These Keto Pecan Pralines are creamy and sweet with toasted pecans throughout. My Pecan Pralines Recipe cooks in about ten minutes and is ready to eat in under an hour. They are low carb, sugar-free, gluten-free, grain-free, keto, and a THM S.
Ever since my husband and I went to New Orleans for our first anniversary pralines have been one of my favorite treats. I was thrilled to come up with a low carb sugar-free version.
My first attempt was good, but not great. Those were too crunchy. More like Candied Pecans. Those are great for salad. One of my favorites is fresh baby spinach with strawberries, feta, and some of my chopped candied pecans.
But this creamy pecan pralines recipe is just like the ones sold in New Orleans. Ever since our 1st anniversary trip to NOLA I've occasionally ordered Aunt Sally's Pralines online. Now I don't have to. There are several types of pralines throughout the world. These are the best.
When I decided to play around with my original recipe today I had high hopes and they were fulfilled.
How to Make Pecan Pralines
To make pralines you basically make a caramel type sauce, add the pecans, and let them set. It is easier than you think and my method doesn't even require a candy thermometer.
Just cook some of the butter with sweetener and cream. Add the rest of the butter, vanilla, salt, and your toasted pecans. Drop spoonfuls onto parchment paper and let them cool. That's it!
How do I know when my keto pecan pralines are done?
The photo above is a good representation of the color you are looking for when cooking this praline recipe. You want the mixture to get thick, turn golden, and smell fragrant.
I do not use a candy thermometer because it is hard to temp such a small amount of caramel. If your caramel looks like my photos you are good!
How do I toast pecans?
I simply put a cookie sheet of pecans in a 400-degree oven for 5-8 minutes. I check them frequently. Nuts are pricey and I've burned enough to know not to forget about them.
You want to take them out with the edges get slightly darker and they smell fragrant. If you taste one the flavor should be stronger than with a raw nut.
How to store pralines:
I recommend storing these at room temp and eating them within 2 days. If you want to store them longer you can refrigerate them but they will get a little firmer and the sweetener may crystallize turning them whiteish. They are still delicious!
American cream-based pralines
French settlers brought the recipe to Louisiana, where both sugar cane and pecan trees were plentiful. During the 19th century, New Orleans chefs substituted pecans for almonds, added cream to thicken the confection, and thus created what became known throughout the American South as the praline.
Pralines have a creamy consistency, similar to fudge. They are usually made by combining sugar (often brown), butter, cream or buttermilk, and pecans in a pot over medium-high heat, and stirring constantly until most of the water has evaporated and it has reached a thick texture with a brown color. This is then usually dropped by spoonfuls onto wax paper or a sheet of aluminum foil greased with butter, and left to cool.
'Pralines and Cream' is a common ice cream flavor in the United States and Canada. In New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, pralines are sometimes called "pecan candy". Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praline
If you love this Creamy Pecan Pralines Recipe make sure to also take a look these:
Pecan Praline Brownies - fudgy brownies topped with a rich praline topping
Pecan Praline Ice Cream - homemade vanilla ice cream with ribbons of praline running through
Pecan Praline Cookie Bars - just like a pecan pie, but a bar instead
Chocolate Pecan Pralines - the classic but with chocolate
Keto Toffee - layers of chocolate around a crisp nutty toffee
Did you realize yet how much I love these pecan pralines?
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Keto Pecan Pralines
Ingredients
- 1 cup pecans toasted
- 5 tablespoon butter divided
- 6 tablespoon light cream (or heavy cream)
- ⅓ cup Joy Filled Eats Sweetener (or see alternatives in recipe notes)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Combine 4 tablespoon of the butter with the sweetener and cream over medium heat. Stir until sweetener is dissolved.
- Cook until it is a deep golden brown. As soon as it reaches that deep color (right before burning) remove from the heat and immediately add the other 1 tablespoon butter and vanilla. Stir until smooth.
- Add the salt and toasted pecans. Drop by spoonfuls onto on wax paper. Refrigerate just until firm.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Originally Published March 9, 2016. Revised and Republished March 16, 2020.
Jessica says
I made these today but they came out more like caramel; smooth and soft. Not like a praline. Did I cook too long or maybe not enough? The flavor is amazing though. I think I’m going to dip in Lily’s chocolate and make turtles. But I still want to figure out what I did wrong.
Taryn says
You did not cook it long enough.
Amanda C says
I just made these and they are SO good!
I used a half/half mixture of granulated xylitol (NOW brand) and confectioners erithrytol (Anthony's brand) to fill up the 1/3 cup sweetner.
Cindy Scott says
I have always loved Pralines! But I just can’t have sugar anymore, This was a great find for me! Thank you so much. I am looking forward to more of your recipes.
Roberta Cruz says
I found out using off brand butter did not work for me, It separated. So live and learn!
Taryn says
That's interesting because I normally just use store brand butter. I've found that if the heat is too high it can cause separation.
Victoria says
I made these for my husband (who is on keto) yesterday. They tasted delicious. I used your sweetener blend and followed the recipe to the T. However, I feel like they should've been more firm. They were more of a chewy caramel and when I spooned them into the sheet pan the mixture was too thin and runny. Any suggestions on how to improve that for next batch?
