Keto Cranberry Crumble Bars combine a buttery shortbread crust with a luscious sugar-free cranberry filling. It’s the perfect way to use up your leftover keto cranberry sauce! And they have only 3.2 grams net carbs per serving.
Thanksgiving leftovers never seem to disappear at the same rate. There’s always one dish that seems to linger long after everything else is gone. Sometimes it’s the turkey, sometimes it’s the keto stuffing – but if you’re lucky, it’s the keto cranberry sauce. Because that stuff is pure gold!
You can spoon it into over some coconut flour pancakes, or use it to top some keto cheesecake. Or you can create an entirely new dessert like these Keto Cranberry Crumble Bars.
These delightfully crumbly bars, with their oatmeal-like texture, are reason enough to make EXTRA cranberry sauce this year. Just to make sure you have enough on hand!
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Sliced almonds: Make sure to get the thin-sliced almonds, not the slivered almonds.
- Flaked coconut: You can also use shredded coconut, if that’s all you have.
- Almond flour: Finely ground almond flour will give these bars the best consistency.
- Sweetener: You really need an erythritol based sweetener to give these bars the right consistency. See the Sweetener Options for more information.
- Cranberry sauce: My keto sugar-free cranberry sauce is the star of the show!
- Glucomannan: This helps thicken the sauce a little bit so it doesn’t soak down into the crust and soften it. You can also use some xanthan gum.
- Baking staples: Butter, vanilla extract, salt.
How to Make Keto Cranberry Crumble Bars
- Make the “oats”: Pulse the sliced almonds and flaked coconut together in a food processor or blender until they resemble oats.
- Prepare the dough: Combine the almond/coconut mixture with the almond flour, sweetener, and salt. Stir in the butter and vanilla.
- Bake the bottom crust: Press a little over half of this mixture firmly into a metal baking pan. Bake until golden brown. Let cool completely.
- Thicken the cranberry sauce: Whisk the glucomannan into the cranberry sauce quickly to combine.
- Spread over the crust: Spread the sauce over the cooled crust and crumble the remaining crust mixture overtop.
- Bake again: Return to the oven and bake another 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
Carolyn’s Tips for Success
I love the oatmeal-like texture of the sliced almonds and flaked coconut. However, if you prefer, you can use another 1/2 cup of almond flour instead. Feel free to also add some finely chopped pecans or walnuts in place of the almond/coconut mixture.
Let the bottom crust cool completely before adding the cranberry sauce. If it’s still warm, the sauce has a tendency to soften it. Thickening the sauce, especially if it’s a bit liquidy, also helps.
You can also use an 8×8 inch pan for this recipe, but it will take longer to bake through. Keep your eye on it!
Sweetener Options
The crust and crumble in this recipe is meant to be firm and similar to keto shortbread. It’s important to note than any amount of allulose or xylitol will make it very soft and fragile. If you wish to cut back on the erythritol, you can use 1/3 cup and add some additional sweetness with monk fruit or stevia extract.
The cranberry sauce uses both erythritol and allulose-based sweeteners. You can use just allulose, but it may contribute a little to the bottom crust softening up. Please see my Guide to Keto Sweeteners for a deep dive into the properties of various sugar substitutes.
More Delicious Keto Cranberry Desserts
Keto Cranberry Crumble Bars Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (46 g) sliced almonds
- 1/2 cup (42.5 g) flaked coconut
- 2 cups (224 g) almond flour
- 1/2 cup (100 g) brown sugar replacement, (erythritol recommended)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 6 tbsp (85.21 g) butter, melted
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 recipe keto cranberry sauce
- 1/2 tsp glucomannan, or xanthan gum
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line an 9×9 inch metal baking pan with parchment paper. Allow some of the parchment to overhang the sides for easy removal.
- Place the almond and coconut in a food processor or blender. Pulse on and off quickly until they resemble oat flakes. Transfer to a large bowl.
- Add the almond flour, sweetener, and salt, and whisk to combine. Stir in the melted butter and vanilla until the dough begins to clump together.
- Press a little over half of the dough into the prepared baking pan and bake 12 to 15 minutes, until the edges are turning golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
- Place the cranberry sauce in a medium bowl. Sprinkle the surface with glucomannan, whisking quickly to combine.
- Spread the cranberry sauce over the crust, make sure to get some all the way to the edges. Then take the remaining crust and crumble it over the filling, pressing lightly to adhere.
- Bake another 25 to 30 minutes, until the filling is bubbly and the topping is golden brown. Remove and let cool completely, then lift the bars out by the parchment overhang and cut into bars.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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