Keto Garlic Cheese Bread

An easy keto cheese bread recipe with gooey cheese pulls and 3g net carbs! Make this low carb keto garlic cheese bread with almond flour or coconut flour.

By Maya Krampf
Published March 21, 2020
Updated April 23, 2022

79 Comments

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Keto cheese vread recipe close up with cheese pull.

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I’ve been very excited to share this low carb keto cheese bread recipe with you. It’s another fathead dough recipe, but this time we’re turning it into keto garlic cheesy bread! And I have a feeling that it will become a favorite addition to your keto pizza nights. Don’t forget the marinara sauce for dipping!

I’ve created this keto cheese bread with almond flour to resemble traditional cheesy pull-apart bread. I think it’s more fun to eat, but you could just do the cheese topping on top too (like I do for cauliflower breadsticks) or make keto garlic bread if you like more of a baguette experience.

Why You’ll Love This Keto Cheese Bread Recipe

Cheesy, garlicky flavor
Chewy, bread texture with gooey cheese throughout
Only 20 minutes active prep time
Just 3g net carbs per serving (which is 4 pieces!)
Grain-free, gluten-free, low carb, and keto friendly

Keto garlic cheese bread with cheese pulls and marinara sauce.

Ingredients You’ll Need

This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for keto cheesy bread, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.

Fathead Dough:

Mozzarella Cheese – Use shredded low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella. Avoid fresh mozzarella (the very soft kind that often comes in a ball shape), which has too much moisture.
Cream Cheese – Full-fat plain is best, but low-fat or neufchatel would work.
Wholesome Yum Blanched Almond Flour – Many brands are too coarse, which will yield gritty bread. Wholesome Yum brand almond flour is the finest out there, for the best texture in your keto cheese bread.

Baking Powder – To help the bread rise a bit, though it won’t rise a ton. Be sure you’re using baking powder, not baking soda; the latter will result in bitterness and no rising due to the lack of acid in the recipe to react.

SWAP: For a nut-free option, make keto cheese bread with coconut flour instead of almond flour.

To do this, replace the 1 1/2 cups of almond flour with 1/2 cup Wholesome Yum Coconut Flour and add 2 extra eggs (for a total of 4) to the dough. Otherwise, the recipe will be the same, but you may end up with a smaller dough disc, so may need less mozzarella to stuff inside and/or garlic butter to brush on top.

Optional Yeast Ingredients:

Active Dry Yeast – One packet, like this one. All the ingredients in this section are optional, if you want more lift and the flavor of yeast.
Water – It needs to be lukewarm, like a baby’s bathwater, to activate the yeast properly.
Inulin Powder – This is a prebiotic fiber used to feed the yeast, and it’s required if you’ll be including yeast in your keto cheesy bread. Keto sweeteners and sugar substitutes will NOT work, as yeast does not consume them like it would sugar. You can get inulin here (and use it for other yeast recipes, such as keto yeast bread, and for making keto chocolate), but regular sugar or coconut sugar would work as well. The yeast will consume most, if not all, of it, so the carb count in the final bread shouldn’t be much higher.

Garlic Butter Topping & Cheese Filling:

Butter – Unsalted.
Italian Seasoning – Use your favorite brand or make homemade Italian seasoning for all your healthy Italian recipes.
Garlic Powder – I used this for convenience, but you can also use 2 cloves (or more!) of minced or crushed garlic instead. If you do, it’s best to stuff it into the cuts with the shredded cheese instead of mixing it with the melted butter, because it may burn on top of the bread but will be fine inside the cuts.
Mozzarella Cheese – Preferably the same kind as used for the dough above, but other keto cheeses that melt well would work. Harder cheeses are not recommended for a pull-apart bread like this one, though you could add a sprinkle of parmesan cheese on top if you like.

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How To Make Keto Cheese Bread

This section shows how to make keto garlic cheese bread, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.

Bloom yeast. The yeast in this keto cheesy garlic bread is optional, but I highly recommend it as it adds classic flavor. Stir the warm water, inulin, and yeast in a small bowl to bloom.
Start the dough. Process almond flour, baking powder, and eggs in a food processor.

