Keto Salted Caramel Sauce (5 Ingredients)
This keto caramel sauce is made with brown butter, double cream and powdered erythritol, then finished with sea salt. Each tablespoon has 0.2g net carbs. It takes 20 minutes and makes about 16 tablespoons, enough to pour over a Christmas pudding or a few bowls of ice cream.
This keto caramel sauce is a buttery, salted sauce for pouring over puddings, ice cream and pancakes. It's sweetened with powdered erythritol rather than sugar, so each tablespoon has 0.2g net carbs. The recipe is based on some well-loved versions. Paola van der Hulst's 15-minute keto caramel sauce on gnom-gnom, rated 4.9 out of 5 from 71 ratings, browns the butter first, then simmers it gently with cream, sweetener and salt. Katrin Nürnberger's keto caramel sauce on her London-based blog, rated 5 out of 5 from 22 votes, has a version made with double cream and butter, and warns that erythritol sweeteners recrystallise a little as the caramel cools. The homemade salted caramel sauce on BBC Good Food gives the classic British method, with double cream, butter, brown sugar and salt.
On Reddit, a thread on r/keto about using an erythritol sweetener for caramel found that the sauce hardens in the fridge but softens again when it's warmed. On r/ketorecipes, a thread on erythritol crystallisation agrees that the crystals come back when cold, whatever you do, and that warming the dessert before eating is the answer. Our twist: we use Groovy Keto Powdered Erythritol with a small pinch of Groovy Keto Xanthan Gum for a glossy sauce, and serve it warm.
What we used: Groovy Keto Powdered Erythritol, a blend of erythritol and stevia, and Groovy Keto Xanthan Gum. For other ways to swap sugar in baking, see our guide to what to use instead of icing sugar.
Groovy Keto Powdered Erythritol
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Groovy Keto Xanthan Gum
View productHow keto caramel sauce compares with classic caramel
A classic caramel sauce starts with a lot of sugar. BBC Good Food's homemade salted caramel sauce uses 175g of light soft brown sugar with 300ml double cream, and its nutrition panel gives 23g carbs in each of its 8 servings. This keto caramel sauce uses 60g of powdered erythritol for 200ml double cream. Erythritol counts as carbohydrate on a UK label, but it's all polyols, so each tablespoon has 4.0g carbohydrate and 0.2g net carbs. The rest comes from the cream and butter.
| Food | Carbs | Net carbs |
|---|---|---|
| Our keto caramel sauce, 1 tbsp | 4.0g | 0.2g |
| Salted caramel sauce, 1 of 8 (BBC Good Food) | 23g | 23g |
| Toffees, mixed, 100g | 62.9g | 62.9g |
| Crème caramel, homemade, 100g | 28.7g | 28.7g |
The per 100g figures are UK CoFID 2021 data for "Toffees, mixed" (17-646) and "Crème caramel, homemade" (12-571). There's no CoFID entry for caramel sauce. The BBC Good Food figure is from its recipe's nutrition panel. Our figure is for 1 tablespoon (1/16 of the sauce). Only ours contains polyols, so for the others net carbs are the same as carbohydrate.
Erythritol doesn't behave exactly like sugar in a caramel. Sugar caramel gets its colour from the sugar itself browning, which erythritol doesn't do, so this sauce is a light golden amber rather than a deep brown, and it is softer and less sticky. It's also less sweet than BBC Good Food's version, so the brown butter and salt carry the flavour. Our guide to toffee vs caramel explains how classic caramel, toffee and butterscotch are made.
Tips for a smooth keto caramel sauce
- Use a powdered sweetener. Granulated erythritol doesn't dissolve fully in this little liquid and recrystallises as the sauce cools, leaving it gritty or crunchy. A powdered blend dissolves into the warm butter and cream much more easily.
- Brown the butter well. Erythritol doesn't caramelise like sugar, so the colour and toasty flavour come from the browned butter, and from the cream as it simmers. A light-coloured pan lets you see the colour change.
