This post kicks off the first week of our Ketofy My Favs challenge!
And challenge this most certainly was – we tried several recipes and then tried tweaking those recipes to our tastes and eventually threw in the towel and decided to just write our own recipes. We’ll call these biscuits a work-in-progress (as most recipes are!), but we’ve experimented with two different styles (gluten vs gluten free).
One was a bit breadier (containing gluten) while the other hit some slightly sweet notes. The gluteny biscuits were very dense and actually reminded me of a chonky (yes, chonky) English muffin. We’ll put a pin in that to explore another time. My taste testers seriously disliked the gluten biscuits, so non-gluteny biscuits FTW! I personally thought the subtle sweetness was a great compliment to the gravy. I’m not 100% sure this was a hugely successful swap out for the high carb version, but I can say with confidence that all of our experiments were very tasty.
For comparison, a traditional biscuits & gravy meal is usually 30+g net carbs and super calorie-dense. The recipes below reduce your combined net carbs to just under 5g! Not any less calorie-dense, but this is a meal to indulge in – just without the added carbs. One biscuit is incredibly satisfying and filling, but you want to splurge on two anyway? No problem. Total net carbs for two low carb biscuits & gravy comes out to less than 8g. Not bad and still, surprisingly, keto friendly.
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Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe (Gluten Free) | Sausage Gravy Recipe | Premade Baking Mixes
First up: The BISCUITS. The hardest thing to duplicate for non-yeasted, low carb breads of any kind is the fluffiness/airiness. Low carb breads have a knack for being dense. In the past, I’ve used whey protein isolate to help mimic this quality. It usually helps with the general puffiness for breads, pastries, cookies – but too much can make it expand more outwards than upwards. With that in mind, I was extra cautious with how much was used here. In hindsight, some extra protein powder might’ve actually helped fluff these up a bit more. That will need to be an experiment for another day!
As they are, these turned out to be beautiful, buttery, slightly crumbly, low carb biscuits that actually hold together really well.
Low Carb Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe
Brief Summary: There are a lot of dry ingredients here compared to my other recipes, but it’s actually pretty simple and not too time consuming. Basically — mix the dry, mix the wet, mix the wet with the dry. Gently fold and knead, cut the dough, bake the dough, eat the biscuits.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Almond Flour (finely grounded/sifted)
- 1/4 cup Coconut Flour
- 1/4 cup Oat Fiber
- 1 1/2 tbsp Whey Protein Isolate (unflavored protein powder)
- 2 tsp Powdered Erythritol (to taste)
- 1 tsp Gelatin
- 2 tsp Double Acting Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Xanthan Gum (optional – biscuits might crumble more without it)
- 4 1/2-5 tbsp Unsalted Butter, cold and cubed
- 2 Large Eggs, whites and yolks separated
- 1/3 cup Buttermilk
- Egg Wash (optional: 1 Egg + Water)
Om nom nom.
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400° f and line a baking pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. Cube (tiny pieces) or grate cold butter and set aside in fridge. My cubes were never tiny enough.
3. Separate egg yolks and whites into two separate dishes – yolks in a small dish or mug, whites in a small to medium mixing dish.
5. Whip the egg whites until frothy or very soft peaks form (we use a handheld immersion blender). Set aside.
4. Add buttermilk to yolks and gently whisk together (we use a fork). Set aside.
6. Combine all dry ingredients in a medium to large mixing bowl (gently mix all together, make sure there are no large flour lumps).
7. Add the cold butter to the dry ingredients, make sure butter pieces are all fully coated in the dry mix. It should look like very loose, weird, little lumps scattered throughout the dry mix.
8. Gently fold the yolks/buttermilk into the frothy egg whites.
9. Gently fold the egg mixture into the dry/butter mix. Continue folding and smooshing until pieces stick together in a single lump. Be patient – it will happen. The dough will be a bit crumbly but should no longer have loose/dry bits.
Tip: You can also combine ingredients (dry mix, butter, then egg mix) into a food processor and gently pulse everything together. This helps disperse the butter in tinier clumps and more evenly through the dough but – DO NOT OVER MIX! Over-mixing will melt the butter too quickly. It should be a little crumbly.
10. Turn the dough out onto a flat surface and pat into a thin rectangle with your hands or a silicone spatula. The dough will be sticky and you may need to wet your hands to work with it.
11. Fold the dough in half and continue to gently flatten/fold several times to help disperse the butter in layers throughout the dough (see images above for how we fold and smoosh).
Tip: If the butter is melting too quickly, stick the dough in the freezer for 5-10 minutes before finishing (or at any point you think it’s getting too melty). When butter gets too soft in this recipe, it melts into buttery pools while baking which leaves behind crispy holes. They’ll still be tasty but you’re losing fat/flavor so to avoid that, don’t knead the dough too much and/or place the biscuit dough in the freezer for 5 minutes just before baking.
This is the perfect time to make a cuppa and relax.
12. After a few folds, gently pat the dough into a rectangle that’s about 1/2-1 inch high.
13. Slice the dough into 6 equal pieces and leave as squares or shape into circular shapes – or use a round biscuit or cookie cutter to create 6 perfect circles.
14. Transfer the dough to your baking pan. Stick it in the freezer for a few minutes before baking (just to make extra sure that butter is super cold).
Optional: Brush the tops with egg wash for a slightly crispy/flaky top.
15. Bake biscuits for 15-18 minutes. I recommend checking on them around 15 minutes (in case your oven runs hot) and then watching until the tops are nicely golden. Areas where the butter wasn’t thinly dispersed through the dough might melt and pool next to the biscuit. This happened to several of our batches. But that’s okay, because frying anything in butter is usually pretty delicious. Just don’t burn yourself on the butter pools.
