Keto Pecan Pralines Recipe
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.
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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 tbsp butter divided
- 6 tbsp light cream (or heavy cream)
- 1/3 cup Joy Filled Eats Sweetener (or see alternatives in recipe notes)
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Combine 4 tbsp 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 tbsp 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.
Taryn, I love your recipes. Can you tell me what I can use in place of Gentle Sweet? Xylitol really upsets my stomach.
Would THM super sweet work?
Thank you!
Super sweet would work in most recipes but some need more bulk. Have you tried the xylitol free gentle sweet? Or just mixing your own? You can use all erythritol in my recipe: joyfilledeats.com/sweetener
Just made these tonight and they are fabulous! YUMMM. I used Swerve as my sweetener and they are delicious. Will definitely be making again and again. Thank you for the recipe!
I’m so glad swerve worked! Did you use the same amount or add extra?
Excellent recipe and will be great to have for Easter.
These are absolutely amazing. Just made my 3rd batch last night. I added a teaspoon of maple flavoring and a drizzle of melted Lily’s chocolate chips to the top. They taste exactly like Scotcheroos! Thank you so much for the recipe!
Just made these today; made a double batch. Beyond delicious! And SO easy!😊
Made these at Christmas and then again last week. They are so good!!! All of my family, even the non-THMers, raved about how good these were. This is a family staple now. No doubt about it.
Oh my gosh! These are so good! I just can’t get enough of them!
I just made these today. Oh my goodness, they are so good!! And I love that they are the size of actual pralines. I’ve made some other recipes that once I portioned them out looked like food for tiny people. I doubled the recipe and had to cook it for quite a while to get to the darker color. I also used half and half and heavy cream mixed, because that’s what I had on hand. And I added a 1/2 teaspoon of caramel extract, just because. 🙂 So terribly good!!
Made these first time yesterday. I think I stirred too much because they are ever so slightly grainy. Cooked up beautifully, though slightly thin. After adding the pecan halves I just kept mixing a bit and they began to set so I dropped spoonfuls onto my paper. They are awesome! Darling boy friend loved them. I used pure erithyal. Thank you for sharing this wonderful treat, I will be making them again…and again…and again..did I mention we went out today in 10 below wind chill to buy more pecans?
Can I ask how much erythritol you used
I attempted this for the 2nd time this evening and the liquids turned dark brown, close to burning but didn’t, I added the unsalted butter at end and it turned to almost just a butter liquid. It doesn’t look like pralines at all. I followed directions step by step! What did I do wrong?
Your pan may have been too hot. If that happens and you whisk vigorously it should come back together. I’ve done that once or twice. Try cooking a minute or two less.
What would be the amount of xylitol to use if replacing THM sweetner? That’s all I have on hand.
About twice as much. You may need to cook it longer.
Thought I followed the directions—but after a while–everything separated so I just poured into a bowl. After it cooled it did kind of look like it was supposed to. I used Splenda as sweetener—doesn’t that work??? Also wasn’t sure if I was supposed to be stirring the whole time. Any help with this would be appreciated. Thanks so much–your stuff is wonderful.
Hi Barbara, I do not recommend switching sweeteners for candy recipes. I only test my recipes with a blend of xylitol, erythritol, and stevia so I don’t know how other sweeteners will react.
I used stevia extract blend. Made them twice both time it turned clear. What sugar substitute should I use.
You can’t use stevia extract in caramel recipes. You need a sugar alcohol or a blend. I like my mix of erythritol, xylitol, and stevia. Joyfilledeats.com/sweetener
How much should this be stirred while it cooks? I have a similar candy recipe that has to be brought up to 300 degrees without stirring, so I did not stir this much either and ended up with some burned bits.
Towards the end I stir almost constantly. Occasionally, I get a few dark bits too but they don’t taste burnt.
Thank you, l will try again. Mine came out sticky. Is there a particular temperature to aim for? I have a lot of experience making candy, but don’t know much about cooking non sugar sweeteners.
I haven’t temped this. I just watch and pull it off the heat right before it burns. It should be deep golden brown and bits in the bottom of the pan start to get even darker. It gets thick enough to coat a spoon.
Thank you for this recipe. I’m always looking for sweet things I can eat. I am one of those unlucky ones that can’t have sugar. It doesn’t stop my cravings though. Hope to make this soon.
Sounds yummy! How long will they keep and should they be kept in refrigerator? (Wondering how far in advance I can make them). Thanks!
At least a couple weeks. Yes, store in the fridge.
Love your praline recipe! Look forward to more goodness.
You keep mentioning you have a copy cat THM SWEET
I’m new to cooking gluten free for my daughter…..
So forgive me
But what is the copy cat recipe?
The words in the post are a clickable link to my sweetener blend 🙂 http://www.joyfilledeats.com/sweetener
Good Golly, Miss Molly. YUM!! Thanks for the recipe
What is “light cream?”
It is like heavy cream but has a slightly lower fat content. Heavy cream works in this as well.
After it firms up in the fridge can it be stored on countertop? If so for how long?
I wouldn’t leave them out for more than a day or two. I just store them in the fridge.
Do the amounts need to be adjusted for a larger batch? Or can I just multiply all the ingredients?
You can multiply the ingredients but it will need to cook longer.