If you’re looking for a super easy sugar-free dessert this holiday season that all your friends and family will enjoy and request again my Easy Caramel Pecan Dip is that dessert! In this post, I take a wildly popular dip and put my low-carb and sugar-free twist on it. Who says sugar-free can’t be fun during the holidays, right?
A Super Easy Crowd Favorite
I was first introduced to this type of holiday dip a few fears back from my sister-in-law Maryah. She brought it to one of our Thanksgiving feasts and I just remember falling in love with it.
In fact, it was my favorite thing on the dessert table that year. This is crazy since it was so simple and had only had three ingredients. I ate entirely too much and felt the effects of all that sugar for many hours after we left my mother-in-law’s house.
She called it Caramel Apple Dip and it was cream cheese covered in caramel and topped with broken-up pieces of a toffee candy bar. Since that day I’ve seen it all over the internet and found out it is a favorite of many. You can Google it to see how popular it is.
It is very simple, but you’ll be amazed at how many people love it and rave about it on Pinterest. I don’t blame them, it is good.
How To Remake This Classic Into A Sugar-Free Easy Caramel Pecan Dip
Since this dessert is one of the simplest ones I’ve ever seen and one of the tastiest, I knew that I was going to adapt it to a low-carb and sugar-free version that my family could enjoy during the holidays.
Just because we are wanting to stick to our healthy eating during the holidays doesn’t mean our food has to be boring and tasteless, right?
Right, besides the ease of this dessert is one that fits my lifestyle to a tee. I love simple and delicious food, and this dessert is just that.
All you need to make this delicious treat is a few basic low-carb ingredients that you can pick up at your local Walmart and some of my Easy Low Carb Caramel. So let’s take a look at what those ingredients are.
Here’s What You’ll Need To Make The Dip:
- Philidelphia Cream Cheese
- A Good Low Carb Caramel Sauce
- Pecan pieces
- Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips
See, I told you it was very simple, but don’t let those four simple ingredients fool you, this treat is outrageously good, and even the nondieters in your home will eat it with a smile.
So if you don’t want to share, you may want to hide this away behind some veggies! You guys know I’ve been known to do this when it is something special, right? No shame in my game!
Once you have the ingredients and have made a batch of my caramel sauce you are ready to assemble the Easy Caramel Pecan Dip. Just wait until you see the simplicity in the recipe care below.
However, I do want to go over some tips about the caramel sauce just to note some differences in the original recipe and how you can modify it to make it a little thinner to use in this recipe. I’ll walk you through the caramel tips in the next portion of the post.
How Do I Make The Best Kind of Low Carb Caramel For this Easy Caramel Pecan Dip?
In the classic, full sugar, versions of this type of cream cheese dip it calls for one of those jarred caramel sauces that you can pick up on the ice cream topping aisle at the local grocery store. I believe the most common name brand I see is Smuckers.
Smuckers does in fact have a sugar-free caramel sauce but it is not a “clean keto” or a great product to use if you are focused on using good whole ingredients. To name a few their sauce contains Cotton Seed Oil, Maltitol, Soybean Oil, and Sorbitol.
These are all ingredients that we do not consume in our home, and I recommend making your own caramel using my Easy Low Carb Caramel Sauce. The recipe is easy and you will be blown away at how delicious it is. There are so many treats it can be used in.
My caramel is made from three ingredients that are not going to upset your stomach as much as the Smuckers will and it doesn’t have any of those nasty processed oils. The ingredients that you will need are salted butter, allulose, and heavy whipping cream.
Making the caramel is laid out step by step in my caramel post that I link to in the recipe card, so I won’t go into those details again step by step. It is the best low-carb caramel I’ve ever made and it gets so thick and creamy.
Seriously, when I say it gets thick, I mean it is a very creamy and thick caramel. all thanks to the allulose which you can find out more about here if you haven’t used this sweetener before.
So since it does get so thick compared to the store-bought caramel sauces typically used in a dip like this you need to adjust the cooking time on the caramel recipe to make sure it doesn’t get as thick as it normally does.
It normally cooks for 16 minutes once it comes to a boil to make sure it cooks down and thickens. So for a thinner, more pourable caramel sauce you only need to bring the ingredients to a boil and cook them for about 10 minutes to get the perfect texture for this recipe.
If you do want it thick and not a looser consistency, I don’t think anyone will complain at all. It is yummy no matter how thick it is. I even use it on in my low-carb french toast as a syrup!
Do I Have To Use My TAble of Three’s Easy Caramel Sauce Made With Allulose?
If you don’t have any Allulose sweetener in your pantry and don’t want to buy any then I haven’t left you out. I wanted to share a few caramel recipes from some of my other THM and Keto blogger friends that you can try when making your caramel.
