Tag Archives: keto

Keto Chocolate Sheet Cake

This is real deal here. You cannot tell a difference between the Keto version and the non. In fact, I believe the Keto version is better. You decide for yourself, whip you up a batch and let me know what you think!

Ingredients

Cake Mix:

  • 2 Cups Almond Flour
  • 3/4 Cups of Keto sweetener of choice (we use Lakanto Classic in the 3 lb bag on Amazon —> https://amzn.to/35P958w)
  • 1/3 cup coconut flour
  • 1/3 unflavored Isopure whey protein powder; I order mine on Amazon here because I haven’t found in stores –>https://amzn.to/35NPANB
  • 1 tbs baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup butter (8 tbs)
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 coca powder (unsweetened)
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup water (needed a 2nd time)

Icing/Frosting:

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/4 cup coca powder (unsweetened)
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 and 1/2 cup powdered Keto sweetener; (we use this on Amazon —> https://amzn.to/3caTyB3)
  • 1/4 tsp Xanthan gum (yes, you will need this) you can find here —>https://amzn.to/3628Yqn
  • 3/4 cup chopped pecans

Cake Instructions:

Pre-heat your oven to 325 and grease a 10 x 15 sheet pan really good. In a bowl, add the almond flour, sweetener, coconut flour, protein powder, baking powder and salt and whisk together and set to the side.

On your stove-top in a medium sized saucepan, combine the butter, water and coca powder. Heat on medium stirring these ingredients until melted. Bring them to a boil now then remove from the heat.

In your dry mix bowl, add the eggs, vanilla, HWC and 1/4 cup of water, and hot wet ingredients and mix until it’s all combined real well.

Spread this mixture evenly in your greased sheet pan. Bake 15-25 minutes until it passes the toothpick test. Once done, remove from oven and set aside.

While your cake is cooking, let’s make the frosting. In another saucepan, add butter, coca powder, cream and water. Bring these ingredients to a simmer, continuing to stir until it’s smooth. At this point, stir in the vanilla, add your powdered sweetener, 1/2 a cup at a time, whisking really good so it will dissolve the clumps. Finally, add in the Xanthan gum and whisk it in as well. Put your pecans in and stir them in.

Once your sheet cake has cooled, pour the icing/frosting over the cake and spread with a spatula. Make sure it’s nice and even over the entire surface of the cake.

Guru Keto Biscuits and Gravy

Man have I missed biscuits and gravy. Not anymore. I’ve come up with a recipe that is quick and extra delicious! You can play around with this recipe and make it your own or leave it alone and enjoy it my way. It’s a southern thing to add the breakfast sausage in the gravy so there’s no skipping this step!

Ingredients:

  • 4 oz cream cheese
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 (1-oz) packet dry Ranch dressing mix ( I didn’t have any so I used Flavor God ranch seasoning)
  • 1-1/2 cups almond flour
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
  • 1/2 cup chopped cooked bacon (optional)
  • White gravy – You can use my white gravy recipe here, just add breakfast sausage – https://wordpress.com/block-editor/post/justaketoguru.com/1094

Instructions:

In a microwave safe bowl, add your mozzarella cheese and cream cheese. Microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds. Mix well after until combined.

Once mixed, add the baking powder, ranch mix, almond flour then add your 3 beaten eggs to the melted cheeses. I put the eggs in last because the cheese is hot and you don’t want it to cook your eggs. Mix really well for several minutes until you have a nice consistent batter. It should look something like mine.

Once your dough is made, add in the crumbled bacon and cheddar cheese. These are optional but add some great flavor. Mix really good again until you have a uniform dough. This may take a few minutes as well.

For cooking, you have 2 options. You can spray a cast iron skillet and cook in it or line a cookie sheet and cook on it. I’ve done these biscuits on both. The pan cooked more even to me but the cast iron had a better flavor. Either way, scoop out dough into balls and place on pan/cast iron. This recipe should make somewhere around 11-12 biscuits. Continue making your biscuits until you exhaust all your dough.

Place the cookie sheet or cast iron in the fridge for 10 minutes. This step should not be missed. It helps set-up the biscuits. Heat your oven at 400 while you are waiting. Once your 10 minutes are up, cook at 400 for 20-25 minutes. Mine took 20. Remove and let cool for a minute or 2.

