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.
Free Bonus: Secrets to Keto Baking!
Sign up for your favorite recipes delivered straight to your inbox plus get our FREE bonus: Secrets to Keto Baking!
Thank you for this recipe! I don’t have swerve so I used 4 tablespoons of trim healthy mama sweet blend and a half tablespoon of molasses. The first time I made it, I used a whole tablespoon of molasses and it was too strong for me so I used half. It’s delicious! I am using it to top my turtles cheesecake!
So glad it worked!
I’m having a high insulin issue, and the thought of not having pecan pie this Turkey Day was making me very sad, so thank you!
Wondering what to sub for the heavy cream – can’t do lactose…coconut milk (the thick creamy kind?)
Yes people have had success with coconut milk in this recipe.
Hey guys! Do you know if using coconut milk makes it have that coconut taste? Evn a little? I’m scared of that coconut taste infiltrating the caramel! Think cashew milk would work??
I think coconut milk would have a bit of coconut flavour. I am doubtful that cashew milk is thick enough to produce a proper caramel sauce but you could certainly try!
So, would this work to make flan. I would usually melt sugar to make the caramel sauce, but I know sweeteners do not melt like sugar does.
I want to make salted caramel pot de creme, but not sure if this would work.
Yes, this would probably work with flan.
Wow! I just finally made this. I can’t get swerve, and I only had a little bit of erythritol, so I went half erythritol and half measurable Splenda. Also, I didn’t really have enough molasses and was all out of blackstrap. But even so, it tastes amazing and so far no crystallizing. I mixed some with lightly toasted pecan pieces and put it on top of a pumpkin cheesecake. Later I’ll add the whipped cream on top. This is for my husband’s birthday cake and I’m pretty excited. Why did I wait so long to make this?
Glad it worked so well!
I this stuff. I have made it several times. I use salted butter and leave the salt out. It’s perfect!
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.
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.
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… !!
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?
No, there’s simply no way. Monkfruit will not caramelize. Sorry!
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.
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.
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
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.
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!!
I love it over ice cream, that’s my favourite.
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.
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!!!!
Can splenda be used? and if so how much? I don’t have swerve…
No, splenda will not caramelize like erythritol.
Actually, for the record, I DID make this yesterday with Splenda and Coconut Sugar, at the measurements listed, and it turned out great!
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!
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.
How much is serving in teaspoons?
1 tablespoon equals 3 teaspoons. So 6 teaspoons.