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
- ¼ cup butter
- 3 tablespoon brown sugar replacement
- 3 tablespoon allulose or BochaSweet
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
- ¼ teaspoon kosher or sea salt
- 2 tablespoon water
For Salted Caramel Sauce:
- ½ teaspoon 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
Sandy says
I this stuff. I have made it several times. I use salted butter and leave the salt out. It’s perfect!
Julie says
Hi, thank you so much for this site and this wonderful recipe. Found it when I was looking for your Pecan pie recipe. What could you use in place of xanham gum? Chia, Flax, Arrowroot powder, Tapioca? Thank you.
Carolyn says
None of the above, I’m afraid. Xanthan inhibits recrystallization, which is why I used it. You can skip it, but do expect your caramel sauce to be more gritty and hard when it cools.
Sally says
This is delicious!! just as it is!!! I am wondering how I can use it?? Just dipped it on an Atkins bar and I am soon happy to have a treat!! Thanks for a simple recipe… !!
Cynthia T. says
I was wondering if you could substitute monk fruit for the stevia and sugar alcohols? I can’t consume any of those. I’m allergic to stevia (it’s a ragweed) and have terrible GI problems with sugar alcohols. Any ideas?
Carolyn says
No, there’s simply no way. Monkfruit will not caramelize. Sorry!
Angelina says
Thank you so so much for creating this!!! I love good, grainy caramel and now I can make it in no time! Just a tip for those who do not want to use molasses or coconut sugar: add some stevia liquid to balance out the Swerve/erythritol coolness and add a teaspoon of maple extract to help make up for the flavor missing from the lack of molasses. It does come out off white colored but after you taste how amazing it is, you’re not going to care. I made a double batch and have to stop myself from sneaking spoonfuls when I’m near the fridge.
Victor says
Hey Angelina, even without the coconut sugar and molasses, was it okay? Did you refrigerate it? Does reheating it make it not grainy again? I’ve never used erythritol before and I was thinking of using Xylitol instead, but the side effects and the calories make me not want to use it. I wanna make this, but don’t wanna use the coconut sugar because it’s very expensive.
Victor says
Please reply to this comment instead of the other one because I forgot to click on the “notify follow up comments). I’d very much appreciate it =D
Angelina says
Yup, I refrigerated it and just heated it up on the stove top or microwave when I wanted to use it. So yummy…..
Yes, it tasted great without the molasses or coconut sugar…I think the maple extract helped a lot in substituting.
I’ve tried out almost all fake sugars and found that a combo of erythritol and pure liquid stevia works the best (the stevia balances out the cool after taste you typically find with erythritol) as far as taste, avoiding stomach upset and preventing raised blood sugar. I LOVE to bake so always keep granular erythritol (brand doesn’t matter), pure liquid stevia (from Trader Joes) and powdered Swerve on stock.
patti says
Incredibly delicious! It is very hard to find a sugarfree caramel sauce. Tried the coconut sugar for the first time – what else do you use it in? Great on brownie waffles recipe! Thanks!!
Carolyn says
I love it over ice cream, that’s my favourite.
Dante says
Thank you for this awesome recipe. I’ve been looking for a way to use up coconut sugar, since I’m low carb now and generally can’t use it in recipes.
lynn says
OH….MY…GAWD!!! This caramel sauce is freakin AMAZING! it tastes just like a liquefied wearther’s caramel candy. I’m in love 🙂 I used organic stevia, and molasses. Thank yooouuuu!!!!
naila says
Can splenda be used? and if so how much? I don’t have swerve…
Carolyn says
No, splenda will not caramelize like erythritol.
Dabz says
Actually, for the record, I DID make this yesterday with Splenda and Coconut Sugar, at the measurements listed, and it turned out great!
LDee says
I bow to you O Goddess of low carb caramel sauce! My low carb life is so much sweeter since I found your site. Incidentally, I used 6 Tbs erythritol a dropper full of stevia & 1Tbs coconut sugar, 1/2Tbs blackstrap molasses. Came out perfectly!
