Keto Irish Soda Bread is a delicious low carb, grain-free alternative to the original. This tender almond flour bread has a crusty exterior and sugar-free dried cranberries in place of the traditional currants.
It’s almost March and you know what that means. Everyone starts thinking about shamrocks and leprechauns, and this tender keto Irish soda bread.
What, what? You aren’t laser-focused on minty green keto desserts, corned beef and cabbage, and cocktails made with Keto Irish Cream? Why ever not?
Okay, fine. I get it, St. Paddy’s Day is fun but it’s not the most widely recognized of holidays. But even if you don’t mark the occasion at all, I highly recommend this keto quick bread recipe. It’s delicious any old time!
What is Irish Soda Bread?
Don’t feel put out if you’ve never heard of soda bread. It’s simply a quick bread made with baking soda as the leavening agent, rather than baking powder or yeast.
Many cuisines have their own version of soda bread, as it’s faster and easier to make than yeast-leavened dough. And baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, is inexpensive and easy to procure.
Irish soda bread comes in various forms, but the one that most people know on this side of the pond is lightly sweetened and contains raising or currants.
It’s a wonderful rustic-style bread that has a soft and tender center and a crusty exterior. And that shaggy looking exterior always reminds me of a giant scone!
Ingredients
Classic Irish soda bread takes flour, baking soda, butter, and buttermilk. The acid in the buttermilk reacts with the soda to create little bubbles that cause the bread to rise.
For a keto version, we obviously need to change a few of these ingredients. Here’s what you need:
- Heavy cream
- Apple cider vinegar: this replaces the acid in the buttermilk
- Almond flour
- Coconut flour
- Protein powder: helps to replace the gluten in wheat flour
- Sweetener: just a little adds the right flavor
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Butter
- Egg whites
- Sugar-free dried cranberries (optional)
How to make keto Irish soda bread
I took my cues for this recipe from one by Ina Garten. Her soda bread takes some egg, which helps give it more structure. I utilized egg whites to make the bread a little lighter as well.
- Sour your cream: Buttermilk is a little too high carb for keto, but adding some vinegar to heavy cream is a great substitute.
- Whisk the dry ingredients: I used mostly almond flour with a touch of coconut flour to get the right consistency.
- Grate in the butter: I love this trick for distributing cold butter throughout dough. I used it in my keto apple scones too, and it gives a more flaky consistency.
- Stir in the egg whites and soured cream: The dough will be shaggy and somewhat sticky.
- Chop the dried cranberries: If you decide to use them, it’s best to chop them up more finely. This gives better distribution throughout the bread, and makes it less likely to tear when you cut into it.
- Form into a loaf: The dough will spread a bit so shape into a high, round loaf.
- Cut a deep X into the center: You may need to wet your knife so it doesn’t stick to the dough too much. The cuts help the center cook through properly.
- Bake 20 minutes: You need the initial blast of heat from the oven to make the bread rise properly.
- Turn off the oven: Let the bread sit inside another 30 to 40 minutes to cook through. If you keep the oven on the whole time, it may brown too much. Once the top is nice and firm, with no sponginess underneath, the bread is done.
- Let cool completely: Keto Irish Soda Bread is very fragile when it first comes out of the oven so let it cool completely to firm up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Coconut flour would require changing the entire recipe, so I recommend using sunflower seed flour instead. You can use it 1:1 to replace the almond flour.
Try using coconut milk in place of the heavy cream.
Absolutely! This keto Irish soda bread does not rely on the sweetener for consistency so anything you like best should work. You can also leave out the sweetener entirely, if you prefer.
This bread is great with anything! I like mine lightly toasted with a little butter. It’s only mildly sweet so it also goes well with soups and stews.
Storage Information
Because it is quite moist, you should store keto Irish soda bread in the fridge, tightly wrapped. It will last for up to a week.
You can also freeze it for several months.
