Keto garlic knots are a delicious way to serve up fathead dough! Twisted little keto dinner rolls that pair perfectly with your favorite soup or keto stew.
This is the original keto garlic knots recipe! Accept no substitutes.
These tender little twists of keto garlic taste just like the ones you used to get from your favorite pizza place. But they have less than 3g net carbs per serving.
Too good to be true?
One bit of these buttery, garlicky koto bread twists and you might just think you’re dreaming. But they’re real, I promise.
Serve them alongside keto tuscan chicken soup or keto seafood chowder for a satisfying lunch or dinner.
Fun with fathead dough
Fathead dough really is remarkable stuff. It’s amazing that melted cheese and a little almond flour can become a stretchy keto pizza dough.
I use it many quite a number of recipes, both savory and sweet. And I have developed my own versions of the original that make it sturdier and more versatile. I call this version, which contains both almond and coconut flour, Magic Mozzarella Dough.
It really is magic! I’ve used it in sweet recipes too, like keto cinnamon twists.
My keto bagel recipe, on the other hand, takes only coconut flour so it’s a completely nut-free option.
Ingredients
For the dough, you will need:
- Shredded mozzarella
- Almond flour
- Coconut flour
- Butter
- Baking powder
- Garlic powder
- Egg
- Salt
For the garlic butter, you will need:
- Butter
- Parmesan cheese
- Garlic
- Salt
- Parsley
How to make keto garlic knots
Once you’ve mastered keto fathead dough, these keto garlic bread rolls are fun to make. Here are my best tips for getting it right.
- Whisk the dry ingredients. You want to have them ready to add to the melted cheese immediately so make sure they are all set before proceeding.
- Melt the cheese and butter. Keep them over low heat, stirring frequently, until the cheese is fully melted and you can stir them together. Then remove from heat.
- Add the dry ingredients and the egg. Start mixing these ingredients in immediately with a good flexible spatula. As long as you move quickly enough, the egg won’t curdle.
- Knead the dough. Just like bread, fathead dough becomes more cohesive with a little kneading. I recommend dusting the work surface lightly with almond flour to prevent sticking.
- Divide and roll into logs. You want to do this relatively quickly, as fathead dough gets loses elasticity the longer it sits.
- Shape into knots. Gently fold one end of the log over the other and push through.
- Brush with garlic butter. Use about half of the garlic butter mixture before baking, and keep the rest for brushing on after.
- Bake until golden and enjoy warm!
Frequently Asked Questions
The conventional wisdom for fathead dough states that pre-shredded mozzarella works best. It contains a bit of starch or cellulose that helps the consistency. However, I’ve actually had some luck with grating blocks of cheese myself. Just make sure that it is part-skim, as full-fat mozzarella will make the dough very greasy.
I don’t recommend it. Fathead dough made with just almond flour is very fatty and moist, and tends to spread a lot when baking.
You are better off using another drier flour like lupin or oat fiber, but you will need more of it. I recommend starting with 1/3 cup and adding a bit more if the dough is very sticky.
Fathead dough is tricky at the best of times and I can’t quite determine why this happens for some people. It’s dependent on so many different factors.
If it happens to you, don’t panic. Simply roll the dough into 8 balls, brush with some of the garlic butter, and bake them as dinner rolls. They will still be delicious!
Keto Garlic Knots Recipe
Ingredients
Garlic Knot Dough
- 1/2 cup (56 g) almond flour
- 1/4 cup (25 g) coconut flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
- 1 1/2 cups (168 g) shredded part skim mozzarella cheese, 6 ounces
- 5 tbsp butter, melted
- 1 large egg
Garlic Parmesan Butter
- 3 tbsp butter, melted
- 2 tbsp freshly grated parmesan
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 3/4 tsp (0.75 tsp) salt
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) dried parsley
Instructions
Dough
- Preheat the oven to 350F and sprinkle a clean counter or a large silicone baking mat with almond flour.
- In a medium bowl, combine the almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, garlic powder, and salt. In a large saucepan, melt the cheese and butter together over low heat until they are melted and can be stirred together.
- Remove from heat and add the almond flour mixture, then add the egg and stir everything together until a cohesive forms. Use a rubber spatula to really knead the dough together in the pan. It may still contain some streaks of cheese.
- Turn the dough out onto the prepared work surface and knead until uniform. This will only take a little kneading. If your dough is still very sticky, add a tablespoon or two more almond flour and work it in.
- Divide the dough into 16 equal portions. Roll each portion into a 7-inch log and tie gently into a knot. Place on prepared baking sheet a few inches apart (they will spread a bit).
