Keto Sauerkraut Buns

These Keto Sauerkraut Buns are super easy to make, full of great flavour, and perfect 2 g net carb substitute for the original!

Sometimes my recipe development can involve a lot of yelling and the odd scream.

Not out of frustration - usually , anyway. No, I’m talking about the times I come up with something that I wasn’t sure I’d be able to.

The best example is when I came up with a gluten-free perogies recipe that was AMAZING. Or there was the time I figured out another "holy grail" recipe - Gluten-Free Soft Pretzels.

These days, I have the added challenge of making something not only gluten-free, but also very low in carbs. (And I will definitely tackle keto pretzels some day, btw!).

With the holidays coming up, I’ve been having HUGE cravings for Sauerkraut Balls.

These are little buns that my aunt used to make every Christmas: bite sized bread balls, filled with bacon and sauerkraut.

Depending on who you’re talking to, these are either Pyrizhky - as they were in Winnipeg, a city with a LOT of Ukrainians! - Pirozhki, or Piroshki, with the former two being Russian.

The former two also tend to be shaped differently and filled with beef, but whatever.

Call them what you like, they’re WILDLY addictive. I mean like... “double fisting them, one in the mouth, and eyeing the plate of them” addictive.

... but what they’re NOT? Low carb.

Low Carb Sauerkraut Buns

The nice thing about these buns is that the source material filling - sauerkraut, bacon, and a bit of onion - IS actually low carb!

So, it was just a matter of replacing the bread part.

Recently, I finally got into making “fathead” dough. I have no idea what took me so long.

Well, that’s not really true, I DO know what had me hesitant to try it: It sounded RIDICULOUSLY stupid.

Fathead Dough

Melting cheese and mixing it together with Almond Flour IN NO WAY sounds like something that would produce anything resembling bread.

I pictured the texture in my head, and wrote it off.

As someone with a late diagnosed gluten allergy, I’m well acquainted with the things that people will convince themselves of, when aiming for “replacement” food.

... and I figured fathead dough to be one of those instances. No thanks!

The thing is, I gave it a go a while back, and was BLOWN AWAY.

I have absolutely no idea how it works - it must be magic - but yeah. Melting cheese and mixing it with Almond Flour absolutely can create something that convincingly passes for bread.

I mean, to the point where fathead buns are better than the vast majority of gluten-free buns I’ve had... and they literally have no grain in them at all.

SO yeah... magic.

I made some buns, I made a pizza, and then I set my eyes on the PRIZE: Sauerkraut balls.

Keto Sauerkraut Bun VICTORY

These came together MUCH more quickly and easily than the source material (which are very much worth the effort, BTW!).

Start to finish, I had a batch of these cooling within an hour.

... and there was a lot of yelling, and maybe a couple of tears.

These are *amazing!

I will never understand fathead dough, but these are actually significantly better than the gluten-free recipe I’d developed, and THAT one scratched the itch pretty well!

These make a soft, lovely bun. The dough is easy to work with (as long as you wet your hands!), it bakes up nicely, and OMG, it satisfies.

My husband isn’t low carbbing - and can’t even handle eating much bacon - and I’ve been fighting him off my batch of keto pyrizhky like I’m a dragon hoarding gold.

I don’t GET fathead dough... but damn, I am thankful for it now!

Anyway, let’s get to it:

How to Make Keto Sauerkraut Buns

Full recipe follows at the end of this post, but here's the pictorial overview:

Filling:

Cook bacon & onion until bacon is cooked, but not crispy.

Add sauerkraut to the pan, cook and stir well until bacon fat is absorbed and everything is heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Let cool.

Dough:

Measure mozzarella and cream cheese into a microwave-safe bowl. Heat - 45-60 seconds at a time - until cheese has melted.

Measure remaining dough ingredients into a food processor, blitz to combine.

Add melted cheeses, pulse until well combined - you don’t want to see any sections of unmixed cream cheese, etc.

Assembly:

With wet hands, pinch off walnut-sized sections of dough – about 24 of them.

One at a time, flatten a piece of dough into a circle approximately 3" across – I like to do this in the palm of one hand. Place a 1 tablespoon mound of filling in the center of the circle.

Carefully pull up the edge of the circle up and around the filling, sealing the filling in (like a drawstring bag). Roll around between your hands a bit to get a uniform spherical shape, repeat with the rest of the dough/filling.

Bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly golden.

Remove from oven and brush liberally with melted butter. Best served hot - fresh out of the oven or reheated... IF they last that long.

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Keto Pyrizhky

These Keto Sauerkraut Buns are super easy to make, full of great flavour, and perfect 2 g net carb substitute for the original!

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine: Polish, Ukrainian

Diet: Diabetic, Gluten Free

Servings: 24 buns

Calories: 171kcal

Equipment

Food processor

Cheese Grater

Baking sheet

Parchment paper

Ingredients

Filling:

• ½ lb Bacon chopped
• 1 Small onion chopped
• 1 cup Sauerkraut well drained
• Salt
• Pepper

Dough:

• 3 cups Shredded mozzarella cheese
• 4 ounces Cream cheese
• 2 Large eggs
• 2 ¼ cups Almond flour
• ¼ cup Coconut flour
• ¼ cup Almond milk
• 1 teaspoon Baking soda
• ½ teaspoon Baking powder
• ½ teaspoon Salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees, line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Filling:

• Cook bacon & onion until bacon is cooked, but not crispy.
• Add sauerkraut to the pan, cook and stir well until bacon fat is absorbed and everything is heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Let cool.

Dough:

• Measure mozzarella and cream cheese into a microwave-safe bowl. Heat - 45-60 seconds at a time - until cheese has melted.
• Measure remaining dough ingredients into a food processor, blitz to combine. Add melted cheeses, pulse until well combined - you don’t want to see any sections of unmixed cream cheese, etc.

Assembly:

• With wet hands, pinch off walnut-sized sections of dough – about 24 of them.
• One at a time, flatten a piece of dough into a circle approximately 3" across – I like to do this in the palm of one hand. Place a 1 tablespoon mound of filling in the center of the circle.
• Carefully pull up the edge of the circle up and around the filling, sealing the filling in (like a drawstring bag). Roll around between your hands a bit to get a uniform spherical shape, repeat with the rest of the dough/filling.
• Bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly golden.
• Remove from oven, allow to cool slightly before eating. Best served hot - fresh out of the oven or reheated... IF they last that long.

Nutrition

Calories: 171kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 319mg | Potassium: 58mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 183IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 111mg | Iron: 1mg

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