Recreating classic recipes is my happy place, so you can imagine how happy this Keto Irish Soda Bread makes me. Tender and slightly sweet, and studded with sugar-free dried cranberries, it has all the nostalgia with none of the carbs.
Many people associate soda bread with St. Patrick’s Day. And this low carb version can be served alongside corned beef and cabbage for a traditional meal to celebrate the day. But with its crusty exterior and tender center, it’s delicious any time of year. I love it toasted for breakfast!
☘️ Looking for more St. Paddy’s Day ideas? Try Homemade Keto Irish Cream and Keto Reuben Casserole next!
What readers are saying…
“I make this EVERY year, along with Ina Garten’s version for my non keto/low carb friends, and yours is always the one I get the most compliments on. This year I am making baby soda breads in my giant muffin pan just to try something different for our St Patrick’s Day feast!” — Barbara
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Classic flavor: Soda bread has a distinct flavor from the addition of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and buttermilk. This keto recipes mimics that with some heavy cream and vinegar.
- Wonderful texture: This rustic-style bread has a deliciously crusty exterior with a soft, tender center.
- Easy to make: The bread does take a while to bake, but the active prep time is only 15 minutes!
- Make ahead recipe: You can easily make a loaf and freeze for later.
- Gluten-free and low carb: Made with almond flour, this bread has only 3 grams net carbs per slice. Perfect for a keto diet!
Ingredient Notes
- Heavy cream: Lower carb than buttermilk, this gives the bread incredible tender.
- Apple cider vinegar: To replace the acid content of buttermilk.
- Keto flours: I use almond flour with a little coconut flour gives the bread the best consistency.
- Protein powder: In the absence of gluten, this helps the bread rise properly.
- Sweetener: A touch of brown sugar replacement gives a hint of sweetness.
- Baking soda: You can’t make soda bread without it!
- Sugar-free dried cranberries: Many soda bread recipes call for dried currents, so this is a lower carb option.
- Egg whites: I took my cues from the recipe by Ina Garten. Hers takes some egg to give the bread more structure. I utilized egg whites to make the bread a little lighter as well.
- Baking staples: Butter, salt.
How to Make Keto Irish Soda Bread
- Sour the cream: Combine the cream and vinegar together and set aside.
- Whisk the dry ingredients: Whisk together the almond flour, protein powder, sweetener, coconut flour, baking soda, and salt. Grate in the cold butter, then stir in the dried cranberries.
- Add the wet ingredients: Stir in the cream mixture and egg whites until the dough comes together.
- Shape the loaf: Transfer the dough a large baking sheet lined with a silicone mat. With wet hands, form into a high, round loaf. Brush with the melted butter. Use a sharp knife to cut a large X in the top of the loaf.
- Bake the bread: Bake 20 minutes at 325ºF, then turn off the oven and let sit inside for another 30 to 40 minutes.
- 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.
Tips for Success
Make sure the butter is very cold so you can grate it into the dry ingredients. 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.
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.
If the dough is very wet, work in some more almond flour or a bit of coconut flour. Some people have had trouble with the center not cooking through, or the bread spreading out too much. This usually means you didn’t have enough flour to offset the wet ingredients.
More Keto Bread Recipes to Try!
Keto Irish Soda Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (119 g) cream
- 1 1/2 tbsp (1.5 tbsp) apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups (224 g) almond flour
- 1/4 cup (27 g) unflavoured whey protein powder, (or egg white protein powder)
- 3 tbsp Swerve Brown
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
- 1/4 cup (56.75 g) butter, chilled
- 1/3 cup (40.4 g) sugar-free dried cranberries, chopped (optional)
- 2 large (2) egg whites
- 1 tbsp 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.
Notes
Nutrition
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.
This Keto Irish Soda Bread does not rely on the sweetener for consistency so you can change the sweetener. Do keep in mind that allulose will make it darken much faster and the outside may almost taste burnt. 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.
