It might sound weird to sweeten pork rinds and eat them like kettle corn, but it tastes amazing. And each serving of this Keto Kettle Corn recipe has less than 1g net carbs.
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Greetings 👋
Today I’m going to share a low carb recipe for that state fair favorite: Kettle Corn.
What is Kettle Corn? 🍿
Kettle Corn, or the more cheekily spelled Kettle Korn, is a classic American sweet popcorn snack often sold at festivals, carnivals, and the like. It actually dates back to 18th century Europe, when farmers would cook corn in large cast iron kettles over an open fire. They added lard and sugar while the popcorn was cooking, which resulted in sweet popped corn snack. German and European immigrants brought this tasty treat to America in the mid to late 1700s, and the rest is history.
Is Kettle Corn Keto friendly? 💬
With all that sugar and corn? Ha no, no it’s not. But fear not low carb dieters, I have a Keto alternative to share with you today. It employs an unlikely ingredient: pork rinds.
Pork rinds? Seriously? 🐷
Hear me out! I’ve actually been making sweetened pork rind snacks for some time now. You may remember by recipes for Cinnamon Twists, Puppy Chow or Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal. Once you coat those babies in cinnamon and sweetener you’ll never go back. They make excellent zero-carb treats.
Ingredients 🥣
To make this low carb snack, you’ll need just 4 ingredients:
- butter
- Confectioner’s Swerve
- vanilla extract
- pork rinds
Instructions 🧾
- Cut pork rinds into quarters so that they are in bite-size pieces. Add to a large bowl.
- Add the butter, sweetener, and vanilla to a medium-sized saucepan and cook over Medium heat until dissolved.
- Bring to a low boil and then lower the heat to Low and simmer for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. It's easy to burn the caramel so stop as soon as it becomes a deep golden brown color.
- In four increments, pour the caramel sauce over the pork rinds and stir to coat.
- Place the pork rinds on a parchment-covered cookie sheet in a single layer so that they don't clump together. Taste for saltiness and sprinkle a little salt over the pork rinds if desired.
- Allow the caramel coating to cool and harden. Store in an airtight container.
And you're done! 👩🍳
You'll have a crispy, crunchy, salty and sweet snack with less than 1g of carbohydrate per serving.
Alliteratively known as Keto Kettle Korn.
📋 Recipe
Keto Caramel Popcorn
It might sound weird to sweeten pork rinds and eat them like kettle corn but it tastes amazing. And each serving has less than 1g net carbs.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 5
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 7 servings 1x
- Category: Snack
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Diabetic
Ingredients
- ¾ cup butter
- 1 ½ cups Confectioner's Swerve
- 6 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 (3.25 oz) bag pork rinds (about 4 cups)
Instructions
1. Cut pork rinds into quarters so that they are in bite-size pieces. Add to a large bowl.
2. Add the butter, sweetener, and vanilla to a medium-sized saucepan and cook over Medium heat until dissolved.
3. Bring to a low boil and then lower the heat to Low and simmer for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. It's easy to burn the caramel so stop as soon as it becomes a deep golden brown color.
4. In four increments, pour the caramel sauce over the pork rinds and stir to coat.
5. Place the pork rinds on a parchment-covered cookie sheet in a single layer so that they don't clump together. Taste for saltiness and sprinkle a little salt over the pork rinds if desired.
6. Allow the caramel coating to cool and harden. Store in an airtight container.
Nutrition
- Calories: 265
- Fat: 25
- Carbohydrates: <1
- Fiber: 0
- Protein: 8
Keywords: Low Carb Kettle Corn, Keto Kettle Corn, Low Carb Caramel Corn, Keto Caramel Corn
Where to buy Swerve 💰
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Buy Now →
Samantha Whitson says
🌼YOU, miss Emily, are brilliant! I cannot believe I didn't think to do this- considering caramel corn was one my all time favorites- but I am SO glad you did =) Thank You dear woman.
★★★★★
Emily Krill says
Hahahahaha! Thank you for making me laugh and making my day.
Linda says
Young Lady, May I adopt you, these and several other of your recipes,
are just so darn good !!!
Thank you for taking all the time to discover these recipes..
EmilyKrill says
Ha ha ha, thanks!
Aisha Vadell says
I love the taste, but by the next day, they were soft and chewy! Any way to preserve the CRUNCH?
EmilyKrill says
No, I'm afraid not.
Younderlyn Shane says
Only thing I can think of is putting them in an air fryer
Diane says
I made this, and now I read where I should start with less sweetener and add more to my taste. It is good, just really really sweet for my tastes - even if it is Swerve. I added some almonds to my mix, and that helped cut some of the sweet. Want to try it next time with less sweetner and then try your Cinnamon twist recipe as well. thanks for sharing.
★★★★
EmilyKrill says
Sounds like a plan.
Sarah says
This is delicious! But I'm not sure how it is only 1 carb. I'm new to the Keto game so maybe you can help me understand. My carb counting app says its 42g carbs for one serving. But it's so yummy!!
Totally satisfies my sweet, salty, crunchy cravings.
EmilyKrill says
Yay, so glad you like it.
The carb count is so high when you put the ingredients into your diet app because it is counting the carbs in the Swerve. But Swerve is a sugar alcohol, so your body can't process it. So when you subtract the alcohol amount from the carb amount, then you get net 0 net carbs. And Swerve has 0 calories, so it actually shouldn't be counted in the total nutrition at all. The only carbs in this recipe come from the pork rinds, vanilla extract and butter, so all told, it's less than 1g net carbs per serving.
Here's some more info on how to calculate net carbs. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/net-carbs#section5
Debora Van Horn says
I just made these as something I could keep myself from craving movie theater popcorn...delicious!! Its a little sweeter than I like though, do you think adding a little less sweetener would impact its ability to carmelize?
★★★★★
EmilyKrill says
No, adding less sweetener would be fine. You should start with 3/4 cup, or even 1/2 cup and then taste it and add more as needed.
Lori says
I just found your recipe love pork rinds.
And made them and I love them,
Thank you Emily❤️
EmilyKrill says
Yay! I'm so glad you liked them. Thanks for letting me know.
Celestine Angeline says
What brand of pork rinds do you recommend?
EmilyKrill says
I always buy Aldi's brand of pork rinds. They're the least expensive ones that I've found.
Holly says
I love love love these. What a creative way to use pork rinds!
★★★★★
EmilyKrill says
I love sweetened pork rinds. I just like the crispiness of them.
Patti says
Yum! I need to give this one a try, it sounds great! Thank you for sharing!