Keto Meringues (and a Mini Pavlova)
These keto meringues are whisked from egg whites and powdered erythritol, then baked low and slow until crisp. Each of the 12 meringues has 0g net carbs. Use half the mixture for a mini pavlova topped with cream and berries, which has 2.6g net carbs a slice.
Crisp keto meringues are easier than you might think: egg whites, a stabiliser and a powdered sweetener, then a long, low bake. Because they're sweetened with powdered erythritol rather than sugar, each one has 0g net carbs. This recipe is based on some well-loved versions. Annie Lampella's keto meringue cookies on KetoFocus, rated 4.8 out of 5 from 27 ratings, whisk 4 egg whites with cream of tartar and a pinch of salt and add a powdered sweetener slowly. Martina Slajerova's low-carb meringues on KetoDiet Blog, rated 4.1 out of 5 from 121 ratings, bake erythritol meringues low and slow and leave them in the oven to dry, and suggest them for pavlova and Eton mess. Angela Nilsen's ultimate meringue on BBC Good Food gives the classic British method: 4 large whites, 110°C (100°C fan), gas ¼, and sugar added a spoonful at a time.
On Reddit's r/ketorecipes, a thread on how to make erythritol meringues that are crunchy and dry shares a recipe with 4 whites, powdered erythritol and cream of tartar, finished in the switched-off oven. A keto pavlova post bakes a large meringue round at 100°C for 90 minutes, then leaves it to cool in the oven. Our twist: we whisk in Groovy Keto Powdered Erythritol, and use half the mixture for a mini pavlova topped with double cream and British berries.
What we used: Groovy Keto Powdered Erythritol, a blend of erythritol and stevia. If you're wondering how it compares with icing sugar, our guide is icing sugar the same as powdered sugar? explains the difference.
Groovy Keto Powdered Erythritol
View productHow keto meringues compare with classic meringue
A classic meringue is egg white whisked with a lot of sugar. BBC Good Food's ultimate meringue uses 230g of sugar for 4 large egg whites, and its nutrition panel gives 14g carbs in each of its 16 servings. These keto meringues use 80g of powdered erythritol instead. That counts as carbohydrate on a UK label, but it's all polyols, so each keto meringue has 6.7g carbohydrate and 0g net carbs.
| Meringue | Carbs | Net carbs |
|---|---|---|
| Our keto meringue, 1 meringue | 6.7g | 0g |
| Our mini pavlova, 1 slice | 12.6g | 2.6g |
| Classic meringue, 1 of 16 (BBC Good Food) | 14g | 14g |
| Meringue, homemade, 100g | 96.0g | 96.0g |
| Meringue with cream, 100g | 27.2g | 27.2g |
| Pavlova with fruit and cream, 100g | 42.2g | 42.2g |
The per 100g figures are UK CoFID 2021 data for "Meringue, homemade" (12-517), "Meringue, with cream, homemade" (12-585) and "Pavlova, with fruit and cream" (12-552). The BBC Good Food figure is from its recipe's nutrition panel. Our figures are for 1 meringue (1/12 of the mixture) and 1 slice of the mini pavlova (1/4). Only ours contain polyols, so for the others net carbs are the same as carbohydrate.
Erythritol doesn't behave exactly like sugar in a meringue. These keto meringues come out lighter, drier and paler than sugar meringues, with a crisp, delicate shell rather than a chewy middle. Our guide to what meringue is explains how sugar works in a classic French meringue.
Tips for crisp keto meringues
- Use a spotless bowl. Any trace of grease or yolk stops the whites from whisking up. Glass or metal is best, as plastic can hold on to grease.
- Bring the eggs to room temperature. Cold whites take longer to whisk and give less volume. Separate them while cold, when it's easier, then leave them to stand for 30 minutes.
- Use a powdered sweetener. Granulated erythritol doesn't dissolve well in egg white and leaves the meringue gritty. A powdered blend whisks in smoothly.
- Add it slowly. A tablespoon at a time, as you would with sugar. BBC Good Food says adding sugar slowly helps stop meringue weeping later.