I haven’t made any of these caramel recipes from these ladies yet but I’m sure they would be delicious if you needed an alternative to my recipe. These are erythritol or maltitol-based caramel sauces.
- Sugar Free Caramel Sauce, but Joyfilled Eats
- Maple Salted Caramel Sauce, by My Montana Kitchen
Here Are Some Great Ideas for Dippers to Go Along with This Fun Keto Party Dip!
There are a lot of options you could use to serve alongside your dip. I wanted to share a few options here for you that might inspire you. I have a few favorites that I love to use.
Today, not only will I give you some great Keto and THM “S” Options but I wanted to throw in a few items that would be great for when you have guests that may not be Keto or Low Carb.
So don’t freak out on me when you see the apples in these pictures and in the list of recommendations below. Deal? Remember these are only ideas, so pick and choose as you need to fit your nutritional goals.
Low Carb Graham Crackers or Cookies: I love to make some quick almond flour crackers and sweeten them up. Throw some cinnamon and a bit of molasses in them and you have some tasty graham cracker imposters that are yummy with this dip.
You can also pick up a bag or two of these High Key cookies which are delicious. My Aldi carries the chocolate chip flavor so that is what you see on my platter in this blog post, but Amazon has some Wafer Cookie, which is a yummy low-carb alternative to Vanilla Wafers, yum!
Celery: Yes, I said celery. Remember it is just a suggestion, so if it is not your thing, then leave it off your tray. But I love peanut butter on celery, so the idea of using it on a sweet dip isn’t that hard for me to imagine. It is very low in carbs and the flavor will be easy to cover up with all the other deliciousness of this dip.
Apple or Pear Slices: Apples and Pears are not Keto or low carb, I know this, so please don’t panic and send me a long email about it. You promised not to freak out on me, remember? These fruits are, however, great options for kids and your guests that are not keto that needs something to dip into the Caramel Pecan Dip.
If you are one of my Trim Healthy Mama followers, feel free to use the apples or pears for a delicious THM Crossover. Hey, after all, it is a special occasion dip that can be used during the holidays. A healthy crossover is much better than off-plan desserts!
Soft Keto Pretzels or Traditional Pretzels for Guests: Pretzels are made for dipping in my opinion and I know that they would be amazing in this sweet dip. So pick up a bag for your non-dieting guests from the grocery store and make those that are these yummy Keto Soft Pretzel Bites.
One thing is for sure, no matter what you dip in this Easy Caramel Pecan Dip, you will love it. This is one of those sweet treats where a little dab will do ya since it is so rich and sweet. I hope you and your family get a chance to enjoy this recipe over the holidays!
Easy Caramel Pecan Dip
A sugar-free play on a popular Caramel Cream Cheese dip seen around the holiday. What could be better than cream covered in low-carb caramel, pecans, and sugar-free chocolate chips? It is a great centerpiece for a dessert tray.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces of cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup of my Low Carb Caramel
- 1/4 cup toasted pecans pieces
- 3 Tablespoons of Lily's Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- Make the caramel sauce needed for this recipe per the link provided and let it cool completely. Several hours is best.
- Also, be sure to pull the cream cheese out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature, and soften before you are ready to assemble the dip.
- Toast the pecans in a 350-degree oven for 5 minutes, be careful not to burn them. Let them cool
- To assemble the dip lay the cream cheese on a serving platter. Mix the caramel and toasted pecans together and pour them over the top of the cream cheese.
- Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the caramel pecans and it is ready to serve.
Notes
Please see the blog post above the recipe for a lot of tips on preparing this recipe. I go over the making caramel that is needed and offer suggestions on what types of things can be used as dippers when serving my Easy Caramel Pecan Dip.
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
1 ounceAmount Per ServingCalories 236Total Fat 17gTrans Fat 0gCholesterol 29mgSodium 229mgCarbohydrates 2.5gNet Carbohydrates 2gFiber .5gSugar 28gProtein 3g
*Note on the nutrition: Please note that was not calculated into this recipe nutrition since it is not digested by the body. But if you want to know how many total carbs with the added in it is 7 grams and the allulose counts for 5 grams of that. I am not a nutritionist. If you have strict dietary needs I always recommend using an online nutrition calculator to calculate your totals using your exact brands you're using in this recipe as values may vary per brand.
I am a southern girl through and through that loves to laugh, cook, read and spend time with family. My passions outside of home schooling my son are ministering to those in need and creating art in the kitchen! Every day is an adventure in our little house and I wouldn’t trade it or the chance to share here with you for anything!
This looks so easy and yummy. I’m looking forward to trying it!
It is so easy but so good! I hope you enjoy it Rebecca.