Soft and airy keto focaccia bread that tastes just like the real thing. Made with almond and coconut flour, so it’s completely grain-free. Dairy-free option too.
I know it’s hard to believe for many keto beginners, but you really do stop craving bread and other carbs after a while. No really, it’s true!
I’ve been doing low carb for over 10 years now, with a keto focus for about half of that. And I can honestly say that I don’t crave any kind of bread anymore. I’d rather stick with my meats, my low carb veggies, and of course some of my keto desserts.
But while I may not crave it, I do enjoy keto breads from time to time. And this easy keto focaccia ranks up there as a truly delectable option. Dipped in olive oil and a bit of sea salt, and you will swear you are at your favorite trattoria back in your high carb days!
It’s from my first cookbook, The Everyday Ketogenic Kitchen, and I am excited to share it with you. Grab your copy here:
Keto bread can be delicious!
I am frequently asked by new followers whether there is such a thing as really good keto bread.
The answer to this simple question isn’t quite so simple. It really depends on your perspective.
Let me be very clear and say that I have yet to find any truly good store-bought keto breads. All of them are quite dry and flavorless, in my opinion, and most of them contain questionable ingredients. I think you are best to stay away from these.
But if you’re willing to make your own, and you are willing to let go of your expectations about it being exactly the same as the bread you used to enjoy, then you do have some delicious options.
Because here’s the thing: no bread made from healthy keto ingredients is going to be exact the same as conventional bread. If you can make your peace with that, and enjoy keto bread for what it is, you will be much happier. Trust me.
A few of my most popular keto bread recipes include:
And I can honestly say I think this keto focaccia may become one of the most popular of them all!
How to make keto focaccia
The flour: I find that the best flour for keto focaccia is a combination of almond flour and coconut flour. It gives the best bready consistency, and helps avoid that eggy, rubbery texture.
The protein powder: Yes, this is vital to the recipe, so please don’t ask me if you can leave it out. It helps replace the gluten in this keto bread, so it will rise properly and hold together better.
The eggs and egg whites: I first tried this bread using all whole eggs but I find that using some egg whites made it lighter and more airy, just like real focaccia.
How much water? As you can see in the recipe and the video, the amount of water you should use depends on the thickness of the dough, which in turn depends the absorbency of the coconut flour. It should really be almost a thick, sticky batter, rather than a dough.
Using wet hands: Wetting your hands helps to keep the dough from sticking to them as you spread it on the pan. Keep wetting them whenever it feels like it’s sticking.
What to serve with keto bread
So many delicious options. We love to just dip it in olive oil and sea salt. And you can even use this keto focaccia for paninis, if you split the pieces in half through the middle.
Here are some other great keto recipes to serve with focaccia:
- Keto Italian Wedding Soup
- Spinach Stuffed Chicken
- Easy Caprese Chicken
- Creamy Shrimp Scampi
- Italian Sausage Meatballs
- Keto Chicken Florentine
And hey, check out this podcast I just did discussing the do’s and the don’ts for baking keto bread!
Soft and airy keto focaccia bread that tastes just like the real thing. Made with almond and coconut flour, so it's completely grain-free. Dairy-free option too.
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/3 cup coconut flour
- 1/3 cup unflavored whey protein powder (can sub egg white protein for dairy-free)
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg whites
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup water
- Coarse sea salt for sprinkling
- Fresh rosemary leaves for sprinkling
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Preheat the oven to 325F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper.
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In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, coconut flour, protein powder, rosemary, baking powder, salt, and garlic powder. Add the olive oil, eggs, and egg whites and mix until well combined.
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Stir in just enough water to form a sticky dough. Turn the dough out onto the prepared baking sheet and use wet hands to spread to a 9×12 inch rectangle.
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Use your fingertips to dimple the surface of the bread lightly, then sprinkle with sea salt and rosemary leaves.
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Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until the bread is golden on the edges and firm to the touch. Let cool 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Pam Bradley says
I am not really a fan of rosemary. Is there a different herb you would recommend
Rose says
Thyme perhaps… that would give it a different flavor though
Mary says
I used fresh garlic and sea salt.
