A sweet and salty low carb sugar free caramel sauce with only 1 gram total carbohydrate per tablespoon. And, there’s no sugar alcohol or fiber sweetener.
I’ve always been a lover of butterscotch and caramel. However, both of these typically require a heavy dose of sweeteners for the taste to be right.
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m moving away from using erythritol and fiber sweeteners. Instead, I’ve stocked up on both liquid and powder concentrated forms of monk fruit and stevia.
For monk fruit, I’ve been using this liquid and this powder. And for stevia, I mainly use this vanilla liquid stevia and this stevia powder. In this sugar free caramel sauce, I opted to use the liquid sweeteners.
I seem to be sensitive to both erythritol and fiber based sweeteners which is the main reason I avoid them. But, they also have carbs that are often subtracted for net carbs. Since they do seem to impact me, it’s best for me to avoid them all together.
Some may argue that keto dieters don’t need sweets. But, I enjoy them so I don’t want to give them up completely. However, I want to be smarter about the ingredients I use to make them.
Another reason why I didn’t want to use erythritol in this sugar free caramel sauce is that it can crystallize and make the product crunchy. Definitely not something I want in a dessert sauce!
I actually used a erythritol sweetener in my butterscotch pudding recipe. Unfortunately, it crystallized after refrigerating so I hope to rework that recipe using liquid sweeteners.
To make my sauce, I got inspiration from a browned butter salted caramel sauce at The Chunky Chef. The idea to add almond butter came from the vegan caramel sauce found at Pinch of Yum.
Not only does the almond butter add color, but it also thickens the sugar free caramel sauce. At first, I tried two tablespoons, but that was too much. So, I reduced it to only 1 tablespoon which was perfect.
For those on a paleo diet, I bet the butter could be replaced with ghee and coconut cream could be used in place of heavy cream. I’d like to give that a try the next time I make this sauce which will likely be very soon.
The sauce does harden up when it gets cold. I served it over some low carb vanilla ice cream and it got thick like fudge. And, the taste was amazing. I did use salted butter and it came out with a nice taste that was a cross between butterscotch and salted caramel.
I put the leftover sauce in the refrigerator and it did harden up, but is was still easily scooped from the jar. I think this sugar free caramel sauce would make a good filling for low carb candies.
When I have some time, I may experiment with using the sauce to make cookies or bars. One of the things that came to mind was Samoa cookies. Wouldn’t it be great to enjoy those again?
It does make a nice topping for ice cream. And, I bet it would be perfect for making a caramel swirl into homemade ice cream. I also enjoyed eating it right off the spoon.
What would you do with this low carb caramel sauce?
Low Carb Sugar Free Caramel Sauce Recipe
Low Carb Sugar Free Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter use salted if you like salty caramel
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon almond butter preferably unsalted
- 1/8 teaspoon vanilla liquid monk fruit sweetener more or less to taste
Instructions
- Melt butter in pan over medium heat until it turns golden brown and foamy. It's best to use a light colored pan so you can watch the color.
- Add in the heavy cream and almond butter to the browned butter. Stir to blend in. Then, lower heat and continue to stir frequently until sauce has thickened. If using unsalted butter and almond butter without salt, add in a dash of salt or more to taste.
- Remove from heat and stir in the sweetener drops. It's best to use right away as it hardens up as it gets cold and needs to be gently warmed to reuse.
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Notes
Nutrition
Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
About Lisa
Lisa has been creating low carb recipes for herself and sharing them with others since 2010. She loves to experiment in the kitchen and find new ways to create low sugar foods that taste like high carb favorites! Her recipes have been featured on popular magazine sites including Fitness, Shape, Country Living, Women's Health, and Men's Health. Lisa lives in Southeastern Connecticut. Connect with her and Low Carb Yum at:
Emily Kemp says
This looks so delicious, can’t wait to try it!
Rochelle says
Hi Lisa,
I too have problems with the plant fiber based sweeteners like Vita-Fiber as they boost my blood sugar but erythritol itself is fine for me but it could recrystalize in this recipe so I’ll stick with the liquid sweeteners. I’ve even got caramel stevia drops so will use that for an extra boost of caramel flavor. I’ll give your recipe a try with coconut milk instead of heavy cream and a vegan “butter” instead. I’m sure it would be fantastic. Thank you for the delicious sounding recipe!
Lisa says
I’ve moved to a paleo diet so I’ll give this one a try with coconut cream and ghee next time. The caramel flavored stevia will be a nice add!
Alice Schallert says
Sounds good
Lisa says
It thought it tasted pretty good too!
Stephen says
Thank so much for this. I am going to make it and pour it into my ice cream maker so that it can ribbon through my ice cream.
Lisa says
Just be sure to heat it up a little if you store it in the fridge. I’ll admit that I typically eat it with a spoon. 🙂
Steinthora says
Delicious
Lisa says
I’m glad you enjoyed the sauce!