Keto Irish Soda Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup cream
- 1 ½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups almond flour
- ¼ cup unflavoured whey protein powder (or egg white protein powder)
- 3 tablespoon Swerve Brown
- 2 tablespoon coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup butter chilled
- ⅓ cup sugar-free dried cranberries chopped (optional)
- 2 egg whites
- 1 tablespoon melted butter to brush the top
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and line a baking sheet with a silicone mat.
- In a small bowl, combine the cream and vinegar. In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, protein powder, sweetener, coconut flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Grate the cold butter into the dry ingredients and stir to distribute. Stir in the dried cranberries, if using.
- Stir in the cream mixture and the egg whites until well combined. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. With wet hands, form into a high, round loaf. Brush all over with the melted butter.
- Use a sharp knife to cut a large X in the center of the loaf. Place the baking sheet on the second highest rack in the oven and bake 20 minutes, until the outside is turning golden brown.
- Turn off the oven and let the bread sit inside until the top is firm to the touch and not spongy, another 30 to 40 minutes.
- Remove and let cool completely before cutting into slices.
Matt says
I love soda bread and this Keto Irish Soda bread is perfect for the Keto diet, gluten-free, or just plain low-carb diet. It is so easy to make too. Love it!
Kate says
This is a lovely loaf of bread. The texture and mouth feel is like a rustic bread…which is certainly hard to achieve in low carb baking. The flavor is very nice although I think a tad bit sweeter than I like. Overall, a great Irish Soda Bread to enjoy for the holiday.
Carolyn says
Thank you!
Ro says
Forgive me if you addressed this somewhere and I missed it. Since the cranberries are optional, are they considered in the nutrients?
Carolyn says
They are included. If I use them, I include it.
Susan says
Hi Carolyn,
Thank you again for everything you do for us – your recipes are the only ones I trust implicitly.
Do you think I could add cheese to this recipe, or will the fat content change the structure of the bread?
Carolyn says
I think it would be great.
Trina says
Hi Carolyn
I just made the soda bread and even an hour later in the oven the bread was still very soft inside and brown and soft on the outside. I even added another 2 tbsp of coconut flour when making it as its consistency seemed too wet.
My question is re flour quantity, did you use a firm packed 2 cups of Almond flour or just a loose pour (which is what I used) I’m wondering if a firm packed 2 cups would make all the difference and not so wet.
I will try again as I like how easy this loaf is to make and try without the sugar.
Thanks for sharing.
Carolyn says
No, I never pack my almond flour and as a good recipe writer, I would specify if you need to pack anything. What brand are you using? Did you brush the outside with the melted butter? That’s part of what makes it crusty! You may also want to check the temperature of your oven. If you try this again… I would raise your oven temp a bit.
Jill says
This looks awesome! How could I convert this into muffins?
Carolyn says
Not sure, I didn’t make mine that way. You will have to experiment.
Becky Johannes says
I just made your Irish soda bread and the flavor is great but the inside of the bread seemed to not be fully baked even after baking an additional 15 minutes. What is the baked bread texture supposed to be like?
Carolyn says
It’s not as bready as bread, it’s soft and tender and a little moist. That’s the nature of soda breads.
Liz Cook says
This recipe popped up on my Google home page. When I saw alldayidreamaboutfood I knew I had to try it. It turned out delicious! I have never made Irish Soda Bread before but I will be making this again.
Carolyn says
Thanks so much!
Tom Veale says
I’m sure it tastes as good as it looks but I might attempt to make it if I had proper measurements. For instance, you mention 1 cup, 1/2 cup etc.would you consider giving the ingredients in grammes or pounds/ounces. I would not be privy to the size of cup you are using. Just saying like.
Carolyn says
They’re already in grams. Please look at the recipe more carefully and you will see a metric conversion button.
