Keto Chocolate Macadamia Caramel Clusters are the perfect easy sweet and salty treat. These quick and easy sugar-free nut clusters are the perfect chewy and crunchy candy with just the right dose of chocolate, caramel and nuts.
Copycat Macadamia Caramel Clusters
This recipe was inspired by a recent trip to Costco.
Just like my Keto Chocolate S'mores Snack (a Copycat Fannie May recipe), as well as this Copycat Keto Dark Chocolate Nuggets Recipe and this Copycat Coconut Keto Clusters Recipe, I love turning sugar-laden snacks into healthy homemade keto versions.
And now I can add these keto caramel nut clusters to my repertoire!
What makes these sugar-free nut clusters so great?
Easy to make - All you have to more or less do is melt some peanut butter with some sugar-free syrup, stir in some collagen and nuts and then cover each keto caramel nut cluster in melted chocolate.
Healthier - According to Amazon, each Kirkland Macadamia Nut cluster serving contains 22 grams of carbs of which 19 are sugar! These keto chocolate macadamia caramel clusters only contain 5 grams of carbs of which 3 grams are fiber for a total of 2 grams of carbs and only 1 gram of sugar! Plus, I added a healthy dose of Naked Collagen Peptide powder to give them an even healthier nutritional profile.
Cheaper - Buying these at the store will cost you just under a dollar an ounce. Making these sugar-free nut clusters at home only cost you a fraction of the price.
Delicious - Not only will you save a ton of money making these, but I am pretty sure that you will agree that these homemade chocolate macadamia clusters taste better than anything you could possibly buy at the store!
Homemade Chocolate Macadamia Clusters
These homemade chocolate macadamia clusters are not only an easy keto recipe but they are also fairly healthy.
With heart-healthy macadamia nuts as the base and then adding collagen and sugar-free caramel syrup, these keto caramel nut clusters do not contain any added sugar, and are chock full of healthy fats as well as a good amount of protein!
You may be asking why you should include more collagen in your diet.
Well, according to the Cleveland Clinic, collagen plays a vital role in the health of your skin, bones and connective tissues, keeping joints strong, making skin elastic and helping protect your organs, as well as other functions.
Simply put, collagen holds your body together.
But if you have tried adding collagen in the past and have not been able to tolerate the taste (I was the same way!), you have got to try Naked Collagen. For the first time, I am able to add collagen powder to my coffee, shakes and baked goods without noticing any of the "earthy" taste as I did in all the other brands I have tried.
Keto Chocolate Macadamia Caramel Clusters Ingredients
One of the many great things about this recipe is how easily you can swap out ingredients and customize these sugar-free nut clusters to your liking.
- Peanut Butter -I use Member's Mark Natural peanut butter, but any type of nut or seed butter would also be great. I just recommend tasting the clusters to ensure that it's salted to your liking. You could also use coconut oil or palm oil. Using coconut oil, however, will require these keto chocolate macadamia caramel clusters to be refrigerated.
- Collagen Powder - I used Naked Collagen Powder. It is my favourite collagen powder since it is sourced from pasture-raised cows in Europe. It is odourless, and tasteless, unlike many other collagen powder products on the market!
- Sugar-Free Caramel Syrup - I used sugar-free caramel syrup by ChocZero but you can use any type of sweetener, including fiber sweeteners such as Tapioca fiber syrup.
- Macadamia Nuts - I purchased a large bag of raw, unsalted macadamia nuts from Sam's club. You will want to roast and lightly salt your nuts if they are not roasted. However, if you buy roasted nuts, you can skip this step.
- Sea Salt - As you all know, I am in love with Maldon sea salt so I like to sprinkle just a little over the cookies to give them that added little bit of "salty-sweet" taste. You may not need or want any additional salt so feel free to omit this ingredient or use regular sea salt. Do not use table salt as it is much too salty.
- Sugar-free Chocolate Chips. If you want to make a chocolate chip version, you will need to add some sugar-free chocolate to the recipe. As you can see from the photos, sometimes I use sugar-free chocolate chunks, chopped chocolate, chocolate chips or white chocolate chips. It doesn't matter what you use, or if you don't use any at all!
- *See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
These no-bake keto granola collagen bites come together quickly in only 5 steps!
Optional - If your macadamia nuts are raw, simply toss them in a small saucepan with a little salt until they just begin to brown. Add 1 tablespoon of Lakanto Golden, if desired, and stir until sweetener has melted. Allow the nuts to cool.
Melt the peanut butter and sugar-free syrup in a large bowl in the microwave until melted (about 1 minute). Whisk in the collagen powder and vanilla.
