This keto honey is thick, sweet, and made without any bee pollen or actual honey! Low in carbs and completely sugar free, it’s made with just 3 ingredients! 1 gram net carb per serving.
Keto Honey
When it comes to keto condiments, my favorite staples are almond butter, Nutella, and this keto honey.
Growing up, my staple breakfast or comfort food would always be honey on toast. I’m pretty sure for my entire schooling career, I ate this breakfast every single day. Whenever I was feeling unwell or it was a cold and cloudy day outside, I knew a slice of honey toast would always perk me up.
When I first moved out of home, many of my friends and family knew I wouldn’t starve as long as I had honey and a loaf of bread in my pantry. Since going keto, I’ve had to remove both those staples from my diet, however, I’ve been missing it like crazy and had to rectify that!
Is honey keto friendly?
Honey is not recommended as something to have on a keto diet, as it is primarily made of sugar, and even a small serving could kick someone out of ketosis. A single tablespoon can contain up to 30 grams of carbs!
Luckily, there are alternatives for fellow honey lovers out there. I’ve been meaning to share a keto honey recipe for quite some time. It isn’t as thick as traditional honey, but tastes just as good as it! It needs just 3 ingredients to make and the hard part is waiting for it to cool down!
No sugar and no bee pollen are needed, but you’d never tell. The texture is smooth, sticky, and perfectly spreadable. It’s sweet and has a strong honey flavor.
As someone who grew up eating honey on toast or drizzled over muffins, this low carb version has been a game changer for me- A delicious and nostalgic one!
How do you make a sugar free honey?
The Ingredients
- Xanthan gum– Thickens the honey and helps make it pourable and sticky.
- Water– You want the water to be warm, not boiling hot.
- Brown sugar substitute– I used swerve brown sugar, but golden monk fruit can also be used. If you don’t have either of these on hand, you can use allulose.
- Honey extract– The key ingredient! This extract gives a strong honey flavor, without any bee pollen or actual honey necessary!
The Instructions
In a small bowl, add the xanthan gum and half the warm water and whisk very well, until mostly dissolved. Add the remaining water and brown sugar substitute into a small saucepan and place it over medium heat. Once it begins to boil, add in the xanthan gum mixture and allow it to simmer, until it begins to thicken.
Now, remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk in the honey extract. Allow the honey to cool completely, before transferring to a sterilized jar or container and storing it in the refrigerator, to thicken even more.
Tips to make the best sugar free honey
- Do not worry if your honey is a little thin once removed from the stovetop. It will continue to thicken as it cools down, and even more once refrigerated.
- Use a good quality honey extract, as that makes all the difference. I prefer using LorAnn honey flavor, as it doesn’t dissipate over time.
- If you want to store the honey in jars, you must sterilize them appropriately.
Storing and freezing low carb honey
- To store: Honey is best stored in the refrigerator, covered. It will keep well for up to 4 weeks.
- To freeze: Place leftover honey in a freezer friendly container and store it in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Keto bread recipes to serve honey with
Keto Honey
Ingredients
- 2 cups water warm and divided * See notes
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 cup keto brown sugar I used swerve brown sugar ** See notes
- 1 1/2 tablespoon honey extract
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add half the warm water and xanthan gum. Whisk very well, until the xanthan gum has mostly dissolved.
- Add the remaining warm water and keto brown sugar into a small saucepan and place it over medium heat. Once it begins to boil, add the xanthan gum mixture and whisk very well. Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for 10-12 minutes, or until it has thickened.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk in the honey extract. Allow the honey to cool completely, before transferring to a container or sterilized jar and refrigerating it until it has thickened further.
Notes
Nutrition
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Hi!
Love your site!
My question: in your nutritional facts you state
Carb 1
Fiber 1
Isn’t the fiber deducted from the carb count???
Thank you
Carol
Your site isn’t allowing me to post. Says I already asked this question, however just got this email today????
Hi Carol! Yes 0 net carbs 🙂
You are simply brilliant my man Arman! Thanks much for sharing this. I know I will enjoy using it.
Hi! I just finished creating this wonderful substitute for the real honey that I can no longer have. It smells divine, I used all of the suggested ingredient brands, but I notice that it has a slightly bitter aftertaste? It’s not bad, but I was wondering if I did something wrong, or if it can be corrected somehow? Thanks!
Hi Sharon! What sweetener did you use?
I used Swerve Brown Sugar. The Honey flavoring seemed super strong, could 1 1/2 tablespoons have been too much?
I used the recommended sweetener, but I used the LorAnn’s Super Strength Honey Flavoring and this is what the ad says: “A little goes a long way! LorAnn’s super strength flavors are three to four times the strength of typical baking extracts.
When substituting super strength flavors for extracts, use ¼ to ½ teaspoon for 1 teaspoon of extract.”
Do you think 1 1/2 tablespoons was too much?
Hi Sharon! I think it depends on which batch of extract you get- mine needed the full 1.5 tablespoons but if you got a potent one, 1 teaspoon may be fine.
Thank you!
Made this keto honey today.
I didn’t have any honey extract so i skipped that and the “honey” tastes quite good anyway.
It didn’t thicken as much as i was expecting but it does the job. I used it to make a poppy seed filling and it worked great. And hopefully it will work in my keto hamantaschen dough too 😀
Why is it so hard now to save to PINTEREST? I used to be able to just touch the picture
Still works that way.
In your notes you say not to use erythritol as it may leave the honey gritty.
Just letting you know that brown swerve is made with erythritol.
Hi there! Have you tried allulose? We use our homemade keto brown sugar made with allulose 🙂
For the honey extract, does it matter if its water soluble or oil soluble?
Hi! Thanks for the recipe! Will this work in hot tea? Or is it best as a spreadable?
Best as a spreadable, but I don’t see why you can’t add some to tea.
Hi Arman, I have really missed cornbread baked in a cast iron skillet with honey. I have found promising keto recipes for both on your site. Hurrah! I’ m so glad to have found your recipes. Thanks so much, Carla in Oregon, USA. 🌲🌲🌲