Craving for a granola bar and you’re on the keto diet? No problem, here’s a recipe for keto granola bars that will hit the spot!
While some granola bars may be okay to eat when you’re on a low carb diet, most of those granola bars that you’ll find in the supermarket are high in oats, sugar and other unhealthy ingredients which would kick you out of ketosis.
To be safe and healthy it is best to make your own granola bars using this keto granola bars recipe from Tom of Black Sheep Keto.
Tom started the ketogenic diet in late 2015 after trying every diet under the sun and lost 125 lbs. Since then he’s made it his mission to help others succeed at losing weight when nothing else has worked.
The ingredients he uses are guaranteed keto-friendly and each serving contains only 3 grams of net carbs.
Allulose Sweetener
Tom makes these bars are with the zero carb sweetener Allulose Plus which is a combination of allulose, monk fruit and stevia. It’s fine to use plain Allulose if that’s what you’ve got.
I’ve written about allulose before in this article. It is ideal for keto or low carb diets as it is a natural sugar but does not raise blood sugar or trigger the release of insulin.
The odd thing about it is that it remains largely undigested so not much is actually absorbed. Researchers claim that about 70% of allulose (D-psicose) is excreted intact.
It has about 70% of the sweetness of sugar, is a similar texture and behaves the same as sugar in recipes. The fact that not much is absorbed means it is low calorie too!
The advantage of it behaving the same as sugar is that it can be used to make a caramel sauce which you can’t easily do with other low carb sugars. This recipe requires that you make caramel to bind the ingredients together but it’s quite easy to do.
Dangers of Roasted Nuts
In the video Tom suggests that you could use roasted nuts if you want to but I don’t think that’s a good idea. Roasting can damage the polyunsaturated fats in nuts but there is the additional problem of acrylamide.
Researchers have found that acrylamides cause cancer in animals but more research is needed to prove that it can do the same in humans. Nevertheless The World Health Organisation describes acrylamide as ‘probably carcinogenic to humans’.
In view of all this I think it’s better to be safe than sorry and avoid using roasted nuts.
Keto Granola Bars Recipe
Ingredients
Makes 8 bars
- 1 1/2 cups mixed nuts (you can use a combination of pecans, almonds, macadamia nuts, or any nuts you prefer)
- ½ cup Allulose Plus Sweetener
- 2 tbsp. melted grass-fed butter
- 2 tbsp. grass-fed butter
- ¼ cup ground flaxseed
- ½ tsp. natural vanilla
- ¼ cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- ½ cup Keto chocolate chips
- ¼ tsp. pink Himalayan salt
Directions
1. Using a food processor, combine the coconut flakes, flaxseed, mixed nuts, and salt. Pulse the processor a few times to mix all ingredients well.
2. Add in the melted butter. Then pulse until the nuts have been transformed into a combination of small and large chunks. Don’t over-process the ingredients or they will turn into a powder.
3. Transfer the processed ingredients into a bowl and set aside.
4. Over medium heat, melt the other 2 tbsp. of butter in a saucepan.
5. Add the allulose sweetener to the melted butter and mix well. Eventually, the mixture will turn into liquid.
6. Keep on stirring until such time that the mixture develops a light caramel color. Be careful not to let it become too dark. Also, don’t cook it for too long or the syrup will transform into a hard candy coating once the bars are cooled.
7. Remove the saucepan from heat and add the vanilla extract. You will notice that the caramel will start to bubble. Continue stirring at this stage.
8. Pour the liquid caramel into the granola mixture that you have processed earlier. Fold in the caramel with the use of a rubber scraper or large spoon.
9. When the granola is already well coated and has cooled down a bit, add in the chocolate chips and mix them quickly. Don’t add the chocolate chips too soon or they will melt although this will really not change the taste. You can also choose to add the chocolate chips on top of the bars at the end if you don’t want them to melt. Just press them in with a spatula or spoon.
10. Next, press the granola bar into a 4″ x 8″ loaf pan that’s lined with parchment paper.
11. Refrigerate for an hour or until the keto granola bars have set.
12. Cut to about 8 slices and enjoy! They can be stored out of the fridge for a few days or in the fridge if you are going to keep them longer but it’s best to eat them at room temperature.
Check out Tom’s video on how to prepare this keto granola bars recipe:
