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Our deliciously bread-y Keto Soft Pretzel Recipe (Keto Pretzel Bites) are the perfect appetizer for your next game night!
There’s always a reason to look for more appetizer recipes. Back to school snacks for kids, football gatherings, holiday parties (because you know the holidays will be here before we know it!), or maybe it’s just a random Tuesday night and you feel like appetizers for dinner. Whatever your reason, we think you’ll love our keto soft pretzels (Keto Pretzel Bites)!
One of the most popular recipes in the keto world is fathead dough. Not only is it delicious and easy to whip up, but additionally, it can be used in a variety of different ways. The original recipe for fathead dough comes from Tom Naughton’s older brother’s oldest son, and was named after his Fat Head movie.
What is Fathead Dough?
Fathead dough is made from part-skim mozzarella cheese, cream cheese, egg, and some type of low carb flour, such as almond flour or coconut flour. This gluten free, low carb dough bakes up to have perfect bread-y texture!
What Can I Use Fathead Dough For?
Fathead dough is extremely versatile, and is used in both sweet and savory recipes. Here are a few recipes that use fathead dough:
- Keto Fathead Blueberry Cobbler Bars
- Keto Salami and Cheese Pinwheels
- 3 Cheese Fathead Crust Pizza
- Wrap-Style Low Carb Tortillas
This recipe is from our e-Book Crowd-Pleasing Snacks and Party Food Appetizers! Check it out for more keto appetizer ideas, including the keto beer cheese recipe (in the photo above) that we served with these Low Carb Soft Pretzel Recipe (Keto Pretzel Bites).
Ingredients in these Keto Soft Pretzels
- Instant yeast
- Warm water
- Almond flour
- Psyllium husk powder
- Baking powder
- Part-skim mozzarella cheese
- Cream cheese
- Egg
- Unsalted butter
- Coarse kosher salt
Why Use Yeast in Low Carb Bread?
This Low Carb Soft Pretzel Recipe and a couple of our other low carb and keto bread recipes include yeast as an ingredient (check out our Best Keto Bread Recipe!). Yeast should be proofed, which means dissolving it in lukewarm water (105F to 110F) and combining it with some form of sugar to feed the yeast (such as honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar, etc.). A lot of people were concerned that the sugar required to feed the yeast would increase the carb count and make the end result not keto-friendly. Rest assured that these recipes are still keto and their carb count isn’t effected.
For a mini science lesson, we’ll explain briefly what happens. As the yeast feeds on sugar through the process of fermentation, the yeast converts the sugar into energy and emits carbon dioxide as a result (which is why we see the bubbles as the yeast proofs). (Read more about this process on Scientific American).
Here we didn’t actually proof the yeast because we didn’t add any type of sugar. Rather, we just mixed instant yeast with water until it turned foamy. As a result, we added yeasty flavor and aroma without any rise.
Almond Flour
When we started dabbling in keto baking, we quickly realized how useful almond flour is! For starters, it lends itself equally well to sweet and savory recipes. Additionally, almond flour is a breeze to work with. There’s no denying almond flour tastes delicious (subtly like almonds). And lastly, almond flour is easy to find at just about any grocery store nowadays.
Is Almond Flour the Same as Almond Meal?
We frequently get asked about almond flour, which is just blanched almonds (that is, almonds with the skins removed) that are ground up. Almond flour is different from almond meal in that the almonds ground for almond meal still have the skins. Almond meal and almond flour can often be used interchangeably in recipes; however, here we recommend using almond flour for the best looking pretzel bites.
Carbs in Almond Flour
According to the USDA Food Database, 1 (1/4-cup/28g) serving of almond flour contains the following nutrition information:
- 160kcals
- 6g protein
- 14g total fat
- 6g carbohydrates
- 3g fiber
Is Almond Flour Good for Keto?
Almond flour is gluten free and grain free, as well as relatively low in carbs. It’s easy to bake with, and is often thought of as an all-purpose flour in keto baking (because it can be used in both sweet and savory recipes). Almond flour is a great flour for keto and low carb baking.
