Super Simple Keto Pecan Pralines

You may not be able to eat sugar, but you can still enjoy sweets on the keto diet. Here is one of my favorite keto candy recipes. There is nothing like old-fashioned Southern Pecan Pralines! These Keto Pecan Pralines are a melt-in-your-mouth treat loaded with crispy pecans, creamy butter, and a wonderful sweetness. 

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One of my all-time favorite memories is enjoying praline pecans. I remember eating them during the holidays, sometimes in gift baskets, or as a treat at a party, or just as a mid-December snack. When I was in the Air Force Stationed in Mississippi, I remember revisiting the delicious confection on one of my many trips to New Orleans, where the tasty candy was created ironically.

What is Praline?

Legend has it that the recipe for pralines, initially used almonds, was brought to the United States from France by the Ursuline nuns, who came to New Orleans in 1727. Pralines were one of the most popular recipes modified from the old French tradition. Since almonds were in short supply, cooks started swapping the nuts of the pecan trees—native in Louisiana. With this, the modern pecan praline was born. 

Traditional pralines are a caramelized sweet made with nuts and brown sugar. Like most modern-day confectionaries, the mixture includes typically heavy cream, vanilla extract, corn syrup, salt, and butter. 

Clue: four of the five ingredients in this recipe are heavy cream, vanilla extract, butter, and salt. 

Keto Pecan Pralines Ingredients

Just in case the title of this recipe didn’t give it away, the number of ingredients necessary to make these Keto Pecan Pralines is pretty short. As a matter of fact, you’ll need just five little ingredients (plus the pecans, of course). They are:

• Pecans
• Butter
• Sukrin Icing or Swerve Granular
• Heavy Cream
• Vanilla extract
• Pink Himalayan salt

That is all! You really cannot make a sweet treat much easier than that!

How to Make Keto Pecan Pralines

To make these Keto Pecan Pralines, you want to start off by adding 4 tablespoons of butter and heavy cream to a saucepan. Place the other 1 tablespoon aside for use later in the recipe. Melt the butter and cream over medium heat.

After the butter has melted, very slowly add the Sukrin to the butter and cream mixture. You want to continuously stir with a wooden spoon here do the mixture doesn’t burn.

Allow the mixture to come to a low boil and keep stirring. At this point, the mixture will begin to change from a creamy yellow to an amber color rather quickly.

Once the mixture has turned a nice, deep amber-brown color, remove the saucepan from the heat. Stir in vanilla and the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter until melted and smooth (The vanilla will cause a temporary bubble up, I’m just warning ya). Keep stirring.

Now, add in 1 cup of pecans and stir until all pieces are evenly coated. You can add more pecans if there seems to be a lot of extra mixture left.

Next, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Begin to drop the mixture by the spoonful onto a parchment paper about 2 inches apart. My cookie sheet holds 16 keto pecan pralines, but you can make yours as big or as small as you like. If you have extra mixture left in the saucepan, you can either add more pecans or add the mixture to the already-placed pralines.

Next, add a small pinch of pink Himalayan salt to each pecan praline. You do not want to miss this step. This just took these candies of the edge. The mixture of sweet and salty was just divine!

Now, refrigerate or freeze your batch until firm. I usually refrigerate mine for about an hour to ensure that they are completely firm. You can also freeze them for 20-30 minutes to achieve the same result.

Can I use Other Sweeteners?

When I first made this recipe, I used Sukrin Icing powdered sugar substitute. It was nice and fine just like confectioner’s sugar and blended well in the recipe.  The Keto Pecan Pralines came out creamy and sweet! Better than I would have ever imagined.

In subsequent batches (because I ran out and I needed my Keto Pecan Pralines fix ASAP—don’t judge), I have used Swerve Granular. The Swerve took a little more time to fully dissolve in the recipe consistency and created a slight soft grainy feel. But, it was still freaking delicious!

I have not attempted to use monk fruit or stevia with this recipe, as I find both to have an unpleasant aftertaste. You could play with the recipe and see if it works but, I don’t recommend it.

Storing Keto Pecan Pralines

Storing these candies is extremely easy. I recommend storing these in the refrigerator and eating them within 2 days (but they won’t last that long once you taste these, believe me). If you want to store them a little longer, you can freeze them in freezer bags for up to a month. However, keeping them in the freezer may cause the sweetener to crystallize and turn the lighter, but it won’t change the taste.