Split your biscuits and pour on the gravy. Add an egg to jazz it up a bit more. Enjoy.

Keto Easy Cheesy Breadsticks

Italian night and missing bread sticks? Or, maybe you are having pizza night and wish you had some cheesy bread sticks as well. Well, miss them no more. You can easily whip these up in less than 20 minutes, including cook time.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups low moisture shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1/2 cup almond flour
  • 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 natural shredded cheddar
  • Italian seasoning

Instructions:

In a microwave safe bowl, add your 2 cups of mozzarella and Italian seasoning and microwave for 90 seconds. Remove and give a good stir.

With your cheese still nice and hot, add 1/2 of your almond flour. Don’t put the entire 1/2 cup in at the same time because it is harder to mix. After you get the 1st half nice and mixed, now go ahead and add in the other 1/2. Mix really well until you have a uniform mixture.

Place mixture on a piece of parchment paper. Add another piece on top and spread out “dough” and form in whatever shape you like. You can use a rolling pin, empty glass, or even just your forearm. It’s best to get it about 1/4″ for a good even cook.

Before placing into oven, use a fork and poke holes all around. This will prevent the cheese from bubbling while cooking. If it does bubble while in the oven, just simply poke the bubbles and resume cooking. Cook at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until nice and golden brown.

Remove from oven and top with your parmesan cheese and cheddar cheese. Evenly distribute all over. Place back into the oven and cook another 5-10 minutes until your cheese is nicely melted and your bread sticks are really nice and golden brown. Cut into equal pieces and enjoy! Don’t be afraid to get creative. Add anything you like to your bread sticks!!

Keto Air Fried Fish (tacos)

Fried fish has never been easier. Choose the type of fish you want and follow this recipe and you will have great golden, crunchy fried fish. I was very impressed how this turned out. Used catfish because that’s what Kroger’s butcher had on hand. Threw them on some folio cheese wraps for fish tacos! Hope you enjoy.

Ingredients:

  • 1 bag Kroger pork rinds, spicy or mild or both
  • 4 eggs
  • 6 tbs almond flour
  • 4 tbs coconut flour
  • 3 oz shredded parmesan cheese
  • seasoning of choice
  • 4-6 fish fillets (catfish)

Instructions:

I like to prepare the fish first. I took the fillets and quartered them to make them more taco friendly. You can do smaller nuggets or leave the fillet whole, any combination will work.

Prepare you batter station. In your mixer, add your pork rinds and blend down. Remove the lid, add your parmesan cheese, seasoning, and 6 tbs of almond flour and blend another 10 seconds or so. Pour contents into a batter friendly dish.

In a separate bowl, add your eggs and whip. I chose to add more seasoning here because I believe in flavor!! On a plate, dump out your coconut flour. Set up the station from left to right, fish —> coconut flour —-> egg —-> pork rinds.

Let’s get to battering. Add fish to the coconut flour and coat both sides really well. Dip in the egg and coat both sides in egg really good. Remove from the egg and let excess drip off. Immediately add to the pork rind mix. Pat down really good and flip. Ensure you have a nice even coating on your fish. Continue until you have completed all your fish.

When done battering, place fish in your pre-heated air fryer and air fry at 400 degrees for 14 minutes. If you have a rack system, you shouldn’t have to flip. If you don’t have racks, I suggest flipping at halfway to get both sides crispy. Just be careful flipping as your breading will want to pull off. Remove from the air fryer and rest for a few minutes. Plate, and enjoy!

Guru Keto Chicken Fried Steak/Chicken

Yes, you are reading this correctly. This Southern favorite, including the white gravy, is 100% Keto. This was worth the effort. This one took a little time because I chose to make CFS and CFC at the same time. If you are only doing 1 protein, I’m assuming the time will be shorter. This has to be on your menu. It was fantastic. If you are on mobile or a tablet, you will need to scroll down for the instructions.

