Recommended Keto Baking Ingredients
I’ve put together my years of experience both as a classically trained professional pastry chef and a strict keto and low carb diet follower to create my list of recommended keto baking ingredients. Enjoy!
Keto Friendly Sweeteners
GRANULATED SWERVE SWEETENER
Swerve measures cup for cup like sugar, and is one of the most popular keto-friendly sweeteners out there. Most people don’t experience any aftertaste, although some get a cooling sensation. In addition to erythritol, it also contains oligosaccharides, so some people might experience digestive discomfort. Swerve, like all erythritol, tends to recrystallize when it cools.
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PURE GRANULATED ERYTHRITOL
Pure granulated erythritol is a great alternative for those that experience digestive discomfort from the oligosaccharides in granulated Swerve. Pure granulated erythritol is around 70% as sweet as sugar. The brand I’m linking here is a favorite and gets fantastic reviews. Most importantly, the only ingredient in the brand I’m linking is erythritol. If you purchase another brand, be sure to watch out for sneaky, keto-unfriendly ingredients, such as dextrose or maltodextrin (essentially just other names for types of sugar).
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GRANULATED ALLULOSE
Allulose is one of my favorite sweeteners To me, it tastes more like sugar than any other keto-friendly sweetener! Allulose is a non-nutritive sweetener called a rare sugar, and as a Type 1 Diabetic, I love that I don’t have to bolus any insulin for it (meaning that it has absolutely zero effect on my blood sugar). Allulose also carmelizes really well (even better than sucrose), and it doesn’t recrystallize in cooled baked goods like erythritol does. Since allulose doesn’t ferment very well in the gut, it may also be a great choice for those that have digestive problems with Swerve or erythritol. I used to purchase Hoosier Hill Farms Allulose but I switched brands when it became unavailable. I now primarily use Color Me Keto allulose.
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CONFECTIONERS SWERVE
Confectioners swerve is simply the powdered version of granulated Swerve! Don’t want Swerve? So Nourished also makes powdered pure erythritol that you can find by clicking here. OR, if you just don’t want to buy a separate product, you can always make your own powdered Swerve, erythritol, or allulose by buzzing the granulated versions in a blender (I’ve done this many times in my Nutribullet and it works very well).
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SWERVE BROWN SUGAR SUBSTITUTE
Swerve’s brown sugar substitute is similar to their granulated sweetener, but the flavor really is a lot like brown sugar. It also has a higher moisture content, so you can pack it into a measuring cup in the same way. This is my favorite brown sugar substitute out there right now!
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Keto Friendly Chocolate Chips
Lily’s Sugar-Free Dark Chocolate Chips
Lily’s Sugar-Free Dark Chocolate Chips are sweetened with erythritol, inulin, and stevia, and they’re about the same size and texture as regular chocolate chips. They’re not cheap, so I usually buy a multi-pack to save a bit of money.
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LAKANTO CHOCOLATE CHIPS
Lakanto Chocolate Chips don’t contain inulin, so if you have digestive discomfort with Lily’s chocolate chips, you might want to try these. Lakanto’s chips are sweetened with monk fruit and erythritol. They are slightly sweeter and flatter than Lily’s chips. All that said, I LOVE the clean flavor of Lakanto’s chocolate chips.
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Keto Friendly Flours
COCONUT FLOUR
I only use and recommend Bob’s Red Mill Coconut Flour. Different brands of coconut flour vary in their absorbency, so it’s always best to use the brand the recipe was created with. I have always gotten the best results with Bob’s Red Mill Coconut Flour. It also happens to be the brand of coconut flour most commonly used by recipe bloggers, so it’s likely to give you the most consistent outcomes across the board.
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Psyllium Husk Fiber
While psyllium husk fiber isn’t technically a flour, occasionally I use it in combination with coconut flour to create a more gluten-like texture. It’s incredibly useful when baking things like keto bread or rolls.