Taryn says
You just need to cook them a little longer.
Brenda J Jackson says
This tastes great but I have made it 3 times following the recipe and have never gotten that golden brown color. Even after cooking it for 20 min of cooking with at least 15 min of boiling it didn't get golden brown.
Taryn says
Which sweetener are you using?
Virginia Shidal says
I made these per recipe and found them to be so dry that I made more of the praline sauce to add to the mixture. They were still crumbly and had no excess candy around the pecans when scooped onto the tray to chill. BUT, the KETO fans and nonKETO diners were impressed with the flavor and ate every one after dinner. That being said I guess I will be trying this again using about 1/2 the number of nuts to see what happens. It could then be 5 star.
Taryn says
It sounds like you overcooked them. If they don't look like my photos, and you used the same amounts without substitutions, too much of the liquid cooked off. I'm glad you still liked the flavor.
Meg McWhirter says
I just made these❣️ I used Allulose as the sweetener. So amazingly delicious . I used a mixture of pumpkin seed, toasted hazelnuts, pecans and walnuts and sliced almonds#, all chopped roughly. Creamy delicious. Perfectly set. I would add a picture if I knew how. Gorgeous!
D NATHAN MEEHAN says
Swerve granular works but will be a bit grainier
Cecilia says
I made these again last week after taking a long break from Keto. Just finished off the last one. I’ve always kept mine in the fridge. I might have to try one sitting out. This time, I melted some Lily’s chocolate chips and drizzled it on top and then sprinkled some sea salt. It’s the one thing that has kept me going. Thank you for this recipe.
Anne-Laure says
Thanks a lot! This recipe is SO delicious...I can't help myself taking a bite each time i'm near my kitchen ^^'
But my batch did not firm. It's goey but OH SO GOOD!!
I followed every step, even made your sweetener blend. Did i miss something?
Asiyah says
OMG, I've tried so many keto pecan treat recipes and they never come out well. These are the BEST keto pecan treats everrrrr <3 <3 <3
Kimm says
HOLY CRAP!!! THESE ARE SLAP YO MOMMA GOOD!!!! Confectioners Swerve worked perfectly
Katie Tucker says
These were so delicious and quenched my candy craving on the keto diet! I used granulated Swerve and it worked beautifully. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
Treneisha Ruffin says
Can you use swerve confectioners, as I don’t have anything else?
Taryn says
I have not tested this with swerve. In theory, I think it will work but I'd suggest trying a smaller batch first to test it.
Sue Brandriet says
I made this recipe twice. Both times my butter separated before it turned color. I did use stevia as another comment stated. What went wrong?
Taryn says
Which brand of stevia did you use? I do not recommend swapping out sweeteners in candy recipes because I do not test them out.
Gretchen Roberts says
I made this last week and it turned out fine. My family requested I make more - so today I tried 3 times and every time today the butter separated and had solid stuff at the bottom. I have no idea what the difference was! If you figure it out, can you let me know too? 🙂 I'm a Louisiana girl who would regularly make pralines in the fall. When making traditional, I always waited until it was cool and dry. Funny thing is, when I made them a few weeks ago it was rainy (because I didn't know if it mattered with keto pralines) and today was cool and dry! 🙁
Taryn says
I didn't know the humidity could effect it that much. My only thought was your stove heat may have been a bit different? Do you have a gas stove or electric? If that happens again try adding a pinch of xanthan gum and whisk like crazy. It should reincorporate.
Loretta says
I love the taste.....but...... my crystallized, sweetener. I’ve made , keto/ low carb candies, cookies before and that has never happened before😞 Please tell me what I did wrong...I’ll take tips you want to share.
Thank you!!
Taryn says
Sugar alcohols do tend to crystallize. Did you put them in the refrigerator? That speeds up the process. I love these the most when they are freshly made. After time they can crystallize.
Janet Carter says
Just made these waiting for them to cool. Does anyone know when you put them in the refrigerator when they'll be chilled or firm?
Mona says
Thanks for the recipe my husband and I are both diabetics and I’ve been looking for a recipe with no sugar!! Thank you so much
Christy says
Oh my goodness!!! These are fantastic!!! I used Monk Fruit Sugar. Came out great!!! I doubled up the pecans and just coated them! So delicious!!! Thank you so very much!!! God Bless!
Margo says
I used Lakanto granular sweetener as well , Perfectly delicious!! This is from a New Orleans girl!!
Perri says
Excellent recipe and instructions.
I used Splenda stevia as the sweetener, as that is all I had. It worked well.
I used walnuts instead of pecans, because that is what I had and I substituted the vanilla extract with maple flavouring.
Turned out well and are delish!
Thanks.
Dominique says
This recipe is really good, I'm from Louisiana and it's pretty close to the original pralines. I did add a hint of sugar free maple syrup to mixture, came out great. Thanks for the recipe 😊
Brenda Jackson says
These taste amazing. I've made them twice now. Going to try again and use almonds. My concern it the 10 min cook time seems to be conservative. Mine weren't ready to take off the stove that fast. Do I need to turn up the heat?