Cat Latuszek says
Felt like I should add…it makes for a good substitute for honey in salad dressing recipes…had some in the fridge and tried it out on a whim in an apple cider vinaigrette…worked really well.
kim langford says
How much is serving in teaspoons?
Carolyn says
1 tablespoon equals 3 teaspoons. So 6 teaspoons.
Louise says
Have made plenty of your recipes and a die hard fan: always frustrated that we don’t get Swerve in the UK (or I could buy 485g for £61! on Amazon). We have a stevia/eritherol sweetener called Truvia. Do you think this makes a good sub?
Where can I find the composition of Swerve to try and compare? Is it pure erythritol? What is the consistency like? Truvia is quite grainy, like white sugar.
Carolyn says
Yes, I am sorry it’s so pricy elsewhere. Here’s the info on Swerve: http://www.swervesweetener.com/about-swerve/
Truvia is an okay substitute but it doesn’t come in powdered form, as confectioner’s Swerve does. You will get better results if you attempt to powder the Truvia yourself in a coffee grinder or some such thing.
Roberta says
Maybe grinding some erytrhitol with inulin powder (the other component of Swerve), generally sold almost worldwide and in a very fine powder, could you give a sort of “DIY Swerve”, even if you’ll have to play to guess the exact proportion because on Swerve’s laber they do not indicate the percentage of each ingredient obviously…
Aurora says
Really good one! Wondering if a dairy-free version using canned coconut milk would work?
Carolyn says
A few readers said that they had good luck with that.
Mary says
Hi! This looks delicious and I would love to use it to make the pecan pie. I am slowly building my low carb baking pantry and I don’t have xanthan gum, but I do have guar gum. Since it is such a small amount, do you know/think guar gum would work as a substitute in this recipe? Thank you so much for working on these recipes, they are very inspiring!
Vicky says
FYI to all- I made this with half Swerve and half Splenda and it came out wonderfully. (I used the 2 tbs of coconut palm sugar). I made the recipe once before with all Swerve and I don’t like the cooling effect. Also Swerve is too darn expensive. Yes, I know Splenda is artificial. At this point in my eating adventures, that doesn’t really bother me. This batch is delish, the color is fantastic, the consistency is perfect!
NGreene says
HI!!! I’m making the magic cookie bars and just finished my first ever batch of this caramel sauce. (which WILL NOT be my last!) I was so stinkin surprised! The first words out of my mouth when I tasted a bit – “Daggone. That’s good stuff.” I laughed at myself for being so surprised. 😉 Thank you for sharing your creativity in these delicious recipes!
Carolyn says
Thanks! Glad you like it. I can’t make it too often or I’d eat the whole batch! 🙂
unterderlaterne says
My kitchen smells divine as I just finished with your FABULOUS recipe for CARAMEL SAUCE. Carolyn- my hat off to you !
I did however burn my tongue- really stupid of me ! It is sooo hot and stays hot for quite a while. Never ever add the water to the just completed boil as I did. I lost 1/4 of the perfect concoction as it bubbled all over my stove.
Lesson learned*always follow directions to the letter!
Thank you Carolyn so much! Barbara
Cat Latuszek says
Made this today with xylitol and coconut sugar since it was all I had in the cupboard and it turned out good. Tastes just like the caramel on caramel corn. Not sure if that’s how it’s supposed to taste, but it’s still good so that’s all that matters.
I did burn the first batch though, and I feel it prudent to mention to people that sticking your finger in the pot to taste-test it to see if it’s worth saving is like the worst idea. Ever. Your finger will hurt for a while. :p
Carolyn says
Yeah, it gets VERY hot!
Jamie Karutz says
I love you. Marry me? Oh dang, I went stalker creepy again 😉 I just made this and oh em gee. Yum. Love. My type 1 daughter and type 2 friends and family are going to have a very Merry Christmas, indeed.