My popular keto cheese bread is baked in a skillet for an easy low carb side dish. Deliciously tender and with a crisp topping of cheddar cheese, it has only 2.6g net carbs per slice!
You may have noticed that I have been updating a lot of older posts lately. I am working hard to provide more user-friendly content that answers your most pressing questions. I want my keto recipes to be as accessible as possible to everyone.
And this fabulous Keto Cheese Bread deserves such an update. I first created it way back in 2012 and it became an instant hit. It remains extremely popular to this day, and it’s the perfect bread to pair with Keto Beef Stew or Chicken Enchilada Soup.
Did I mention that it also makes the BEST Keto Thanksgiving Stuffing?
Why you will love this easy cheese bread
This might be the easiest keto bread recipe you will ever make. One bowl, one hot pan, pop it in the oven, and you’re done!
Low carb quick breads like this make your keto life so much tastier and more interesting. It’s a rustic-style recipe , with a moist but shaggy texture and a deliciously cheesy flavor.
Baking bread in a skillet also produces a unique crusty exterior. The key is melting the butter in the skillet as the oven preheats. This allows the batter to start cooking as it hits the hot pan.
Adding shredded cheese to the top of the bread and baking it at a high temperature also creates a crusty, cheesy top. It’s absolutely divine with a little butter melting on top! My whole family adores this bread.
Many readers use this recipe in place of cornbread. It’s certainly good that way, although I do have a recipe for keto cornbread as well. Both are delicious in their own special way.
Reader Testimonials
“Very easy to make and I loved the firmness once it’s out of the cast iron skillet. Too many Keto breads are wimpy and fall apart. Not this one. Definitely making this again.” – Peg
“Made it for your sausage stuffing recipe but SO fell in love with it– absolutely divine!!!! The bread is so buttery and the texture— oh yum. I will be making it frequently. And so quick. Thank you!!” – Kristin
“Great bread to have with soup or salad. I have even used it for breakfast with eggs. Another recipe keeper!” – Patricia
Ingredients you need
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- Butter: Adding a tablespoon of butter as the skillet heats up creates a wonderful, crispy crust. The bread batter also takes melted butter.
- Almond flour: This is an almond flour based recipe and it won’t work with coconut flour. But if you need to be nut-free, you can try using sunflower seed flour. Remember to add a tablespoon of acid like lemon juice so you don’t get the green reaction!
- Flax seed meal: I love using some flax seed meal in this recipe to create a coarser texture that resembles rustic breads. You can use more almond flour instead but it’s not quite the same.
- Cheddar cheese: You can’t have keto cheese bread without plenty of cheese! Feel free to sub your favorite here.
- Eggs: This bread really needs the eggs to hold together properly and make it rise nicely.
- Almond milk: You can actually use any thin liquid here so feel free to sub in water, or a mix of water and cream.
- Pantry staples: Salt and baking powder.
Step by Step Directions
1. Heat the pan: Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Add the butter to a 10-inch oven-proof skillet and place in the oven as it warms.
2. Prepare the batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, flax seed meal, baking powder, salt and 1 cup of the shredded cheddar cheese. Stir in the eggs, melted butter and almond milk until thoroughly combined.
4. Add to the pan: Remove the hot skillet from oven (remember to put on your oven mitts), and swirl butter to coat sides. Pour batter into pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle with remaining ½ cup cheddar.
5. Bake the bread: Bake 16 to 20 minutes, or until browned around the edges and set through the middle. The cheese on top should be nicely browned. Remove and let cool 15 minutes.
Expert Tips
I approach baked skillet recipes with a little trepidation, as inevitably someone tries to pick up the hot skillet with their bare hands. After being burned (literally!) a few times, I now always leave the oven mitt draped over the handle when the skillet is out of the oven. You can also get silicone handle covers that stay on both in and out of the oven.
Be sure to choose a 10-inch oven-proof skillet. It doesn’t need to be cast iron, although that’s the best way to get a nice browned crust on the outside. Allow the butter to melt in the pan as the oven heats up. This helps grease the skillet and create that delicious crust.
