Warm, buttery dinner rolls are not a thing of the past. Brushed with garlic butter, these fluffy keto rolls make your mouth water. And they’re completely nut-free!
Let me tell you what happiness is. Happiness is grabbing a warm roll from the bread basket and slathering it with butter. And many of us believe it’s a joy we will never experience again when we go on a low carb or keto diet.
But before you wallow in utter despair, you need to try these buttery, garlicky keto rolls. They are just the kind of warm bready happiness you crave.
I sometimes find it hard to believe that ingredients like cheese and coconut flour can produce a stretchy, bready dough. But it really works, and it makes some spectacular things like keto bagels and keto calzone.
And oh boy, does it make some amazing keto rolls. I start salivating just thinking about them.
Why you will love this recipe
I will admit that this is not quite the same as traditional fathead dough and it took me a couple of tries to get it right. It follows a similar process of melting the cheese and adding in the flour and eggs. But I made a few changes to make these keto rolls lighter and fluffier.
I used my usual trick of adding protein powder to help the dough rise and give it more volume. But I also added more baking powder and an additional egg white to add even more rising powder.
And it worked! Granted, they are still more dense than conventional dinner rolls but that’s simply the nature of keto ingredients. But they are so buttery and garlicky! There is honestly nothing better.
Reader Reviews
“Thank you, Carolyn, for another winning recipe! Absolutely perfect texture and taste. I have not had one failure with any of your recipes; it is obvious that you put a lot of effort and testing into your creations. Kudos!” — Amy
“Amazing best low carb rolls ever, the addition of the whey isolate is a wonderful addition mine actually turned out looking like yours. Thank you so much for the recipe, hubby liked them too.” — Gail
“I made these for our Thanksgiving dinner and they were amazingly good. Thank you for such a yummy recipe!” — Jess
Ingredients you need
- Shredded cheese: I really like using cheddar in this recipe, which I shred myself. But you can also use mozzarella. Full fat mozzarella might make the dough a little greasy so add a bit more coconut flour if you need it.
- Butter: This helps adds flavor and helps the cheese melt. I also like to brush the top of the rolls with more butter. Because cheese adds salty flavor with the rolls, use unsalted butter.
- Coconut flour: This is a coconut flour recipe, and it won’t work with almond flour. I promise, it does not taste at all like coconut.
- Unflavored whey protein powder: A dry protein powder helps the rolls rise and have a fluffy consistency. You can also use egg white protein powder. Do not use collagen protein since it can make the rolls gummy and very hard to cook through.
- Eggs: I use a combination of eggs and egg whites in this recipe, to give the rolls a lighter texture.
- Garlic: Because everything tastes better with fresh garlic!
- Parsley: I add a little fresh parsley to the garlic butter. You can also use rosemary.
- Pantry staples: Baking powder, garlic powder, salt.
Step-by-step directions
- In a large microwave safe bowl, combine the grated cheese and the butter. Melt on high in 30 second increments until the cheese and butter can be stirred together and is almost liquid.
- Add the coconut flour, protein powder, baking powder, garlic powder, and salt. Stir in the eggs and egg white and use a rubber spatula to “knead” together in the bowl until uniform.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal portions. The dough will be quite sticky so lightly oil your hands and roll into 8 ball. Place in an 8-inch round baking pan with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the ingredients for the garlic butter and brush about half of it over the rolls in the pan.
- Bake at 350F for 20 to 25 minutes, until puffed, golden brown, and firm to the touch. Remove and let cool about15 minutes before removing from the pan and breaking apart. Brush with the remaining garlic butter. Serve warm.
Expert tips
You can assemble these rolls a day ahead. Once ready, cover and refrigerate overnight. Be sure to let them come to room temperature before baking.
A little butter helps the cheese melt and liquify in the microwave. I melt mine on high in 30 second increments and stirred in between. It only took about 1 minute and 30 seconds total.
Add in the remaining ingredients quickly. No need to sift the dry ingredients together, but you should have everything else ready to go. You want to add them all in at once and start stirring and kneading the dough together.
Use a rubber spatula. I find that the best way to make a cohesive fathead dough is to use a good flexible rubber spatula to knead it together in the bowl. Really press it up hard against the sides of the bowl to work the melted cheese into the other ingredients.
