This post may contain affiliate links. Click here for my affiliate disclosure. If you purchase items through my affiliate links, I receive a small commission but your price doesn't change.
These Pecan Pie Bars have a nice shortbready crust with a creamy pecan filling on top. They’re the perfect indulgent Christmas treat. THM S
The goo factor
The original pecan pie bars from my childhood that I was trying to replicate are ooey gooey like pecan pie and probably contain lots of corn syrup. Unfortunately no sugar = no real caramelization, so you have to try to get goo in other ways. Even if the texture isn’t going to be a dead ringer for the original, the flavors are there, and these Pecan Pie Bars are absolutely delicious.
Success Tips
These Pecan Pie Bars definitely need to firm up in the fridge before you can eat them. They’re quite runny when warm, and they taste much better cold anyway.
I cut this recipe into 16 squares (4×4) because they’re quite rich. Cutting into 9 squares (3×3) = very large pieces! If the pieces are small, you can have one and a half, right?
You could probably make a double batch of this recipe in a 9” x 13” pan. You may need to bake them a little longer, but check early and frequently to make sure you don’t overbake them.
Delicious pairing
These Pecan Pie Bars are amazing on their own, but there is one thing that takes them completely over the top: maple ice cream. You can use this maple ice cream recipe and chunk up these bars into it in place of the cookie crumbs the recipe calls for. *swoon*
You can also pair these Pecan Pie Bars with a simple scoop of sugar free vanilla ice cream.
As always, check out the Notes section of the recipe for helpful info and answers to frequently asked questions!
YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY:
-
STARTING THM
-
MY RECIPE INDEX
-
RECIPE INDEX BY FUEL TYPE/ALLERGY/THEME
-
My Pecan Custard Pie recipe
-
My Butter Pecan Ice Cream recipe
New and improved
This recipe is a remake of the Pecan Pie Bars recipe on page 330 of Necessary Food, my first cookbook. In this update I added more sweetener to try to appease everyone’s taste buds (and I personally make things sweeter now than I used to) and tried to up the goo factor. The new recipe is made for an 8″ x 8″ pan while the old recipe was for a 9″ x 13″ pan.
This recipe was originally published to the website on November 24, 2015. It was updated November 2021.
Pecan Pie Bars
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 16
Description
These Pecan Pie Bars have a nice shortbready crust with a creamy pecan filling on top. They’re the perfect indulgent Christmas treat. THM S
The originals are ooey gooey like pecan pie and probably contain lots of corn syrup. Unfortunately no sugar = no real caramelization, so you have to try to get goo in other ways. Even if the texture isn’t going to be a dead ringer for the original, the flavors are there, and these Pecan Pie Bars are absolutely delicious.
Ingredients
CRUST
- 1/2 cup Briana’s Baking Mix
- 1/4 cup oat fiber
- 1 teaspoon THM Super Sweet Blend
- 6 tablespoons salted butter (melted)
FILLING
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk or cashew milk
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons oat fiber
- 1 tablespoon THM Super Sweet Blend
- 1 teaspoon molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons salted butter (melted)
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (approx 110g – I love my Tupperware Smooth Chopper for chopping nuts!)
Instructions
Mix the crust ingredients together with a hand mixer or meat fork (it works). Press the crust into a greased 8” x 8” glass baking pan. Do not prebake the crust.
For the filling, whisk the cream, almond milk, eggs, oat fiber, sweetener, molasses, vanilla, and salt together until smooth. Drizzle in the melted butter while whisking. Add the xanthan gum a little at a time while whisking. Fold in the chopped pecans. Pour the filling mixture over the crust and use an offset frosting spreader or spatula to distribute the pecans evenly.
Bake at 350°F until just set when jiggled but still soft in the center, about 23-25 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate to chill completely before cutting and serving.
These Pecan Pie Bars definitely need to firm up in the fridge before you can eat them. They’re quite runny when warm, and they taste much better cold anyway. I cut this recipe into 16 squares (4×4) because they’re quite rich. Cutting into 9 squares (3×3) = very large pieces! If the pieces are small, you can have one and a half, right?
Notes
You could probably make a double batch of this recipe in a 9” x 13” pan. You may need to bake them a little longer, but check early and frequently to make sure you don’t overbake them.
Briana’s Baking Mix vs THM Baking Blend: My baking mix is a little drier than THM Baking Blend, but when using such a small amount I would start with the same amount of THM Baking Blend, then add an extra tablespoon or two if needed to create a crust that you can press into a pan.