I love the combination of the almond flour and flax seed but if you don’t want to use flax, you can use another half cup of almond flour. The bread turns out a touch more crumbly that way so you may want to add half a teaspoon of xanthan gum to give it a bit more structure.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are any number of keto bread recipes out there, and many keto breads you can purchase in stores or online. But you do need to read the labels and look at the ingredients. Many “keto breads” are actually quite high in carbs and may not be suitable for your diet. This keto cheese bread has only 6.6g of carbs per slice and 4g of fiber, so it has 2.6g net carbs per serving.
Choose a cheese that can be grated easily so that they can be incorporated into the batter. Firm cheese like cheddar or mozzarella work well, as do gruyere or Monterey Jack.
Store this bread on the counter in a covered container for up to 4 days or in the fridge for up to 10. It can also be frozen for several months. Wrap it up tightly to avoid freezer burn.
Great for keto stuffing!
I have turned this easy keto bread recipe into Thanksgiving stuffing numerous times and it always gets rave reviews. The trick is to dry the bread out very well in your oven the day before. Then proceed with the usual stuffing ingredients and bake.
Even the non-keto eaters love it. Many readers have said that my low carb stuffing recipe disappears before the high carb versions!
More Keto Skillet Recipes to Try:
Keto Cheesy Bread
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter for the skillet
- 2 cups almond flour
- ½ cup flax seed meal
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups shredded Cheddar cheese divided
- 3 large eggs
- ⅓ cup butter melted
- ¾ cup unsweetened almond milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Add the butter to a 10-inch oven-proof skillet and place in the oven as it warms.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, flax seed meal, baking powder, salt and 1 cup of the shredded cheddar cheese. Stir in the eggs, melted butter and almond milk until thoroughly combined.
- Remove the hot skillet from oven (remember to put on your oven mitts), and swirl butter to coat sides. Pour batter into pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle with remaining ½ cup cheddar.
- Bake 16 to 20 minutes, or until browned around the edges and set through the middle. The cheese on top should be nicely browned. Remove and let cool 15 minutes.
Sunshine says
Would psyllium husk be a good substitute for the flaxseed meal in this recipe?
Carolyn says
NO! Don’t do it… It will be gummy and awful. Just use more almond flour.
Donatella Bennett says
Can I use regular cows milk from the farm?
Carolyn says
Sure!
susan says
I made this following the exact recipe, with the exception of baking in a skillet. I used an 8×8 pan, and it turned out great. My question is this: My flax seed meal made the “cornbread” look more like banana bread, under that cheese topping. Why does your bread turn out so yellow?
As an aside, since this did look so much like banana bread, I’m thinking of making it again, adding banana flavoring and chopped walnuts, and leaving off the top 1/2 cup of cheese. 🙂
susan says
PS–I’ll add a low carb sweetener, too, when I try the “banana” bread.
Carolyn says
You must be using dark flax (brown). Not really an issue but I used golden flax. But if you want a banana bread recipe, I’ve already figured all of that out for you. https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/low-carb-caramel-frosted-banana-bread/
whisperingsage says
I may be the only one worried about this, but part of my low carb program is also higher omega 3 ratios, and all the nutbreads have grossly out ranked omega 6 to omega 3’s. Even walnuts, known for being “high” in omega 3’s. Check the nutrition data self website and you will see what I mean. English walnuts; Total Omega-3 fatty acids
10623
mg
Total Omega-6 fatty acids
44567
mg
See what I mean?
Black walnuts; Total Omega-3 fatty acids
2508
mg
Total Omega-6 fatty acids
41339
mg
Almonds Omega 3 0
Total Omega-6 fatty acids
17455
mg See? So it would benefit us to have more coconut flour and less every other flour substitute, wouldn’t it?
Carolyn says
There are a great many other dietary sources of Omega 3 (grass-fed meat, fish) that can help us balance this. This bread is delicious, but it’s not meant to be eaten in huge amounts every day. I think we can work it into our diets as we see fit.