Grease your hands. This dough is a little stickier than traditional fathead dough so it helps to have your hands greased when you roll it into balls.
Use parchment paper. Lining your cake pan with parchment helps ensure that the keto dinner rolls won’t stick to the pan. But it still allows them to get nicely browned around the edges.
Adjust salt to taste. If you’re not a salt lover, you may want to leave out the additional salt. The cheddar and the baking powder both have salt as it is. I personally love salt and salty things so I like sprinkling the rolls with a little coarse sea salt at the end.
Frequently Asked Questions
These mouthwatering keto dinner rolls contain cheese, coconut flour, protein powder, butter, and eggs. They also have kitchen staples such as baking powder, garlic, and salt.
Store leftover rolls in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, and re-heat gently before serving. You can also freeze them for several months.
This fathead dough keto roll recipe has 5.9g of carbs and 2.6g of fiber per serving. That comes to 3.3g net carbs per roll.
Related Recipes
Keto Dinner Rolls Recipe
Ingredients
Rolls:
- 8 ounces grated cheddar cheese or mozzarella
- 2 tablespoon butter
- ½ cup coconut flour
- ¼ cup unflavored whey protein powder or egg white protein powder
- 4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large egg white
Garlic Butter
- 2 tablespoon butter melted
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- ½ teaspoon coarse salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line an 8-inch round baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a large microwave safe bowl, combine the grated cheese and the butter. Melt on high in 30 second increments until the cheese and butter can be stirred together and is almost liquid.
- Add the coconut flour, protein powder, baking powder, garlic powder, and salt. Stir in the eggs and egg white and use a rubber spatula to knead together in the bowl until uniform.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal portions. The dough will be quite sticky so lightly oil your hands and roll into 8 ball. Place in the prepared baking pan.
- Whisk together the ingredients for the garlic butter and brush about half of it over the rolls in the pan.
- Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until puffed, golden brown, and firm to the touch. Remove and let cool about15 minutes before removing from the pan and breaking apart. Brush with the remaining garlic butter. Serve warm.
Heather says
These came out delicious! I used a full tablespoon of Garlic Powder in the biscuits though because I love garlic! They were perfect for my cheeseburgers. Even my husband loved them!
Carolyn says
Garlic lovers, unite!
Gloria says
I made these for dinner guests and they all enjoyed them! One guest said they tasted like Red Lobster cheddar biscuits.
Carolyn says
I am so glad!
Terry Marks says
The flavor and texture were both nice but a little too salty for me. I didn’t realize how much sodium is in baking powder. That alone added 120 mg of sodium per roll. Cheese had enough on its own. I love all your recipes, but eating a fairly low sodium diet makes me more sensitive to sodium.
Terry Marks says
I calculated wrong. The baking powder adds 240 mg of added sodium. 😟
Peggy says
Can you use vegan protein or must it be whey protein?
Carolyn says
You can certainly try it! Egg white protein would work as well.
Dori Miller says
I love these rolls! So flavorful, the garlic adds so much. Yum. I keep them in the freezer so I can have them with my meals. I had one with our Thanksgiving dinner. I made mine smaller so it was less carbs. Thanks for your great recipes!
Murphy says
Could I use a stand mixer with the dough attachment? Or a food processor with he dough blade? I have arthritis in my hands and I know I cannot press the dough for long enough to process with a rubber spatula.
Carolyn says
I haven’t tried it myself but give it a go! Melt the cheese and butter and add into your stand mixer. Use a regular paddle, not the dough hook.
Murphy says
Thank you! I will definitely give it a try!
Patti says
Would these be best reheated in a low oven or the microwave? Plan on taking them to my daughter’s for Christmas dinner
Carolyn says
Yes, perfect!
Theresa says
Hi Carolyn I am looking for a keto HawIian sweet rolll recipe. Can this recipe be modified by adding 1/4 C or so of Swerve brown? Or do you have a sweeet roll recipe? Thanks!
Sonny says
Extremely salty. It was hard to swallow from the dough being extremely dry, even with a big glass of water. I will not make again. Love most of the recipes on this site, just not this one.
Carolyn says
If they were dry, then they got over-baked. What cheese did you use???