- Keep the heat low. A hard boil can split the sauce. If it does, gnom-gnom's tip is to take it off the heat, let it stand for about 5 minutes, then put it back on a low heat and whisk in a tablespoon of water.
- Only a pinch of xanthan. ⅛ tsp is enough to give a glossy, clingy sauce. Katrin Nürnberger whisks in ¼ tsp to set her caramel firm enough for fudge, so more will make it thick and gloopy.
- Let it cool before chilling. On Reddit's r/keto, one baker found their caramel separated when it went into the fridge straight from the pan. Let it cool first, but get it into the fridge within 1 to 2 hours.
- Warm it to serve. Erythritol crystallises again when it's cold. Gentle warming dissolves the crystals and makes the sauce smooth and pourable again. Reheat leftovers gently until steaming hot, without letting it boil, and reheat only once.
Keto Salted Caramel Sauce (5 Ingredients)
- Prep time5 min
- Cook time15 min
- Total time20 min
- Makesabout 16 tbsp
- Net carbs0.2g a tbsp
Ingredients
- 50g unsalted butter
- 60g Groovy Keto Powdered Erythritol
- ⅛ tsp Groovy Keto Xanthan Gum
- 200ml double cream, at room temperature
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
You will also need a light-coloured medium saucepan, a small whisk and a clean jar. The total time doesn't include the 10 minutes the sauce rests in the pan before serving.
Allergens: contains milk (butter and cream). See the allergen notes under Nutrition.
Method
- Get everything ready. Weigh everything before you start, because brown butter can go from golden to scorched in seconds. In a small bowl, mix the 60g Powdered Erythritol with the ⅛ tsp xanthan gum, which stops the xanthan forming lumps.
- Brown the butter. Melt the 50g butter in a light-coloured medium saucepan over a medium-low heat. It will foam, then go quiet. Keep stirring for 4 to 5 minutes, until the specks on the bottom of the pan turn hazelnut brown and the butter smells nutty.
- Add the sweetener and cream. Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the sweetener mix. Then pour in the 200ml double cream slowly, whisking all the time, as it will bubble up.
- Simmer. Put the pan back on a low heat and let it bubble gently for 8 to 10 minutes, whisking often, until it turns a deeper golden amber, reduces a little and coats the back of a spoon. Don't let it boil hard, or it can split.
- Season. Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the ¼ tsp salt.
- Cool and serve. Leave it in the pan for 10 minutes, as it thickens as it cools. Serve it warm, or pour it into a clean jar, let it cool and put it in the fridge within 1 to 2 hours.
Ways to use keto caramel sauce
- Christmas pudding: pour it warm over a slice of our keto Christmas pudding instead of brandy butter.
- Ice cream: spoon it warm over a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and add a few flakes of sea salt.
- Blondies and brownies: drizzle it over a warm square. Our guide to what a blondie is explains how blondies differ from brownies.
- Pancakes: pour it over a stack of keto pancakes with a spoonful of double cream.
Adding toppings or extras will change the nutrition figures, so the table below is for the sauce as written.
Ways to vary keto caramel sauce
- Plain caramel: leave out the salt, or use just a pinch.
- Vanilla: stir in the seeds from half a vanilla pod with the salt.
- Thicker, for dipping: simmer it for 2 to 3 minutes longer. It will be thicker still once it cools.
- Darker: brown the butter a little further, until it's a deep hazelnut colour, but take it off the heat before it smells scorched.
More about sweeteners and festive treats
- What are polyols? Why erythritol appears under carbohydrate on UK labels.
- Keto fudge: another festive treat made with Powdered Erythritol.
- Keto Christmas guide: more festive recipes and ideas.
If you're ordering Powdered Erythritol for Christmas baking, the last order date for Christmas delivery is 18 December 2026.