Patti says
Has anyone actually stuffed a turkey with the sausage stuffing recipe? We always stuff our turkey so I’’m hoping I can use this recipe to do that. Thanks, it sounds yummy!!
Carolyn says
Of course. You just need to make absolutely sure it gets up to the proper temperature of 165F, just like any other stuffing.
Denise says
I’ve made this so many times and in a variety of pans and it’s great every single time. My favorite pan to use, though, is an ancient round glass pan. The key, whatever pan you use, is to get the butter and pan very hot. I do have to cook it a bit longer than the recipe states but that’s no problem.
This is my go to when I want “cornbread”.
cj says
This is very much like cornbread, which is good, as cornbread was a difficult delete from my diet. I think it calls for a bit too much oil. I cut the butter in half and subbed canola for the rest, and it still came out too buttery to put butter on it. Next time, I’ll cut the oil in half and use only canola. It was also a bit crumbly, so thinking about adding some protein powder to get some coherence. Anysway, first time out, it worked as advertised and was delicious.
Carolyn says
Hi CJ – The changes you made probably contributed to the crumbliness. Canola oil is not a healthy or safe oil at all, I suggest doing a little research on that.
Kelley says
This is such an amazing recipe. I’ve made it many many times. I have substituted just an equal amount additional almond flour in place of the flax just because my kiddos like it better without the flax. On a whim this evening,(and because I was thinking about your jalapeño sausage “corn” bread that we also love so much), I added about 1 1/2 cup of cooked crumbled breakfast sausage to THIS recipe and then baked (took a bit longer). OMG it was super delish. Thank you for such a great recipe that has been a family staple for years.
Carolyn says
Sounds amazing!
Sandra Potteiger says
Great blog. Thank you for the awesome recipes. I’ve made this one before and it’s great. But I was wondering if I can leave the cheese out to get a more neutral bread taste?
Thank you
Carolyn says
Yes, it will be fine.
Carole says
Hi, Carolyn, I have never in my life liked any kind of bread until I made your cheesy skillet bread. It is now the recipe I make more often than anything else. It is fantastic with chili and any kind of soup or stew. One question: do you shred your own cheese or do you buy the prepackaged kind? I ask because I noticed that the prepackaged shredded kind has potato starch in it. And, if I may ask, what brand of cheddar do you use? Thank you for your excellent blog and wonderful cookbooks and recipes. Carole
Carolyn says
Depends. Sometimes I have pre-shredded and sometimes I have block cheese. I often use Cabot block cheddar.
Evelyn says
Asked for a cast iron skillet for Christmas especially for this recipe and I’m happy to say I got it. I was very excited about this recipe especially since it was not fat head dough like so many are. Cooked it in cast-iron, cooked it in the middle, heated up the pan, cooked for the full-time, let it sit for the full time, and yet it was way too doughy (beyond moist!) in the middle still. I see a lot of people have got good results but I don’t know what else to do for this. Put it back in the oven again for for 10 minutes and still not satisfied.
Coming back to it the second day it definitely solidified more, but I don’t have to wait a whole day before I can use the bread in the future. I have to say the flavor was great even with the problems.
Carolyn says
Talk to me about: what coconut flour you used and what cheese you used?
Sheryl Ann says
I’ve been reading your most excellent blog for years but never tried once to bake with almond flour–some kind of mental block I suppose. I made this bread as my first foray into low carb baking and it works! It really really works! I was worried others in my household might not give it a fair try if they knew it was almond flour so I told them it was a sort of cheesy skillet bread (oh, it was also my first use of a cast iron skillet so that was my cover story). The family liked it very much and said it tasted sort of like a quiche, or an “egg bread.” I didn’t have almond milk so I used half and half and the texture seems to still be just right. Now I have a confession to make: I am in the sorry position of needing to eat low carb, forever, for my health–and I also have never been able to stand the taste of eggs. How sad is that?? Standard baked goods may be made with an egg or two in a recipe with many cups of flour, and I don’t taste the eggs in that case. But low carb tends to rely highly on eggs for various reasons, so I have to figure out some ways around that. I would like to try making this bread with just one egg and some other ingredients to take the place of the other two eggs and would welcome any suggestions.