DK says
Made half the recipe with no yolking protein powder and it was delicious and filling 👍🏻
Danielle says
I plan to do the same. Did you sub it with something else?
BC says
Love this bread. It is wonderfully tasty and the texture is perfect. I just made it for the first time. Tonight is mushroom soup and focaccia as a dinner starter from your book!
Valerie B Williams says
I made this and cut the recipe in half because, honestly, who wants 12 servings of anything on keto? It’s a criticism across the board in most keto recipes I see, not just yours. Most households only have one, maybe two people following this lifestyle. Anyway, the foccacia was inedible because of the amount of baking powder. A waste of expensive ingredients and precious eggs under quarantine. Too bad, it sounded delicious.
Carolyn says
Sounds to me like you may have mismeasured the baking powder. Or you have a really awful tasting one. As you can see from the mostly stellar reviews, most people do not experience this. I think something went wrong in the fact that you halved the recipe.
Lisa says
I made this yesterday and we loved it! Have you ever made it into a loaf and if so, would there be any changes required to the recipe?
Carolyn says
I have not tried that.
Melisa Nanni says
The focaccia looks incredible!! Is there a substitution for the protein powder? Thank you so much for sharing such an amazing content.
Carolyn says
No, no substitutions. Please read the blog post, as I explain exactly why.
Tracy Andries says
I loved bread dipped in olive oil and I am so making this for our next Italian dinner. Looks fantastic! I just made your browned butter chocolate chip Blondie’s for a friend and she loved them. She’s not even low carb and is a dibetic. I’m trying to show her that going low carb is not difficult and is beyond enjoyable. My husband and I love them too. Thank you for your recipes. They are always the ones I turn to.
Carolyn says
So glad you liked it!
Tracy Andries says
Diabetic. Lol! I should always check my spelling.
Polly says
Made this today. For me the dough was too wet even without the water….and then I made the mistake of adding more coconut flour. (I added another 1/3 cup). What I got in the end was very delicious savory scones (a little dry but tasty). Follow my mistake if you want scones! Maybe I just needed to trust that it would turn out well in the end but I didn’t. Btw I love your bagel recipe. I have made it twice and it always disappears within the next 24 hours.
Carolyn says
You need to trust it. Trust me!
Christa H. says
I read comments while baking this today. So glad I trusted the recipe. My dough was very wet but baked up perfect. I look forward to using this for sandwich bread. It is very tasty. Thank you!
Carolyn says
Thanks so much!
Scarlett Bowling says
This recipe is a total winner! I have been a lifelong bread lover so after switching to Keto lifestyle nine months ago I was REALLY missing it. Until I found Carolyn’s bread recipes. Game changers! This one in particular is so wonderful! So close to what I think of for “real” focaccia. Fantastic texture, great flavor, totally dippable! The rosemary takes it to another level. This will become a weekly recipe for me. I followed the steps exactly and it turned out perfect. I watched her video to make sure I had the right consistency.
Carolyn says
So delighted you like it!
Linda says
Can you freeze extra bread?
Carolyn says
Sure thing!
Dotty says
Hi
What would happen to the bread if I fo not add the whey protein powder? Is there something else to substitute
Thanks
Dirty
Carolyn says
It simply won’t rise as well or hold together as well.
Deborah says
I haven’t tried the recipe yet; however, I have to let you know that I love your website and printing. I worked most of my career editing Word documents and respect when printing doesn’t waste my paper.
Also, I love the way you explain the process on your videos. Thank you for sharing
LF says
Just made this! So good.
Selina Paro says
I made this today…just as the revipe directed. It is good, but super dry. My batter looked lije the video. I am not certain if I did something wrong.
Carolyn says
My only guess here is that it got over-baked, if your batter looked like mine. Is your oven running a bit hot? Next time, try taking it out 5 min earlier. In the meantime, turn that focaccia into croutons! 🙂
Jenny Bethencourt says
What would be the best way to store leftovers?
Carolyn says
In a covered container. It can stay on the counter for 3 days and in the fridge for a week or so.