Ingredients:

Meat/batter:

  • 4 cube steaks (this is the best for CFS)
  • 3 large breast, butterflied
  • 4-5 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 bag Kroger plain pork rinds
  • 4 oz. shredded parmesan
  • 12 tbs almond flour (6 in with the pork rinds, 6 on a plate for the protein)
  • Garlic powder
  • Onion powder
  • Pepper

Keto white gravy

  • 2 tbs butter
  • 2 tbs cream cheese, softened
  • 6 tbs heavy whipping cream
  • 1/2 cup of either chicken/beef broth or water
  • Pepper

Instructions

Prep the meat first. This takes the longest. Using a meat tenderizing mallet, beat the cube steaks flat, both sides. Keep the meat in between some cling wrap. Same thing applies for the chicken. Ensure your chicken is butterflied and pound down both sides. Season both sides of the meat with the garlic powder, onion powder and pepper, to taste.

Now it’s time to prep your pork rind crust and batter. In your blender/processor, add 1 bag of Kroger plain pork rinds. I find it easier to go ahead and crush the bag first then put into the blender. Add 6 tbs of almond flour and 4 oz of grated parmesan and blend for 10-15 seconds. Dump contents into a dish you will be able to batter the meat in. Ensure it’s big enough, you will need room. I like to add some pepper here too. It will help add flavor and make your crust look even prettier.

Set up your batter station. In a large bowl/dish, add your 4 large eggs and 1/4 cup heavy cream and whip until combined and thick. On a separate plate, add 6 tbs of almond flour.

Take either protein and dip in the plain almond flour 1st. Coat both sides very nicely. Dip into the egg batter, remove and let excess drip off. Immediately place into the pork rind mixture and coat both sides. It helps to press down firmly to ensure both sides are coated good. Continue this process until all of your meat is battered.

Before placing into your preheated air fryer, spray the top of all the meat with olive oil cooking spray. This will help them get even crispier. You will need to flip them at the halfway point and spray the bottom as well. Be very careful when flipping as the crust will want to come off on the bottom. After flipping and spraying, continue cooking until finished. I cooked the chicken fried chicken at 400 for 17 minutes and the chicken fried steak at 400 for 13. Time will vary but that should get you close.

While the meat is cooking in the air fryer, prepare the white gravy. It’s super simple and only takes a few minutes. On a stove top pan, add 2 tbs of butter, 6 tbs of heavy cream and 2 tbs of cream cheese and whisk slowly until all are combined. Add in the 1/2 cup of chicken/bone broth and keep stirring until it thickens. Add some pepper while you stir. If your gravy is too thick, add a little bit more broth. If it’s too thin, add 1 tbs heavy cream at a time until you like. Simmer on low for just a few minutes then remove from heat. It really is this simple.

Bring it all together and plate. We chose mashed cauliflower which keeps this entire meal 100% Keto. If you have any questions, shoot me an email or leave a comment. As I said, this one took time but was well worth it! Enjoy!!!!

Keto Air Fried Fish (Flounder)

Ok, I’m really starting to think there is absolutely nothing you cannot cook in this air fryer. Tonight was no exception. Since going Keto about 2 years ago, I’ve sure missed fried fish. Tonight, I have created a version that I actually like more than true “fried” fish. I chose market fresh Flounder for this experiment. It’s not an overly fishy tasting fish, but it’s super tender white fish meat. Let’s see how this unfolded.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. fresh fish fillets
  • 1/2 bag of Kroger pork rinds. (I used 1/2 plain, 1/2 spicy)
  • 10 tbs almond flour (6 to blend, 4 for the fish)
  • 3 large eggs
  • 3 oz grated parmesan cheese
  • Seasonings of choice

Instructions

In your blender, add your 1/2 bag of pork rinds and blend for about 8 seconds. Open the lid, add your almond flour, parmesan and seasonings and blend again for 8 seconds. Transfer contents to an appropriate dish for battering.

Build your batter station now. In a bowl, whip your eggs. You may choose to add seasonings to the eggs as well, this may only enhance the flavor. On a plate, add your 4 tbs of almond flour.

Take your fish fillet and coat both sides evenly with the almond flour. Transfer fillet to the egg wash and coat both sides. Pull your fillet out and allow excess egg to drip off. Add the fillet to the pork rind breading and coat both sides evenly. You may need to press down on both sides to get it coated well. Transfer to air fryer rack. Continue battering until all of your fillets are ready.