Thank you for this blog, it’s by far my favorite source of low carb recipe ideas and I hope you know that you are literally helping to save lives with your work.
Carolyn says
It’s weird that this was so eggy for you because it’s really not or it shouldn’t be. I am wondering if your eggs were larger than normal? Egg free baking is hard with low carb ingredients but you could reduce the eggs and have it be more firm and less fluffy.
Leslie says
Can I substitute heavy cream for the almond milk?
Carolyn says
You need half cream, half water. All heavy cream will make it too thick.
Ayn says
I found this recipe one week before Thanksgiving and knew I would never go without dressing at Thanksgiving again -since I’m doing Keto now for almost a year. This was without a doubt —fantastic —and everyone wanted the recipe. I was prepared and texted the link to your website! It was the best thing I could have taken to the dinner and I wanted you to know how much I appreciate your genius! That cheesy skillet bread has been made four times since I found the recipe and is obviously a new regular in the dinner rotation!
I made it just like the directions called for, in my inherited Grandmother’s cast iron skillet! PERFECTION! Thank you for sharing this with everyone. Blessings
Carolyn says
Thanks, Ayn! I really appreciate your support.
River says
Made again a few different ways. Muffin style, mini bread cakes. Just had to shorten cooking times. Yummy. Did add jalapeños and jalapeño pepper jack cheese. Added onions too. So good!! Crisped some with garlic butter for garlic toast. Yum yum.
Maria Brent says
I just made this today, 2 days after Thanksgiving, 2018: I didn’t have more than a tablespoon of conventional stuffing/dressing, and I was feeling a little deprived (although I made the bread only and not the stuffing, but 1/2 of the bread may end up being stuffing!.
Worked beautifully. 10 “ cast iron skillet, etc, as directed—and did the batter bubble up in the hot buttered pan! My Only change was to use oat fiber rather than the flax (and less than the 1/2 cup—-maybe a 1/3 cup. I did use a Mexican blend cheese. Next time I would use less salt. I checked at 16 min, then cooked 5 min more just to make sure re the middle. I was concerned it might be too dry because of the oat fiber. I like using some oat fiber along with almond flour: a nice texture. But all in all a KEEPER. THANK YOU once again.
Carolyn says
So glad it worked out!
Helen says
This bread was awesome and so easy. It baked while my chili cooked and the meal came together so easily. I baked it a few days before Thanksgiving to see if it would be good for my stuffing and it hit the mark! Will be making this often. Thanks for this!!!
Natalie says
Came to this through the Sausage Stuffing recipe for T-day and decided to try it. Amazing!! So delicious I may have to make another batch because this one might disappear before I can get to the stuffing! Truly yummy! Thank you!
Kate says
Yes! me too! And when I first tried it I gave it a 4 star, after it had cooled a little longer I was wishing I could have updated it to 5! hubby (who isn’t keto or even low carb) agreed this would be a repeat recipe!
Tracey says
Carolyn. THANK YOU SO much for this – this is my first Keto Thanksgiving and I am so looking forward to trying this – I am going to be a bit pressed for time though and not sure I will have a full 2-3 hours to dry in the oven – is there a minimum time that will still work? I plan on making the bread tonight, but just trying to go over in my head how I can block that kind of time 🙂
I am so looking forward to this 🙂
Carolyn says
You can dry it out ahead of time. You can also just cube it and let it sit for a few days to dry out.
Aussie in USA says
Where has this been all my low carb life! ! YUM! I made it with about 1/3 more ingredients for a 12″ skillet and it was awesome. I have to stop myself eating it all because I need 1/2 for Thanksgiving. Going to surprise my Southern hubby with some tonight ! ! I hope he loves it as much as I do! Thank You for creating this!
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!
Aussie in USA says
He lived your skillet bread. Thank you even more! Now we’re going to have your brownie cheesecake for Thanksgiving dessert! I love that I can trust your recipes, not waste ingredients on a maybe …
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!