Soft Keto Burger Buns and Bread Rolls
These soft keto burger buns are made with ground almonds, Groovy Keto Oat Fibre and Groovy Keto Psyllium Husk Powder, with egg, Greek yoghurt and melted butter for a tender crumb and an egg yolk glaze on top. Each bun has 2.9g net carbs. They take 15 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to bake, plus cooling, and the recipe makes 6.
These keto burger buns build on some well-tested recipes. The soft keto hamburger buns on LowCarb Abode, rated 4.43 out of 5 from 21 votes, show how a little Greek yoghurt and oil soften a dough of almond flour, psyllium husk and egg whites, mixed with hot water and baked in under half an hour. Katrin Nürnberger's fluffy keto buns on Sugar Free Londoner, rated 5 out of 5 from 136 votes, use a whole egg as well as egg whites, with hot water and psyllium husk powder, and are ready in 30 minutes. And on Reddit's r/ketorecipes, a baker sharing a yeasted keto burger bun recipe mixed oat fibre into the almond flour alongside psyllium husk, then brushed the buns with butter. Our twist is to replace some of the ground almonds with our oat fibre and add melted butter as well as yoghurt for a richer, softer crumb, then glaze the buns with one of the yolks left over from the egg whites, so they bake into shiny, golden, brioche-style domes.
They're quite different from our other psyllium bakes. Our keto bagels are chewy rings made from a mozzarella dough, and our keto bread recipe is a crusty loaf that bakes for over an hour. These buns have no cheese in the dough, bake in about half an hour and come out soft enough to squash around a burger. One of Barney Desmazery's soft burger buns on BBC Good Food has 35g carbohydrate; each of these low carb burger buns has 2.9g net carbs.
What we used: Groovy Keto Psyllium Husk Powder, which binds the dough so the buns hold their shape, and Groovy Keto Oat Fibre, which stands in for some of the ground almonds. Weigh both, as they're very light.
Psyllium Husk Powder
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Oat Fibre
View productKeto burger buns vs classic burger buns
A classic soft burger bun is a yeasted dough of wheat flour, milk, butter, egg and a little sugar, so nearly all of its carbohydrate is starch from the flour. These keto burger buns skip the flour and the yeast: ground almonds and oat fibre give them body, psyllium husk powder holds the dough together, and baking powder and hot water lift it into a dome.
| Per bun | Carbohydrate | Sugars | Net carbs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classic soft bun (BBC Good Food) | 35g | 3g | 35g |
| This keto bun | 2.9g | 1.5g | 2.9g |
Classic figures are the published nutrition for one of the 12 buns in Barney Desmazery's soft burger buns on BBC Good Food, made with plain wheat flour, milk, butter, an egg, yeast and a little caster sugar, at about 80g of dough each. They contain no polyols, so their net carbs are the same as their carbohydrate. Our buns are a little bigger, at about 100g of dough each.
Tips for soft keto burger buns
- Weigh the psyllium and oat fibre. Both are very light, so spoon measures vary a lot. Too much makes a dry, dense bun; too little and the dough spreads instead of rising into a dome.
- Let the water stand for 2 minutes. It should be hot but just off the boil, so it softens the psyllium without starting to cook the egg.
- Don't skip the rest. The dough looks too wet at first. After 5 minutes the psyllium and oat fibre have soaked up the liquid and it's soft but easy to shape.
- Shape with wet hands. A little water on your palms stops the dough sticking and gives the buns a smooth surface, which helps the glaze go on evenly.
- Shape them tall. Press the balls down only gently. The buns spread a little in the oven, and a tall ball gives a rounded, domed top.
- Cool before slicing. The crumb is still setting when the buns come out of the oven, so a warm bun can seem damp in the middle. Give them at least 20 minutes on a wire rack.
Soft Keto Burger Buns and Bread Rolls
- Prep time15 min
- Cook time35 min
- Total time50 minutes
- Makes6 buns
- Net carbs2.9g per bun
Ingredients
For the buns
- 150g ground almonds
- 25g Groovy Keto Oat Fibre
- 25g Groovy Keto Psyllium Husk Powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 large egg
- 3 large egg whites (about 100g), saving 1 yolk for the glaze
- 60g full-fat Greek-style yoghurt
- 30g unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tsp cider vinegar
- 150ml hot water
To finish
- 1 egg yolk (saved from the egg whites), beaten with 1 tsp water
- 2 tsp sesame seeds
You will also need 2 mixing bowls, a whisk, a spatula (or an electric hand whisk), a pastry brush and a large baking tray lined with baking paper.
Allergens: contains eggs, milk, nuts (almonds) and sesame. See the allergen notes under Nutrition.
Method
- Get ready. Heat the oven to 190°C / 170°C fan / gas mark 5, line a large baking tray with baking paper and boil the kettle.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a bowl, whisk the ground almonds, oat fibre, psyllium husk powder, baking powder and salt together for 30 seconds, so the psyllium is spread evenly and there are no lumps.
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk the whole egg, egg whites, yoghurt, melted butter and vinegar until smooth. Measure 150ml water from the kettle and leave it to stand for 2 minutes.
- Make the dough. Tip the dry ingredients into the wet ones, pour in the hot water and mix with a spatula or an electric hand whisk on low for about 30 seconds, just until you have a soft, even dough. Don't overmix it.
