This Keto Salted Caramel Sauce is just as delicious as traditional caramel sauce, but it won't spike your blood sugar levels! Made with allulose, a keto sweetener that doesn't crystallize, this recipe is just as good as the real thing.
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Please note: This post was originally published in December 2019, but has been republished with new photos and improved instructions. We hope you enjoy the new look!
You only need four main ingredients to make this yummy caramel sauce. It won't cause any blood sugar spikes, and it's luxurious and rich. The salted aspect is our favorite part!
If you've never made homemade caramel sauce before, don't stress! This recipe comes together in a few simple steps. There are no grainy bits in this sauce, and it's only 1 net carb per serving!
Looking for some keto desserts for this delicious keto caramel recipe? Make a keto version of this salted caramel hot chocolate, drizzle it on top of these keto apple crisp bars, or over top of this keto turtle cheesecake! You may also love this keto caramel slice!
Looking for a regular version made with sugar? Try our easy salted caramel recipe!
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❤️Why we love this recipe
- Made with simple ingredients - Truly you only need 4 staple ingredients to make this sauce! We added in vanilla extract because it just adds a lovely warm flavor, but it is optional. Everything needed for this recipe can be found at most grocery stores.
- The perfect caramel sauce - This sweet treat is one of our favorite ways to bring a dessert to the next level, with no added sugars. It produces a nice thick caramel, made with real ingredients that's perfect on a slice of apple pie, vanilla ice cream, and more.
- A great low-carb sweet treat - Whether you follow a keto diet or not, it can be a great idea to cut down on sugar when you can! This sugar-free caramel sauce recipe is just as delicious as any other homemade caramel sauce. It's made with almost exactly the same ingredients, but just a slightly different method and a sugar replacement.
🧈Ingredients
Here are the ingredients used for this recipe. You can find full quantities and nutritional information in the recipe card.
✏️Ingredient notes
- Salted butter - We recommend using high quality butter for this recipe, like grass-fed butter. Butter is a major component of the flavor in this recipe, so using something really tasty will make a big difference here.
- Allulose sweetener - This is our sweetener of choice for this recipe since it behaves like regular sugar. It won't crystallize when it gets cold, unlike other keto-friendly sweeteners. We don't recommend substituting this ingredient, or the texture will be off. Buy allulose on Amazon.
- Heavy whipping cream - Also known as whipping cream, and "double cream" for those of you who are outside of the US. It should be between 35 -35% milk fat.
- Kosher salt - The essential ingredient. We recommend using Diamond kosher salt if possible as the crystals dissolve quickly.
- Vanilla extract - Totally optional, but we think it really brings the flavor to the next level.
📖Instructions
📋Prep work
- Measure everything before you start. Seriously, this recipe comes together quickly and can burn easily, so there's no room for prepping anything while you make it.
Step 1 - Brown butter
We start by browning our butter. Technically, this step is optional, but it really brings the caramel sauce to the next level, so we highly recommend it!
To brown butter, melt butter over medium heat in a pan that is light in color so you can see the bottom.
Stir constantly with a rubber spatula until the butter starts to bubble up, and brown, and you smell a slightly nutty aroma. Immediately remove the pan from the heat.
Pro tip: Don't walk away from the butter, you have to keep it moving constantly.
Step 2 - Add cream & stir
As soon as the butter is browned and off the heat, you need to IMMEDIATELY add the heavy cream! Seriously, you'll want to do this right away so the brown butter doesn't burn.
Stir the cream to combine and cool off all the butter.
Step 3 - Add allulose & salt
Unlike traditional caramel sauce which starts with caramelizing the sugar first, we add the allulose at this step. Allulose, while almost the same as sugar, can begin smoking in the pan and burn if in there itself.
Add salt and stir to combine.
Step 4 - Return to the stovetop to thicken
Once your mixture is combined, return to the stove over medium-high heat and bring to a gentle boil (lightly bubbling), then reduce to low heat to simmer.
Allow the mixture to bubble and thicken, resisting the urge to stir for 10-15 minutes, until the caramel thickens. When you drag a rubber spatula on the bottom of the pan, it should create a clear separation. Once thickened, remove it from the heat.
Step 5 - Add vanilla
Once the caramel is off the heat, stir in the optional vanilla extract. It will bubble a bit, and deepen in color. Immediately remove from the pan, as the residual heat will continue to cook the caramel.
Step 6 - Serve and enjoy
Quickly transfer the caramel sauce into other containers, like mason jars.
We like to add a little bit of flaky sea salt on top when serving. The caramel sauce will thicken as it cools. Enjoy!