More Low Carb Appetizer Recipes:
- Keto Buffalo Chicken Dip from The Keto Queens
- Pimento Cheese from An Edible Mosaic
- Keto Cheese-Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers from The Keto Queens
- Warm Cheesy Garlic and Kale Dip from An Edible Mosaic
- Instant Pot Deviled Eggs from The Keto Queens
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Keto Soft Pretzels (Keto Pretzel Bites)
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- 2 tablespoons warm water
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 teaspoon psyllium husk powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
- 1 oz cream cheese
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425F; line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat liner.
- Add the yeast and warm water to a small bowl and stir with a fork to combine; let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk together the almond flour, psyllium husk powder, and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Melt the mozzarella and cream cheese together in a double boiler or microwave. If using the microwave, start out with 1 minute and then stir the cheese with a fork; continue heating it in 15-second intervals until it’s melted.
- Stir the dissolved yeast into the cheese mixture, and then stir in the egg, and finally the almond flour mixture. It’s easiest to do this with your hands; to help prevent the dough from sticking, lightly spray your hands with a little avocado or olive oil before kneading the ingredients together until they form a dough.
- Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces; roll each into a log about 4 inches long and cut each log into 4 bites (so you end up with 16 bites total).
- Arrange the bites on the prepared baking sheet and bake until golden, about 10 minutes.
- As soon as they’re out of the oven, carefully brush the top of each pretzel bite with butter and sprinkle on a little salt.
- Cool slightly before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Is there a reason these aren’t quickly boiled in baking soda water before baking like regular pretzels? Just wonder if it’s possible to do with this dough so it will have the classic pretzel flavor.
Candace, Yes, we’ve tried boiling these pretzels in baking soda water before baking. However, since this dough is basically made of cheese it didn’t go as it normally does when making regular pretzels. The pretzels melted in the water! The thing to remember is that we’re basically making bread out of cheese, so they’ll be a bit different than regular (i.e., non-keto) products that we’re used to eating before our keto days. That being said, these are delicious in their own right and a great simulation of pretzels. If you try boiling these pretzels and have success with it, please let us know!
can the cheese be full fat not part skimmed
The part skim works best for the dough because of the moisture content of the cheese.
Looks delicious! Thanks for the shout-out for my meatballs.
I loved this recipe! Can you use the same dough for pizza? Do you have to do anything different?
Helen, We’re so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Yes, the dough can be used for pizza as well. To do so: 1) Roll out the dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper to a circle about 1/3-inch thick. 2) Remove the top piece of parchment paper, and transfer the dough (still on the bottom piece of parchment paper) to a large baking sheet. Use a fork to poke a few holes in the dough. 3) Bake the crust in a preheated 425F oven until light golden, about 10 minutes. 4) Remove the prebaked crust from the oven and top with sauce, cheese, or any pizza toppings you like. 5) Return the pizza to the oven and cook until the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes. We hope you enjoy! 🙂
Is there any acceptable substitute for Psyllium husk powder?
Chris, The psyllium husk helps add a bread-y texture. You can definitely make this recipe without it, but the texture will be a little different. We haven’t played around with substitutions, but xanthan gum or beef gelatin may also work. Please let us know how it goes if you decide to experiment with the recipe!
what if I do want the rise? do i just leave it out and let it double in size like other yeast bread? Thank you – would love to give this a try!
Emma, If you want to proof the yeast, we recommend adding 1 teaspoon of honey, maple syrup, or coconut sugar to the yeast along with the warm water. We hope you enjoy this recipe if you give it a try!
I did make them! added 1 tsp of honey, let the dough double in size, portion and bake. they are SO wonderful! will make them again.. am thinking of adding some mixed herbs and black olives and maybe curry powder…(cuz I’m a curry addict 😂) I will post the pictures on instagram and tag you soon! Thank you for the great recipe!
Emma, I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Love your idea of adding savory mix-ins, I might have to try that. I’m a curry addict as well, lol! 🙂
May I ask what the purpose of the psyllium husk is? Do you absolutely need it? Thanks-these look really good.
Kelly, The psyllium husk helps add a bread-y texture. You can definitely make this recipe without it, but the texture will be a little different. Hope you enjoy it if you give it a try! 🙂