Place your battered fish into the air fryer and air fry for 12 minutes at 400 degrees. You can choose to leave in a little longer to get the desired crunch if needed. At 12 minutes, mine was perfect. Pull from air fryer and allow to rest a few minutes before serving. If you are using an air fryer without a rack system, you will need to flip about halfway to crunch both sides. NOTE: I sprayed my racks and the fish almost stuck to them. I suggest spraying with olive oil cooking spray no matter what air fryer you are using.

Plate and enjoy. Let me know how yours turns out!

Keto Stuffed Chicken Lasagna

Ok, this really isn’t lasagna but it has all of the lasagna filling. So I shall call it chicken lasagna. Either way, this is a super simple dish with a ton of flavor. It is a hit on Italian night or any night of the week honestly. Pair it with a nice vegetable, or zoodles in our case, and you have a fantastic meal. On the plus side, this re-heats very well also.

Ingredients:

  • 1 egg
  • 1.5 cups of mozzarella cheese, shredded; 3/4 cup for stuffing, 3/4 cup for topping
  • 1 cup ricotta cheese
  • 3 large chicken breast, butterflied
  • Rao’s marinara sauce or other Keto equivalent
  • Italian seasonings (We love McCormick Garlic, herb, black pepper and sea salt)
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Stuffing:

In a mixing bowl, add your ricotta cheese, 3/4 cup of mozzarella, egg, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Mix all ingredients until well mixed and set to the side.

Prepare the chicken

Start by butterflying your breast. Be careful and don’t cut all the way through. You want to be able to fold the one side back over the other. Place them in a baking dish that fits (I think mine is 9″x 13″).

Sauce each side of the chicken with Rao’s. Use what you feel comfortable using. Just know that the more you add the more watery your dish will end up being. After the marinara, dollop each breast with a helping of the stuffing. Evenly distribute the stuffing between the 3 breast. If you have extra, that’s ok. Just dump it on the sides. Fold over 1/2 of the breast and close.

Sauce the top of the closed breast with a bit more Rao’s. Hit it again with some Italian seasoning and top with the 3/4 cup of mozzarella, 1/4 cup on each.

Place dish in your pre-heated oven at 400 degrees for 25-25 minutes. I’ve had this cook in 25 minutes and other times it took 40. When you get to 25 minutes, if it’s not done, cover with foil and cook until you hit an internal temp of 165 degrees.

Cut your breast, plate and server. Take some of that extra stuffing and add to your plate! Enjoy!!!

Keto Crock-Pot Crack Chicken

One pot, one super easy, super tasty meal. Start before you head out to work, or start at lunch. Either way, it’s so simple to have a great meal for dinner that you really don’t have to cook. Today is one of those days where we needed easy, and it doesn’t get any easier than this. Oh, and it’s fantastic. You get to be as creative as you like with this. Here’s how I assemble my crack chicken!

Ingredients:

  • 3 medium/large chicken breasts
  • 1 block (8 oz) cream cheese
  • 1 cup natural cheddar cheese
  • 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 8 oz homemade salsa (ours is Keto approved, no sugar)
  • 1/2 cup bacon crumbles
  • Every seasoning in the cabinet… kidding.. or am I? Just season however you feel fit but don’t be scared to “SEASON” your food!

Instructions:

Line your crock pot with a liner, it makes clean-up so much easier. Throw in your uncooked breasts in the bottom. Season heavily, add your salsa, cream cheese, bacon, cheeses, and throw on the lid. **Note, if you don’t use salsa, you may want to put about 1/4 cup of chicken broth in the bottom. It will help keep moist. Set your crockpot on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours and forget about it. Your house will start smelling amazing in about 1 hour. Leave the lid on and don’t touch until dinner time.

After the 8 hr or 4 hr timer, simply put your crock pot on keep warm. Right before it time to eat, remove the lid and simply stir with a spoon. Your chicken will simply shred very easily. Stir it up real good and mix well. Plate and pair with your favorite veggie. Typically, we put squash or zucchini in as ingredients but today we chose broccoli. I think the broccoli would have been soggy so we air fried it and put on the side. Enjoy!