Garlic Parmesan Butter
- In a small bowl, whisk together the butter, parmesan, garlic, salt, and parsley. Brush about half of the butter over knots before baking. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until firm to the touch and golden brown.
- Remove and brush with remaining garlic butter. Serve warm.
Nutrition
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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So yummy! Just ate 3! I had THM baking blend, so used it. The hard part was taking the wrappers off my string cheese. Heehee! Made do with what was in the pantry. Great recipe.
Wow, I am impressed with the dedication! 😉
How would you store these, after baking? Do they need to be refrigerated, or would it be best to store them in the freezer?
You can keep them on the counter for a few days but the fridge is fine after that.
I made these this morning. We’re having spaghetti squash with pasta sauce this evening so I wanted to include some yummy garlic rolls. First off, I used my faithful hazelnut flour instead of almond. Everything else according to your easy directions.
They turned out PERFECT!Look just like your photo. I had one hot out of the oven-soft, buttery garlic delishousness! They remind me of the crazy-good rolls you find in some small Italian restaurants. Yes, these will fit nicely in my lc recipe repertoire.
I miss regular bread alot so these were a fantastic find!
I’ve got to make another batch of the Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies-we gobbled those up!
Your blog is THE PLACE FOR LOW CARB RECIPES THAT ACTUALLY TASTE GREAT!
Thanks, Deb!
Although I try hard to be low carb (as I’m diabetic), I also am in kidney failure and on dialysis. When the kidneys fail, they can no longer clear phosphorus from the blood and almond flour is quite high in phosphorus and hence dangerous to me. So here’s what I’m wondering. Could I substitute arrowroot flour (I know, it’s higher carb) for some of the almond flour? Would that make any sense? It’s quite low in phosphorus and potassium, two minerals I now need to avoid or restrict. Thanks
Although I try hard to be low carb as I’m diabetic, I also am in kidney failure and on dialysis. When the kidneys fail, they can no longer clear phosphorus from the blood and almond flour is quite high in phosphorus and hence dangerous to me. So here’s what I’m wondering. Could I substitute arrowroot flour (I know, it’s higher carb) for some of the almond flour? Would that make any sense? It’s quite low in phosphorus and potassium, two minerals I now need to avoid or restrict. Thanks
Pretty sure it won’t work the same way. What about ground pork rinds instead?
Thanks for your reply. I’ve never thought that ground pork rinds were something anyone should eat. I know they’re all the rage in the low carb community. But not with me. Are you saying that they would substitute for all the almond flour?
This recipe was developed out of a recipe using pork rinds. I don’t love adding them to all my food either, so I used almond flour instead. Do seed flours have the same issues for you? You could always try sunflower seed flour.
Unfortunately, seeds and nuts both have the same issues–very high in phosphorus and some also in potassium. I love both, but they no longer love me. It’s not that I can’t have them at all, but I do have to be careful and to count every mg. of both minerals and delete them elsewhere. Not a fun diet, believe me. Especially for a foodie.
Actually, sunflower seeds are twice as bad as almonds in this area. Of course, both phosphorus and potassium are “healthy” nutrients and desirable for normal bodies because normal kidneys are able to regulate how much of them are in the blood. Useless kidneys can’t do that so what is “healthy” for most people ends up destroying the bones of kidney patients.
Ugh, sorry!
Thank you for trying, Carolyn. I appreciate it. I might try substituting a small amount of arrowroot for the almond flour and see what happens. I will also be using “fake” cheese (Daiya mozarella) as cheese is also a restricted food. So I’m sure they won’t be as good as the originals on any score.
Ugh, that is tough. Tell me what you CAN eat and I will see if I can mine my blog for good recipes for you.
What a kind offer.
I can eat animal protein (meat, fish, poultry, eggs–I skip most of the yolks altho they are my favorite part of the egg), some fruits (apples, grapes, clementines, lemons, berries–no bananas, oranges, avocados, restricted tomatoes), some veggies (cabbage, cucumber, zukes, peppers, lettuce, onions, garlic, cauliflower, eggplant–if it’s beige or pale green I can have it) restricted dairy (except for full cream, cream cheese, feta and brie which all still need to be in moderation). White bread, white rice and white flour are OK (I don’t eat these, but not doing so really limits my food palette). I don’t restrict any fats–but can’t really have more than a couple of nuts/day). Restricted salt. And then, of course, there are all the things that i try to restrict because of being diabetic. Aren’t I fun to cook for? I won’t hold you to come up with anything that fits all of these limits, but thank you for trying.
