This easy keto peanut brittle recipe is our take on the classic candy found at fetes, fairs, and markets. This version is very low-carb and sugar-free, yet still crunchy and sweet.
Want more keto sweets? Try my keto fat bombs, easy keto bounty bars, or delicious keto shortbread cookies.
Why You’ll Love This Keto Peanut Brittle
- Simple ingredients: You can whip up this delicious brittle quickly with just four common keto pantry staples.
- Quick and easy: The entire process takes less than an hour, from prep to enjoying your crunchy creation.
- Perfect texture: This recipe guarantees a brittle that’s perfectly crunchy and snaps with each bite.
- Customizable: You can easily adapt the recipe to your preferences by swapping peanuts for other nuts or adding your favorite sugar-free flavorings.
Ingredients
- 1 cup roasted & salted peanuts (or your favorite nut)
- 2 ounces butter
- 3 ounces Swerve sweetener (or your preferred keto-friendly sweetener; erythritol and monk fruit work well)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
How to Make Keto Peanut Brittle
- Prep your pan: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. This prevents sticking and ensures easy removal. Spread the peanuts evenly on the prepared sheet.
- Create the caramel: Combine the butter, Swerve, and vanilla extract in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir frequently to prevent burning.
- Cook to perfection: Continue cooking and stirring until the mixture reaches a deep brown caramel color. This usually takes about 5-7 minutes. Be careful not to overcook, as this can lead to a bitter taste.
- Combine and cool: Carefully pour the hot caramel over the peanuts, ensuring they are evenly coated. Let the brittle cool completely at room temperature. This will take approximately 30-50 minutes.
- Break and enjoy: Once the brittle is completely cool and hardened, break it into bite-sized pieces.
Tips & Tricks
- Use a candy thermometer: For perfectly cooked caramel every time, use a candy thermometer and cook the mixture until it reaches 300°F (150°C).
- Don’t over-stir: Stirring too much can cause the sugar to crystallize, resulting in a grainy texture.
- Control the thickness: Spread the caramel mixture thinly for thinner brittle and more thickly for thicker pieces.
- Add a twist: Get creative with flavors! Add a pinch of sea salt, sugar-free chocolate chips, or a dash of cinnamon to the caramel before pouring it over the nuts.
How To Store Peanut Brittle
To maintain its crunch, store peanut brittle in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. Avoid storing it in the refrigerator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Feel free to substitute Swerve with another keto-friendly sweetener, such as allulose monk fruit or erythritol. Remember that different sweeteners may have varying sweetness levels, so adjust the amount accordingly.
If your brittle doesn’t harden properly, the caramel was likely not cooked long enough.
Yes! Feel free to experiment with different flavors and additions. Chopped nuts, seeds, sugar-free chocolate chips, or spices like cinnamon or ginger can add a delicious twist.
Keto Peanut Brittle
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Ingredients
- 1 cup Roasted & Salted Peanuts
- 2 ounces Butter
- 3 ounces Swerve
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence
Instructions
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and evenly spread out the peanuts.
- Place the butter, swerve and vanilla essence in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Cook the mixture to caramel stage, it should be a deep brown color. Note that under cooking the caramel will leave your brittle grainy.
- Pour the caramel over the peanuts and leave to cool completely, around 30-50 minutes.
- Break the cooled brittle into pieces and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Want more great sweet treats? Try some of our other great Keto Candy Recipes;
To make a larger batch of this Keto Peanut Brittle recipe, adjust the servings above.
I love making brittles.Im 84 years old and am excited about this one .Couple of questions though. I love the color in your pictures but then you say cook to a dark brown. Ok now I have made it I think it turned out pretty good but had a dark color also it broke up with little effort , didn’t form a good crack, I cooked it up to around 340. IM NOT GIVING UP. HELP. THANKS
Hello James, it sounds like you may have overcooked the brittle. Try lowering the temperature.
I made this for a Christmas party and people who weren’t eating keto loved it and came back for seconds! Thank you so much!
Hello Christine and Merry Christmas to you. Thank you for your feedback so glad it was a hit at your Christmas party. It’s always good when people come back for seconds.
I made this using olive oil butter since my husband is dairy-free and monk fruit sweetener instead of swerve. It turned out great. My only input is if you are using a black pan to make the sauce then be weary it will look like it’s dark brown because of the color of the pot before it actually turns brown.
