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A Guide to Low Carb Candy

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This guide to low carb candy is for anyone with a sweet tooth! It covers which store-bought candy is keto friendly, what to look for on the label, and my own homemade low carb candy recipes, plus easy swaps for all the most popular candy bars.

A Guide to Low Carb Candy - recipes, products, and popular candy alternatives

This post may contain affiliate links.

I started eating low carb back in 2008. Like a lot of people, I'd tried other ways of eating before that, and I always got bored with the food or just couldn't keep it up. Low carb was a game-changer!

Everyone told me I would lose my sweet tooth. Well, 18 years in and that hasn't happened! I could happily eat a bag of sour candy right now, and my sweet tooth is still very much intact. The good news is that low carb candy has come a long way since then. There are more keto friendly brands on the shelves than ever, and homemade candy is easier than most people think.

So I've put everything in one place: the basics on carbs in candy, what to watch for on the label, the store-bought candy I actually reach for, my homemade candy recipes, and a quick-fire list of low carb alternatives to popular candy.

In This Guide

Does Candy Have Carbs?

Yes, regular candy is almost all carbs. Gummies, hard candy, caramels and chocolate bars are made mostly from sugar, corn syrup and sometimes wheat flour or cookie pieces, and all of those are carbohydrates. A single fun-size candy bar or a small handful of gummy bears can easily use up a big chunk of a low carb day, and a full-size bar or bag can go well past it.

That's why classic candy is off the menu when you're eating low carb or keto. But candy itself doesn't have to be! Swap the sugar for a low carb sweetener and the wheat for nuts or coconut, and you can still have chocolate, gummies, fudge, caramel and even lollipops.

What Candy Is Keto Friendly?

Keto friendly candy is candy that's made without sugar and is low in net carbs per serving. In practice that usually means one of these:

  • Sugar free chocolate sweetened with stevia or monk fruit, like Lily's and ChocZero.
  • Low sugar, high fiber gummies that use fiber, allulose, stevia or monk fruit in place of sugar, like Kiss My Keto, BEHAVE and SmartSweets.
  • Sugar free hard candies and lollipops made with sugar alcohols such as isomalt, xylitol or erythritol.
  • Homemade candy made with sugar free gelatin, unsweetened or sugar free chocolate, nuts, butter, cream and a low carb sweetener. This is where you get the most control, and it's often the lowest in carbs.

"Sugar free" on the front of the package isn't enough on its own, though. Some sugar free candy is still fairly high in carbs, and the sweetener makes a big difference, which brings me to the label.

What to Watch For: Net Carbs and Sugar Alcohols

Net carbs

Most low carb candy brands put a "net carbs" number on the front of the package. Net carbs are the total carbs minus the fiber (and, depending on the brand, minus some or all of the sugar alcohols). If you're new to this, my post on what "net carbohydrates" means explains it in more detail.

The important thing is that every brand does its own math. Turn the package over and look at the nutrition panel: total carbohydrates, fiber, sugar alcohols and the serving size. Then you can work out the number the way you count it, rather than trusting the big number on the front.

Sugar alcohols

Sugar alcohols are sweeteners like erythritol, xylitol, isomalt and maltitol. They're in a lot of sugar free candy, and they're not all the same:

  • Maltitol is the one I avoid. It's very common in mainstream "sugar free" chocolate and candy because it tastes and behaves a lot like sugar, but it has a reputation for causing digestive upset, and many low carbers count most of its carbs anyway. If maltitol is near the top of the ingredient list, I put it back.
  • Isomalt is used in a lot of sugar free hard candy. Many people count at least part of its carbs, so keep an eye on how many pieces you're having.
  • Erythritol and xylitol are the ones you'll see in keto gummies, mints and lollipops. One important note if you have a dog: xylitol is dangerous for dogs, so keep any candy that contains it well out of reach.
  • Allulose (a rare sugar), stevia and monk fruit aren't sugar alcohols, but they're the sweeteners behind a lot of the newer low carb candy. They're also what I use in my own recipes.

"Sugar free", "no sugar added" and "low sugar"

These terms don't mean the same thing. "No sugar added" can still include naturally sweet ingredients, and "low sugar" candy can still be fairly high in total carbs once you add up the fiber and other ingredients. None of them tells you the net carbs, so it always comes back to checking the label.

Serving sizes

Low carb candy is still candy! The net carb count on the front is for one serving, and that might be a single piece, a few pieces or a whole small bag. The carbs add up quickly if you eat more than that. Individually wrapped pieces and single-serve bags are a big help here.

What Candy Can You Eat on Keto?

Here's the quick answer. On keto or low carb, you can enjoy:

  • Gummies: keto gummy bears and sour gummies, either store-bought or homemade with sugar free gelatin.
  • Chocolate: stevia or monk fruit sweetened chocolate bars, chips and bark, chocolate dipped nuts and homemade truffles.
  • Fudge and caramel: homemade sugar free fudge, caramelized pecans, pralines and caramel bites.
  • Hard candy and lollipops: sugar free hard candies and lollipops, in small amounts.
  • Marshmallows: sugar free marshmallows, store-bought or homemade.

What to skip: regular candy, anything sweetened mainly with sugar, corn syrup or maltitol, and candy bars with cookie, wafer or crisped rice centers (unless they're a low carb version). Below you'll find the brands I like and the recipes I make at home.

Store-Bought Low Carb Candy

We all know that buying specialized candy costs more than making it yourself. But it sure is convenient, and there are a lot more good options than there used to be! A quick search for "keto candy" will bring up hundreds of products, but plenty of them are sweetened with maltitol, so I've stuck to brands that use other sweeteners wherever I could. The net carb numbers below are what each Amazon listing says at the time of writing. Recipes and labels change, so always check the package.

Low Carb Candy to Buy

Looking for more than candy? I've also rounded up The Best Low Carb Desserts To Buy.

Homemade Low Carb Candy Recipes

Making your own candy means you control exactly what goes in it: the sweetener, the chocolate and the portion size. Most of these recipes need just two or three ingredients, and many of them are no-bake. You'll see a few holiday candies in the list, but they're easy to make any time of year by changing the mold or the toppings.

Low Carb Candy to Make

Craving one candy in particular? Here's a quick-fire list of low carb swaps, including some great homemade versions from other low carb bloggers.

Tips for Making Low Carb Candy at Home

  • Use a powdered sweetener for truffles, fudge and coatings. Granulated sweeteners can stay gritty in candy that isn't cooked for long.
  • Start with good chocolate. Unsweetened baking chocolate or a stevia or monk fruit sweetened chocolate makes all the difference in bark, clusters and dipped nuts.
  • Melt chocolate gently in short bursts in the microwave or over a pan of barely simmering water, and keep every drop of water out of it so it doesn't seize.
  • Get some silicone molds. Bear, star, heart and seasonal molds turn the same simple recipe into gummy bears, Christmas chocolates or Halloween treats.
  • Store it cold. Most homemade low carb candy is best kept in an airtight container in the fridge, and chocolate and fudge can be frozen for longer storage.
  • Portion it out. Cut fudge and bark into small pieces as soon as they set. It makes it much easier to have just one or two.

More Low Carb Sweet Treats

And if you love these low carb candy ideas, be sure to check out these other sweet treats:

Did I miss your favorite candy? Let me know in the comments!

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