Healthy Keto Bread Recipes

The words "keto" and "bread" may seem diametrically opposed—but alas, your desperate, carb-starved self still Googled them together in hopes of a culinary miracle. And we don't blame you one bit. After all, this low-carb, high-fat, moderate-protein keto diet isn't without its grueling transition period known as the keto flu, which can include some pretty intense cravings.


The good news: Even though the keto diet is high in good fats—like avocados and coconut oil—and very low in sugar and carbs, you can definitely still find comfort in your favorite carby flavors and textures without sabotaging your goals. It's all about making strategic ingredient swaps and adding in the appropriate keto-friendly foods.


To prove it, two of our favorite keto bread recipes are below.

The ingredients: What makes a bread recipe keto-friendly?


To keep your total carb intake low (so you can stay in that fat-burning state known as ketosis), the best keto bread recipes forgo traditional flour for high-fiber and high-fat ingredients like almond flour, coconut flour, psyllium husk powder, eggs, and healthy fats like grass-fed butter or avocado oil. This not only helps you hit your keto macros, but it ups your intake of some awesome nutrients as well.


Almond flour is packed with vitamin E and magnesium, coconut flour and psyllium husk (which is an amazing binder) are sky-high in fiber to keep blood sugar balanced and boost the health of your microbiome, and glorious eggs are a potent source of choline, vitamin K2, and biotin, among other nutrients.


Together, these ingredients somehow manage to achieve almost-authentic bread flavor. Of course, you're not going to achieve that perfect crumb and bouncy texture of breads made with traditional flour (gluten is responsible for that classic elasticity), but the final product is certainly good enough for your next round of avocado toast.


Now, enough with the chit chat. Let's make some keto bread!

Hearty Coconut Flour Seed Bread Recipe




This delightful nut- and seed-studded keto bread recipe comes from the new cookbook Easy Keto Breakfasts by Carolyn Ketchum, best-selling author and founder of the popular keto blog All Day I Dream About Food. Each slice contains just 6 grams of carbs, along with 4 grams of fiber (16 percent of your recommended daily intake) and 6 grams of protein.


Serves 12


Ingredients

½ cup hulled pumpkin seeds
⅔ cup (73 grams) coconut flour
2 tablespoons psyllium husk powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
5 large egg whites
3 large whole eggs
¼ cup avocado oil
¼ to ½ cup warm water
1 tablespoon hulled hemp or sesame seeds, for the top
1 tablespoon hulled sunflower seeds, for the top


Method

Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.
In a food processor or coffee grinder, process the pumpkin seeds until they resemble fine crumbs. Transfer to a large bowl.
Whisk in the coconut flour, psyllium, baking powder, and salt. Add the egg whites, whole eggs, and avocado oil and stir until well combined.
Stir in ¼ cup of the warm water until well combined. If the batter is stiff, stir in up to ¼ cup more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the batter is spreadable but not pourable.
Spread the batter in the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle with the seeds and press lightly to adhere.
Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until golden brown on top and firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and let cool completely in the pan.





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The Best Keto Bread Recipe





This recipe comes from the cookbook Keto Made Easy by Megha Barot and Matt Gaedke, founders of the popular blog Keto Connect. Surprisingly, each slice contains just 2.4 grams of carbs, along with 4.6 grams of protein. Rest assured, the touch of stevia in the recipe doesn't make the bread sweet. Rather, it's used to more closely mimic the flavor of a traditional wheat-flour-based bread.


Serves 16


Ingredients

6 large eggs
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
1½ cups blanched almond flour
¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted but not hot
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
10 drops of liquid stevia


Method

Preheat the oven to 375°F and grease an 8-by-4-inch loaf pan with coconut oil spray.
Separate the eggs. Put the whites and cream of tartar in a large mixing bowl and beat with a hand mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form.
Put the egg yolks, almond flour, melted butter, baking powder, salt, stevia, and one-third of the beaten egg whites in another large mixing bowl. Mix with the hand mixer until you have a thick, uniform dough.
Using a rubber spatula, fold in the remaining whipped egg whites in 2 parts.
Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan and bake for 30 minutes, until the bread is set in the center and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing and slicing.
Store leftovers in a zip-top plastic bag for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 2 weeks. It is best reheated in the oven or toaster oven.