Keto Candy
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Answer your sweet craving with my guilt-free keto candy recipe! Made with 3 ingredients and only 1 gram of net carbs, it’s a game-changer!
Why I love this recipe
There’s something special about hard candy (I’m looking at you, Werther’s Originals), and this keto candy recipe was a happy accident!
I was working on my keto caramel sauce recipe, but I went a little too high with the heat, and it turned into hard candy. Here’s why it’s become a new favorite:
- 3 Ingredients: Considering they’re mainly kitchen and pantry staples, you probably have them on hand right now.
- The perfect texture and flavor: With a caramel flavor and hard-candy texture, this seriously reminds me of those golden wrapped Werther’s!
- They’re so quick to make: The hardest part is waiting for them to firm up in the fridge.
- Easy to customize: This recipe is your call. I love adding crushed nuts or some flavor extracts, and my partner loves them coated in melted chocolate.
Key Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need, along with my kitchen notes. Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
- Butter. I used salted butter, as the salt brings out the sweetness of this low carb candy. If you use unsalted butter, add ¼ teaspoon of salt.
- Heavy cream. I recommend starting with room-temperature cream so it doesn’t scorch the pan. I take it out of the fridge about 20 minutes before I start prep work.
- Zero sugar sweetener. I used allulose, but monk fruit or keto brown sugar also works.
- Vanilla extract. Optional, but I like the subtle vanilla flavor a teaspoon of it adds.
How to make keto candy
Step 1- Prep. Line and grease an 8×8-inch baking dish with parchment paper.
Step 2- Combine the ingredients. In a deep pot, melt butter over medium heat. Once it has melted, add the sweetener, cream, and vanilla. Bring to a simmer and stir often until it begins to bubble. Use a candy thermometer to check the temperature. Once it reaches 145C/290F, remove it from the heat.
Step 3- Refrigerate. Spoon the candy mixture into the lined pan and refrigerate until firm. Once firm, break apart into pieces.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Invest in a candy thermometer. I usually find ways to work around certain kitchen gadgets, but it’s worth securing one for this recipe so you don’t burn the candy. They are around $5 on Amazon and well worth it.
- Use candy molds. I like my candies a bit rustic-looking, but you can use pre-formed molds if you prefer. Grease them with coconut or neutral oil before pouring in the liquid candy.
- Add mix-ins. You can add up to 1/4 cup of your favorite hard mix-ins without affecting the texture. I like crushed peanuts or walnuts.
- Coat in chocolate. Melt sugar-free chocolate chips and, using two forks, dunk the solid candies in the chocolate. Transfer them to a plate and refrigerate until firm.
3-Ingredient Keto Candy
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons butter salted
- 1 cup allulose * See notes
- 2/3 cups heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Line and grease an 8 x 8-inch baking pan with tin foil and set aside.
- In a deep pot or saucepan, add your butter and melt it over low heat. Once it has melted, add the sweetener, heavy cream, and vanilla extract, if using it, and bring it to a simmer. Once it begins to simmer, stir it regularly until it begins to bubble. Use a candy thermometer to check the temperature and once it hits 145C/290F, remove it from the heat.
- Transfer the candy into the lined pan and refrigerate until firm. Once firm, break apart into pieces.
Omg . So delicious .. tastes like Thornton’s. Takes quite a while to get to the temperature but so worth it
Thank you Lorraine! It’s such a treat this one 🙂 So glad you liked it!
Good and easy to make
Thank you for the lovely review, Sandra!
Is allulose safe for everyone. TY
Hi Barb- If your worried about allulose, I recommend speaking with a medical professional to make sure it’s suitable for you 🙂
Hi! I’m looking too make jolly rancher/fruit flavored candies, using water flavoring packets! The ones I buy aren’t as hard as the regular ones. Any suggestions/ideas?
Hi Ally- Hmmmm, are you wanting them to be like hard candy or fruit candy? I have a sugar free gummies recipe, but that’s more gummy candy.
I wonder if I can adapt this to make caramel popcorn? Any thoughts?
Hi Schatzi- I’ll be honest, I don’t think it will work when melted down over the popcorn. What would work is to mix it with popcorn, kind of like a mix-in. Let me know how you go!
Maybe try a little baking soda
(around a 1/4 to a 1/2tsp) to the mix once it’s done cooking it will fluff up then you can pour it over your popcorn
Would stevia work with this? Allulose makes me incredibly sick
Hi Allison! No, stevia won’t work sorry. It doesn’t dissolve like sugar and will yield a bitter taste. Allulose is the only sweetener that will turn into a hard candy.
I used low carb brown sugar and it worked great
I can’t get allulose in Canada, is there a substitute?
You could try a monk fruit/erythritol blend. You should be able to get close to the same texture!
I first made this last Christmas and now it’s an almost bi-weekly staple. I’m going to try baking them in cookies.
I love to hear that, Kathleen- I love how often you make it. Let me know how you go with baking them into cookies!
How much vanilla extract do you use and can you use other extracts such as orange, lemon, etc.
Thank you,
Carolyn
Hi Carolyn, 1 teaspoon should be fine and yes! You can certainly use other extracts to flavor the candy. Just make sure they’re not imitation flavors with added sugar.
These were great! I cooked only to 280* because I worried that my new thermometer may be off and we don’t like it too hard. It ended up the perfect texture of a caramel. Delicious and did not stick to teeth – yay! I used Skinny Monk, a monkfruit/allulose blend. I cut them into squares and wrapped separately in waxed paper. So nice to have something to satisfy a sweet tooth every now and then. My husband has a CGM and the candy didn’t spike his blood sugar AT ALL! Great recipe!
I was wondering if I didn’t heat it so high of it would be more like a chewy caramel. That’s really what I am looking for.
Yes- you can under-do it a little to make it more chewy 🙂
I doubled the recipe, but used 1 1/2 cups allulose (that’s all I had left). I spread chopped pecans on the bottom of the pan, poured the candy over. Once cooled, I melted 1 cup Lily’s semi-sweet chocolate chips with 1 tbsp shortening, and spread on top. I figured out all the calories and carb count and cut into 48 pieces; about 92 calories and 5 grams carbs per piece. SOOO good!
I’ve made this recipe several times and it’s delicious! Tastes just like caramel without sticking to your teeth! It’s also so delicious covered in sugar free chocolate sprinkled with sea salt!
I will mention, the first time I made it I used aluminum foil, and it was SO HARD to peel off. The subsequent times, I used parchment paper and it came off easy-peasy.
Thanks!
Would this be the correct consistency to make keto Snickers bars and other keto candy? I might go ahead and make it anyway, but I wanted to make some Snickers bars and I don’t want a runny Carmel or a very hard one. Thanks for your great recipes!
Just made them and we love them. I added caramel extract and loved the flavor.
I just dropped a small piece in my hot tea. Nice!
I don’t have candy thermometer, but the Thermapen that I use when grilling worked just fine. You are right you need to watch it every second because the temp went from 230 to 290 in seconds. I’m wondering if I add some organic sugar free peanut butter if I might end up with a PB fudge version?