16. Let cool for 5-10 minutes and serve with whatever the heck you’d like. We’ve tried these with low carb sausage gravy, sugar free maple syrup, sugar free jam, and as cheesy breakfast sandwiches. Best served warm.
Store these in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for about 4 days. They’ll keep a few days longer in the fridge but might dry out a bit.
Makes 6 biscuits | Serving: 1 biscuit | Net Carbs: 2.9g | Calories: 253
Disclaimer: Info provided here by entering the ingredients used into Carb Manager. These numbers can change based on the ingredients/brands/etc. you choose to use.
Substitutions
Use at your own risk – these are just suggestions and not tried and true subs for this recipe. While I haven’t used any substitutions for biscuits yet, I’d love to hear about your experience if you do – comment below!
Almond Flour & Oat Fiber: I believe you could swap out the oat fiber for more almond flour, potato fiber (not flour!), or finely ground flaxseed without much fuss though it will alter the flavor. I’ve also heard lupin flour might be a good alternative to almond flour, but it may have a naturally bitter taste that must be masked. If you have a preferred low carb flour, please give it a try here and let me know how it turns out!
Coconut Flour: Coconut flour can be subbed out for more almond flour. Coconut flour is THIRSTY though, so you’ll need to use more almond flour (maybe 3/4-1 cup Almond flour for every 1/4 cup Coconut Flour). You might also use 1 less egg or slightly less buttermilk to get the right consistency in your dough.
Buttermilk: This tends to have a bit more carbs than some would like but the amount we’re using (about 3oz) comes out to just 4g net carbs so spread over 6 servings is fairly low. You can also use a combination of 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream and 1 tsp vinegar to create a replacement for the buttermilk.
Butter: Ghee (clarified butter), coconut oil, or lard would all be decent substitutions. I’d recommend choosing an oil that solidifies at room temp and can be well dispersed through the dough in semi-solid form when cold.
Erythritol: Use any powdered version of your preferred sweetener but double check the sweetness level compared to Erythritol, which is more subtle than cane sugar. For example, you should use less with monk fruit and stevia blends (maybe 1tsp) since their sweetness is more intense than cane sugar.
Eggs: I wouldn’t swap out eggs for this recipe. If you’re sensitive to eggy tastes be sure your eggs are room temp. Also, you might get away with using one less egg and increasing the buttermilk or adding another milk to the mix. Your biscuits might end up a little less stable/more crumbly. Crumbly biscuits are still going to be delicious, but we made this recipe specifically with a solid structure in mind so they could hold up to sauces, gravies, sandwiches, etc.
Low Carb Sausage Gravy
Low carb and keto friendly gravies and creamy sauces are actually really simple – heavy cream, savory broth and/or bullion, add in a binder and maybe some cheese, let it reduce and voila! While unusual for most of my keto dishes, I found it was best to drain the sausage before adding to the gravy. The extra fat is delicious, of course, but it made the gravy far too soupy and honestly, with the addition of the buttery biscuits, this meal is already completely packed full of flavor and comfort.
Ingredients
- 1 lb Breakfast Sausage, browned, drained
- 1 tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1 cup Broth, chicken or beef (we used chicken)
- 2 oz Cream Cheese
- 1/4 tsp Xanthan Gum (optional)
- 1/2 tsp Salt, to taste
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper, to taste
- 1/2 tsp Garlic (optional)
- 1/2 tsp Ground Sage (optional)
Directions
1. Add butter to your favorite medium-sized pot over medium-high heat. Let it slightly melt and coat the bottom of the pot.
2. Add the heavy whipping cream, broth, cream cheese, and bullion to the pot.
3. Bring the mixture to a boil for about 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Once the mixture starts to thicken slightly, add xanthan gum and desired spices and turn heat to low. Continue to stir occasionally.
5. While the gravy reduces, get out your favorite medium-sized skillet and brown the breakfast sausage. Drain well.
6. Once the gravy reaches your desired thickness, add the sausage to the pot and fully coat in the gravy. Let it set for a few minutes before serving.
Makes 6 servings | Serving: 1 serving | Net Carbs: 1.9g | Calories: 440
Disclaimer: Info provided here by entering the ingredients used into Carb Manager. These numbers can change based on the ingredients/brands/etc. you choose to use.
Substitutions
Heavy Whipping Cream: This makes the gravy very creamy once reduced so I wouldn’t recommend omitting it completely, but if you’d like to make this less calorie-dense then you could try to swap out 1/2 cup for a milk alternative like Almond Milk, Soy Milk, or more broth. This will make the gravy a bit more runny but small amounts of xanthan gum can help with the texture.
Cream Cheese: This significantly helps with the texture and thickening as well, but it can be omitted. Cook the gravy a bit longer to help reduce and thicken the heavy cream/broth mixture.
Premade Baking Mixes
It’s not always possible to make less carby biscuits at home, let alone from scratch. Thankfully, some companies have started distributing their own mixes that make it a lot easier and faster to bake low carb at home (though not necessarily cheaper unfortunately).
I haven’t had the chance to try out these biscuit mixes yet since I do so much of my own baking, so please definitely read the reviews and labels and make sure you’re content with the ingredients beforehand. Happy low carb biscuit baking!
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| Biscuit Mixes |
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| Livlo Keto Biscuit & Bread Mix | View on Amazon |
| NuTrail Keto Biscuits Mix | View on Amazon |
| HighKey Keto Biscuit Mix | View on Amazon |
| Carbquik Baking Mix | View on Amazon |
Homemade Noms by Cate 