Wow. I am heartbroken for you but lets see what we can do. I need to think about this.
I normally don’t post comments, but my 8 year old daughter LOVED!! them. After finishing off our last one, she said, whoever gave you the recipe tell her thank you!!!!!
Lovely to hear!
Have recently purchased a bag of King Arthur almond flour which they started selling at Walmart. Have you tried that and how does it compare to Honeyville? I agree the BRM is rather coarse. The King Arthur looks finer but I haven’t tried it yet. Thanks.
I haven’t tried that one yet, sorry I can’t be of more help on that front.
These turned out dense and really greasy. They didn’t hold well to roll. I used nutiva coconut flour. Is that why?????
What almond flour did you use? Could be that too.
I used honeyville…?
This is absolutely the BEST low carb bread I ever made!!!! I am thinking of trying to make hulushky dumplings (without the garlic) to use with chicken paprikash. Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes.
I’ve never tried those. Let me know how it goes!
These were amazing. We will have often!
Thanks.
Love, love your recipes, but I failed miserably with this if you could offer guidance. Help! I used Honeyville blanched almond flour & part-skim, low moisture shredded mozzarella. My garlic knots were crumbly (dough didn’t hold together to roll into longs) & dense when cooked. Nothing like your gorgeous creation. Dying to try your Chocolate Walnut Swirls, but don’t want to end up with another heavy, crumbly dough. Thanks!
I can’t say for sure…did you use a cheese with an anti-clumping agent? Most store-bought brands that aren’t organic have it and that seems to work best, according to folks who’ve made this kind of dough a number of times. Also, what brand of coconut flour? I suspect that can make a difference too. I always use Bob’s.
Thanks, Carolyn. The cheese has anti-caking agents (potato starch & powdered cellulose). I use Tropical Traditions coconut flour. Is that not a good brand for this?
Wishing you the best for the new year!
I’ve never used their coconut flour so I really can’t say for sure. Could be. I can’t think of any other variable here that would cause this issue.
Thanks. I’ll try Bob’s & let you know.
Problem solved & wanted to pass on. I wasn’t using enough mozzarella. I first used 1 1/2 cups listed. Read your comment that it’s about 6 ounces, so I weighed out 6 oz & the knots turned out great!
I just made a new variation on this and yep…6 ounces is the key!
These knots look fabulous! I need to check out your recipes more often…definitely feeling a little over the sweets now and ready to move on to less filling food. Happy holidays!
Hmmmm anyone try using this dough to make hot pockets??
Great idea!
If you get a chance to try it, love to hear back on how it works. Kids would love this 😉
Angela I just did. I made one huge Calzone and cut it up into pockets. It worked great!!
Hmmm….. Do you think this dough would work for cinnamon rolls? If you think the mozzarella wouldn’t be the best cheese for a sweet dough, what about using havarti?
You need to check out my sweet version of this dough… https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2015/12/low-carb-chocolate-walnut-swirls.html
Which of their almond flours do you use?
I use both, but I use Honeyville when I need a really fine consistency. But I use a lot of Bob’s products in many other recipes.
I’m sorry, I meant which of the Honeyville almond flours do you use? They have one listed under “fine”. Or all their flours the same grind in your experience?
I so appreciate your time with helping me.
Oh, sorry. I have used both, and they are both finer than Bob’s. I’ve used them interchangeably. But it’s the fine grind I’ve used mostly in this dough because now I can get it at Costco for a bit cheaper than Amazon.
We just made these and they wouldn’t hold together to roll and make into knots. ??? So we shaped them the best we could into crescents. We baked them and ….delicious! They will be a regular on our table all year! Thank you for great recipes! We also enjoyed your cranberry sauce with added orange oil. Yum! Organic turkey, baked yams, and organic green beans rounded out the meal. Happy Holidays!
What kind of almond flour were you using? That may make the difference in how cohesive they are.
We used Bob’s Red Mill almond flour.
It’s much coarser than Honeyville so I can see how it would not be as cohesive in this dough.
Interesting. I think of it as fine. Of course I haven’t used Honeyville. Trader Joe’s has almond meal. Now that’s coarse. Oh well. They ended up pretty great anyway! Yum! Going to have more tonight with my chicken vegetable soup. Thank you!
Trust me…I love Bob’s but their grind isn’t as fine as Honeyville. It’s great in muffins but it’s too coarse for things like a fine dough…unless you can grind it up a bit more in a coffee grinder or something similar.
I will check out their brand. I buy Bob’s Red Mill because they are committed to providing non-GMO products.
Thank you Carolyn for all you do. My low carb world is changed because of you!