How do you make your crack chicken or what would you add/remove? Comment below!!

Keto Guru Air Fried Coconut Chicken

Super simple, super sweet coconut chicken. This actually happened by chance tonight. I was going to make shrimp again and the batch I was given wasn’t too appealing. So, I pulled out the trusty yard bird and threw down some tenders. This is really easy and I’m telling you, the coconut sweet drops really bring out that coconut flavor that’s missing from the unsweetened coconut flakes.

Ingredients:

  • 6 tbs coconut flour
  • 2 or 3 eggs
  • 5 oz unsweetened coconut flakes
  • 2 squirts of coconut sweet drops; can be found here —>> https://amzn.to/2Q0Ccwp

Instructions:

Set up your batter station from left to right. Chicken, coconut flour, egg wash, and then coconut flakes. In the eggs, add your 2 squirts of the sweet drops. You can thank me later.

Take your chicken from the package and roll in the coconut flour. Make sure you coat the entire surface of the tender.

Dip coated tender in the egg mixture. Make sure you let the excess run off.

Directly place your tender on the coconut. Press down gently and then flip. Make sure you get the coconut all over the entire surface. Place on your air fryer rack. Repeat until all of your tenders are coated. Season the tenders once all battered for extra flavor. I chose a spicy seasoning so we could have that sweet and spicy combo.

Place your tenders in your pre-heated air fryer for 12 minutes at 400 degrees. If you don’t have an air fryer with racks, you will need to flip at about 6 minutes. Remove when your 12 minutes are up and let the rest for a few minutes.

Plate however you like. Pair with a nice vegetable, a great salad (like I did), or just use to dip in your favorite Keto approved sauce. Enjoy this super simple recipe!

Keto Ravioli

Holy cow, this was awesome. If you have used my pizza recipe before, then you have what you need for the ravioli. Add a stuffing of your choice and throw into the oven, and you have a fantastic Italian dinner. Paired with zoodles and Rao’s marinara, this keeps the meal on the low carb side. This meal did take a little bit of time. You have to make the ravioli, then the meat stuffing, then assemble. All in all, it took me about an hour start to finish.

Ingredients:

Ravioli

  • 2 cups low moisture mozzarella cheese
  • 1/2 cup almond flour
  • Italian seasoning to taste

Stuffing

  • 1/3 lb ground meat of choice
  • 2 cups of baby spinach
  • 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese
  • 2 tbs of parmesan cheese
  • Italian seasoning

Instructions:

In a microwave safe bowl, add your mozzarella cheese and Italian seasoning. Microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds.

Stir the cheese really well and add only half of your 1/2 cup of almond flour and knead into the cheese. Once this is nice and mixed, add the other half of the almond flour. This makes it really easy to blend the mixture. Knead until you have a nice looking dough.

Lay out parchment paper on the counter and roll out your dough into a rectangle. Don’t worry if it’s not perfectly square, you will just have some smaller pieces. I used a rolling pin but if you don’t have one, use your forearm. It will work. Once rolled out, cut into equal squares. Make sure they are big enough so you can fill them nicely.

On the stove top, add some butter to the pan and melt. Throw in your spinach and sweat down. This only takes a few minutes. Once cooked, remove from the pan and set to the side. I suggest cutting your spinach up now.

In the same pan you cooked your spinach, cook your ground meat of choice. Here I used Italian sausage. Don’t forget to season your meat. Once the meat is cooked, place into a small mixing bowl.

In your bowl with your ground meat, add your ricotta cheese and parmesan cheese. Mix this well.

Now we are ready to assemble our ravioli. Get a small scoop of your meat mixture and place in the center of your ravioli. Pinch the corners tightly either using your fingers or a fork. I found that my fingers worked just fine. Repeat this process until you have stuffed all of your ravioli. You may have extra filling, just save this for another day to put on some zoodles.

Set your oven to 375 degrees. On a baking sheet, line with parchment paper and place raviolis on it. Sprinkle a little parmesan on top. Cook for 7-10 minutes until golden brown. I attempted this in my air fryer and they stuck to the rack. Next time I will use the oven.

Pair your ravioli with some zoodles and low carb/sugar marinara sauce and enjoy!