I know folks hate stories, so I will make this one short. When I lived in Vancouver, there was a bakery called ” Butter.” They had the most incredible homemade marshmallows. I loved them. Butter also had a cookbook (amazing cookbook I might add) that had their famous marshmallow recipe that I rediscovered last week. I started thinking – would this recipe work with allulose? YES, the answer is YES, yes it worked. These keto marshmallows are the adapted recipe without sugar or corn syrup, and I dare say they are just as good as the real thing. (told you it would be a short story) 😉
I had to give credit to Butter because their recipe was the inspiration for this sugar-free version.
Seriously, you need to make a batch of these things. They are SOOOO good.
Low Carb Marshmallows – You won’t believe how easy they are to make!
Ok, these marshmallows don’t have any carbs.
Made only with gelatin and allulose, the carbs come out to a big fat zero. Unflavoured gelatin has no carbs, and Allulose is net zero.
I get a lot of emails about Allulose because of the packaging label rules. Allulose is not metabolized by the body. Unlike sweeteners like xylitol or malitol (the worst), it does not spike blood sugar. It also doesn’t have the same impact on the gut as some sweeteners do. If you’ve been eating low-carb or keto for a while, you know what I am talking about.
With all that said, I don’t give health advice. I recommend to everyone that if you’re trying new sweeteners, find the one that is right for you and your personal dietary needs.
I like allulose because it doesn’t spike my blood sugar and doesn’t make me bloat out like I am 9 months pregnant with triplets, but I also really like it because of its similar properties to sugar. Oh and, it doesn’t kick me out of ketosis either. So as a sweetener, it’s a win-win-win.
Back to my original point – this recipe is SUPER easy, zero carbs, and I swear these marshmallows taste 95% like the real thing. I mean, I can’t say 100% because sugar tastes like sugar, nothing tastes exactly like sugar, but I mean it’s so close! But I can tell you the texture is dead-on, it’s 100%.
Sweeteners for this recipe
Allulose. That’s the sweetener you need for the marshmallow recipe. Allulose shares many properties with real sugar. It thickens when heated, turns to syrup, caramelizes, and browns in almost the same way as sugar. Other sweeteners do not have the same properties.
For this recipe, we need to whip heated sticky syrup to get the fluff and volume that we need for the marshmallows. Many low-carb recipes use eggs to achieve this, but marshmallows do not have eggs in them, and you can tell the difference between gelatin and eggs in a marshmallow recipe right away. The air bubbles are tighter, the squish has a bit of resistance, and the marshmallows taste better (In my opinion!).
So for this recipe, it’s allulose, or you’re making a different recipe.
For rolling the keto marshmallows after cutting, you can use powdered erythritol (I used Surkin Icing) monk fruit, or a blend. Toasted coconut works well too, and I have instructions for that for you down below.
Method & tips
Homemade keto marshmallows seem like they would be a real time consuming difficult thing to make, but it is super easy.
You can make these with a hand mixer, but I recommend a stand mixer. You have to whip this for ten full minutes to get the fluff developed, and with a hand mixer, it could be a bit much. But, I know many of you are determined, so if you don’t have a stand mixer you can make these, just know in advance it’s going to be some hard work. Consider it a workout. 😉
When you add the water to the gelatin, it’s going to look weird. The gelatin will clump up and look like a pile of goo.
The allulose and water will get cooked over a med-low burner until it reaches 230-240F. OR, if you do not have a candy thermometer, you only need to cook the syrup for a minute from the time it starts a rolling boil. That’s it. Turn the stand mixer on, and gently pour the hot syrup into the mixer and turn it on. Walk away for 9 minutes. Make yourself a cup of coffee. You deserve it.
At the 9 minute mark, come back and add the vanilla.
At the 10-12 minute mark, the marshmallow mixture should be fluffy and light.
Cutting & Prep work
Once the Marshmallows are set, pull off the plastic wrap and use a knife to loosen the edge away from the pan.
The keto marshmallow slab should release from the pan very neatly, if it is stuck, just give it a gentle pull and plop the whole thing down into a pile of powdered sweetener.
Use a sharp knife to cut the marshmallows and dip them in powdered sweetener as you go.