Hi Trish, thank you for your comments and tips. We might try monk fruit next time.
I cannot wait to try this, as I am addicted to sugar-laden toffee peanuts. I am going to use an erythritol and stevia mix I make myself and keep on hand instead of the Swerve. I hope it turns out well!
Let us know how it goes Elizabeth.
Almost followed this recipe but only had liquid Stevie handy. Took advice not to undercook. Mine seemed watery and after letting it set up over an hour the color was no translucent but cloudy. Where did I messed up?
Hi Lisa,
The problems you have are caused by swapping a granulated sweetener for a liquid one. Liquid and granulated are not interchangeable in a lot of recipes, and this is one of them. I hope you try it again with a granulated sweetener, I’m sure it will turn out perfectly!
I tried another recipe, wasting 3 sticks of butter, and then found this. YAY! Your recipe worked great! I was careful not to get it to the “ghee” stage, where the dark dust forms on the bottom of the pan. EXCELLENT!
I’m so pleased you enjoyed it Sarai! Thank you for stopping by 🙂
I love making pecan brittle. And I am a diabetic So I am definitely going to be making this soon.
Hiya really would like to make this. Could I use mixed keto friendly nuts such as almond pecan pistachios and macadamian?
Hi Neeta,
You sure can! Just make sure they are nicely roasted first and add a pinch of salt to the caramel.
Swerve has 1gram of carbs per gram, and 3oz of swerve is 85grams so 85 carbs..
Divide that into 4 servings as you’ve suggested, means that component alone is 21carbs per serving? Am I missing something here?
Hi Ravi,
The 1g of carbs is actually 1g of erythritol. Swerve is zero carbs as erythritol is a sugar alcohol and subtracted from the total carb count.
Loved this! Finally, an easy keto dessert I can successfully make! Because, we’re Virginians we have the most plump and crunchy peanuts, too. Great recipe… I’ve made it two days in a row now. Today, I added Lily’s dark chocolate chips to it. 🙂
Peanuts and chocolate are delicious together! What a great idea Jen!!
Hi there! Would I be able to use a non dairy butter or ghee? I’ve recently been diagnosed with a dairy allergy.
Hi Becky,
Ghee will work, but I’m not sure about non-dairy butter as I’ve never used it.
I could not figure out a way to add a picture
Hi Lisa,
You can tag us in photos on social media or post one to our facebook page if you like 🙂
Isn’t baking soda Required in brittle recipes to makes them crunchy?
Hi Diana,
It’s the caramelized sugar that makes traditional brittle crunchy, no need to add baking soda to our recipe.
You may be thinking more of a honeycomb with the bicarb
My dad had a microwave peanut brittle recipe that I’m planning to adapt to Swerve and sugar-free honey (to replace the white Karo in the original). It calls for baking soda, which makes the candy foam up a bit before it cools, which makes it not quite so much like peanut Jolly Ranchers – it’s softer, and less likely to glue your teeth together.
Hi there,
I have made low carb sugar-free brittle before but I would like to try your recipe , but I do have a question. It seems to me that 2 ounces of butter which is a 1/4 cup is very little to 3/4 cup of sugar. That doesn’t seem like it will be enough to even spread over an entire cookie sheet. Am I missing something? Thank you
Hi Monika,
The recipe is correct, you are not missing anything. Also noting the recipe calls for 3 ounces of sweetener, not 3/4 cup 🙂
I notice you use vanilla essence in some recipes. Can I use pure vanilla extract? IS it ok to use monk fruit in place of the swerve?
Thanks for the great recipe ideas!
Hi Carol,
Vanilla extract and essence can be used in place of each other, just note that some extracts are made with glucose. I haven’t used monk fruit sweetener so I can’t be sure that it will work for this recipe – you can use straight erythritol though.
I used lakanto monk fruit sweetner with canola harvest margarine and Watkins baking vanilla. Cooks different than Swerve. I cooked it until it was smoking and spooned over walnuts. In my opinion it was much better. Did not have the swerve super sweet taste.
Walnut brittle sounds delicious!
I used Splenda in place of swerve. This recipe didn’t get hard and just tasted like buttered peanuts.
Hi Donna,
That would be because Splenda is not an erythritol based sweetener, and it also contains maltodextrin and dextrose – both ingredients are “fillers” which are not suitable to make a caramel. Try again with swerve for best results!