✨Tips & tricks
- Use high quality ingredients. There are definitely times we think that short cuts in recipes can be just as tasty, but using the best ingredients you can will make all the difference here. There are only 5 ingredients, so make them count!
- Don't leave the caramel alone. At all! Do not walk away from the caramel at any point. This is a recipe for disaster, as this recipe is all about the timing, and it can go from "done" to "burnt" easily.
- Use a light colored pan. This will allow you to monitor the caramel the easiest. You will want to be able to see the bottom to ensure you're not burning anything.
✏️Substitutions & variations
The ingredients are pretty straightforward, but here are a few simple swaps you can make
- Dairy free & vegan - Use dairy free/vegan butter, and coconut cream in place of
- Sweeter - We do recommend sweetening this recipe to taste, as everyone has different preferences. You can always add more if you like!
- Saltier - Feel free to add more salt to the mixture.
💭Frequently asked questions
If you want to make keto caramel syrup, the answer is, unfortunately, not really. While Swerve is normally our keto sweetener of choice, erythritol-based sweeteners and monk fruit sweeteners will sadly crystallize after they cool. That's why it's necessary to use allulose for this recipe.
Generally, when this happens, the mixture has warmed up or cooled off too quickly. If you notice your caramel is taking a while to come together, we recommend slowly increasing the temperature of the flame, rather than turning it up high quickly.
If the mixture becomes too hot, remove it from the heat momentarily and whisk constantly until the sauce begins to form again. Add the pan back to the stove over low heat, and gradually increase it to medium heat, whisking constantly to help it come together.
No! If you don't want to make this a salted caramel sauce, omit the added salt. However, we recommend using salted butter because caramel is too sweet on its own without any form of added salt.
All sweets need a little bit of salt to make them taste delicious and balance out the flavors.
⏲Equipment
Luckily, this recipe is pretty standard and you really don't need much to make it.
- We love our enameled cast iron skillet, as it's light in color so it's easy to see how the caramel is coming along. You can use any pan you prefer.
- If using enameled cast iron, make sure to use silicone or wooden utensils, so you don't scrape the bottom of the pan. We recommend using a rubber spatula so the caramel doesn't stick to it.
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🥣Storage
Allow to come to room temperature before storing away, as the sauce will be quite hot. Store leftovers in airtight containers like mason jars in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Do not freeze.
♨️Reheating
To reheat, microwave for 1-2, removing the caramel and stirring every 15 seconds.
Alternatively, you could put the jar in a saucepan with enough water to go about halfway up the jar. Gently simmer until the caramel is pourable.
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📖 Recipe
Keto Salted Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 71 grams salted butter (5 tablespoons. use high-quality butter, like grass-fed)
- 150 millileters heavy whipping cream (about ⅔ cup)
- 144 grams allulose sweetener (about ¾ a cup)
- 1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
Instructions
- Melt butter over medium heat in a light-colored pan. Stir constantly with a rubber spatula until the butter starts to bubble up, and brown, and you smell a slightly nutty aroma. Immediately remove the pan from the heat.
- As soon as the butter is browned and off the heat, IMMEDIATELY add the heavy cream. This will cool off the butter and prevent it from burning.
- Add allulose and salt and stir to combine. Once your mixture is combined, return to the stove over medium-high heat and bring to a gentle boil (lightly bubbling), then reduce to low heat to simmer.
- Allow the mixture to bubble and thicken, and don't stir for 10-15 minutes until the caramel thickens. When you drag a rubber spatula on the bottom of the pan, it should create a clear separation. Once thickened, remove it from the heat.
- Once the caramel is off the heat, stir in the optional vanilla extract. It will bubble a bit, and deepen in color. Immediately remove from the pan and transfer to storage containers, as the residual heat will continue to cook the caramel. The sauce will thicken as it cools.
- Store in the fridge in airtight containers for up to 2 weeks. Reheat slowly in the microwave, stirring between 15-second intervals of heating.
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Notes
- Always use allulose. Allulose is the only zero-calorie sweetener that acts like sugar and will not crystallize when it gets cold. Unfortunately, other keto sweeteners won't work for this recipe.
- Add salt and sweetener to taste. Please adjust this recipe to suit your tastes.
- Use high-quality ingredients. Sometimes we think that shortcuts in recipes can be just as tasty, but using the best ingredients will make all the difference here. There are only 5 ingredients, so make them count!
- Don't leave the caramel alone. At all! Do not walk away from the caramel at any point. This is a recipe for disaster, as this recipe is all about timing, and it can go from "done" to "burnt" easily.
- Use a light-colored pan. This will allow you to monitor the caramel the easiest. You will want to be able to see the bottom to ensure you're not burning anything.
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