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Other Keto Friendly Ingredients
FAIR TRADE UNSWEETENED COCOA POWDER
I always keep unsweetened cocoa powder on hand in my keto baking pantry, and I recommend only buying fair trade. I’ve had great results with both Nativas and Equal Exchange.
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CEYLON CINNAMON
Most cinnamon you’ll find at the grocery store is actually made from Cassia bark which is often called “fake cinnamon” by serious foodies. Truthfully, both Ceylon and Cassia are from trees in the Cinnamomum genus, making them both real cinnamon. Cassia tends to be hotter and spicier tasting however, while Ceylon has a sweeter and more complex flavor. I personally prefer the flavor of Ceylon cinnamon.
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Vanilla Extract
Vanilla extract is such an important part of baking. If you want to up your baking game, it’s important to buy real vanilla extract (never imitation). Alas, most of the top brands use sugar in their vanilla extract. I switched to Simply Organic’s pure vanilla extract because it doesn’t contain sugar and the flavor is fantastic.
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Collagen Peptides
I love the soft tissue benefits of taking collagen peptides, so I put a scoop in my morning coffee every day! But this is also a great addition to many keto baking recipes. I often use collagen in cookie recipes, as it helps to add a nice chewy texture that coconut flour doesn’t provide.
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Gelatin
Unlike collagen, gelatin will gel cold liquids. And while I love making homemade low carb jello with keto-friendly Bai drinks, gelatin does so much more. For example, it’s integral to my amazing fluffy and firm keto marshmallow recipe. It does need to be bloomed in cold liquid before dissolving in hot liquid, so I keep both collagen peptides and gelatin in my pantry for convenience’s sake.
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Heavy Cream Powder
Real heavy cream powder is one of the main ingredients in my homemade keto hot chocolate mix recipe. I just love having low carb hot chocolate mix handy at all times! It’s such an easy and healthy way to satisfy a chocolate craving.
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Pork Rinds
I love to say that pork rinds are the cauliflower of the keto baking world because they’re so useful! I crush them up to use in my cheesecake crusts, and they’re the perfect substitute for carb filled cereal in my keto-friendly faux Chex party mix. My favorite pork rinds to use in recipes are Epic’s Artisinal Oven Baked Pink Himalayan Sea Salt Pork Rinds. They have a mild flavor that doesn’t overpower the other ingredients and since they’re oven baked, they’re not super greasy.
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Avocado Oil
As part of my low carb diet, I’ve also eliminated inflammatory cooking oils like vegetable and corn oil. Avocado oil is now my favorite cooking oil because of its high smoke point and neutral flavor. I use and recommend Primal Kitchen’s avocado oil.
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Pan Spray
I’ll often grease baking pans with softened butter but there are some situations where pan spray is much more convenient, so I always keep it on hand. I use and recommend Primal Kitchen’s avocado oil pan spray.
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Baking Soda
It’s SO important to use fresh baking soda when baking. If you’re not getting great results, old baking soda could be to blame. Amazon has a hidden gem with its 365 Everyday Value Baking Soda. It’s a fantastic bargain!
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Baking Powder
Just like baking powder, it’s super important to replace your baking powder regularly to get the best results. Luckily Amazon has an amazing deal on their baking powder too! I recommend their 365 Everyday Value baking powder, and it’s crazy inexpensive!
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Parchment Paper
Parchment paper is one of the most important things that I have in my kitchen. I absolutely couldn’t bake without it! Most rolls don’t have much parchment paper on them though, so I like to buy these 205 square foot rolls because they last so much longer.
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Aluminum Foil
I’ve been cooking and baking for a looong time and I’m very picky about aluminum foil. Reynolds heavy duty aluminum foil is the best of the best! It’s much thicker than standard aluminum foil, which means it doesn’t rip as easily (fewer messes!). I’ve tried other heavy duty brands and nothing else compares. I like to buy Reynolds heavy duty in the 75 square foot roll because it’s much wider than a standard roll, making it easy to completely cover a cookie sheet with one piece of foil.
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