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.
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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Video
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.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally Published March 9, 2016. Revised and Republished March 16, 2020.
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.
You did not cook it long enough.
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.
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.
I found out using off brand butter did not work for me, It separated. So live and learn!
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.
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?
You just need to cook them a little longer.
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.
Which sweetener are you using?
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.
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.
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!
Swerve granular works but will be a bit grainier
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.
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?
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
HOLY CRAP!!! THESE ARE SLAP YO MOMMA GOOD!!!! Confectioners Swerve worked perfectly
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!
Can you use swerve confectioners, as I don’t have anything else?
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.