- Rest the dough. Leave the dough for 5 minutes so the psyllium and oat fibre can soak up the liquid. It will firm up into a soft dough that you can shape.
- Shape the buns. With wet hands, divide the dough into 6 equal pieces of about 100g. Roll each one into a smooth ball, tucking the edges underneath, and space them well apart on the tray. Press each ball down gently to about 8cm across, keeping it tall in the middle, so the buns bake into domes.
- Glaze. Brush the tops and sides with the beaten egg yolk and scatter over the sesame seeds.
- Bake. Bake on the middle shelf for 30 to 35 minutes, until deep golden and the buns sound hollow when you tap them underneath. If the tops brown too quickly, cover them loosely with foil for the last 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before slicing, as the crumb sets as it cools.
Keto bread rolls and other ways to change it
- Keto bread rolls: shape the dough into 8 smaller rolls of about 75g and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
- Hot dog rolls: shape 6 logs about 14cm long, press them down gently and bake for 30 minutes.
- Seeded tops: swap the sesame seeds for poppy seeds, or use a mix of both.
- Cheese-topped: skip the seeds and press 30g of grated mature Cheddar onto the glazed tops before baking.
Any of these changes will alter the nutrition figures.
How to serve keto burger buns
- Classic cheeseburger: a beef patty, a slice of Cheddar, lettuce, tomato and gherkins, with a spoonful of our smoky keto BBQ sauce.
- Pulled pork or chicken: pile it in with a creamy coleslaw and a little more BBQ sauce.
- Breakfast roll: fill with crispy bacon and a fried egg.
- With soup or a roast: warm the rolls and serve them with butter.
- Packed lunches: for filling ideas, see our keto lunch ideas, and read our guide to psyllium husk powder to see how it works in keto baking.
Storage
- Fridge: once cool, keep the buns in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Warm or toast them before eating, as they are firmer when cold.
- Freezer: slice and freeze for up to 3 months, with baking paper between the halves, and toast straight from frozen.
Nutrition
Per serving (1 bun, makes 6):
| Nutrient | Per bun |
|---|---|
| Energy | 258 kcal |
| Fat | 21.5g |
| of which saturates | 5.0g |
| Carbohydrate | 2.9g |
| of which sugars | 1.5g |
| of which polyols | 0.0g |
| Net carbs | 2.9g |
| Fibre | 10.6g |
| Protein | 9.7g |
| Salt | 0.83g |
Net carbs are carbohydrate minus polyols, and this recipe has no polyols. On UK labels, fibre is already listed separately from carbohydrate, so it isn't subtracted again. Figures are calculated from the Groovy Keto Oat Fibre and Psyllium Husk Powder pack labels (with the psyllium energy worked out from its fibre, carbohydrate and protein, about 192 kcal per 100g) and UK (McCance and Widdowson's CoFID) data for ground almonds (14-870; CoFID gives only NSP fibre for almonds, so we've used an AOAC figure of about 12.5g per 100g), whole egg (12-937), egg white (12-938), egg yolk (12-939), plain Greek-style yoghurt (12-555), unsalted butter (17-661), vinegar (17-339), baking powder (17-355), salt (17-367) and sesame seeds (14-844). They will vary with the brands you use. They don't include any filling.
Allergens: this recipe contains eggs, milk (Greek yoghurt and butter), nuts (almonds) and sesame. Groovy Keto Oat Fibre is packed in a facility where there may be traces of nuts, cereals, milk and eggs. Oat fibre is made from oats. Some baking powders contain wheat flour, so check the label. Always check the current labels before baking for anyone with an allergy.
FAQ
What can I use instead of a burger bun on keto?
A homemade keto bun like this one, with 2.9g net carbs, is the closest swap. Otherwise, wrap the burger in large, crisp lettuce leaves, sandwich it between two grilled portobello mushrooms or thick slices of grilled aubergine, or skip the bun altogether and serve the patty with salad and coleslaw.
Why are my keto rolls flat?
Usually the dough was too wet or wasn't rested for long enough, so it spread before it set. Weigh the psyllium husk powder and oat fibre rather than using spoons, rest the dough for the full 5 minutes and shape tall, smooth balls. Old baking powder can also stop them rising, so check it's in date.
Can you freeze keto bread rolls?
Yes. Let them cool completely, slice them in half and freeze them in a freezer bag, with baking paper between the halves, for up to 3 months. You can toast the halves straight from frozen, allowing a minute or two longer, or defrost them overnight in the fridge and warm them through in the oven.
How many carbs are in a keto burger bun?
Each of these keto burger buns has 2.9g net carbs: 2.9g carbohydrate and no polyols, with 10.6g fibre listed separately. Most of the carbohydrate comes from the ground almonds, with a little from the baking powder and Greek yoghurt. Fillings and sauces add to that, so count them separately.
Can I make keto bread rolls with this dough?
Yes. Divide the dough into 8 pieces of about 75g instead of 6, shape them into smooth balls and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden and hollow-sounding underneath. They make good dinner rolls to serve with soup or a roast. The nutrition figures will change, as the batch is shared 8 ways.
Why is my keto bun dough so sticky?
It's very soft at first because the psyllium husk powder and oat fibre haven't soaked up the water yet. Rest it for the full 5 minutes and it will firm up, then wet your hands before shaping. If it's still too loose to hold a ball, stir in 1 tsp more psyllium husk powder and rest it for 2 minutes.
