past version of this before your recent changes and it was good then. Now it’s amazing!!! Thank you so much!!!
Glad to hear it!
THANK YOU! I have been craving caramel, and can’t wait to try this recipe tomorrow! Am making sugar free apple crisp ti use up some apples, and want to drizzle caramel over the top. You ROCK.
Carolyn! You are my hero! I cannot BELIEVE how F*$#ing good this sauce is! Honestly, it’s better than sauces I’ve made with regular sugar. I followed your recipe except for the water to thin it because I love a thick sauce… it’s totally amazing! THANK YOU!
So glad you think so!
I did not have Bocca Sweet so I just used equal amount of Monkfruit Sweetener and did not have Swerve brown so I used equal amount of Monkfruit Golden Sweetener. Even with the substitutions, this is the best keto caramel sauce I’ve tasted. I’d eat it even if not doing keto.
So glad to hear it!
In the uk I can’t find Bocha sweet any suggestions ?
Xylitol should work!
Hi, Carolyn, I have read through about a thousand comments and didn’t find anyone who asked my question! First of all, I have made this twice now; burned the first batch using Sukrin Gold brown and allulose. Didn’t know if the burning was the allulose because it was my first time using it. Threw that batch out and tried again using Sukrin Gold brown and Sukrin Gold syrup with a dash of maple extract. I didn’t burn this batch, it looked great, and tasted great. Poured it into my jar and started to clean up when I found my two tablespoons of water sitting there. So, my question is,what is the water for? Is it important enough to add it now the caramel sauce is cool, or can I leave it out? I know I won’t get an immediate answer to this question before I have to make a decision, but thought it might some other poor inept cook like me!
If it seems like it’s the right consistency as is, leave out the water. When you use Swerve and Bocha Sweet, it tends to thicken up more.
Would this recipe work without the xanthan gum?
It won’t be as thick.