Pour the peanut butter mixture over the Toasted macadamia nuts
Pour the peanut butter mixture over the Toasted macadamia nuts and stir until incorporated.
Using a cookie scoop (or a tablespoon), divide the mixture into 16 bites and place the bites in the freezer to firm, about 15 minutes
Dip each keto caramel nut cluster into the melted chocolate and refrigerate until firm and sprinkle with sea salt, if desired.
Hint: Do not add the Maldon salt flakes while the chocolate is still hot as the chocolate will cause the salt to melt and you will not be able to see the salt on top of each cluster.
Can I use a different type of nut?
Yes! Peanuts, almonds, cashews and pecans can I be used instead of macadamia nuts.
Can I make these nut-free?
Yes! You can use sunflower seed butter instead of the peanut butter and use a mixture of roasted seeds instead of the macadamia nuts.
How can I make these more gooey?
IF you want to make these more gooey, you have several options. You can omit the collage powder which will keep these clusters more liquid. You can also add more sugar-free caramel syrup to increase the ratio of liquid to solids.
Do I have to dip these keto caramel nut clusters in chocolate?
Absolutely not! You can simply drizzle chocolate over the nut clusters or simply dip the bottom half of the cluster in the chocolate. If you use either of these two methods instead of dipping the clusters, you will only need half of the sugar-free chocolate coating.
What can I use instead of collagen peptide powder?
If you do not have any collagen peptide powder, you can simply add a little of your favourite vanilla protein powder. Only add 1 tablespoon at a time as all protein powders will absorb varying amounts of liquids. You can also completely omit using any collagen or protein powder and these clusters will turn out a little more gooey but just as tasty!
What type of liquid sweetener can I use?
If you do not have any sugar-free caramel syrup, you can use sugar-free maple syrup or allulose syrup instead. To add more caramel flavour, simply add a couple of drops of caramel extract.
Are macadamia nuts keto-friendly?
Macadamia nuts are the number one nut for a keto diet. At over 90% fat, macadamia nuts have the highest quantity of fats out of any nut or seed.
More Copycat Sweet Keto Recipes
Looking for other copycat recipes that I have made keto-friendly? Try these:
More Keto Collagen Recipes
These are my favourite keto recipes using collagen:
Keto Chocolate Macadamia Caramel Clusters
Keto Chocolate Macadamia Caramel Clusters are the perfect easy sweet and salty treat. These quick and easy sugar-free nut clusters are the perfect chewy and crunchy candy with just the right dose of chocolate, caramel and nuts.
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 16 bites 1x
Ingredients
- ½ cup creamy natural peanut butter
- ¼ cup sugar-free caramel syrup (I used ChocZero)
- ¼ cup flavourless collagen powder (I used Naked Collagen)
- ½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 110 grams roasted macadamia nuts (see this post for skillet roasting nuts)
- 3 oz. sugar-free milk chocolate (or use dairy-free), melted
- Sprinkle of sea salt (optional)
Instructions
- If your macadamia nuts are raw and unsalted, place them in a saucepan over medium heat, and bake, stirring frequently, until they begin to brown. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add 1 tablespoon of sweetener (optional) and ¼ teaspoon of salt (optional). Pour the nuts into a bowl and set them aside to cool.
- Melt the peanut butter and syrup in the microwave for 30 seconds, or until the peanut butter has melted. Remove the bowl from the microwave and stir in the collagen powder and vanilla until smooth.
- Add the roasted macadamia nuts to the bowl and stir until combined. Using a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop out the mixture and place each cluster onto a sheet lined with parchment or wax paper. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes or longer.
- While the nut clusters are chilling, melt the chocolate in a small metal mixing bowl nested inside a small saucepan one-third full of water. Or, melt chocolate in the microwave using 15-30 second intervals, stirring in between.
- Remove the macadamia nut clusters from the freezer and spread (or dip) the melted chocolate over each cluster. Allow to cool for 1 minute before sprinkling with sea salt if desired.
- Place the pan back in the fridge until the chocolate hardens.
Notes
- for a more caramel consistency, omit the collagen powder or increase the amount of liquid sweetener
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Snacks, Desserts
- Method: No-bake
- Cuisine: America, Fall, Holidays
- Diet: Gluten Free
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bite
- Calories: 115
- Sugar: 1
- Fat: 10
- Carbohydrates: 5
- Fiber: 3
- Protein: 3.4
Gwen
I haven't had macadamia nuts in forever. I went shopping after work and made this recipe. It tasted as good as your pictures looked. That close up photo with the sea salt made my mouth water!
Sheila
These were really easy and super delicious!