Finally ... sugar free caramel squares are here!!!
At just 1g net carb per square, these are an absolute winner - oooh, and did I mention they taste like salted caramel (discover my secret ingredient below).
Sugar-Free Caramel
I have been trying to develop a healthy keto caramel but every time I tried, the caramel never set or didn't taste quite right. Then I discovered two things that changed everything.
Firstly, the sweetener. I tried using regular erythritol or stevia/erythritol then added vanilla. And the vanilla tasted great, but not 100% the taste I was going for.
So I used golden sweetener. This really made the difference. It tastes a little like brown/golden/raw sugar and really adds to the caramel flavour. If you can't get hold of it in your country, you can still use your regular sweetener, simply add vanilla to the filling.
Secondly, I love salted caramel and thought there had to be a way to achieve this flavour with sugar-free caramel.
Can you guess my secret ingredient? Sour cream!!! Yes, it makes the-most-incredible salted sugar-free caramel. Who would have thought?
Healthy Salted Caramel
My healthy caramel square has a tasty vanilla gluten-free almond base, salted sugar-free caramel filling, then a creamy 90% chocolate topping.
They are a triple layer keto treat. And the yummy caramel doesn't require 30 minutes of boiling, that some other keto caramel sauces do - yay!
You know I love to make Real Food, Real Easy.
Healthy Keto Baking
If you are new to keto baking, these simple recipes are great for beginners. Remember, these are to be enjoyed occasionally. We need to cut back on the frequency of sweet baking appearing in our weekly meal plan.
Do you love chocolate? Raspberries? Waffles? I've got you covered.
- No bake chocolate peppermint squares
- Keto waffles + VIDEO
- Salted peanut butter cups + VIDEO
- Raspberry swirl cheesecake + VIDEO
- Meringue roulade
- Coconut bars
- Keto sugar-free caramel slice + VIDEO
Please rate this recipe.
Sugar-Free Caramel Squares Recipe
Recipe Video
Calculate ingredients
Ingredients
Almond Vanilla Base
- 150 g (1.5 cups) almond meal/flour
- 50 g (0.5 stick) butter melted
- 2 tablespoon granulated sweetener, of choice or more to your taste
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 eggs - medium medium
Salted Sugar-Free Caramel Filling
- 330 g (3 sticks) butter
- 150 g (5.3 oz) sour cream
- 4 tablespoon granulated sweetener, golden flavour or more to your taste
Chocolate Topping
- 100 g (3.5 oz) 90% dark chocolate
- 25 g (2 tablespoon) butter
Instructions
Almond Vanilla Base
- Mix all the ingredients together. Press into a square baking dish that has been lined with baking parchment.
- Bake at 180C/350F for 10 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Salted Sugar-Free Caramel Filling
- In a saucepan, add all the ingredients and melt on a low heat and mix with a hand whisk until the caramel is lump free.
- Remove from the stove top and allow to cool. Then pour the cooled caramel on top of the cooled almond base. Pop in the refrigerator.
Chocolate Topping
- Gently melt the butter and 90% chocolate together. Do not boil and do not allow to overheat. Remove from the heat and allow to cool before pouring it over the cooled caramel filling.
- Set in the fridge then cut into squares. I managed to cut mine in 6x6 = 36 squares. Trust me, you don't need much of this keto treat to satisfy.
Notes
5-INGREDIENTS COOKBOOK
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YOUR HOLIDAY PANTRY & GIFT GUIDES
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Approximate nutrition information is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. For the most accurate nutritional data, use the actual ingredients and brands you used in your preferred nutrition calculator.
Georgia
I've made this once previously and it was so delicious!
Can't wait to make it again, although I have since gone dairy free - is there any substitute such as dairy free margarine or coconut oil that could be used in place of the butter here? I can find vegan sour cream at my local supermarket so that should hopefully work. Thanks for the amazing recipe!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
I'm so sorry, but no. This recipe is so butter heavy that it would be difficult to substitute the butter for another oil. The butter really is part of the caramel flavour. And I avoid all kinds of margarine as their fats are inflammatory and often contain seed oils which are high in omega 6 (inflammatory). I'm so sorry, I usually love to give substitutions where at all possible, but this one would need a lot of development to replace the butter for another ingredient. How about trying my sugar-free coconut squares? They are dairy-free.