Oat fiber: This versatile low carb flour can usually only be found online. Not all brands are created equal, but I like LifeSource oat fiber. Use gluten free oat fiber for a gluten free option. Oat fiber and oat flour are different and are not interchangeable.
Sweetener: Feel free to use your favorite low glycemic sweetener to taste in place of the THM Super Sweet Blend. Many people like more sweetener than I do, so adjust to taste to make sure you get a result you like.
Molasses: This is allowed on the Trim Healthy Mama plan in small amounts (1/4 teaspoon per serving) for flavor. I like Grandma’s brand molasses from Walmart or a local grocery store. Blackstrap molasses is recommended I believe, but the nutrition info isn’t that different from Grandma’s and I don’t like the taste nearly as well. Molasses IS technically a sweetener, but it’s not refined sugar and is only used in a small amount for flavor so I’m still calling this recipe sugar free. 😉 You could try 1/2 teaspoon maple extract in place of the molasses if you prefer.
Glucomannan/xanthan gum: You can generally swap between the two in recipes, although I haven’t tried glucomannan in this recipe.
Allergy info: gluten free (use gluten free oat fiber)
This recipe is a remake of the Pecan Pie Bars recipe on page 330 of Necessary Food, my first cookbook. In this update I added more sweetener to try to appease everyone’s taste buds (and I personally make things sweeter now than I used to) and tried to up the goo factor. The new recipe is made for an 8″ x 8″ pan while the old recipe was for a 9″ x 13″ pan. This recipe was originally published to the website on November 24, 2015. It was updated November 2021.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: THM S, low carb, gluten free
Keywords: thm, trim healthy mama, low carb pecan pie bars, thm pecan pie bars, sugar free pecan pie bars, gluten free pecan pie bars, thm pecan recipes
Wonder if you just use whipping cream no almond milk if set better
I don’t usually have problems with them setting…?
So I use the THM baking blend so how much of the baking blend do I use?
I would start with the same amount of THM Baking Blend, then add a few more tablespoons if the crust seems more like a “dough” than something that is able to be pressed into a pan. I actually have an update of this recipe to post soon. 🙂
We have a pecan allergy in the family. Would walnuts substitute well? Pecans, to me, have a slight sweetness. Didn’t know how much this would change the taste. Thank you!
I’m sorry – I’m really not sure! I haven’t eaten or baked with many walnuts. I’m guessing they would work, but I don’t know how they would affect the taste. Definitely feel free to just sweeten to taste. Most people like more sweetener than I do in this recipe anyway. 😉
My daughter can’t have dairy. Have you ever known anyone to substitute coconut cream (or anything else) for the whipping cream?
Hi Tina! I know that that’s often worth a try, but I’m not sure if anyone has tried it in this particular recipe. I’d love to hear how it turns out if you try it!
If I’m using THM’s Baking Blend, do I need to add more for the crust?
I’ve never tried using the THM Baking Blend in this recipe, but yes, you’ll probably need a bit more than the cup of my baking mix called for. 🙂 Maybe a few tablespoons?
I’ll try it. Thanks!
Had anyone had success using half and half? I know it changed the nutritional value some, but just wondering if anyone has had trouble with the finished product
I’ve never tried it but I don’t recommend it since heavy whipping cream is so much thicker. 🙂
I can’t wait to try this for Thanksgiving! Pecan Pie is what I will miss the most, but I won’t have to with these. One question: do I need to keep them refrigerated once they set up? Thank you so much for all your wonderful recipes!
Yes, I refrigerate all my sugar-free baked goods because they don’t have the sugar to act as a preservative and spoil pretty quickly on the counter. 🙂
Thank you! Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanks for sharing! How far ahead of time can I make it?
They’ll probably be best and taste freshest in the first week after making them. Mine never last long enough for me to find out exactly how long they’ll keep. 😛
Do you have any ideas on what to substitute for the oat fiber in the filling? I’m all out!
I’m afraid that oat fiber is a very unique flour, so I don’t have any recommendations for substitution. I’m sorry! (Some people use ground psyllium husks to replace it, I believe, but I’ve personally never tried that.)
I found this recipe in your cookbook, which, btw it an awesome and beautifully made!!!
Is the batter for the filling supposed to be watery? Mine is and I’m not sure if I did something wrong?
Yes, the batter is fairly runny and will set up when baked. 🙂
I had to bake it longer and realized this morning that it’s because I didn’t have the size pan listed. I had to make it in 8×11… my oh my! I will make again but I will be adding more sweetener in the pecan filling and I will continue to use the smaller pan!!