Aileen Harbourne says
Love this recipe, however, it completely lost shape in the oven. I didn’t whip the egg whites could this be the problem? Thanks
Carolyn says
No, I would specify if you needed to whip the egg whites. Sounds like there wasn’t quite enough flour or too much liquid. Next time try adding a bit more almond flour. The dough should be somewhat sticky but not too much so.
tina says
Carolyn I love, love, love your recipes and have 4 of your books but I would like to just remind everyone that this is actually spotted dog. Real Irish soda bread doesn’t contain any sweetner or fruit. That being said I have tried for years to find something gluten free to make my family along with our corned beef and cabbage dinners. Can I make this with actual buttermilk like my grandma used to do instead of the acv? Or would that add too much liquid? (I really like the flavor with the buttermilk).Also, I usually cook my soda bread in a kind of dutch oven with a lid. Can I do that with this recipe? Thank you for making this. I’ve struggled with a good substitute for years.
Carolyn says
As long as you keep the buttermilk to 1/2 cup, I think it would be fine. Add a tiny bit more if your dough is very dry (it should be a bit sticky).
Maureen says
I’m going to go check to see if I have everything I need to bake your Irish Soda Bread recipe right now!
Last year I tried to convert the recipe my Grandfather brought with him from Ireland. The cake looked and smelled amazing! But when I cut into it, it literally disintegrated!
I’m sure your recipe will be amazing!
Carolyn says
It’s definitely on the soft side, I find baking soda does that. But it doesn’t disintegrate!
Maureen says
Please don’t promote CarbQuick! It’s the most horrible product I’ve ever used! I’m not talking only about taste. It made me so sick I almost had to go to the ER!
My husband and I are huge fan of yours. We have purchased at least 6 of your cookbooks. I am constantly promoting your recipes and cookbooks to my family and friends!
Carolyn says
I am not sure who you are talking to… I don’t use Carbquick.
Jenn Davis says
Oh, sounds Great! It bugs me when people say that they want to make changes to a recipe…. but now I am going to do just that… ???? hahaha! I want to try a savoury version, less swerve, no crans…. maybe a touch of Italian or Greek spices…. serve with stew … Thanks for all you do! ???? (from snowy Calgary…)
Carolyn says
As long as you don’t change the basic bones of it, you’re good!
Leslie says
This sounds great! However, I’m a little concerned about the “turn off the oven and let it sit inside for another 30-40min” part since I only have a combi microwave-oven, which I expect does not insulate as well as a big traditional oven. Do you have ideas on how to adjust the cooking protocol?
Carolyn says
Sure, I would probably drop the temp to 275 or 300 and keep my eye on it.
Roberta says
Is it possible to use something else instead of coconut flour? Maybe some bamboo fiber or oat fibre? I saw this substitution in many recipes so I assume oftentimes it works pretty fine, but I don’t know if this specific bread would rise and result the same/ anyway satifying switching these ingredients. Loving your tips and tricks avaible in your keto baking book and youtube “tutorial”: thank you for your passionate sharing of your “art and smart” 🙂
Carolyn says
They aren’t as absorbent so you may need 3 or 4 tbsp.
Nancy says
I don’t have protein power or egg white powder. Is this a necessity?
Carolyn says
It’s a necessity, yes. Please understand that protein powder helps replace gluten, making baked goods lighter and helps them hold together better.
Susan Pelter says
Boy, is this perfect timing! I love Irish soda bread and have been looking for a low carb alternative. Can’t wait to make it, knowing I can always trust your recipes to behave as anticipated. I will probably tweak as I do my regular soda bread, by adding a little mixed spice and some orange zest along with the cranberries. Thank you, thank you!
Kathy says
this recipe sounds delicious-do you happen to know what internal temperature the bread needs to be?
Carolyn says
No, I don’t cook my bread that way.
Kathy says
thank you for replying
Angela says
Could I use 1 egg in place of 2 egg whites?
Carolyn says
It will make it heavier. Plus it will be less volume than 2 egg whites and your bread my not have the same structure.