Melt the cheeses. Melt mozzarella and cream cheese together in a microwave or double boiler.
Add cheese to dough. Before the cheeses cool (they should still be stirrable as shown above), add them to the mixture in the food processor and process until a dough forms.
Add yeast. When the yeast is frothy and puffy, add it to the food processor and pulse until combined. If the dough is sticky, chill in the fridge to make it less sticky.

Keto garlic cheese bread dough in a food processor.

Shape. Flatten the keto cheese bread dough into a disc, about 3/4 inch tall and 7 inches in diameter.
Slice. Cut rows one inch apart in the dough disc, cutting almost to the bottom, but not all the way through. Then add cuts in the other direction to form a grid, as shown below.
Brush. In a small bowl, stir together melted butter, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder. Brush over the dough, letting it drip down into the cuts you made.

Brushing low carb cheese bread with garlic butter.

Stuff. Sprinkle shredded mozzarella over the cut areas (not all over) and push inside the cuts.
Bake. Place in the oven until the keto friendly cheese bread is golden and cooked through. It needs to not only brown on top, but also be cooked inside.

Tips For The Best Keto Garlic Cheese Bread

When blooming the yeast, it’s ready when it’s puffy, bubbly, and larger in size. It won’t be very liquid anymore. That’s how you know it’s working!
For extra chewy keto cheese bread, add xanthan gum. I didn’t find this necessary, but you can add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum in the same step as the almond flour to make it more chewy.
Do not over-process the dough, but do pulse until it’s uniform. You want the consistency to be the same throughout, but don’t want to deflate the yeast too much. Scrape the sides with a spatula if needed.
Avoid sticky dough. This will depend on your kitchen temperature and humidity. If it’s sticky, chill the dough for 15-30 minutes in the refrigerator to make it less sticky. Also, using hands lightly covered in oil when working with the dough will help.
A thin disc of dough works best. If it’s too thick, the top may burn before the inside is cooked through. However, if you run into this issue and find that there is sufficient browning during baking before the inside is done, you can tent the top with foil and continue baking.
Wipe down the knife in between cuts when cutting the dough, so that it doesn’t stick to the knife too much.
Add cheese to all the cuts in one direction first, then the opposite direction. It seems like a lot of cheese to fit in there, but it will melt down when you bake it.
Watch closely in the oven. A good starting point to start checking is 10-12 minutes. It will likely take longer, but cook time will vary depending on thickness of your low carb cheese bread.
Cheese pulls work best when the keto garlic bread is hot. But it depends on the mozzarella you use — freshly shredded mozzarella will pull better than the pre-shredded stuff from a bag. Another trick you can try for cheese pulls: cut small, short slits perpendicular to the seams, then pull apart.

Storage Instructions

Store: Keep leftovers in the refrigrator for 3-4 days.
Reheat: Place the bread in the oven, or the microwave, until hot.
Freeze: Store in an airtight freezer bag or container for up to 3-6 months. For best results, thaw before reheating.

What To Serve With Keto Cheesy Bread

Serve this keto garlic cheese bread recipe with your favorite Italian dish, such as a keto soup, low carb pizza, or low carb salad, to make a complete meal:

Soups – Try vegetable soup or creamy cauliflower soup for a vegetarian meal, or zuppa toscana for something more hearty.
Pizza – My favorite is classic keto pizza, but lighter, veggie-filled options include zucchini pizza crust, eggplant pizza, or pizza casserole.
Salads – Try wedge salad, Caesar salad, or antipasto salad.
Marinara Sauce – For dipping!
Appetizers – Make a complete appetizer spread featuring keto meatballs, keto fried pickles, low carb mozzarella sticks, and keto chicken wings.

More Keto Bread Recipes

If you like this recipe, try these other easy keto bread ideas:

Recommended Tools

Food Processor – Using a food processor for this fathead keto cheese bread is imperative for the best texture, especially if you are also including the yeast.
Baking Sheet – Great value for two.
Pastry Brush – Brush your keto cheese bread with garlic butter before baking. Yum.