Is the crust supposed to come out crunchy? These are totally delicious, but we were hoping for more of a crunch factor. Did we take them out too soon?
★★★★
No, I wouldn’t call the crust crunchy. These are meant to be more of a cookie bar type recipe. 🙂
What other nuts can be used in this recipes and still stay on plan?
As far as I know, all nuts are approved in an S setting on the THM plan, so feel free to substitute with whatever you think would taste good!
How are these sugar free when they contain molasses????! It has 15g of sugar per tablespoon.
My apologies…you are probably right. I just used it as a flavoring (in a very small amount0, not a sweetener, in this recipe, so I didn’t think about that taking this out of the sugar free classification.
I would just like to mention, to help others with this question…..
This recipe calls for 2 tsp molasses. According to the http://www.grandmamolasses.com/nutritional-info/ site, 1 tbls of Grandma Molasses has 12 g of sugar, that means this recipe adds 8 g of sugar . If you divide the bars into 20 servings, that’s .4g of sugar per bar. The American Heart Association says that “sugar free” means less than .5g of sugar per serving. http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/HealthyEating/Nutrition/Sugar-101_UCM_306024_Article.jsp#.Wsi19qjwbIU
Perhaps one may not want to eat these bars, as they do actually have some sugar in them, and there is a tiny bit more sugar from the almond milk. But, I didn’t want anyone to think that Briana’s claim was totally off base.
how many carbs would one serving be?
many thanks
★★★★★
Hi Carol! The healthy eating lifestyle that I follow (called “Trim Healthy Mama” – you can find out about it here: https://www.briana-thomas.com/starting-trim-healthy-mama/ ) focuses on not having to count numbers, so I embrace that freedom. 🙂 You’re welcome to use a calculator like MyFitnessPal to calculate the nutritional info for these bars, but keep in mind that such calculators often don’t calculate correctly for baking mixes and sugar alcohols.
SOOOOOO EXCITED that you will be publishing a cookbook! I can’t wait!!
★★★★★
These are absolutely amazing!! You would never guess they are ‘diet’! 🙂
★★★★★
Could you sub in gluccie for the xantham gum or just leave it out? I do not have any xantham gum…
Yes, gluccie should be fine. 🙂
Can you freeze these?
I don’t see why not.
A M A Z I N G is all I can say for these Pecan Pie Bars. I followed the recipe exactly EXCEPT I added Lily’s Stevia sweetened chocolate chips! I am taking these bars to my sons for dinner tonight. I cut them into 20 pieces & I am only taking 10 bars haha More for me later this week!
Thank you so much Briana for sharing your talent with us so we can be successful on the THM journey!
★★★★★
Oh, I’m so glad!
Thank you! Yummy! Made a half batch in a large bread pan. I used all thm blend in the crust, and extra sweet blend in the batter. Yum!
So just to make sure. I’m using thm baking blend which has oat flour In It. Do I still add the 1/2 cup to the crust recipe plus the baking blend.
Yes, this recipe calls for my Baking Mix *plus* 1/2 cup oat fiber. If you’re using THM Baking Blend in place of my Baking Mix, you might need an additional few tablespoons of THM Baking Blend because my Baking Mix is a tad drier.
Hi Brianna, I have not tried the super sweet blend yet so do you know or have an idea of how much truvia or xylitol I should use in it’s place? Is there a THM chart of ratios for this? Seems like I seen one floating around a few times. THanks!
I found it Brianna! Didn’t think I could locate the chart that fast! ha!
Do you happen to know how much psyllium husk powder I can use instead of oat fiber? I believe they are interchangeable, but maybe not a 1:1 ratio? I’m looking forward to trying these!! Thank you!
I’ve never worked with psyllium husk powder, but I’ve heard that it’s a 1:1 ratio too, so if I were you I’d start with that and experiment.
About psyllium husk powder: scientifically they have the same properties and may work 1:1 sometimes. In this case I strongly discourage psyllium husk. The flavor of that much psyllium husk will not be pleasant. In small amounts the strong flavor can be hidden. I love the texture, and fiber in psyllium husk and use it in my bread recipies.
★★★★
Thanks for the input!
Sound delicious!
What would be the sub in this if I used THM baking blend? They sound amazing thank you!
Sorry…meaning what amount of THM baking blend. Thank you!
I’ve never made these with the THM Baking Blend, but my mix is a little drier so you’d need more THM Baking Blend than the amount called for here, maybe a few tablespoons more. Honestly, in this recipe a plain ol’ 1:1 substitute would probably work, but the general rule of thumb for my baking mix is that more THM Baking Blend is needed.
Thanks!!