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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i recommend adding a bit of orange zest and some caraway seeds.
Just put my first soda bread in the oven. Wondering tho…how tall should the bread be when shaped?
4 or 5 inches, I think. I didn’t measure it.
Can you use fresh chopped cranberries?
I can’t see why not! 🙂
Hello,
I could not find egg white protein powder, but I need to make a dairy free version. Can I use extra egg whites instead of the egg white protein powder? If not what do you recommend?
I am afraid not, unfortunately. It will add too much liquid content. Can you find vegan protein powder?
Delicious! 3Tbl Brown Swerve perfect sweetness. Beautiful tender texture but held together. I used measuring cups instead of weighing as last recipe I made (not this recipe ) I used my scale but I could tell that the amount of almond flour far excepted the stated 2cups. So I experienced the wet spreading problem that Carolyn warned would indicate not enough flour. Since it spread and I worried it would not be baked through, I left the loaf in the turned off oven for the full 40 minutes. But the round loaf baked up great and was cooked though. I love Carolyn’s dried sugar free cranberries which I made and then froze during the holidays. Ate first slice with butter then toasted the next serving; sprinkled some keto cinnamon “sugar” on a slice; loved it. Sliced up and froze the rest of the loaf. Looking forward to enjoying this for breakfast and afternoon tea treat.
Thank you again, Carolyn. 🥰
Fantastic!
Can I used egg whites in a carton in this recipe or do I need to use fresh egg whites?
You can use cartoned egg whites.
Hi Carolyn,
I made this recipe yesterday & I am really enjoying it…
I tried toasting it & smothering it with butter… that’s delicious too!
It’s like a Keto version of Sultana bread, which I have missed!
Great to hear!
I’m allergic to whey and to egg whites. Are there any replacements I can use in place of them?
Carolyn, I bake everything in a counter Top oven. Wondering if it will stay sufficiently hot to finish cooking once turned off. Thoughts?
probably not, to be honest…
Could you use the dehydrator function to remain at about 180*? (or lower) I also have a countertop oven, and am part Irish. I’d LOVE to be able to make this!
Do you think this could be made in an air fryer?
I think it’s too big for that and will over-bake on the outside but not cook through in the center.
This was delicious. Thank you
Could you use sour cream instead of souring the cream with vinegar?
Looking forward to seeing your recipes
Probably!
I love this recipe! I actually use this dough for my scone base and make drop scones with it. So nice!!
This was a big hit. Loved it, and will make it many times again.
Note: I also had to cook it longer (from Florida, so I’m at sea-level).
My first attempt is in the oven and is looking good! Very easy to make.
Can you use hemp protein powder instead of whey? I have a lot i would like to use up.
Maybe? I can’t say for sure… it does behave a little differently. It also has a darker color which will affect the look of the bread. But I say try it!
Thank you I will
The bread was incredibly under done so I rebaked it, which took another 20 minutes. The outside is very brown and the middle is still very moist but tastes good. Thank you. 💜
Did you use allulose as the sweetener?
No, i used Lakanto bown monkfruit sweetener with erythritol.
Not quite sure what happened then, but it may have needed to bake longer.
So delicious. I have taken this as a gift when invited to homes that are not Keto and EVERYONE loves this bread. I did add an extra tbsp of brown sugar (total of 4) after I made my first loaf. Roxann
This bread is just wonderful. I had to alter so much of this recipe to make it work for me following what you instructed and it still came out wonderful. I used almond milk instead of cream, used melted plant based butter, used Splenda brown sugar and almond protein powder. I used my mini muffin tin and used the same times that you said but cooked it in a toaster oven. I cooked the little bit of left over batter in the microwave and it still came out wonderful. All the changes I made to this recipe could have ruined it but it didn’t. That means it’s a pretty forgiving recipe. Great job with this one. BTW this is the first Irish soda bread I have ever tried!