That’s it, super easy!
Low carb Marshmallow Variations
Oh, now we get to the good bits. You can create ALL kinds of crazy variations for these marshmallows. I’m going to drop a few of my favourite varieties, but the sky’s the limit here.
Toasted Coconut: Toast 3 cups of unsweetened coconut and toast in a 350 F oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Add 2 Tbsp of your preferred powdered sweetener and blend it. Use this mixture to coat the marshmallows instead of the powdered sugar-free sweetener.
Strawberry: Add 1 tsp of strawberry emulsion to your marshmallows during the last minute of whipping. The strawberry emulsion has a BIG punch of flavor with no additional carbs. (raspberry works very well too)
Coffee: Substitute the water in the recipe with coffee! (This is my husbands’ favourite version)
Chocolate: Add 1 Tbsp of cocoa powder to the whipped marshmallow mixture.
Double chocolate: Make a batch of chocolate marshmallows. When they are cooled, dip them in Lilly’s melted dark chocolate. These make great treats on a stick.
These are just a few ideas. You can do all kinds of things with this keto marshmallow recipe. I will be testing all sorts of crazy stuff in the coming weeks to see how these marshmallows hold up when baked.
Storage & serving ideas
Store these keto marshmallows store well when sealed in a bag or a container. No need to refrigerate, they hold up well stored at room temperature, but you can toss them in the fridge. They do not freeze well, so I do not recommend it. Since the carb count is SO low, I imagine a stack of these will be gone in no time flat.
They melt just like the real deal in hot chocolate, and you can toast them just like real marshmallows too! Allulose does tend to burn quicker than sugar, so my advice is to go slow when roasting.
Homemade Keto Marshmallows that Taste Like The Real Thing!
These Keto Marshmallows are as good as the real thing. The texture is bang on, and the taste is just like squishy pillows of sweet vanilla goodness.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of water
- 3 envelopes of unflavored gelatin (3 Tbsp)
- 2 1/2 cups of allulose
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp vanilla
- 2 cups of powdered sweetener (for coating the marshmallows)
Instructions
- Add the gelatin to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Sprinkle the gelatin with 1/2 cup of water. Set aside and let the gelatin soften.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat add the allulose, salt and remaining 1/2 cup of water. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil for one full minute, or cook until a candy thermometer reaches 230-240F.
- Turn the stand mixed to low to mix the gelatine. Gently pour the hot allulose mixture down the side of bowl and mix on low.
- Turn the stand mixer to high for 10-12 minutes. At the 9 minute mark, add the vanilla and continue whipping until the marshmallow batter is thick.
- Transfer the mixture to a square baking pan coated in butter.
- Coat a piece of plastic wrap with melted butter and cover the top of the marshmallows.
- Allow to cool for 6-8 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
- Once the marshmallows have set, use a butter knife and run it along the edge of the pan to release sides. Gently tip the pan over to release the marshmallow slab.
- Place the slab of marshmallows on a cutting board coated in powdered sweetener.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the marshmallows into 16 pieces.
- Use the excess powdered sweetener to coat the marshmallows.
- Store covered in the refrigerator or on the counter.
Notes
- Allulose is the only sweetener that will work for this recipe.
- You can replace the vanilla with any flavour extract you want.
- Cook the allulose on medium heat, not high. Allulose burns quickly and will add an off flavor to your marshmallows if you cook it too quickly and too hot.
- Don't forget to butter your pan before adding the marshmallow batter. You will also need to butter a piece of plastic wrap to add to the top. It will release once the marshmallows have set.
- Do not try to cut your marshmallows until they are truly set. Leaving them overnight in the refrigerator will guarantee they are set.
- Be very careful with the hot allulose mixture.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 16Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 68mgCarbohydrates: 0gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs (and sugar alcohols) are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fibre.
how long can I store these before consuming? and would an airtight container be best?
Hi Graham, these hold up pretty well for 4-5 days in an airtight container at room temperature. Humidity will be the biggest challenge with them, so if you can keep them dry and airtight they will still taste pretty good on day 5. With that said, they are best the first two days after making them. But if you have a few that go a little bit firm around the edges, they still melt really well over a campfire or melt in hot chocolate (etc). Cheers!