Storage and reheating
- Fridge: let the sauce cool, then put it in the fridge in a clean, covered jar within 1 to 2 hours. BBC Good Food says its salted caramel sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead and chilled. Because this sauce is made with fresh cream, we suggest using it within 2 days, following the Food Standards Agency's leftover advice. It thickens and may turn grainy in the fridge.
- Reheating: warm only what you need in a small pan over a low heat, or in the microwave in 10-second bursts, stirring until smooth. Add a teaspoon of double cream if it's very thick. Reheat leftovers gently until steaming hot, without letting it boil, and reheat only once.
The 1 to 2 hour cooling window and the 2-day fridge life follow the Food Standards Agency's advice on how to chill, freeze and defrost food safely.
Nutrition
Per tablespoon (1/16 of the sauce):
| Nutrient | Per tbsp |
|---|---|
| Energy | 82 kcal |
| Fat | 8.9g |
| of which saturates | 5.6g |
| Carbohydrate | 4.0g |
| of which sugars | 0.2g |
| of which polyols | 3.8g |
| Net carbs | 0.2g |
| Fibre | 0g |
| Protein | 0.2g |
| Salt | 0.10g |
Net carbs are carbohydrate minus polyols. On UK labels, fibre is already listed separately from carbohydrate, so it isn't subtracted again. Our guide to polyols explains why erythritol counts as carbohydrate. Figures are calculated from the Powdered Erythritol pack (per 100g: 0 kcal, 100g carbohydrate, of which 0g sugars and 100g polyols), the Xanthan Gum product page (per 100g: 320 kcal, 4.6g carbohydrate, 74.9g fibre, 6g protein, 1.5g salt) and UK (McCance and Widdowson's CoFID) data for unsalted butter (17-661), double cream (12-334) and salt (17-367). They are for the whole batch divided into 16, so they don't depend on how far you reduce the sauce. Each tablespoon contains 3.8g polyols from erythritol. Excessive consumption may cause a laxative effect.
Allergens: the sauce contains milk (butter and cream). The Powdered Erythritol pack and the Xanthan Gum product page say they are packed in a facility where there may be traces of nuts, cereals, milk and eggs. Always check the current labels before cooking for anyone with an allergy.
FAQ
Can you make caramel without sugar?
Not a true caramel, which is sugar heated until it browns. Erythritol doesn't brown like sugar, so this sauce gets its colour and toasty flavour from browned butter and simmered cream instead. It tastes buttery and toffee-like, and it pours like a caramel sauce. It's paler and a little thinner than a classic caramel, though, and it won't set into chewy caramels.
Why did my keto caramel go crunchy?
Erythritol crystallises again as it cools, especially in the fridge, so the sauce can turn grainy or even crunchy. Granulated erythritol and extra sweetener make it worse. Warm it gently and stir, and the crystals dissolve again. Using a powdered sweetener, sticking to 60g and adding a splash of cream when you reheat it all help.
How long does caramel sauce keep in the fridge?
Because it's made with fresh cream, let it cool, then put it in the fridge in a clean, covered jar within 1 to 2 hours. BBC Good Food says its salted caramel sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead and chilled. Because ours is a fresh cream sauce, we suggest using it within 2 days, following the Food Standards Agency's leftover advice. It thickens and may turn grainy when cold. Reheat leftovers gently until steaming hot, without letting it boil, and reheat only once.
Can you reheat it?
Yes. Spoon out only what you need and warm it in a small pan over a low heat for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring, or in the microwave in 10-second bursts, stirring in between, until it's smooth and pourable. If it's very thick, stir in a teaspoon of double cream. Reheat leftovers gently until steaming hot, without letting it boil, as it can split, and reheat only once.
How many carbs are in caramel sauce?
A classic caramel sauce is mostly sugar. BBC Good Food's homemade salted caramel sauce has 23g carbs, all of it sugars, in each of its 8 servings. Each tablespoon of our keto caramel sauce has 4.0g carbohydrate, of which 3.8g is polyols from erythritol, which leaves 0.2g net carbs.