- Keep the oven low. Erythritol meringues can catch in a hot oven. On Reddit, one baker found theirs burning on top after just 15 minutes, so we bake at 110°C (100°C fan).
- Let them dry in the oven. Leaving them in the switched-off oven for at least an hour, as several of the recipes below do, gives a crisp shell and a dry centre.
Keto Meringues (and a Mini Pavlova)
- Prep time20 min
- Cook time1 hr 30 min
- Total time2 hr 50 min
- Makes12
- Net carbs0g each
Ingredients
For the meringues
- 4 large egg whites (about 140g), at room temperature
- ¼ tsp cream of tartar
- A pinch of fine sea salt
- 80g Groovy Keto Powdered Erythritol
For the mini pavlova topping (optional)
- 150ml double cream, fridge-cold
- 100g fresh raspberries
- 50g strawberries, hulled and halved
You will also need 2 baking trays, baking parchment, a large glass or metal bowl and an electric hand whisk. The total time includes 1 hour drying in the switched-off oven. Topping the pavlova takes about 5 minutes more.
Allergens: the meringues contain egg. The pavlova topping contains milk (cream). See the allergen notes under Nutrition.
Method
- Heat the oven. Heat the oven to 110°C (100°C fan), gas ¼. Line 2 baking trays with baking parchment rather than greaseproof paper or foil, which meringue can stick to. If you're making the mini pavlova, draw a 15cm circle on one sheet in pencil and turn the sheet over.
- Whisk the whites. Put the 4 egg whites in a large, spotlessly clean glass or metal bowl. Whisk them with an electric hand whisk on medium speed for about 1 minute, until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and the pinch of salt, then keep whisking until the whites hold stiff peaks.
- Add the sweetener. Turn the speed up and add the 80g Powdered Erythritol a tablespoon at a time, whisking for about 20 seconds after each spoonful. Then keep whisking for 3 to 4 minutes more, until the meringue is thick and glossy and stands in stiff peaks when you lift the whisk.
- Shape. Spoon 12 heaped dessertspoonfuls of the mixture onto the trays, leaving a little space between them, or pipe them as swirls. For the pavlova, spread half the mixture inside the circle, make a hollow in the middle with the back of a spoon, and shape 6 meringues with the rest.
- Bake. Bake on the middle shelves for 1½ hours, swapping the trays round halfway, until the meringues are dry and crisp, sound hollow when tapped underneath and lift off the paper easily. They will stay paler than meringues made with sugar.
- Dry in the oven. Turn the oven off and leave the meringues inside with the door closed for at least 1 hour, until completely cold. This dries out the centres. Then move them straight into an airtight tin.
- Top the pavlova. Just before serving, whip the 150ml double cream to soft peaks, spoon it into the hollow of the pavlova and pile the raspberries and strawberries on top. Cut it into 4 slices.
How to make a mini keto pavlova
A pavlova is a large meringue with a crisp outside, topped with cream and fruit. Half of this mixture makes one mini pavlova, about 15cm across, which serves 4. Bake it alongside the 6 smaller meringues, for the same time, and let it dry in the oven in the same way. Top it only just before serving, as the cream softens the meringue.
- The classic: softly whipped double cream with raspberries and halved strawberries, as in the recipe. Each slice has 2.6g net carbs.
- Lemon: swirl a few spoonfuls of our keto lemon curd through the cream.
- Keto Eton mess: break 2 or 3 of the small meringues into the whipped cream and fold in the berries.
- Christmas: a pavlova makes a light dessert after a big meal. Our keto Christmas guide has more festive recipes.
Changing the toppings will change the nutrition figures, so the table below is for the recipe as written.
Ways to flavour keto meringues
- Chocolate: fold 1 tbsp cocoa powder into the finished meringue, leaving a few streaks.
- Vanilla: whisk in the seeds from half a vanilla pod with the last spoonful of sweetener. We've left out vanilla extract, as some contain sugar; check the label if you use one.
- Lemon: fold in the finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon at the end.
- Mini nests: spoon the mixture into 6 small rounds, make a dip in each, and fill them with cream and berries once baked.
More about eggs and sweeteners
- Are eggs keto? Carbs in whole eggs, egg whites and egg yolks, with UK egg-size guides.
