Soft and Chewy Salted Caramel Pecan Bars (Gluten Free & Low Carb)

I’m on a caramel kick this week.  I have a few sticky, gooey, wonderfully warm and sweet desserts for you all, starting with these caramel pecan bars. 

Wow.  That’s all I have to say about this.  Be warned; these are SWEET.  If you’re looking for a seriously decadent and rich dessert to stave off cravings, this might be the one. 

These little bars of heaven are gluten-free, low carb, and keto-friendly. 

Gluten-free Caramel Pecan bars a wonderful fall dessert

Fall is one of my favorite seasons.  It’s the season of warm drinks, warm spices, pumpkin, and caramel.  Nothing better than a sweet treat with a hot drink in the evening as the nights start to cool.  

That’s what these caramel pecan squares remind me of – fall.   I don’t know why I associate caramel desserts with fall, but it seems like it’s the perfect flavor to add a bit of warmth.    

A bit about the crust

This crust is a simple coconut crust sweetened with Surkin Gold brown sugar.  The brown sugar replacement adds a hint of warmth to the crust.  You can make the crust with other sugar replacements, but I love the way the Surkin Gold brown sugar pairs with the caramel and chocolate.  

When you make this crust, it turns into a big gooey ball.  You do not need to cool it first to work with it, but it is a bit difficult to spread around.  My tip is to use the back of a wet spoon to get things moving. 

To make sure the crust does not stick to the pan, I recommend adding a piece of parchment paper.  Use a sheet long enough to drape over the edges.  Removing the squares from the pan is much easier with a bit of parchment to lift. 

 

A bit about the Salted caramel

Oh ho ho.  Yes yes, thick and sticky, perfectly caramelly, this stuff is the bomb.  

You do not need to add extra caramel to the top of these bars, but I highly (HIGHLY) recommend it.  The drizzle of chocolate and caramel over the top takes these bars from good to great. 

The salted caramel sauce is one of my favorite recipes.  It does not get grainy or turn solid in the fridge.  It tastes like a regular caramel sauce without any weird aftertaste.   I’d make a small batch to drizzle over these bars and keep a bit in the fridge for other inspired drizzled caramel moments, like morning coffee, or evening ice cream. 

The caramel sauce recipe takes 15 minutes simmering on the stove – it’s 15 minutes you’re going to want to give up.   

What sweeteners are best for this recipe?

~This post may contain affiliate links.  If you click one and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. I only ever recommend the ingredients or tools I use for my recipes.  You can read more about our disclosure policy here ~

If you make the salted caramel sauce, you’re going to need some allulose.  That caramel sauce isn’t the same with any other sweetener.  The allulose does not crystallize or turn grainy.  The sauce maintains it’s sticky, gooey texture straight out of the fridge.  

For the filling and crust, I recommend Surkin Gold brown sugar or any erythritol or xylitol brown sugar blend.  The brown sugar flavor helps to create that warm sugar flavor that you do not get with other sweeteners. 

Swerve and Stevia do not work well in this recipe, so I don’t recommend them.  The cooling sensation of Swerve overpowers the caramel flavors. 

A quick bit about the ingredients

This recipe is all about the caramel and pecans.  You can use other nuts, but the flavor profile will change.  If you don’t like pecans, you could use toasted almond slices, but the texture of the bars will be very different. 

Make sure you use raw unsalted, unroasted pecans in this recipe.  Using roasted nuts will yield an over-roasted nut flavor that you won’t want in these bars. 

I used dark chocolate chips for the bars and the drizzle, because finding Lily’s milk chocolate chips up here in Canada is proving difficult.  But these bars would be even better made with milk chocolate.  So if you have sugarfree milk chocolate bars or chips, I recommend using them.   Don’t get me wrong, the dark chocolate is delicious, but the milk chocolate would be even better. 

Storage & serving suggestions for your caramel pecan bars

These pecan squares store very well in the fridge, but you can also keep them stored at room temperature on the counter. 

Straight out of the fridge, the bars are a bit firm (that would be all the butter!), but you can handhold them and eat them without them falling apart.   If served at room temperature they tend to be a bit softer, and the crust loosens up considerably. 

Guys, seriously, these are amazing with a small scoop of ice cream and a drizzle of salted caramel sauce.   Not only an excellent presentation but a drool-worthy dessert to boot. 

The caramel pecan bars do not freeze well, unfortunately, but stored covered in the fridge they are good for up to 5 days.