Sue
Does removing the chocolate topping affect the recipe?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
It will change the nutrition panel, and it will be tricky to hold and eat, but if you only want the base and the caramel filling, then go for it!
Levin Romero
I am planning on making this for my mother next Valentine’s Day was she is head over heels for salted caramel, but the problem is that she isn’t that much of a chocolate fan, so I was wondering if removing the chocolate topping affects the recipe drastically?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
See the previous reply. Go for it.
Jessie
Hi - when I try to cut the slice the chocolate cracks and I cannot get perfect square bits like you do - where am I going wrong?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
It can sometimes help to heat your knife under hot water, it cuts the slice beautifully.
Sue
I liked the fact that I didn’t have to stand over a stove for half an hour thickening the custard however I found your version as soon as it comes out of the fridge, the custard melts and goes runny!! Suggestions??
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
It is best stored in the fridge and only remove 1 piece at a time so it is cool, set solid and because you only bring 1 piece out at a time, it is hard to overindulge 🙂
Emilee J Pitkin
Hi! I just tried this recipe and the caramel just tasted like butter. What did I do? I followed the recipe to the letter.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
The cream and golden flavour sweetener should make it tastes like caramel (or near enough). Maybe try some additional caramel essence next time? That gives a real caramel punch.
Susan
Libby, in your reply to Pam on November 20, 2019, you mentioned cream cheese, but your recipe doen't mention chreem cheese. Should it, and if si, how much?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Apologies, that reply should have mentioned sour cream, not cream cheese. However, cream cheese would be wonderful in this recipe.
Pam
Ok. I did something wrong. My filling is like soup.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Did you add enough butter? That alone should make it set in the fridge. Did you use regular or low-fat sour cream? It will not set with the low-fat version.
Sonja
what size pan did you use to get a nice thick slice of these.
Want to try them in the next couple of days.
Thanks
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
It was my small blue ceramic dish which is 20x20cm (8x8 inch). Enjoy 🙂
Holly Houg
I made these today. They were very delicious! I added a pinch of salt to the "caramel" layer and it definitely seemed more like a vanilla pudding consistency rather than caramel to me. Still yummy though! Thank you for sharing!
Claire
I have just made these and they are perfect and delicious. There is a lot of them though and I’m not sure they will get eaten within a few days...can they be frozen? Can the recipe be halved with no problems?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Yes, the recipe can be halved, no problem there. I have never frozen them so can't speak with 100% experience but I would suspect they would freeze well. Pre-slice them before freezing so you can remove one or two slices as you require them.
Carleen
OK so I am OBSESSED with all your recipes and decided to mix some your other recipes with this one. I took your chocolate coconut base from your mint cheesecake squares and used that for this recipe and added caramel essence to the caramel and omg it was a PERFECT caramel tasting square ever! Thank you so much for you wonderful recipes 🙂
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Eeeeeek - genius idea!!!!
Shelley
Could this be done with coconut flour?
Tammy wike
My caramel sauce didn’t thicken up. It remained soupy.. and I’m sad! Lol what could I have done wrong?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
I bet it still tastes yummy 😉 No seriously, it will thicken on cooling. The butter in the caramel sauce will harden and set the sour cream.
Pauline
I haven't made this yet, but it sounds like a huge amount of butter.
Cosmic
Could you please link to the actual product on the Amazon instead of the "buy" link? I want to be able to look at the items you're using to compare to what I'm currently using, and that's hard to do because it won't let me actually look at the item from the "buy" page.
Shirley James
Can you post the measurements I don't have a kitchen scale.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Below each recipe there are two large red buttons, they swap the measurements between weight (grams) or by cups. You can easily choose which one you prefer to cook by 🙂
Silvia
Hi, can i put just a sprinkle of salt in the caramel thingy? i feel like i need a more salty taste. 🙂
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Sure thing!
Beth
Hi there,
How long does the slice last in the fridge? Does it need to be frozen?
thanks!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
I would keep this in the fridge for up to 3 days (not that it ever lasts that long in my house with 3 hungry kiddos).