- What are polyols? Why erythritol appears under carbohydrate on UK labels.
- Keto fudge: another festive treat made with Powdered Erythritol.
If you're ordering Powdered Erythritol for Christmas baking, the last order date for Christmas delivery is 18 December 2026.
Storage
- Plain meringues: keep them in an airtight tin at room temperature, not in the fridge, where they go soft. BBC Good Food says its classic sugar meringues keep for up to 2 weeks like this. Keto meringues can soften sooner, especially on humid days. If they do, crisp them up in a 100°C (80°C fan) oven for 10 to 15 minutes and let them cool.
- Topped pavlova: it's best eaten straight away. Put any leftovers in the fridge within 1 to 2 hours and eat them within 2 days, although the meringue will soften.
The fridge times follow the Food Standards Agency's advice on how to chill, freeze and defrost food safely.
Nutrition
Per meringue (1/12 of the mixture) and per slice of the mini pavlova (1/4):
| Nutrient | Meringue | Pavlova |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 5 kcal | 193 kcal |
| Fat | 0g | 19.1g |
| of which saturates | 0g | 11.8g |
| Carbohydrate | 6.7g | 12.6g |
| of which sugars | 0g | 2.6g |
| of which polyols | 6.7g | 10.0g |
| Net carbs | 0g | 2.6g |
| Fibre | 0g | 1.4g |
| Protein | 1.3g | 2.7g |
| Salt | 0.09g | 0.16g |
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) and UK (McCance and Widdowson's CoFID) data for raw egg white (12-938), cream of tartar (17-358), salt (17-367), double cream (12-334), raw raspberries (14-375) and raw strawberries (14-324). Egg white has only a trace of carbohydrate. The pavlova column is half the meringue mixture plus all the topping, cut into 4 slices. Figures will vary with the size of your eggs. Each meringue contains 6.7g polyols from erythritol, and each pavlova slice contains 10.0g. Excessive consumption may cause a laxative effect.
Allergens: the meringues contain egg, and the pavlova topping contains milk (cream). The Powdered Erythritol pack says it contains sweeteners and is 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 meringue without sugar?
Yes. Egg whites whisk into a stable foam on their own, and powdered erythritol can be whisked in to sweeten them. The texture is different, though. Sugar makes a classic meringue glossy and slightly chewy, while erythritol gives a lighter, drier and more fragile meringue that stays paler. Bake it low and slow, then let it dry in the oven.
Why are my keto meringues sticky?
They are usually underbaked or have soaked up moisture from the air. Bake them until they lift cleanly off the paper, then leave them in the switched-off oven for at least an hour. Humid days and steamy kitchens soften meringues, so keep boiling pans away and put them in an airtight tin once cold.
How do you store meringues?
Keep plain meringues in an airtight tin at room temperature, never in the fridge, where they go soft. BBC Good Food says its classic sugar meringues keep for up to 2 weeks this way. Ours can soften sooner, so check them before serving, and add the cream and fruit to a pavlova only at the last minute. A topped pavlova is best eaten straight away. Put any leftovers in the fridge within 1 to 2 hours and eat them within 2 days, although the meringue will soften.
What can I do with the leftover egg yolks?
You'll have 4 yolks left over. Use them soon in a custard, a crème brûlée, hollandaise or homemade mayonnaise, or whisk one or two into scrambled eggs for a richer result. Keep them covered in the fridge until then. Separated yolks keep for up to 2 days. Hollandaise and homemade mayonnaise use raw or lightly cooked yolks, so the Food Standards Agency advises British Lion or Laid in Britain eggs for those dishes. That advice also covers vulnerable groups, except people who are severely immunocompromised and need a medically supervised diet. Our keto lemon curd uses whole eggs, but it makes a lovely sharp topping for the mini pavlova.
How many carbs are in a meringue?
A classic meringue is mostly sugar. UK CoFID data gives homemade meringue 96.0g carbohydrate per 100g, and BBC Good Food's ultimate meringue has 14g carbs in each of its 16 servings. Each of our keto meringues has 6.7g carbohydrate, and all of it is polyols from erythritol, which leaves 0g net carbs.