Debbie Pettigrew says
Haven’t had anything I didn’t like! Making this bread today for Mother’s Day dinner
Julie Barth Dobbins says
I appreciate your recipes more than I can say. I am anxious t try the Focaccia bread recipe. Happy Mother’s Day Carolyn!
Arlene says
Can you substitute anything for the almond flour? Hubby’s allergic!
Carolyn says
Well you could try sunflower seed flour but the issue there is that it will have a greyish tinge to begin with. And it could turn green from the reaction to the baking powder so you would need to add a tbsp of lemon juice to offset that.
Robin Hendrickson says
Mine ended up really dry too. Nothing olive oil and fresh cracked pepper can’t handle but once wet it fell apart. Maybe I need to make it thicker? Has anyone made this a loaf?
Carolyn says
Tell me what brands of almond flour and coconut flour you used? I suspect those might be the culprits. Oh and what brand of protein powder.
Robin Hendrickson says
Bobs red mill for the coconut and almond flour and great value/walmart for the baking powder. They literally only had 3 cans left when I bought it.
Carolyn says
I always use Bob’s so it’s not that. But I asked about protein powder, not baking powder… do you know what brand you used?
Robin Hendrickson says
Oops! Sorry…. I used isopure low carb.
Terry S says
I believe Carolyn once said she uses whey protein concentrate, not whey protein isolate.
Dawnj says
Made this to accompany Mother’s Day dinner. Very easy, super flavor—best keto bread ever and I have tried a few. Great for serving with soups, dinner, or on its own. Thank you!
Amanda says
This was awesome. I sliced it and toasted it to have with an egg this morning.
The texture is so close to regular bread. Thank you!
Heather K. says
I have been keto for over a year now and thanks to you no desire to change back. As long as I can have dessert every day, I’m fine. I don’t miss bread. I do miss the olive oil dipping sauce. I would eat an entire loaf if I had seasoned olive oil for it. This focaccia is fantastic! It is exactly what I needed and perfect for dipping. It is the best tasting keto bread I’ve tried. I have your everyday cookbook and your baking cookbook. Those, along with your website, have been helping me make a different dessert every few days since this pandemic started.
Andrée Code says
Carolyn – Is Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides a protein powder that can be used in this recipe?
Carolyn says
No, collagen won’t work.
Sandrita says
Crazy idea but could I add in a been of leavened yeast instead of the protein powder/extra egg white?
missing the extra fluffy bubbles you get from regular focaccia bread
Carolyn says
You can certainly try.
Jen says
Thanks for the encouragement about not craving bread. We are just now getting into a keto diet and bread used to be life for me so this recipe couldn’t have come at a better time. Thank you!
wilhelmina says
This bread turned out excellent! Thanks for the great recipe!
Rachael Yerkes says
so happy this is keto friendly! So delicious and really easy to throw together.
Pearlin says
Hi Carolyn, I tried this and it taste delish! Just that it was crumbly and didn’t hold well like a bread. Any idea what went wrong? Thanks!
Carolyn says
Hard to say but sounds like maybe too much coconut flour.
Joanne says
Made this bread today and it is delicious. I always make a full batch of anything because it can always be frozen.
Leila says
Thank you so much for all the recipes you provide. I feel like “all day I search your site” finding new foods I can eat on my Keto diet. My son made me this Focaccia today and it is delicious. Thanks again!
Carolyn says
Wonderful to hear!
Stephanie says
Hi Carolyn,
I’ve been low carb for three years now, and your receipes are the only ones I trust! Thanks for sharing them all!
I’ve made this before and it’s gorgeous, but I just wondered – if I make the batter ahead of time, will it be ok in the fridge for a few hours before baking, or would it be better to bake it early and warm it up for a few mins in the microwave when dinner is ready?
Carolyn says
Good question, I am not really positive but I think it’s worth a shot. I would form it completely on the pan, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.
Holly says
Would Pea Protein Powder work just as well?
Carolyn says
It should… but some of it has a greenish tinge so be aware of that.