Tim
Would there be a fundamental difference if I used 50% fat sour cream to reduce calories further? I'm not strictly keto, so fats aren't overly a concern, just looking methods to make some satiating treats as I train and follow a strict diet.
I have noted down so many of your recipes both sweet and savory and I was wondering if using low fat cream versions i.e. cream cheese and sour cream will make a real difference across the board.
Also touching on you sweeteners point. Try MyProtein flavour drops, zero cals and i am hooked ha.
Love the recipes and hoping for the answer I want xD
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
All of my recipes require full-fat dairy to allow them to set. If for example you used 50% fat sour cream in this recipe, or low-fat cream cheese in a cheesecake or fat bomb, they will not set properly. The same applies to the spreadable cream cheese that is not recommended for the same reason. I'm chuffed you are enjoying my recipes.
Glenda
For the caramel I wasn't sure how long to leave it on the heat as the lumps went pretty well straight away.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
It only needs to be warmed through so it sets well and doesn't separate. Easy peasy!
Verity Laird
My caramel separated and I had the butter on top what did I do wrong
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Sometimes that happens with a lot of melted butter, especially if it is too hot. Just pop it back into the fridge, allow it to cool slightly then they should mix in together nicely.
Abby
Hi Libby,
I can't seem to find almond flour at the supermarket. Please could you recommend an alternative if there is one?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Can you find ground almonds or almond meal? They will all do perfectly well instead of almond flour.
Joyce
With 1 1/2 c butter,1/3 c sour cream and sweetener , it sounds like a layer of butter over the crust. Not really caramel is it?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Well ... considering caramel is basically sugar, then no.
Ang
This reply made my day!
Dee
Very funny!
Myra Billson
So where's the salt??
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
There isn't any! The sour cream gives it a gentle bitter/salt taste - genius!
Ashley
Hi. This looks so yummy! But can I make it without the crust? My husband is allergic to almonds so we don’t use the flour. I’m hoping I can still make the filing and it can set up ok cause I have been wanting something caramel for a while now! Thanks so much.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Yes you can make this without the crust but you would have to possibly freeze the filling as is not sturdy enough to be picked up on its own. Alternatively, you could freeze it in chocolate molds then dip in chocolate - that will be yummy.
Sonia Mehrotra
Hi....is the caramel sticky and gooey or firm and dry like toffee after cooling? Thanks.
Sonia Mehrotra
I had one more question...in the absence of golden sweetener, can I use a combination of erythritol and blackstrap molasses? If yes, could you please recommend how much of each to get the desired caramel flavour. Thanks
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
I guess you could use black strap molasses, but then it would no longer be sugar free. Sorry I would love to give you a substitution quantity for each, but I have never used blackstrap molasses. Play around with the quantities and see what the flavour tastes like and come back and let me know 🙂
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
The sugar-free caramel sets to become a mousse like texture not a dry toffee.
Janet Moles
Hi, My doctor strongly recommends staying away from erythritol. I notice that you use it in some of your reciepes. When I fist discovered it. It seemed too good to be true as it was so easy to bake without using sugar. Pure monk fruit which is very sweet without an aftertaste is just a powder and doesn't have the benefits of bulk or granulation needed in baking. If anyone finds something great without erythritol, let us know.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
I personally like it but simply say "granulated sweetener" so each reader may choose their own sugar-free sweetener that they prefer. You may wish to read my Ultimate Guide To Low-Carb Sweeteners. I discuss all the sweeteners I use and which ones I avoid in the article 🙂
Wen
If you don't mind sharing his reason, why does your doctor suggest staying away from erythritrol? I have wonderered about a health professional's take on using it.
Leisa
Hi Libby
Do you think either sukrin gold or fibersirup gold (I have both of these) would work in the caramel instead of the gold sweetener you recommend? If so would it be the same quantities?
Kind regards
Leisa
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
The syrup probably wouldn't work as it would add too much liquid to the caramel centre. Sukrin gold would be lovely.
Rene'
I can't wait to try this! I love that you offer the option of weighing the ingredients. I wish all recipes were in this format. It makes everything so much more exact! Thank you for this yummy looking recipe!